Spirituality

Are Relationships and Spirituality Incompatible?

When people speak about their life partners or people they want to have a romantic relationship with, they all have certain metrics. It might be understanding, compatibility, love, mutual respect, intelligence, good looks, good nature, professionalism, sexual pleasures and so much more. Seldom do people say that their partner should be spiritual or religious for that matter. If we go back just a few decades, spirituality or wisdom of ancient scriptures was one of the first things people sought out in their potential relationships in the traditional eastern cultures. 

In the west, it could be a few centuries ago, but we still hear people admiring it when their partners are ‘God fearing’ or attend the spiritual practices. 

Somewhere down the line though, people began associating spirituality with detachment, abstinence, extremism, veganism, escapism and a lot many ‘isms’ that it never really advocated or suggested.  So then, how did the image of spirituality change from being the go to to being the getaway from? When did people start thinking that if their partners are spiritual, they won’t be compatible? Well that’s a history lesson for another time. 

But in this blog, we shall look at various aspects of relationships and see how spirituality helps us enhance each one of them, further strengthening our individual lives, relationships and bonds. 

The Emotional Aspect

When we look at emotions, it is said that there are 25 broad categories of emotions – admiration, adoration, appreciation of beauty, amusement, anger, anxiety, awe, awkwardness, boredom, calmness, confusion, craving, disgust, empathic pain, entrancement, excitement, fear, horror, interest, joy, nostalgia, relief, sadness, satisfaction, and surprise. 

So how does spirituality help in all these emotions, keeping them fulfilled and also keeping a healthy balance, while strengthening the relationship? 

You see, when a person practices spirituality, meditates everyday, and performs Sadhana, they automatically become open and vulnerable. They become sensitive and soft and at the same time calm and strong. They become stable and can observe all their emotions, expressing them fully when they bring good and knowing when to stop when they might cause harm. No matter the emotion, they begin seeing the effects and necessity, and begin navigating through them accordingly. This brings deeper trust and love between partners, thus being able to fully feel, emote and explore each other, knowing that no matter what, their partner won’t lose their cool and know how to handle a situation. 

In addition, spirituality makes an individual capable of unconditional love, thus helping them bring joy and happiness in their partner’s and their own lives. 

The Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Aspects 

When a spiritual person gets into a relationship, they know what they are signing up for, and they also know how to communicate their needs to their partner, along with excellent listening skills to know what their partner needs from them. This in turn leads to excellent physical intimacy, being able to make changes to accommodate the partner’s needs and also plan their lives accordingly, keeping everyone’s best interest in mind. This aspect not only limits to physical intimacy but also goes about choices of food, restaurants, travel destinations, the kind of home you would live in, the friends you hang with and many more decisions in life that decide whether a person is happy and satisfied, or dissatisfied and sad. So choose your partner wisely and ensure they are spiritual as well. 

The Ethical Aspect 

Just like we discussed looking at balancing emotions earlier, you will see that spiritual individuals begin looking at actions and their repercussions, instead of looking at them as good and bad. This helps a person become non-judgemental, and stop judging right and wrong. Instead, they look at each action, understand its effects, both long and short term, and act accordingly. This takes out any chances of blame games, mistrust or moral policing. 

What this helps with is building the bond stronger, clearer communication, and room for forgiveness and deeper love. 

In short, anyone who is already spiritual, when gets into a relationship, makes it a beautiful and strong bond, thus elevating themselves and their partner to higher levels in both spiritual and material lives. 

We hope this blog helped you understand the compatibility between spirituality and relationships. In case of any doubts or in case you need healing in relationships, write to us at info@chamundaswamiji.com.