Asian Geographic Issue 05/2018 (133) | Page 8
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PHOTO © GILAD FISKUS
“No matter how much we try to run away
from the thirst for the answer to life, the intensity
only gets stronger and stronger.”
tOURISM BOARDS
Ravi Zacharias (born 1946)
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S
pirituality is a complex concept to unpack but spiritual fulfilment is
important to all of us whether we realise it or not. As Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
puts it, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are
spiritual beings having a human experience.” As such, people have long since
sought spiritual fulfilment in various forms, at different times and through
different means. Is it a wonder how our paths to spiritual fulfilment can vary
so much?
In Thailand, young boys of Shan descent are initiated into monkhood by
living as princes who are being waited on hand and foot (p30) in a grand rite
of passage. An equally dramatic custom happens in Israel where Christians
witness the miraculous Holy Fire and retrace the final steps of Jesus during the
Holy Week (p88). For others, spiritual pilgrimages are more part of everyday life
and less date-bound. Striking examples are how Varanasi encapsulates both
life and death for Hindus (p60) and how the Sikhs’ religious attitudes are lived
out in communal kitchens (p40). As you will discover through the pages of this
issue, there are commonalities in the spiritual pursuits among the seemingly
disparate peoples of this continent that fascinates us endlessly.
What is undeniable is the existence of a spiritual hunger amongst us and
the need to quench it. Ravi Zacharias says, “No matter how much we try to run
away from this thirst for the answer to life, the intensity only gets stronger and
stronger. We cannot escape these spiritual hungers.” It is ironical that as I was
trying to uncover and make sense of others’ spiritual journeys, I got lost in my
own. But I take heart that every step of the journey – planned or unplanned –
enriches it. And I hope you will be inspired to discover and embark on your own
spiritual journeys too.
Kwek Zhi Yin Rachel
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