Spirituality, Health & Activism

Dr. Neil Arya offered this seminar at the University of Waterloo with an audience of approximately 35 persons. Dr. Arya linked spirituality and health through personal experience with the major spiritual traditions, with which he has been closely associated. He then shared his experience as a health activist on environmental, peace and disarmament issues. Finally, he concluded with an interactive reflection on the relationship between spirituality and activism. For him spirituality is primarily expressed as a deep concern for the outer world – he does not see any conflict between inner development and outer involvement. Dr. Arya tried to demonstrate that activism is integral to spiritual advancement expressing the highest ideals of respect for other humans, compassion, non-violence, reduction of human desires, in short: living in harmony with the planet.