Spiritual Journalism
Here are a series of articles dealing with my
travels to India and Thailand, different world
religions, art, culture, business, alternative
lifestyle, healing techniques and even furniture
amongst other topics, as well as a number of
interviews attempting to shed light on various
talented people and their creative projects and
dreams.
Scanning the media, newspapers and listening to
the news, both locally and globally, haven’t you
ever felt that something is seriously lacking?
Something is missing. A new dimension needs to
be added to all forms of journalism - the
spiritual dimension – a positive message about
the celebration of life! Spiritual journalism is
happening on a small but expanding scale
throughout the West, and if we could also
integrate it into our local media, and at the
heart of our journalistic endeavors, it would be
an innovative and very healthy goal for a small
but growing and evolving nation like ours.
"The East has thrived on the spiritual search for
many centuries, yet it is also lacking in its
journalism, for journalism is a product of the
West, and there is an unconscious movement
towards imitating the West in such worldly
matters. But to a great extent the West does not
believe in spirituality, and it is suffering
great anguish and great anxiety for it. The
suicide rate is four times more than in the
East. In the East, people commit suicide because
of hunger and starvation - you have to be
compassionate towards them. But in the West
people commit suicide because they have
everything, and they feel life is meaningless.
They have all that money can purchase, but they
cannot purchase silence, they cannot purchase
love, they cannot purchase meditation.
Spirituality is the very meaning of life, the
very essence of life. Without a spirit, a man is
only a corpse. And without spirituality,
anything - education, journalism - they are only
corpses, they stink!
To
some extent this is an appeal to all
journalists, writers and people involved in the
media to introduce a spiritual dimension to
their journalism. And spirituality does not mean
any kind of religious fanaticism. Spirituality
does not mean that you have to preach
Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, or Jainism!
Spirituality simply means spreading the basic
fundamentals of all religions, which are all the
same. Can love be Christian or Hindu? Can a
peaceful mind be Hindu or Buddhist? Does a man
of compassion have to be a Christian or a Jew?
An
authentic spirituality will be without any
adjective. It will only teach the essentials of
all religions. And journalism should give it the
first preference, on your laundry list, it
should be the first item and politics should be
the last. Why give so much importance to
momentary things? Spirituality means giving
importance to something that is of permanent
value - which gives life, light and guidance
forever. Eternal values constitute spirituality.
Momentary values constitute politics.
A
healthy journalism is journalism, which
nourishes the whole personality of man – his
body, his mind, and his soul - journalism
whose sole concern is to create a better
humanity, not just to report what is happening.
Journalism should not be just a news medium, it
should also be great literature – then it is
healthy. Even yesterday’s newspaper should
remain of some worth, so that even today it may
be read. But if you are only a news medium than
naturally, once the day is passed the news is
old. Great literature remains significant, as
long as humanity remains, and as fresh as ever.
Something in your journalism should have that
quality. You can have space for news and
politics, but they should only be secondary.
Somebody steals- what is the point of reporting
it? Why make it news unnecessarily? You are
filling your space with absolutely nonessential
things.
Bring the essential in. You have writers,
artists, dancers, designers, actors, film
directors, spiritually aware people - you can
introduce all of them. Why relegate them only to
the cultural page or magazines? They are part of
the very fabric of life. They should be your
major part, and politics should be just your
fourth or fifth page!
The negative side is part of life, yes! Death is
also part of life. But that does not mean you
have to make your funeral ground in the middle
of the market. It is part of life, so once in a
while you can talk about the funerals, the wars,
but don’t focus unnecessarily on them for the
sake of sensationalism. Death is certain, but
life is more important. Talk about life - make
life a celebration! Don’t create a phobia with
the negative. The media cannot survive on
positive news only. That would also be wrong.
The negative needs to be brought to the light
also, but it should not be emphasized. It should
be criticized. The positive should be supported
and the negative should be condemned. The
negative should be used as a stepping-stone but
never emphasized; because that creates the idea
in people’s minds that the negative is what life
is all about, and that is a very dangerous
cancer of the soul.” – OSHO
|