Abstract
In view of increasing stresses human life is becoming more vulnerable. There is lack of mental peace, life satisfaction and positivity in relationships. In this context of existential challenge spirituality/religion provide opportunity for extending a sacred worldview and offer inner resources to deal with life’s stresses. With this view, the relevance and efficacy of meditation, prayer and service-volunteering as spiritual or religious interventions with regard to health/well-being outcomes are examined. These interventions are rooted in the cultural ethos of the Indian society which acknowledges a complementary relationship between meditation/prayer and service-volunteering. They have potential to sustain and enhance health/well-being through more constructive and adaptive coping. While the human capacity for spiritual and religious belief and engagement seems universal, its nature varies across different traditions. Such engagements are diverse and help developing values such as compassion, charity, love and altruism which facilitate coping with diverse health challenges.
Spiritual development is the process of growing the intrinsic human capacity for self-transcendence in which the self is embedded in something greater than the self, including the sacred. It is the developmental “engine” that propels search for connectedness, meaning, purpose, and contribution. It is shaped both within and outside of religious traditions, beliefs and practices.
(Roehlkepartain et al. 2006, pp. 5–6).
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Sharma, S., Misra, G. (2018). Religio-Spiritual Interventions for Health and Well-Being. In: Misra, G. (eds) Psychosocial Interventions for Health and Well-Being. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-3782-2_14
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