Practical spirituality and human development

an introduction and an invitation

Ananta K. Giri

pp. 1-9

in: Ananta K. Giri (ed), Practical spirituality and human development, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018

Abstract

Our contemporary moment witnesses fundamental transformations in the fields of self, society, culture, religion, politics, and spirituality. While in each of the world religions there is a growing fundamentalism, terror, and violence, in the same space there is also the vision and practice of practical, creative, and transformative spirituality which strives to cultivate and create relations and landscapes of beauty, dignity, and dialogues in self, cultures, societies, religions, and the world. Practical Spirituality and Human Development deals with the vision and work of service, spirituality, and movements for self-development and social transformations. It deals with movements of affirmative, creative, and critical spirituality in self, culture, histories, and societies. This introductory chapter describes the chapters in this book.