IMO everything comes back to 'The self' therefore we are self-ish creatures. People who think more positively about themselves and expect less in others are more content to be more happy.
If we have our health and have a roof over our head, no one should complain here in Australia.
Wathed a DVD 'Osama' (not about Bin Laden) but about the Afghan war widows who are starving and persecuted. If a woman/person can reach nirvana in such conditions then that person has definitely risen above the physical condition. Living that hell would surely put one to the test. We can say all we want here about ourselves but unless someone has been put to the test can we really say we are truly spiritual?
I look upon someone like for eg Nelson Mandela as being strong in spirituality. Amazing man...one of his many quotes:
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." Courage over fear is one aspect of spirituality.
