Let us begin with a few definitions.
Spirit: The divine influence of God working in the life of mankind.
Spirituality: Concerns the Spirit, Soul, or sacred things.
We are all on a spiritual path which we began at birth. We may not recognize it yet but at some point it is revealed to us. All of our life experiences will lead us to that point of recognition. For some it will be a difficult path, for others somewhat smoother. The thing to recognize is that the spiritual path is an individual one. It may be very crowded as others are on it with you, and you may be rubbing elbows or tripping but ultimately it is an individual one. Your experience is yours. We learn as individuals and by association with others.
Who is who or at what level one is may be a sensitive issue with some. One might say “I have many years of experience on my path, I don’t need advice from someone else.” Another may say to someone else, “You are lacking and need to change.”
True spirituality is a lateral path and not a hierarchical one, that period has ended. The age of the Guru or the Master is ending. That energy is still here, still active, but diminishing in its authority. Many paths are being walked, perhaps mistakes are being made. The beautiful thing is we are always available to give and receive advice .
We have our spiritual teachers, or mentors, to assist in this area.Their advice is valuable, but we must ultimately rely on our personal guidance. In closing, again let me state:
Spirituality is individual. We are all on our path and have the need to respect others on their path.