Wairua is exercised through the practice of tapÅ«. TapÅ« (awareness of the divine) and noa (awareness of mortality) pre-existed as natural conditions of the universe. Wairua is not religion. Wairua provides immortality when the physical body has died. KahupÅ is the state of having no familiarity with wairua. If you are kahupÅ then you are spiritually blind and already ‘dead’. You have no ulterior purpose or meaning life. Life is but a physical drudgery. If there is a term to emphasise spiritual blindness there must be a need for a spirit. If spiritual blindness is the most undersirable state for MÄori, the most desirable state must be awareness of wairua and a passion for life. Inherent to a knowledge of wairua is the understanding of the states of tapÅ« and noa and how they work together.
The existence of a spiritual truth/realm is fundamental to well-being from a MÄori cultural frame of reference. The essence of our existence is as spiritual beings. To ignore or disregard wairua is to state that we are spiritually blind or kahupÅ. The wairua is the heartbeat, the core of MÄori wellbeing. It has to be in balance with the tinana, hinengaro and ngÄkau in order for the person to be well.