``The love of God is not a serious affair, it is supposed to make you happy,'' claims Shrenaz Dinshaw, a 35-year-old who has embraced spirituality. She admits that it is almost always a crisis that leads one to God, that there has to be suffering for one to realise the presence of God. A follower of Meher Baba, Dinshaw first became aware of the power of Meher Baba when she lost her father. This loss was later followed by a divorce. ``The religion of my birth is something I cannot relate to. At Baba's samadhi, there is a peace that engulfs my soul. There is no compulsion to perform rituals or chant or meditate,'' says the lady who fervently believes that God can only be experienced.

Dinshaw adds that realising the presence of God has given her the courage and strength to face life with a `this-too-shall-pass' attitude. Acceptance is the key to this peaceful existence. ``The realisation of God is the path to self-awareness,'' she says calmly. She is a willing guide for anyone who wants to visit Baba's samadhi.

Nineteen-year-old Shuchita Sethi is your typical teenager, who is serious about her career and also has a lot of fun things to do. A three-day session in a camp conducted by the Vedanta Academy changed her from the archetype to a more mature 19-year-old. ``Vedanta is just a lesson in practical living,'' opines the young enthusiast, who adds that it was no vision or upheaval that lead her to this belief in Vedanta. ``It makes a lot of sense to get into something like this when you are beginning a life because it helps you understand your behaviour and leads to a greater acceptance of life in all its worldly avatars,'' she says smiling. She is unfazed by complex terms like `spirituality' and has no illusions about its meaning. ``Philosophy is all about self-development. It is an awareness of what you are doing, the stimuli that affect you and how you deal with it. In the end, you realise that the environment is always changing and your happiness depends only on you,'' she adds.

Sethi maintains that while a certain amount of effort is required in the beginning to train your mind to think and regulate your actions, ``after that initial conscious attempt, it becomes second nature,'' she continues. There is no denial of needs or feelings because one is aware of the consequences and behaves accordingly.

``I do believe in God and visit both the temple and the church. I also believe in rituals as they do have some significance and more so in the havan and yagna,'' she adds with a degree of candidness. ``And no, I don't think this is a fad, though I just happened to get into it. Vedanta is something I will probably never quit,'' she concludes.

Why does this search for the spiritual start this early? ``In recent years, there has been a marked increase of about 20 per cent in the number of young people in the age group of 25 to 40 who are opting for the course which includes samadhi meditation, rajyoga, pranayama and the fundamental principles of living,'' says Dr. Avinash Thanawala of the Siddha Samadhi Yoga. He cites a sense of desperation among the youth today as being responsible for this trend. ``While the older people who enroll for these classes do so to cleanse their system of diseases and impurities, the younger ones are in search of some way out. Modern stresses are taking their toll on them''.