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Dr. Shashi Tharoor is a diplomat, author and journalist. He was the former Under Secretary-General of the United Nations. He is now the chairman of Dubai-based Afras Ventures.

What does spirituality mean to you?
It is the acknowledgment of forces larger than myself. They are not immediately graspable by the daily concerns of one’s consciousness. But they reflect yearnings for things beyond oneself as well as the reality that transcends the mundane, daily life. The awareness of those forces is not something rational. It is an act of conviction, an instinctive feeling I have almost always had in my life.

Do you believe you are guided and protected by a superior force?
I have felt many times in irrational ways the presence of a guiding hand, especially and more strongly after the passing away of my father. Could it simply be explained by the psychology of bereavement, or the sense that I was no longer accountable only to myself, but also to his spirit? I am not sure, especially as this feeling has slightly faded away over the years --- this happened fifteen years ago. The shock of losing him so young (he was only 63) and as I was so close to him may have something to do with it. It basically caused the deepest pain and deepest soul searching of my life. I had a sense of regret since I could never talk to him again. And the most consoling thing I realized was: when you are physically far away from someone you love, you know you can be in touch through the occasional phone, letter, or travel. Yet, when they have left this world, they are always with you. In some ways, I took that in very deeply. I was very conscious of my father’s good wishes when he was alive, but they became a permanent feature of myself for many years after his passing away, I was very conscious of his presence.

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