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Anjali Gopalan is the founder and head of NAZ, a New Delhi- based NGO working on HIV/AIDS and sexual health

What does spirituality mean to you?
Love for all life forms.

How does it manifest in your life?
My love for animals, for children, for human beings is very integral to who I am and I draw a lot of my energy from them all. It is central to my being.

Has it always been so?
Yes. Besides, spirituality never had anything to do with religion. I actually can’t ever remember being a religious person.
One incident marked me much as a child and symbolized a lot to me, even though I was only in the first standard when it happened. My father was posted in Mathiran. We had gone to a huge temple where I was struck by the sight of a number of Rajasthani women, removing their jewellery to offer it. The priest did not even give them prasad. But because my father was in the air force, a huge basket of sweets was sent to us from the temple in the evening. No matter how young I was, it was clear to me that something was wrong and unfair.

To this day, I do not go to temples, or mosques or any other religious place. I do not feel the urge to visit such institutions. And I really have a problem with organized religion.
Some friends, especially one who is a priest, get upset at me for not bringing up the children in this home with religion, with God. But I do not think it is a valid objection. I try to bring them up as good human beings and that is what all religions are supposed to be about. Of course as they grow up they can choose a religion or another.

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