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M. Damodaran was Chairman of UTI, IDBI and the Securities and Exchange Board of India

What does spirituality mean to you?
First of all, let me tell you what it does not mean to me. It is not about formal religion, or rituals, or doing things because someone expects you to do them, or in order to subscribe to some conventional practice. I am not religious in the conventional sense of the word as most people are. I do not go much to temples, nor know much about rituals.

Instead, I am convinced our comprehension of the world is very limited. I firmly believe there is a superior force out there. I have experienced it in my own life. Sometimes we are giving it a name and then believe that He or She is the arbiter of our destiny, the final scriptwriter. Maybe it is true. But that said, spirituality is rather a sense of moving beyond the here and now and subscribing to a value system that enables me to live life with a certain level of satisfaction. It is about not going through a simple humdrum existence. It is the additional dimension to human life. It does not mean understanding everything but at least allowing that dimension to inform my thoughts and actions.

In what ways have you experienced that superior force?
I have been through so many experiences that showed me there is such a force.
For instance, as I was in my first assignment and newly wed, I had spent my whole salary in the first half of the month. I could have raised loans for the rest of the month but did not want to do it; besides, I was too proud to ask my wife to lend me money. But I knew I had to find a solution by a certain date. That very day, I happened to open a pile of papers, and discovered an envelope with an arrear bonus from my previous position. It came that day, of all days. Somebody, somewhere must have thought “if he needs help, he needs it today”.

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