READ ALL THIRD EYE STORIES

Mail to author


Jitin Prasada, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas

What does spirituality mean to you?
In the context of India, I would say that spirituality is what binds this country together. With all the states, languages, castes, cultures, terrains that we have, it still holds on --- this outer, undefined force that makes it happen, I would call it spirituality.
At a personal level, spirituality is about connecting your mind to something that takes you away from what you are doing in your day-to-day life. To cut off from the routine, from the grind, from the daily pressures coming with your job. It is about going into some connect or thought process that would make you feel easier, lighter, better.

How do you do it?
Frankly, I am not forcefully trying to cut out from what I do. I would see it as escaping. Running to the mountains to find peace --- I won’t do it. I have to find it here, to try and simplify my life here and now.

But your life is extremely intense, like a constant race, so how do you make sure you don’t get lost in that race?
You are right, the race of life especially in politics is extremely intense. You are not only competing with yourself. There are a lot of people opposing you and gunning at you constantly. You can’t run away from it, you have to face it, you have to get used to the fact that people will point their finger at you, that all sorts of accusations will flow; you have to learn how to react, how to handle them and how to get above them. You need to try and do your work without getting bogged down by the nitty-gritty of people constantly trying to pull you back and pin you down, opposing you in some fashion or another. That’s when you look at the larger goal and try to overcome these things.

... contd.