'There is always a superior force guiding your path'

Sunil Mittal, Chairman & MD, Bharti Group.

What does Spirituality mean to you?

First of all, spirituality for me is not religion. There is a big distinction between being religious and being spiritual. Spirituality is connecting with the cosmic forces and we all need that connection. You can do it through a variety of ways, prayers, religion etc. But for me, it is first and foremost living a very principled life of full integrity, while harboring that innate belief that there is a power beyond you, driving your life. I always had that feeling. Some people are scared by that because it means that everything is preordained, and it is supposed to happen anyway.

Do you believe you are guided and protected by a superior force?

I do believe that there is always a superior force guiding your path in life. I will give you two quotes summarizing this for me.

One is from banker John Vogelstein who told me once that if you have some exceptional success in life, especially at a young age and in a short time, there is no question that there is a power beyond you that has come into play. However, to benefit from it, you have to position yourself in the line of spiritual help.

The other one is from my mother. Whereas I would usually think that whatever I wanted in life, I would move towards it from my own will, she had a different take on it. She would say that whatever you are supposed & meant to get, you start thinking about it and then it can happen.

So it is difficult to pin down how much is preordained and how much is your own work. But it all comes down to karma really.

Do you believe you have a special mission or purpose in this life?

I do believe that one works on a pre-scripted life. Whether it comes from a previous life or not, this script is the path and you have to go through it.

And one of the reasons I am never in a hyper stressed mode is this: I believe that what I am doing is a canvas to express myself. I feel I was destined to do this job and I thank the Lord that I got this role. The only claim I can take on myself is that I got this role and therefore I do it very happily. I get a kick going to the office, I enjoy it, it is not a chore. I was not to be a doctor, a lawyer, a scientist, so the only canvas to express myself was commerce and I think I have used it very effectively. I cannot imagine not knowing why I am here, not having a sense of a mission. And it can be any kind of mission. But one needs to have the pleasure to feel that he or she is doing something more than just living, something that has a meaning.

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