‘It is up to me to be content’

Shivinder Singh, CEO and MD, Fortis.

What does Spirituality mean to you?
It is the process of finding God within me. It first implies that for me there is a God, and also that God is in every one of us, It is not something outside of me. Religion is more like a rule book, a formatted way to follow. It can help, but ultimately spirituality is about my own way of finding God.

Do you believe you are guided and protected by a superior force?
Well, first of all I believe in God, and also, according to the way of life I belong to, we believe in a living master as a manifestation of a form of God. So certainly there is protection and guidance coming with it.

Do you believe you have a special mission or purpose in this life?
First of all, in our view, the purpose of life is God’s realization. Humans are the only form of living with the power to differentiate between right and wrong. And this is what can get us out of the cycle of life and death. Of course each one of us finds his own way of achieving this purpose. Then there is what I do in the world, in my case in healthcare and hospitals. This is actually something that came by accident. It was always understood by my peer group that I would enter the family business, which meant pharma. And pharma was the one thing I did not want to do as it was a step removed from the customer. Also, I wanted to be in business, but not in what was already there for me. I heard the idea of hospitals being discussed at home and it appealed to me. It had three qualities: it would be different, it would be in business (I did not want to be into charity only) and I could make a significant impact on people’s lives. Often people ask me why I am not into hotels, as in some ways both businesses are connected. But the fundamentals of hotels are eating and drinking, which are things I do not believe in. So with healthcare and hospitals I really feel like a fish in water, it has been a perfect fit for me.

What is spirituality for you in your day to day life?
We as a family have a particular way of life and belief that we follow. According to it, we should do minimal harm in terms of not killing animals and so on, so we are completely vegetarian, including no eggs; we should not lose control of our consciousness so we do not drink alcohol; and above all, we believe God is in every soul from a tree to an animal to a human being and the way to find it is within. This entails spending time on our own as often as possible. 85% of our interaction with the world comes through the eyes and ears, 96% if you add the mouth, so first of all you need to shut all three in order to see and hear within. In the end, a large part of finding God is about finding myself first. As if I was a drop in the ocean, but if I do not even recognize one drop, how can I recognize the ocean? And also, the ocean is supposed to be pure so I cannot get in it impure, I have to first go through a process of cleansing.

... contd.