<b>‘I want to be born as a better person’</b>

D.R. Kaarthikeyan is the former director of CBI. He authored Triumph of Truth: Rajiv Gandhi Assasination- The Investigation and runs the Life Positive magazine

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What does Spirituality mean to you?
Basically it is about being good, helpful, thinking beyond myself, caring for others, for the environment, following certain values, while leading a life of balance. And personal growth automatically takes place with such an attitude. Of course material comfort is required, money and positions are needed, but they cannot be pursued at the expense of everything else. A right dose of it, with the right methods are fine. And once you are in a comfortable position, you can do for others.

Do you believe you are guided and protected by a superior force?
I believe there is such a divine force, and that there is a Creator. I have felt it at various stages of my life. I also believe in destiny and that things are pre-ordained. But that does not mean I should sit idle. To this day, I work extremely hard and in many different fields. But never would I be seeking a position or an award. There is nothing beyond my reach, everybody knows me. But had I to ask for it, it would be demeaning and take all the value out of it. If I deserve a divine thing, it will come. And because I do not seek anything, it also means I am not obliged to anyone. What I consider right, I can simply do.

Do you believe you have a special mission or purpose in this life?
At this point, I would say that the purpose of my life is to promote harmony between people, and in particular through interfaith dialogue. I believe that most conflicts have their root in religious fanaticism and with the proliferation of atomic weapons and other means of mass destruction, we cannot afford many more conflicts. There is no assurance that next time someone will not use the bomb. And even though human beings have yet to succeed in creating a drop of blood in a laboratory, they are now capable of destroying all of humanity.
Religion definitely has a fundamental role to play. The incidence of crime for instance would be far greater if people did not fear a superior force or some after-life punishment. Yet, out of ignorance or misunderstanding, religious people come at times to believe that their faith is superior to all others, and worse even, that others should be converted, or killed.
I once share the following idea at a conference in Pakistan, paraphrasing an Islamic scholar. Each religion has its own concept of who the Creator is, often an all-powerful and all-merciful God. But if that God was that powerful, why wouldn’t He have created all human beings as saints, and followers of one faith only? When we look at a garden, we do not like it to have only one type of plants, we rejoice in the diversity of flowers and trees. We all love diversity and so does God. He therefore created different species, different people, and different ways of accessing Him --- some through a church, others through a mosque, others in the Gurudwara. Ultimately all roads lead to Rome, the paths are many but the destination is the same. So if that all-powerful God has created that diversity, those who say there is only one path, those who say that the ones not following it should be changed or killed, they are the most irreligious people around. Trying to change what God has created would in fact mean having no faith in Him!
So any person or organization involved in interfaith dialogue is of interest to me, and I try to help, in any manner I can. Similarly, organizations that can give peace of mind and relief from the hardships of modern life, whether to a few hundred people or lacks, why not help them if I can? This is today my contribution to society. Before then, it took different shapes and forms. I grew up in a tiny village in Tamil Nadu. My father was a farmer and I was the first person to even attend high school. It was a huge achievement. When I went to college and everything was in English, I thought I would give up as I could not understand a word of it. Yet I stuck around and completed my Bachelor of Sciences in agriculture. But my father suddenly had a heart attack and I had to go back to the village. There I witnessed endless fights between villagers, often on property matters. I thought that if I was a lawyer, I could help solving some of those conflicts. So I went and studied law. Later on, as many friends were joining the Indian Administrative Service or the Indian Police Service I thought I would do too. This is how I ended up in the police, where I felt I could bring a maximum contribution to society.

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