I

"'" Hwh,"<"""d",ding thoU"","Im". When "I

, 'my friendS'pofed over Hatdy Boys, I would spend j
'hours deciphering and imbibipg the sayi~gs of the ~
,scriptures. I did not re81ise then that karmic ally life 'j
was preparing me for my destiny - the tragedy that was j
to unfold when I was22, Iha tragedy that struck in the!
most sinister manner, I lost my parents and my sister. It !
was asif someonehad plilledthe groundfrombeneath ~
myfeet. But my belief in spirituality and the afterlife j
helped me cope with the shock and ,depression that fol- j
lowed, Myfaith stood'rock solid. i
The tragedy also opened arlother realm of under- !
standing for me; that pain is emotional and it's all in ,j
the mind.,The mind is like a pack of wild horses pulling j
youin different directions. The endgame is to how you ~
,tame them, After all, it'S3'0b. who's the ruler of your :
mind. '-- ",- 1
, ,Life's lileea movie-watching experience - you are j
absorbed in it till you are watching it, ~rriotionally ~
charged, you cry and lal1gh along withth~,actors. But j
the moment you are out of tQe theatre, yop. spap out of ~
it. That's the art'of detachment. People mllY comment 1
on my lifestyle, butwe don;t ha\ie to balaqce anything :.
in life. I try and live lifeto the'fullest but'remain de-j
tached from,the trappings that come along with it. j
You may 'say it's easy for me to talk abput God and j
~ spiritUality'because of the aff1uent lifestYleI lead. But:
I don't see it that way.,MaterialistiGdesires ~iveyou mo- j'
mentarykicks.Today you may dream oroWning a Mer- j
cedes car. The day you get it,'yourhappiness knows no:
I' " ~ bOlihds,but what happens j
qGOD DOESN'T! after amontp. of driving!
CHANGEWITH TIME i it? Won't yo~ long for a ~
. '"""", ,1 Beritley? Every material 1
01'{ THEPA~~II\I~I:>F ~ desire has its piminishing ~
GENERATIONS j returns. Happiness is be- j
: ing in a state pf 'absence of i'
desires'. If you have the desire tomake mop.ey,make it, j
but keep ill'lnind the higher purpose. That's when the j
desire gets redirected into a satvik desire, I value my ~
body, family and business as I know it's no! my own but, j
someth1nghanded to me by Him. I amjllst the custo- !
dian. If I violate these, I demean the Owner. I believe iIi j
KarmaYog.Mybusinessis donewithHim'jnmind. ~
In the modernrealm, there have been endless debates - j
and discussions about the existence of God ijIld the need ~
for religion.Who says thatthe modern defipition of be- !
ing religious and his equation with God is different from i
that of thecbnventional one? According to JIle, the con- j
cept of God doesn't change withtirne or tqe pas~g of :
generatioris. It's like electricity, you can't see it ,till you 1.
switch on the light The Shashtras sa.y that ~very gener- :
ation will e~perience spirituality in a differ~nt way. The j
universe is divided intd'f6w"tiine zones - Satyug, Dwa- j
paryug, Tretayug and Kalyug.We are livin~ in Kalyug, ~
which is considered more bad than good, We have to j
fight many odds to attain spirituality. Ther~fore, the ef- j
forts put in to attain spirituality will be bigger than any 1
other yug, and will also give much greater results.. . i
.Todayrestless souls are running helter-skelter look-:
ing forllie divine. They feel God can be attajp.ed by med-' !
itating in the office cubicle. People have iuillges of God!
on their innerwear, Howpreposterous! WOIlJd you spott .!
your parents' photographs on your soclq? We are so/ i
blinded by your urge to make a statement that it has' j
become difficultto locate an abstract Goq within us. ~
Therefore, religion is a packaged path to cOJlle to terms j
with the ultima.tespirit oLGodwithin us.' !
I take my children to Vrindavan as well lis Virginia" 1
They must know both worlds. It's not that tpey are only j
ensconced in their posh south Mumbai cirole, but they' j
also see the slums and the dead in the cemetery. When ~
we go to the Himalayas, we stop by little ramlets or, 1
temples just to give the kids a feel that Gpd is every- i
where. They do dhyan, jaap,pranayam and write 'Sri Kr-' i
ishna Saranam Mamaha' in their textbooks everyday. I' ,:
check on theJ;Il regularly. It's not that I Impose my j
thoughts and beliefs on them, but as a Parent. I show!
them the right path. It's up to them whether they fol- !
low it later in their lives. i
(Yash Birla is,chairman, Yash Birla Group) ~
(As told to Indrani Rajkhowa Banerjee) :
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