"True spirituality starts when you accept "God alone is!" He is not one of the aspects of life, but the aspect of life. One lives for God and God alone."

Ans : Religious life and spiritual life are different. The religious life begins when people come in contact with others, or through their own intellect or understanding, which allows them to see something beyond the material life. This type of experience comes to certain people in life sometimes. Added to that we have in all parts of the globe some form of religion and religious practices. They also speak of something beyond this life. This idea of religion is in the minds of many people. Some have a lot of faith, others little faith and some others refuse to believe. This has nothing to do with spirituality however. A vague acknowledgement of the existence of God, or a conception of a life beyond the merely material-all this falls under the heading of "religion." This is accepting God among so many other things, like morality, etc., that is religion. Life includes so many other things along with God, for many people, and they are religious people. This is my definition. This is not spirituality. True spirituality starts when you accept "God alone is!" He is not one of the aspects of life, but the aspect of life. One lives for God and God alone. That is where the spiritual life really begins.

Whosoever comes to spirituality, he is chosen by God. Otherwise, it is impossible for anyone to think that life is for God's sake. When God chooses you, he gives you some opportunities to have a glimpse of this concept. This I would term "the call of God." When this call comes, it may come in the form of meeting a great saint, or reading a great book, or some quotation from Scripture, any of which may make you opt for a life dedicated to spirituality. I read In Quest of God by H.H. Papa Ramdas when I was young, and some books of Gurudev and other traditional books, like Gita, Vedas and the Puranas. I knew Sanskrit, so I was able to read the original texts.

I grew up in Kerala in a very pious family. We did pujas and were generally very much engaged in religious practices. Daily there were times set aside for worship. Urbanisation and modernisation are changing this tradition of daily worship, and many are leaving the practice. The seed for spirituality was probably already there, and these things I mentioned may help to nurture it. With the initial burst of the spiritual life one feels a certain serenity and one becomes an ethical person. One will be more compassionate and moral-it need not necessarily be cultivated-these things just come naturally. If the desire to be better is there and the desire is genuine, then naturally one will begin to exercise some control over oneself. A person should have support and satsang. Before he may have been a slave of his desires, but if he gets support, the desire will become a slave to him. For example, once I met a drunkard; he remained here in the Ashram for four or five days and was able to give up his habit, and he eventually came back to the Ashram to attend the Academy course, and he was able to leave most of his old bad habits.

I was an engineer in Kerala, but I also found myself giving a lot of counseling to people who were in need of it. I could speak to people and help them and give them joy-this may also have been some sign of my interest in spirituality. My father was a very traditional and orthodox Brahmin, and he knew my inclinations and allowed me to remain a bachelor, hence I did not marry. He however wanted me to stay in our house until he died in order that I could do last rites for him and the further rites over the year following his death. My father died at age 86, when I was 62, and right after that I came directly to the Sivananda Ashram, as I had a long connection with this place over many years.

Swami Brahmanandaji of our Ashram was a neighbor of mine in Kerala before we began the monastic life. I had also read most of Gurudev's books. A disciple of Gurdev walked from Kerala to the Ashram in Rishikesh and then walked back to Kerala again. He had an ashram of his own, had written a number of books, and he also conducted Bhagavat Saptaha in our place. I came in contact with him when I was 20. He was so widely respected and admired. He got an award for his book on the Ramayana, even though the literary association that gave the award was made up of communists and skeptics! I wrote a letter to that Swamiji; he responded and I often went to him and would return to visit each year. His guru was Swami Sivanandaji, so Gurudev became my guru.

My sadhana consists mainly of trying to live in God every moment. I also read and contemplate a great deal, and meditate. I gaze on my own true Self in meditation. I normally sit sometime in the morning and in the evening as well. Generally the sadhana is to be with the Self or to accept His presence all the time. This is for me true spiritual practice. One must keep responding to the call of God.

I have noticed something peculiar about the Indian character. It seems that people in India experience less tension in their lives than Western people, even if they are not very religious Indians. Once I met an American in a bus station in Kerala. The arrival of the bus was delayed. While so many of the Indians were waiting patiently for the bus, the American was disturbed very much. He was making enquiries about the bus and he got the prompt reply every time that the bus would arrive soon. He continued to enquire again and again for nearly thirty minutes. Finally he asked me and I told him that this is a bus arriving from another station, and that it is expected and so he should wait patiently. I told him there was no point in being agitated. He also noticed that the other people waiting for the bus were remaining calm and collected despite their having the same problem. After some time he told me, more as a confession than anything else, that even small disturbances could upset the American mind very much. In a similar way, I also remember that one of my friends, a psychologist, once told me that people, whether Western or Indian, who are religious are less tense than those who are non-believers.
Sanskrit literature is itself a world literature as it embraces such a broad range of experience and knowledge-nothing is left out. A "new" idea will be familiar if you know this literature. Nothing is in fact a primary idea. All ideas and theories will be familiar to you if you have an exposure to Sanskrit literature and Scriptures. You will be at home with all new possibilities. Nothing remains totally unknown. You will be in agreement with everything. Along with my love for Sanskrit literature, I also enjoy reading a wide range of books from other traditions, as I am interested in many areas of the intellectual life.