Spirituality in life of celebrities

USHA UTHUPAge: 61

Profile: A pop singer, Born a Tamil, groomed in Mumbai & Kolkata, and in the north.

Started singing a small nightclub in Chennai at the age of 20.

She has sung in 15 Indian languages & can also sing in several foreign languages.

“The ‘Our Father’ is the universal prayer for me. It goes beyond every religion, dogma & ritual. This may sound blasphemous for most people, but I could be in a temple, saying my mantras, but in my mind I am always saying ‘Our Father’.

When I’m on a plane, I put on the headphones, switch off the music, and sing ‘Our Father’ quietly.

My biggest religious influence came from my convent school. I was always going and lighting candles in the grotto.

“Jesus Christ is the face I visualize whenever I think of God”.

When I get up in the morning, I say, “Thank you God for everything you’ve done for me yesterday.”

Manhattan, July 2005

There is a God in every ELEVATOR…

4 Years ago, I was stuck up in an elevator at the New Yorker hotel, Manhattan on the 22nd floor.I pressed all the buttons, even the EMERGENCY button, but NO RESPONSE!On the Phone-Receptionist-: There’s been a problem, but we’re sorting it out. I’ll get back to you.In the state of panic, I prayed-“Our Father,Who art in heaven,Hallowed be Thy Name,Thy Kingdom come,Thy Will be done,On earth as it is in Heaven…”

after an hour , When the door opened, the lobby was full of people & when they saw me they started shouting and clapping….“Later, I came to know it was a short circuit that led to a small fire that had stopped the elevator.”

“God gives you these knocks to remind you to never be complacent. God wants you to always remember Him.”

SRIRAM PANDA

Age: 55

Profile: An actor-director-screenplay writer, he joined the Bihar school of Yoga at the height of his career as aYoga preacher-And renamed himself Swami Nitya Chaitanya.

I burst into the Oriya film scene in 1972 like a whiff of fresh air.

I acted in about 30 films in my career period of 20 years.

It was my popularity with tobacco which made me to quit everything, and look for spirituality.

I felt guilty and decided to change myself and & others through spiritual ways.

God’s place is all around us, in everything and anything we can experience. The core of man’s spirit comes from new experiences.

JAYASUDHAAge: 51

Profile: An actress-turned-legislator in Secunderabad.

She was a famous south Indian actress through the 70’s and 80’s.

She won 6 Nandi awards for best actress & 1 Film fare award for best supporting actress.

• There has always been an unspoken connection with Jesus.

• When I used to get frequent eosnophilia attacks as a teenager, I used to pray at the Vellankanni church, and I get cured soon.

• Again on May4,1985, when I was jet skiing with my husband, I had fallen into the water! I didn’t know how to swim, and I involuntarily yelled out ‘Jesus’ though I was not a devotee at that time, and I had a vision of the Almighty. The next thing, I knew , I was being dragged onto the water scooter by my husband.

• And, 16 years later, I choose Christianity in Chennai, in 2001.

• I can leave everything for Him, even my family. They know that too.!

• God can only give us wisdom, and help us when we are at a cross-road in our lives.

The Lord speaks to

me….

RESUL POOKUTTY

Age: 38

Profile: He is a sound engineer who graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune.

He won an Academy award & a BAFTA for best sound mixing for the film Slumdog Millionaire. Also designed sound for 2008 blockbuster Ghajini.

• When I was about to leave the hotel for the airport , to fly back to Mumbai after the International Indian Film Academy awards ceremony. Suddenly, I had an intuition ,I felt, I would loose my baggage.

• Well, I was not shocked to be told at Mumbai that my bag was missing. For me, this is what you call spirituality.

• God or Allah, is a very personal deity, one who takes care of even the smallest things.

• When you show truthfulness & commitment to your job,friends,colleagues and family members, you are being spiritual.

• A seer asked me to touch an alphabet in the Quran. And he said that my skill lies in my fingers. Incidents like these only, made me believe that there is a God above.

• God is an intangible universal force, but we can feel it.

• Imagine you’re sitting under a tree and looking up at the sunlight streaming down through the leaves. For me, this is the face of God.

The seer ‘killed’ an atheist…

G R GOPINATH

Age: 57

Profile: He is considered the pioneer of low-cost air travel in India, and is the vice-chairman of Kingfisher Red.

Captain Gopinath has served Indian Army for 8 yrs.

The French government has awarded him the Chevalier de la legion d’Honneur.

• More than the question of existence of God, I wonder about the mysteries of the world, the beauty of the nature, the vastness of the creation.

• I feel that when it comes to God, He is limited by the limited perception of human perception.

• When I need spiritual awakening, I go to the Himalayas, walk around the hills, all by myself and try to distance myself from the rest of civilization.

• Harmony is possible when you find yourself spiritually aligned with the world. Running away is not a solution.

The cheap flyer walks to peace…

SUDHARANI RAGHUPATHY

Age: 65

Profile: A Bharatanatyam daneuse & artiste of Doordarshan since 1976.

Has performed before a number of visiting dignitaries to India and even at UN headquarters in New York on Human Rights Day in 1981.

• I believe in one supreme being that governs us all, in the power of karma.

• Whichever faith you belong to, everything has common denominator-that there’s one almighty.

• The Bible says seek and you shall find. That’s what I did. Meditation helped me focus, analyze the situation dispassionately & ask the right questions.

• In 1993, when my plane to Pakistan was hijacked. Many of my co-passengers were old people & needed timely food and medication.

Throughout the ordeal, I was able to help them focus on the positive side.

• Learn the art of controlling your mind & your emotions. You can see this as a spiritual exercise or just a way of de-stressing.

These celebrities, in spite of their tough and busy schedules, spare time for God…………Then,

Y Can't

We….???