Spirituality in life of celebrities
USHA UTHUP
Age: 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.
JAYASUDHA
Age: 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….???
Top Related