To seek the divine, women today are looking beyond religious texts, rituals and the prayer room. They tell Navjyoti Dalal that nature, sea waves, yoga or even their vocation help them spiritually connect

While growing up, we have seen our moms in the pooja-room lighting the diya, offering flowers and praying amidst the fragrance of incense sticks. The daily ritual brought them stability and tranquillity. Alternatively, some would read the Sundarkand Paath, Bhagvad Gita, or other religious texts and feel at peace. Though we still have the much-revered religious texts, somehow the ritual-following generation seems to be phasing out. They find god in everyday things and actions. From meditation, to seawaves, to creatures as small as a butterfly, women now find a spiritual connect in things beyond the pooja-room.  

SEEK & YOU SHALL FIND

Ambika Gupta, a Mumbai-based photographer, believes nature is the best way to feel the divine. “For me, the simplest way of connecting with god is sitting near the sea and watching the waves. Nature, walking through a forest, or meditation are other ways. When I do shavasana during yoga I feel a connect for a few moments,” says the lenswoman. A mother of two, Gupta says talking to herself too gets her in touch with ‘something spiritual’. “Get up early morning in a beautiful place when it’s all quiet and you will connect,” she says.

Like Gupta, many of us find nature as the perfect route to spirituality. But some find divine glimpses in just about anything, even in ‘boiling milk’. “I am not separate from god. He is with and within me in all my actions,” feels Anuradha Iyer, zonal manager at Fabindia, Pune. She, thus, finds god in all her actions like eating, drinking, sleeping, admiring nature. Meditation also brings her closer to the divine.

Rituals and religion had been considered the route to god or spirituality for centuries. But not anymore. For some, they are not the means, instead a hurdle in the way of spirituality. An editor with a publishing house, Karanjeet Kaur, is of an atheistic bent, but she does pray sometimes. “Some days I just pray. I don’t know to who or what, but I just ask for peace. I don’t believe in god, but I follow the idea of karma.” Karanjeet also believes in an ‘ordering principle’ of the universe — what goes around comes around. “It takes care of pretty much everything in life,” she says.

PRAY ANYTIME, ANYWHERE

BJP activist, Shaina NC too doesn’t believe in rituals or going to the temple. “I think a simple, sincere prayer in any language is enough to link with god. And it’s not just in times of need that I pray, anytime is a good time,” says the fashion designer-turned-politician.

You don’t need a specific place or rituals to connect with god, feels Sriti Pandit, an academician. “He is my greatest confidant and I relate to him in the most informal, friendly way. It is through his creations like a butterfly, a blooming bud, the landscape, or the star-studded night sky that I feel his presence around,” she says and also admits that the curious she gets, the closer she feels to him. A mother of a 10 year old, she finds her son’s innocence, mischiefs, pranks and smiles, as a reminder of the divine. And what when things go wrong? “All I need is a sincere talk with god and I see the miracles unfolding, which further strengthens my faith in him,” adds Pandit. Changing times have altered people’s approach to spirituality. Now, more women are willing to explore the ‘various’ routes that help them seek the divine.