‘There is always a superior force guiding your path’

Sunil Mittal, Chairman & MD, Bharti Group.

What does spirituality mean to you?
First of all, spirituality for me is not religion. There is a big distinction between being religious and being spiritual. Spirituality is connecting with the cosmic forces and we all need that connection. You can do it through a variety of ways, prayers, religion etc. But for me, it is first and foremost living a very principled life of full integrity, while harboring that innate belief that there is a power beyond you, driving your life. I always had that feeling. Some people are scared by that because it means that everything is preordained, and it is supposed to happen anyway.

Do you believe you are guided and protected by a superior force?

I do believe that there is always a superior force guiding your path in life. I will give you two quotes summarizing this for me.

One is from banker John Vogelstein who told me once that if you have some exceptional success in life, especially at a young age and in a short time, there is no question that there is a power beyond you that has come into play. However, to benefit from it, you have to position yourself in the line of spiritual help.

The other one is from my mother. Whereas I would usually think that whatever I wanted in life, I would move towards it from my own will, she had a different take on it. She would say that whatever you are supposed & meant to get, you start thinking about it and then it can happen.

So it is difficult to pin down how much is preordained and how much is your own work. But it all comes down to karma really.

Do you believe you have a special mission or purpose in this life?

I do believe that one works on a pre-scripted life. Whether it comes from a previous life or not, this script is the path and you have to go through it.

And one of the reasons I am never in a hyper stressed mode is this: I believe that what I am doing is a canvas to express myself. I feel I was destined to do this job and I thank the Lord that I got this role. The only claim I can take on myself is that I got this role and therefore I do it very happily. I get a kick going to the office, I enjoy it, it is not a chore. I was not to be a doctor, a lawyer, a scientist, so the only canvas to express myself was commerce and I think I have used it very effectively. I cannot imagine not knowing why I am here, not having a sense of a mission. And it can be any kind of mission. But one needs to have the pleasure to feel that he or she is doing something more than just living, something that has a meaning.

So for me, my work is the expression of my spirituality. I see telecom as a mission. It is a business but it is also a mission to connect the country, larger and larger sections of it, across its length and breadth, and it has actually made a significant difference. We are now also attempting in a very serious way to undertake an economic revolution in the villages through our farm projects just recently launched. It has the potential to really transform the farmers¡¦ life. We are creating some huge benchmarks there. For instance women employed will get more than the minimum wage for the first time. So I do transformation through business. And I get a kick to see something getting out of the ground where there was nothing.

What is spirituality for you in your day to day life?

Whenever I am hit by a boulder or something big, the strength I have to face it is totally based on my belief that this is part of life, and that something will come to correct this aberration as well.

I have kept the following mantra very close to my heart: ¡§this shall also pass¡¨. This is a story once told by a dear friend „o whenever you are very happy, think about it, and whenever you are very sad, think about it also. It keeps you in check. Because if you do not check yourself, you can become arrogant, and start flying, and come to unreasonable expectations. So you should then say ¡§this shall also pass¡¨; and if you are in deep sorrow, this gives you the strength to get out of it.

In real life for me, no extremes are therefore allowed, and that has given me the strength to move on.

As far as practical matters are concerned, I start the day with five minutes of prayer. And I used to meditate more than I do now. But still, my mind is constantly working and it is good to calm it down.

One book I enjoyed reading is ¡§The monk who sold his Ferrari¡¨. I could relate to it. When you live in this hyperactive mode, there is some fatigue factor and it is good to get another perspective.

But on the overall, I am not into rituals. I do not go to temples and do big pujas etc. I have my own connection to god, we communicate. I ask god to fix things. And in return what I have to do is goodness.

What is the role of spirituality in the world of business?

My work will always be for a bigger cause, for the good of humanity and everyone else. In the company, I am seen as a leader who is a happy and enabling leader, trusting, empowering.

I basically think there are a couple of models to run a business: some people do it with brute force, and they are very successful at it. Then there are people who do it with moderation like us, and they still achieve performance. Level five leadership for instance, you do things and you give the glory to others. Then you are connected to society in a holistic way. It is not just about getting economic benefits and squeezing the society. I clearly feel that there are companies like Tata, Infosys, Bharti, Wipro who are in that category where you have a greater cause and it is less of a concern if you are second, or sixth or tenth in the country. What matters is how people see you as a corporation connecting to society. And we are living example that you can both do the right thing and be successful.

Can you tell us about a unique experience that changed or shaped your spiritual beliefs?

Well, on special assignments, I turn vegetarian. And it works. It happened to me in 1981-82. I was struggling on some particular issue, I was trying everything I could and it was just not working. It was to be a very important milestone in my life. So I connected to god and said I would leave something very dear to me in exchange for which this would have to go through. I never smoked, I never was too fond of drinking but I definitely loved eating non-vegetarian food. So I decided I would give up any form of meat for a year. The very next morning, I went to meet this very difficult man. I was in within two minutes, and twenty minutes later the deal was signed. And I was a kid then, just trying to build my life. It was so bizarre¡K.

So every time I got stuck I did the same thing. For instance in 1992, I bid for a mobile license. When I put the bid in I was an outsider, there was no way anyone would give me a chance to win this. I said I will only eat meat again if I can place a phone call on my own network. That thing could have lasted for life if I hadn¡¦t won the license. It actually took three years, and as of September 95, I could resume eating non-veg¡K.

So why is that so? I guess there are two explanations. The spiritual one: when you sacrifice something, when you are fasting, you expect something in return in the grander scheme of things. And a scientific one: every time I sit down for breakfast lunch or dinner, I cannot have meat, so I have to work doubly hard to make sure that the job is done quicker! It gives you the focus towards the target.

Tell us about one powerful spiritual experience

It was at the time my wife was expecting and we did not know she was having twins. In general, I am not into astrology. But a friend of mine, amateur astrologist, did some reading and was worried about my wife and the delivery. So he took me to his guru. The guru just looked at my face and said that the reading was wrong: nothing would happen to my wife, she would deliver twin boys safely. But there is actually something wrong in the stars as far as your father is concerned. He will go through a near death experience in the coming days. Four days later, as my father was traveling, he had a massive heart attack. And my wife indeed delivered twin boys healthily. So again, this is connected to my belief that as there is something in the stars for you, something is preordained.

What are your spiritual inspirations?

At home, my parents were not into rituals or religious ceremonies. My father was an Arya Samaji. So we did pray every morning, but there were never gurus at home or major ritualistic moments. Then I came across many spiritual people, yoga teachers and others. Things they said or did I may have kept with me, but I have not had one single guru type figure in my life. My connection to the divine is a direct one. I live spirituality as an individual and not as part of a group.

If you were to be reincarnated, what would you like to be reincarnated as, when & where?

I do not particularly believe in reincarnation. But if I was to come back, as I have had a fulfilling life, I would chose to be back on earth in a similar role and place, resuming the work I have been doing, resuming & expanding the mission.

I do believe though that there is something beyond the mind and body, that one can call the soul. Some life is injected in the womb coming from somewhere and once the person dies, it has to go somewhere.

If there was one question you could ask god, what would it be?

My main question would be: why is there so much misery and unhappiness around? That part remains to my mind the most painful question. Besides, the crisis faced both by developed and developing countries is often in the name of god. So I would ask god, why is this all happening in your name?