Understanding of GodI believe there’s an unidentifiable but omnipresent force that guides us in our day-to-day choices. A subconscious force that makes us believe everything happens for a reason. Though there are multiple religions, I feel, only the approach is different, while the end goal for all remains the same.Spiritual beliefsIf you are good to others, good things will happen to you. The happiness I get while looking after animals and the unadulterated love that I get from them makes me believe that God lives in everything.Spiritual practicesI start my day with a silent prayer that I don’t do anything wrong to anyone. A few minutes of meditation everyday helps in renewing my energy and keeps me going. I don’t feel the need to visit a temple or perform any puja everyday as I believe God is literally everywhere. However, I do attend and perform spiritual ceremonies if my family wishes, as I believe it matters to them and doing so makes them happy.Favourite pilgrimage sites The temples that I grew up with would be the Sri Parthasarathy (family deity) temple in Triplicane and the Tirumala Venkateswara temple, both of which I try to visit as much as possible. However, I prefer older and quieter temples as there is a sense of peace when you visit them. My favorites would be the Melancode Kalahalar Sivan Kovil and the Neelakandaswamy temple at Padmanabhapuram, both near Nagercoil. These temples, surrounded by mango and coconut groves, don’t have many visitors, and a person can spend hours just listening to the quietness.I’m hoping to visit the Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple at Haripad, in the Alappuzha district of Kerala as I’m fascinated by the intertwining of religion, belief and fear of snakes in Indian mythology.(Thirumalai V Shatrugan is an IT professional and animal activist)
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