Know the divine in you: Smita Jayakar

She has played mom to almost every other star in Bollywood – from Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Aamir Khan to Ranbir Kapoor and Ali Fazal now (in Sonali Cable). But Smita Jayakar can relate most to her characters in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Astitva. She has essayed various characters of a woman as a mother, a wife, daughter on screen, theatre and television. But there's one aspect of this actress which not many know. She is a motivational speaker, can talk to spirits, cleanses auras and teaches chakra dhyan. Now with her debut book Before Tomorrow, Jayakar is all set to unravel her spiritual self to the world. Experts from an interview...

Mostly people start with fiction as a writer, you chose spirituality...
Fiction never interested me. I left reading fiction almost 30 years now since I got into spirituality. The first year I joined films, I met my guru and from there my entire spiritual journey begun with Prabhuji.
And ever since I have never gone back to reading fiction. I will never pick up a book on fiction. Why should I write something unreal when I know what is real? (chuckles)

How did you get into spirituality?
Honestly, even I don't know how the change came about. I was introduced to my first guru by my husband. I went with nothing in my mind, I didn't know where it was heading and didn't know where it would end. But then I met him everyday with a ll new questions... that somehow gave me something... at metaphysical level, I started liking it... and that's how I got sucked into it. I started enjoying it so much that I wanted to explore more. I went to Oneness and stayed connected to them for 20 years. It was there that a majority of my learning actually happened. I did a lot or processes there. I could feel a lot of cleansing happening...

Go on...
Gradually they asked me hold a talk. I was not ready but my gurus saw something in me and I went to Pune for a talk on spirituality. The people really liked it and also asked for more. That boosted my confidence and then I started doing workshops and holding talks and conventions. Now I am taking workshops for almost 12 years...

Spirituality has many meanings...
Just be what you are. Simplicity is what defines spirituality. It has become an issue now, but that's not what it is. People want to turn spiritual when they are old. You don't have to leave what you do to turn spiritual, you can party, eat non-veg and still be spiritual. You don't have to sacrifice to be spiritual. It is your connect to the divine, and how you do it is absolutely your business.

What change has it brought in you?
I was a horrible human being before, and I didn't know better. I didn't know how to accept things in life. Whatever happens to you is for a reason. But when you turn spiritual the perception towards life changes. You remain the same, it's only how you look at things changes.

A spiritual person has to be religious?
There's nothing like God. There's is this universal cosmic energy which holds us together. Spirituality doesn't mean that everyday you have to pray to God. It is just being yourself. People don't know the difference between religion and spirituality. The connect with your higher self is utmost important. That has nothing to do with how you pray, how much you pray and all... There is some consciousness which holds us together, just believe in that some power. 'Who am I' is the last step in spirituality. You don't have to be an ascetic to be a spiritual. Look at Narendra Modi, he is also very spiritual. But if he decides to become an ascetic, won't our government come to a standstill?

How do we know we need a guru?
If you are inclined towards spirituality, you will also have to look for a guru. In spirituality also, there are many things to learn. So you should look for a guru for your specific need... that's called spiritual shopping. And if you are on the spiritual path you will know you need a guru. There's always a knock on your heart's door, and when you are ready, you will accept the invitation. So many times there is a knock, we have to adhere to that voice.

You have many gurus...
You get stagnated in every phase, there is always a need to step up, learn more... Now I am with Dadashriji. A lot of things have opened up, am still learning, having newer experiences. There is this need to give back to the universe. The universe, nature, mother earth give us so much. There is a payback time. You have to give back. And I too am trying to give back. The more you give, the more you receive. You give hatred, and will get hatred; you give love, you will get love. Give and receive is the law of the universe.

But how do we trust these gurus or godmen?
This is the question which is there in everybody's mind: Who is the right guru. But of course, there are few quacks also. There have always been exceptions. But because of these few people all the gurus should not be considered quacks. There have been and are so many great masters, and they were not frauds. Your guru should be in a position to transform you.

You have written a lot about meditation. Is there one perfect way to mediate?
There is never one best way to achieve the divine. I have written these few simple ways whereby you can centre yourself. There are various ways of meditation – you going for a walk is meditation for you. Anything you can adopt to get focus is meditation. But people need things to hang on to something, they do havan, practise yoga and many other things for meditation.

Tell us more about chakras...
Chakras are very good way to change yourself. One thing I like about chakras are they are universal. Anything that comes on this planet earth comes with these energy centres. And if these chakras are not aligned you have physical, mental, psychological, spiritual all sorts of problems. They connect you to both internal and external world. It is like a spectrum. If you can pass a light from your body these chakras will light up like a rainbow. They are in the same colours and in that order. When you sync these chakras you get aligned to the universal energy and are happy.

Tell us about these workshops...
I teach everything about chakras, how to do chakra dhyan, how it helps. So many people have benefited from these workshops and chakra dhyan, sometimes even I am surprised. I teach of easy ways to do it also.

You can also read auras...
I am sensitive to auras, to vibrations. Because I have done so much chakra dhyan that I have become very sensitive to energies around me. And it has come to me by practise.

And what about auto-writing?
That's the blessing which my guru gave me. Initially, I was not able to connect to the souls. I would get very frustrated, for almost six months but then eventually it came to me. I can connect to that world...

Isn't it scary?
(Laughs) No, it is not scary. It is very relieving. And they are not scary, it's the humans who are devils, the energies I connect to are pure souls. People come with a lot of pain, and this is a kind of closure they want. It is also for the souls, it also needs to move on, leave the earth plane. Soul can only feel the emotion, the pain body, not the physical body. But the emotion has to go, the pain has to be dissolved.