Who is my Spiritual Director? Am I the Actor?

#Spirituality adds great depth and value to #Shakespeare’s famous words – All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.

My son and actor #Nakuul Mehta says, “Through spirituality, I realize and experience myself as a soul, separate from the body, playing a part on the stage of the world through my physical body costume.” Nakuul is also a follower of #SokaGakkai International (SGI), a global association of grassroots organisations that seeks to promote the values of peace and respect for all people.

#Pradhan #Mehta Rai #Pannalal recalls in his memoires that during the prayer meeting after the death of his younger brother #Lakshmilal in 1906, the family pundit while giving a sermon said, “We are all actors on this earth. The difference between a father, brother or any role that you play in family and your professional role as Pradhan, Hakim or Zamindar is clearly understood. An added dimension then, to this consciousness is that God is the Supreme being of the play we are enacting on this earth. The God looks at the entire drama and every actor’s part from a broader perspective. His vision is not just limited to the present but stretches from the past (Karma – past not limited to this birth) to the future (future not limited to this birth) of each one’s part.”

Nakuul, a direct descendant of Mehta Lakshmilalji continues, “I learn from the Director (Sensei) how to play my own part with accuracy, now as well as his training helps me for the future. Like any good actor, I need to have a lot of respect, appreciation, loyalty and love for the Director and immense faith in him. The Director is like a mentor or guide for an actor, to whom he surrenders completely. He knows that by doing that, his act will be of the highest quality.”

So we are all spiritual actors and need someone at this time that can tell about the mistakes committed by us in our past acts and improve our act of the present which will result in a positive present as well as future. Spirituality introduces us to that someone. So surrendering to the soul’s Director and having a strong relationship of mutual trust with him is particularly helpful at this time, when there is a lot of confusion on the stage of the Earth with billions of actors crowded here and our acts not exactly of the highest quality.

My family, my friend and actor Alekh Sangal adds, “If I keep a little distance between me and my role, so I don’t lose sight of the Spiritual Director’s instructions and the way the play is moving, my part will be much easier to perform, better appreciated by all, and I will be extremely successful. Positive appreciation for a performance for an actor’s performance by the spectators is of great value to any actor, sometimes even more important than commercial success.”