Dr. Albert P’Rayan
a journalist was my dream during my college days. It all started in 1984 when I attended a public meeting addressed by Arun Shourie who, as the Executive Editor of The Indian Express, exposed the then Maharashtra Chief Minister AR Antulay and brought down his government. The investigative reports that I read in IE made me admire the person and his great qualities: conviction, commitment, courage and crusade against corruption.
As a journalist, I have been contributing articles on various social issues to different newspapers and websites for over three decades. The journey has been quite challenging. I have faced numerous hurdles during the journey and it is my strong conviction that I should fight for a right cause helps me sustain it.
In 2005, I wrote an investigative feature article on ‘tsunami relief work’ to an American news website. In the article, I had mentioned about a local NGO’s failure to utilize the fund it received from an international organization properly. The NGO threatened me with legal action. I was advised by my family and friends to not write about “sensitive issues”. Again, it was my conviction that helped me carry on my journey as a journalist.
I consider translating my vision into mission and carrying out the mission with conviction, commitment and courage is my spirituality.
My spirituality is both my state of being and also the process of moving from being to becoming. It is both static and dynamic. For me becoming means blossoming and blossoming means to value my integrity. It is progressing from one state to another state. I feel there is an innate need in me to blossom. That is my spirituality.
For me being spiritual means having a sense of purpose and living it. The purpose is to have a thirst for peace, to stand for truth and fight for justice. I realize that it is not always easy to lead such a purposeful life. The clash between the mind and the heart at times makes me go off the track. Then I feel that I am less spiritual than I should be.
I am not an island. I am part of a family and society. I depend on them; they depend on me. We depend on one another. This interdependence creates the need for me to connect with others. The connection becomes meaningful when I translate my purpose into action. I feel the need for showing uncompromising adherence to certain principles and values, I call it integrity. For me, my integrity is my spirituality and my spirituality is my identity.
The joy of carrying out my responsibilities as a journalist is a wonderful spiritual experience. I face nnumerous challenges while being on a spiritual journey. For me being spiritual means being ethical and committed to my profession. At times, the working environment forces me not to be ethical and go off the track. My inner voice says that I should be on the track. When I am ethically challenged, I feel that I am spiritually challenged.
As a reflective journalist, I want to add meaning to my profession and through this vocation; I put my spirituality into practice. My spirituality demands me to write about the decaying education system, police atrocities, custodial torture, custodial deaths, violation of rights, etc. I consider writing about and discussing these issues as my spiritual experience and spiritual journey.
I cease to be spiritual when I am silent on issues that need to be condemned. I cease to be spiritual when I justify inequality and glorify cruelty. I cease to be spiritual when I am reluctant to call a spade a spade. I cease to be spiritual when I allow the powerful to gain the upper hand over the powerless. I cease to be spiritual when I fail to be the voice of the voiceless.
About the Author:
Dr. Albert P’Rayan is a journalist and columnist based in Chennai. He contributes columns to The New Indian Express and The Hindu. As a freelancer, he also writes to other publications on educational and social issues. He can be contacted at rayanal@yahoo.co.uk
