Nobody looked at me: Rajinikanth recalls a spiritual visit that crushed his ego

Rajinikanth recounted his stay at The Art of Living International Centre while sharing the stage with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in Bengaluru. He said an ashram visit where no one even looked at him humbled him and showed him the power of spirituality.

In Short

• The actor spoke during the ashram’s 45th year and birthday celebrations
• He described how his visit crushed his ego
• Rajinikanth said that a planned two-day visit unexpectedly turned into a 15-day stay

Legendary actor Rajinikanth recounted a memorable visit to The Art of Living International Centre where nobody even looked at him. He said that the visit taught him the power of spirituality and what real stardom meant. He spoke about the incident during a talk held on the occasion of 45 years of the ashram and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's 70th birthday celebrations in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

Sharing the stage with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, whom he referred to as Gurudev, Rajinikanth told the audience how a stay that was meant to last two days eventually stretched to 15. He once again brought the roof down with a humbling story that made everyone laugh.

Rajinikanth said he was struck by the beauty of the ashram when he first arrived there. "Full greenery, lake, and people, all of them smiling and happy. There was an elephant, horses, hundreds of cows... One of the horses' names was Rajini," he said, drawing laughter from the audience.

The actor said he had initially planned a short stay. "I planned to stay for two days, but ended up staying for 15 days," the superstar, who was seated on a chair next to Gurudev, told the gathering. He also mentioned that the ashram was among his favourite places after the Himalayas.

He then narrated an incident that he said opened his eyes to something profound. During his stay, Rajinikanth said Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had asked him if he wanted to accompany him for a darshan on a special day that saw a lot of devotees. As a popular star, he said, he wanted to avoid a situation in which large numbers of people would gather around him to meet him or ask for autographs.

"I thought naturally people would be there and they would recognise me. I also saw many people from Tamil Nadu... There were hundreds of people. I'm not lying, not even a single person looked at me," Rajinikanth said, prompting laughter from the audience again.

He added, "Forget about photos and autographs, not even a single person looked at or spoke to me. I was waving but no one saw. I have met many politicians and industrialists, but this experience crushed my ego actually," Rajinikanth said.

According to the actor, the experience made him reflect on the power of spirituality. "It disturbed my mind. But, that day I understood the power of spirituality. Stardom comes and goes, maybe it stays for a while. But this [spiritual] stardom is supreme stardom. Even after death, that kind of stardom stays forever. In fact, it grows," he said.

Soon, the speech went viral, with many appreciating Rajinikanth's public speaking skills and comic timing. Andhra Pradesh Cabinet minister Lokesh Nara shared the video and explained how he loved every bit of his speech.

Director Karthik Subbaraj, who helmed Rajinikanth's Petta, noted that the superstar delivered a funny speech that imparted a life lesson about ego.

Rajinikanth also said he was blessed to be sitting beside Gurudev at the event.

On the work front, Rajinikanth was last seen in director Lokesh Kanagaraj's Coolie. The actor has recently wrapped up the shooting of Jailer 2 with director Nelson Dilipkumar. The film, produced by Sun Pictures, is slated for a grand release in August, as per reports. Meanwhile, he also has a film with Kamal Haasan, which marks their reunion after 47 years, in the pipeline.

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