Joy Bimal Roy

Joy Bimal Roy is a sweet, lovable soul. He lives in Mumbai, and the minute I walked into his home I was struck by the larger-than-life image of Bimal Roy, his late father, who was a legendary film producer from the 1950s and 1960s. Under this massive portrait are many of Bimal Roy’s Filmfare awards, the Indian equivalent of the Oscar. Growing up in the shadow of his famous father, and then the absence of his father after his untimely death, deeply shaped Joy. And yet, Joy shared with me that he made a decision to be happy. He made a decision to believe in a higher power and in his guru...and these two things bring him peace.

I was unsure how to understand what it meant to have a guru—was the guru God or was the guru one’s chosen messenger? Was it like the relationship that Christians have with Jesus, or was it more like one’s rebbe? The answer that I have come to understand is that a guru is a divinely sent teacher perfectly chosen by God, to facilitate the next stage of your journey. I think this is a beautiful thing because the spiritual journey is front and center in Indian society and culture. The internal journey is understood to be mission-critical to life. I’ve heard it said that India runs on faith (because if you’ve been there, there is no explanation for how it would run otherwise!).

My interview with Joy taught me that the most important choices we can make in life are a choice to be happy, and a choice to believe in a universal connectedness bigger than ourselves.