As they say, spiritualism is different from being religious and here is a spiritual exponent who says that ‘life is meant for just living.’ Shoukkath’s birth in a Muslim family did not prevent him from living the kind of life he chose to live. This spiritual author from Guruvayur says he finds much solace in the Himalayas and Upanishads. His seventh book titled ‘Mounapoorvam,’ which was released in the city on Thursday, narrates some of the spiritual trips he has made to several pilgrim centres and his meeting with several saints and other serious religious followers. “I had no plans of becoming a writer. But somewhere I wanted to store the treasured memories of my travels and thus these books were born. In ‘Mounapoorvam,’ I have included some interesting incidents which include my trip to Kudajadiri when I was a small boy. Just like any other time, even in those days religion reigned the skies but I was skeptical in the beginning itself. My family was supportive to my way of life and that boosted my confidence further to move forward. My first major trip was to the Kudajadiri hills in Mookambika and I stayed there for 10 days. This was a blissful experience and I must say things took different routes from there. Later on I also got the glorious opportunity to travel to the Himalayas and I have been undertaking trips to the Himalayas continuously for the past eight years,” says Shoukath, further adding that the essence of his seventh book is all about those trips. The book has also included some articles on Ramana Maharishi, Fr Francis and a lot more about philosophies also. “I am not all religious and hence I feel my Upanishad studies won’t upset an Islamic priest or a Hindu saint. It’s sad that people club together religion and spiritualism on the same thread. I believe in Sufism also. In each religious theory, there is something more than simply worship,” he adds. Shoukath’s previous works were ‘Bhakthi Yethiyude Norvachanam’, ‘ N i t h y a t h a r a n g a m ’ , ‘Daivathinu Oru Thuranna Katthu’, ‘Himalayam, ‘Mozhiyazham’ and ‘Athmavil Ninnu Jeevithathilekke.’ ‘Himalayam’ had fetched the author the Kerala Sahithya Akademi Award in 2007. “I am also an enthusiast of Buddhism and hence my next work will be on such a theme,” he says.