Mindy Kaling tells Oprah Winfrey about spiritual connection to late mom

Feb. 7 (UPI) -- Mindy Kaling discussed her spiritual connection to her late mom in a new interview with Oprah Winfrey.

The 38-year-old actress said in an episode of SuperSoul Sunday that "divine timing" was behind her show The Mindy Project being greenlighted the same day as her mom's death.

"It was such a long shot that it would travel to Fox," Kaling said of the show. "That was, I think, divine timing. As though, when she passed away, there was something she was able to help me [with] in another way."

"It was within an hour, actually," she said of the show being picked up after her mom's death. "It was very strange."

Kaling told Winfrey she still feels her mom's presence, in part because of their close relationship in life.

"I've been surprised at how my relationship with her has continued even though she's not here," the star said. "I think that comes from the fact that when you know someone so well, you know what they would think in any situation."

"If something comes up in the news or even if I'm trying on an outfit in the morning, I can look in the mirror and know what she would think," she added. "I will have the most vivid dreams of her."

Kaling's mom, Swati Roysircar, died in January 2012 after battling pancreatic cancer. Kaling told InStyle in 2015 that The Mindy Project, which ended in November after a six-season run, gave her an outlet following her mom's death.

"I was very lucky that the show started up at that time so I could just throw myself into it and distract myself," she said. "But the truth is, even though it's been three years, it still feels like it just happened. I remember the sound of her voice so distinctly."

Kaling and Winfrey co-star with Reese Witherspoon in Disney's new adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time, which opens in theaters March 9.