God is One

"On an altar of prejudice we crucify our own; yet the blood of all children is the colour of God." 

~ Don Williams Jr

A beautiful morning to everyone. I apologise for starting with a rather grave quote today, however, let's try and understand the gravity of these words and turn that understanding into positive learning. Today, 30th September, 2010, India prepares for a court verdict that will change the course of history forever. The Ayodhya debate will get its verdict and as the Supreme Court prepares to pass judgment at 3:30 pm IST, India waits with bated breath.

This story rewinds to 1992, when the Babri Mosque in Ayodha, Uttar Pradesh was demolished by a group of 150,000 fundamentalists. Their grouse - a temple built to commemorate Lord Rama's birthplace was pulled-down and the mosque was constructed in its place. Historically, this mosque was built in 1527 by Babur, the first Moghul emperor. Now, there are four versions regarding this site. We have the Hindu version, a Jain version, a Muslim version and a British version! I am not going to get into details of each version but I want to try and understand why, why do we intentionally hurt God in the way we do.

As I was thinking about God this morning, it hurt to see what we've reduced God to. We address him differently, we worship differently, we call out to him differently and he's absolutely okay with that. All holy scriptures are based on love - love, truth, goodness, caring, sharing, giving, helping, kindness etc. Why, why then do so many kill in the name of God? In his name!

God is the very embodiment of love and peace. He allowed us our religions, and all religions, all of them have one common message - love. God believes in equality and all religions are equal, who then are we to decide for one another on what's right and what's wrong religiously?

Our race is ever-so involved with deciding for one another on behalf of God, that most trouble-makers lose the purpose of their cause. If anyone claims God as their purpose violence and religious wars, I'd like to tell them to begin with the truth. Let's be honest with ourselves, look within and begin by understanding God, get to know him, get to know him through yourself. As you begin your journey, you will realise that God is praying that you don't associate any sort of violence for him and with him. Understand that, believe that and it begins with you, once you understand that, you can then pass-on God's message to another. 

God never perpetrated violence; in fact he is the exact opposite of it. God (no matter we call him - God, Jesus, Rama, Allah, Yahweh or anything else) is peace-loving who wants us to live our lives for one another. We're all connected by the very purpose of our cause - our cause towards the very center of our beings, our souls, our truth and finding God through that truth. Everything in life should begin and end with God and that God teaches us love, peace, understanding, humility, caring, sharing and so much more. God wants us to discard our swords and join our hands in prayer and peace and call out to him.

He is calling us all now, all of us as members of his kingdom, all his children - yes, he has made us differently, but he has made us well. Who are we to question the difference when God planned for us anyway?

As we begin this morning, let's all close our eyes, join our hearts and hands spiritually and pray; pray that no matter what, peace prevails in this world (which is one of God's gifts to us), that each of us get more understanding of one another's beliefs, that our hearts reach out to one each other, that we begin each day by promising God to live it in his eyes, by changing at least one person's life for the better daily, and by truly, truly understanding God. God, we love you and we thank you for this life, but we need you here and now. We know that with all of us eternally and we hope that pray that all the people who've drawn swords, discard them and join hands in prayer instead.

Prayer - one of our most precious gifts, understanding - one of our most needed traits and love - one of our most beautiful blessings. This is God's message, this is God's wish for us, this is our purpose to our lives. Our paths to ourselves may differ, but we have one common goal - love. A love so true, so precious, so pure, so complete, so eternal, that experiencing it brings tears to our very mortal eyes. These tears are tears of humility and gratefulness because God loves us all so much, so very much.

Have a fabulously blessed and peaceful day everyone. :)

Faith, Faith in our God

The eternal looked upon me for a moment with his eyes of power, and annihilated me in his being, and became manifest to me in his essence. I saw I existed through him. 

~ Rumi

A fabulously beautiful morning everyone. I feel like there's a beautiful ocean gushing through me this morning. Each wave is sweeping through my being, cleansing me, emptying my soul of any negative thoughts (doubt, worry, distrust, assumption, over-analysis etc.) and leaving me with quiet peace that comes only from God. God, our creator, teacher, saviour, best-friend. As I think about the quote above by Rumi, I realise how easily we let God down.

Think about it - most of us believe in ourselves, believe in our friends, family, pets... why then is it so difficult for us to believe in God, trust in him and believe that everything coming our way has a lesson for our soul. As I close my eyes and feel the seed of doubt wash away, I let my soul rest in God' presence. Yesterday, the seed of doubt threatened to find its place in my heart based on an assumption - this negative emotion disturbed my peace and while I recognised the cause of my spiritual discomfort, my soul had a wrestling match within. I was determined to let good win and when it became too much for me to handle, I left it all to God. I spoke to him and told him that I loved him and that I left everything to him. I believe in his plan for me and I was following his lead. I went to bed and woke up at peace this morning.

As I greeted God, life and my guardian angel a very good morning, beautiful peace encompassed my being and my faith in the good Lord has been re-enforced. This is the magic of God, the beautiful mystery of his very presence, the sanctity of his love for us, his beautiful gifts in the form of our guardian angels, family, friends and people we meet who influence our lives in one way or another. God wants us and hopes that we believe without seeing and this is what we must do. As the calm ocean in me continues to cleanse my soul, I feel nothing but grateful for experiencing God's love.

So many look externally for love, peace and happiness, but all you need to do is look internally. You'll experience God right there, in you. And if you simply must look outside, then look over your shoulder and you'll see your beautiful guardian angel flitting its wings, look at your family and friends who will always be there, look at a stranger across the street and smile... and when he/she returns your smile, you realise how beautiful that smile is, a smile - a quiet sign of acknowledgement and very often a quite sign of God.

I am thrilled that God washed away the evil seeds of doubt. You see sometimes, what starts as a small doubt grows into something that we can't even imagine. What's worse is that if a doubt is based on an assumption (most often than not it is), then the reason for doubt itself is a fallacy. Doubt feeds on doubt and before we even know it, it grows into something we fail to control. This ugly growth then consumes our being, our very soul and we live life trying to protect and/or change situations based on a doubt that was born from assumption in the first place! This sort of life is a lie and any lie is harmful for our soul and spirit. 

So instead of letting this grow and take hold of our lives, why don't we get rid of it at the root? It's simple talk to God, believe in him, request him to work through you and he will. Remember, God made us all in his likeness - whether, it's Bhagwan Shri Krishna, Shri Ramji, Saraswati, Jesus... they were all human whose purity and goodness transcended this world. The teachings, the written word is based more on life than religion. And if you find reading holy scripture too tedious, just call on God in anyway you can and any way you want. He is listening to you - all he really wants you to do is call on him in faith - believe in him and leave the rest up to him.

I like life to beautiful bouquet of red roses - it has lovely soft petals, the straight hard stalks and thorns. The lovely soft petals represent the happy, good time, the straight stalks represent paths that we choose and the thorns represent some of life's hardest but most important lessons; we may get pricked, bleed but it's through those droplets of blood that we learn our lessons. We're all here to fulfill our own karmas and help others fulfill theirs too. God wants us to follow his word, spread it and sow the seeds to faith - first in ourselves and then in everyone else. Faith, we often make it seem like the hardest thing, but it really is the easiest thing to do. Faith in our creator who put us here in the first place - because of whom we experience love, peace, joy, pain and a lot of other emotions; because of whom we experience a new day (no matter how that day may unfold), because of whom we are able to enjoy the chirping of a bird, the flitting of a butterfly, the roar of a lion, the feel of raindrops and so very much more. Our creator, our God, has given us so much, so come let's all believe him in faith. Let's all sow our seeds of faith today... let's begin with ourselves and them helps everyone else who may have a problem sowing the seeds. We know God through ourselves because this is where God is, God is with all of us, at all times. 

God is waiting for his beautiful garden to bloom even more than it already is... let's sow our seeds of faith in God and water them with belief and love.

Have a fabulously blessed day everyone. :)             

Our Guardian Angels

God not only sends special angels into our lives, but sometimes. He even sends them back again if we forget to take notes the first time! 

~ Quoted in The Angels' Little Instruction Book by Eileen Elias Freeman, 1994

A blissfully, peaceful morning everyone. :) As the bright September sun kissed my cheek and my ritualistic morning silence ran through my being, I allowed my mind to go back to a beautiful dream I had a couple of days ago. I dreamed of my great-grandmother, my darling nana (she passed away in March 2003, just five days shy of her 103rd birthday). I dreamed that she sat next to me, cupped my face in her hands and told me that she loved me. I told her that I loved her too and as if on cue, my sleep had a peaceful end. As I drifted back to full consciousness, I felt a great sense of peace, a great sense of tranquility, a great sense of love, a great sense of godliness.

I believe that this was God's way and her way of telling me that she is right here, with me, always and forever. You see, I was thinking of her a lot a few days ago and I told God that I needed her... and he helped me realise that she is here with me, eternally. All of us have our guardian angels - they're constantly guiding us, leading us and loving us. They speak really softly and want us to listen. And you know what, we really can listen, if we quieten our minds, and help it work in cooperation with our hearts and souls, we will be able to hear some of the most beautiful lessons and the most melodious music.

Angels come to us in all forms, shapes and sizes and transcend the spiritual and physical realm. My nana is my darling guardian angel from the very holy spiritual realm, my family and soul sisters are my angels in the physical realm, darling animals are angels in their own way. So, what do we really understand about our angels? Do you know that they are an integral part of who we are and who we may or may not become. God blessed us with them and we must respect his blessing and thank him for his generosity.

Besides guiding us, our angels help us realise, understand and follow some of life's most important lessons. Each of us have different destinies to fulfill and different paths to follow - all our lessons come is different ways and may present themselves in different situations; however, all lessons have a common goal - spiritual enhancement that begins in love, caring and sharing.

My beautiful guardian angel, my darling nana - oh how I miss her. I learned to love, simply love from her. She loved without expectation, she loved because that is how she lived her life. Love = God = Life - this was her mantra. I remember that little things brought her joy; she was happiest when she combed my wet hair, woke me up every morning ever so gently, read the newspapers, sewed or playfully teased my brother. :) She lived her life for everyone else and her life's purpose was fulfilled because she spread love in whatever way she could. Whether she lent someone a listening ear, offered words of comfort or just prayed her silent prayer all through the day. When she passed away, she may have been in physical pain (on account of a fall she in the months leading up to her passing), however, her spirit was soaring. I was present when I looked in her eyes as her soul chose to leave this physical world. There was no struggle, no grasping on to life, there was peace, there was nana following God and believing in him as she always did.

My eyes well-up as I type out the last paragraph, however, they're tears of thankfulness; thankfulness for my nana, thankfulness for her selfless love for everyone and thankfulness for her continuing presence in my life. My darling nana, my guardian angel is here, with me as I write this and she wants you all to know that all of you have a guardian angel too. All our angels are in the spiritual world and the physical one - it's now our chance to really listen to them, embrace, be thankful for and to them and to learn whatever we need to from them.

As I think back and imbibe all that my darling nana taught me and continues to teach me, I am blessed. I leaned that love in its truest, purest form is selfless love - devoid of attachments and expectations... love is love. I've learned that caring, sharing and giving is our second nature - a nature we lose along the way, a nature that's waiting for us to realise and accept its presence in our lives. I've learned that loss is a part of life's lesson - loss helps us realise life's true riches and strengthens our spirits in a way that only loss can. I've learned that tears of joy calm us and tears of sorrow purify our soul. I've learned that while it's easy to realise these lessons and so very many more, practicing them requires disciple, humbleness and love - and this is my continuing lesson. This is my continuous process of learning - to live like this always... and boy am I still learning. :)

As I get ready to begin another day in love, caring and sharing, I know that God and my darling guardian angel, my darling nana will guide me and lead me on, all I have to do is follow. As my heart feels a physical gush of love, I imagine a sea of rose petals going out into this world. A world full of people, nature and animals - all of whom want and need our love, all of whom have a beautiful guardian angel just like yours and mine watching over them, all of who need to talk to their guardian angels, just like you and I do.

As I begin my day, I tell my darling nana, my guardian angel that I love her, always have and always will and I pray to her and ask her to help me live my day in love. Love, love, the heartbeat of this beautiful gift from God, this beautiful universe.

Have a fabulously blessed day everyone. :)

P.S: This one's for you my darling nana.

Your True Self

Are you quiet? Quieten your body.

Quieten your mind.

By your own efforts

Waken yourself, watch,

And live joyfully.

Follow the truth of the way.

Reflect upon it.

Make it your own.

Live it.

~ Buddha from the Dhammapada

A very, very good morning everyone. I woke up beautifully this morning with a smooth transition from sleep to consciousness. The blink-and-miss-it moments between our sleep and awakening tells us a little something about the state of our minds, if we pay attention. After wishing God, my guardian angel (my nana) a good morning and blowing life a kiss, I decided to quieten my mind, rein it in, listen to my heartbeat, pay attention to my breathing. I realised that I was going into Vipassana mode and as my second course begins in less than a month, my heart remembers a beautiful couple I met on my recent trip to Jaipur.

Taiji (aunt) and taoji (uncle) are a friends relatives who I just met. They opened their hearts and home while we were in Jaipur and insisted that we stay with them (all this in spite of meeting us for the first time). Since we were three women travellers, they believed that we'd be safer in their home. We were served tasty food the moment we arrived and taiji and taoji embraced us with open arms... literally. The peace, satisfaction, love and calmness on their faces and in their hearts was palpable. We were enamoured. We later learnt that the beautiful couple lost everything financially on account of taoji's accident. There was a time, when this lovely couple didn't have a square meal to feed their own children. We learnt that after the accident, taiji devoted her life and breath to taoji and her children. During course of conversation, we learnt that in spite of everything, taoji completed 14 Vipassana courses and taiji had done four! As I sat and listened to them, I realised that taiji and taoji learnt only to love and share... they not only practiced Vipassana, they lived it. It's Vipassana and their belief and faith in the good Lord that helped them through times that could break even the strongest.

Ever since I started practicing Vipassana, I noticed how this form of mediation helps one grow in love, faith and belief. Vipassana meditation helps us get in-touch with ourselves - our minds. It reintroduces us to a part that's constantly on a roller-coaster. It helps us understand our mind and it's through that understanding, we eventually understand ourselves. I've always looked up to my spiritual gurus and used them as examples of spiritual living. I've often faced questions regarding how feasible a spiritual life is in this world we live in. I've never had a problem following the spiritual path in a layman's world; and now taiji and taoji reaffirm my belief that spirituality can find its place in this world. In fact, it's right here, here and now, stop, feel and experience. The real question is - will we allow it to make its place or will we find excuses for its absence?

Each and everyone of us are born spiritual, we'e born holy, we 're born pure. We lose our true selves along the way, but instead of focusing on the loss, we must change our focus to reconnecting and rediscovering our true self. The self - it's through this self that we will find God. Vipassana is one of the ways, one of the paths to finding our true selves. Whether we choose to read The Bhagavad Gita, The Bible, The Torah, Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sogyal Rinpooche, books from the Rigpa, the Buddhist percepts or any other spiritual literature - they begin with love. Love - true love for someone else, is loving oneself first. We often see in someone else, what we see in ourselves.

Let's conduct a little exercise: when you wake up tomorrow, try and observe how you see and feel about the world. If you're feeling cheery and happy and see beauty in everything (and I mean everything), then your mind is at peace and it's working in cooperation with your heart. In case you feel otherwise, then it's time to take a closer look at the state of your mind. Don't focus on the problem, all of us have one problem or another, focus instead on what you can do to solve it. Remember, sometimes God burns bridges, but believe that there is a path there you can cross. You can and you will. A problem is never a problem unless we want it to become one. A problem is a mere learning, an essential learning on the path to spiritual enhancement. Accepting all learnings will be easier only when you know yourself, you truly now yourself, your mind, your truth, you.

It's a simple beginning; begin by observing yourself, observing your breath, and slowly making your way within. When you go within, you may want to run back out and may be you will, but try again and again and again. Most of us, are just scratching the surface when it comes to ourselves and it's okay... as long as we've begun the journey.

Vipassana helps us understand that the good and the bad will change. When we experience joy, it natural for us to grasp at it and want it to stay in our lives forever; when we experience pain, it's natural for us to run away from it and in effect we run away from life's most important lessons (and of course there are a host of emotions and feelings in between). But remember, all things good and all things bad are temporary - there's nothing we can do except to accept the situation, enjoy them, learn from them, live through them and enhance our souls in the process.

Getting to know ourselves must start now, it's now. Vipassana enhances our journey, but sometimes we can begin ourselves by devoting a specific time in the day or night to quiet contemplation. The journey to ourselves is one of the longest ones we will ever undertake, but it's one that helps us realise who we truly are and truly discover God, truly discover God.

Today, I'd like to leave you with a quote from Vipassana, "This too shall change." Remember, if you're having a good time, revel in it, cherish it, love it and feel it for what it is; never rue its end, celebrate instead that it happened. In case you're going through a tough time, embrace it wholeheartedly, remember with faith that God has a lesson in there and once you've learnt your lesson or someone else has learnt theirs, your situation will change. Don't run, just embrace, accept and believe... and if things get too hard, look up at the sky, talk to God and believe that your guardian angel is right with you... here and now.

Have a fabulously blessed day everyone. :)

One Soulful Step at a Time

Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi (I undertake the training rule to abstain from taking life)

Adinnādānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi (I undertake the training rule to abstain from taking what is not given)

Kāmesu micchācāra veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi (I undertake the training rule to abstain from sexual misconduct)

Musāvāda veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi (I undertake the training rule to abstain from false speech)

Surā-meraya-majja-pamādaṭṭhānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi (I undertake the training rule to abstain from fermented drink that causes heedlessness)

A lovely, blessed morning everyone, I am back after a week of travelling and I begin today's post with contemplation on Buddha's five percepts. As I look back over the last week, I know that I am blessed to have met all the people I did; royalty, ministers, people from the arts, doctors, filmmakers and industrialists. All came from varied backgrounds, lived in different homes but all of them had one thing in common - they had a soul and acknowledged its presence and importance in their lives.

Career achievements was one thing, soul achievements was another. All of them are following their soul purpose; all of them broke preset moulds to get where they are and all of them are humble enough to admit that they are fulfilling their own destinies in God's time. They are all following God's plan and living it and that's where their sense of accomplishment truly lies. All of them admitted that when one follows God's plan, it feels right from within. It will give you a sense of peace and strength of spirit like nothing else. 

As I sit back and think of what each of them said, a few telling things come back to me: ex-minister Jaswant Singh telling me that his real friends are his books, blue-blooded designer Raghavendra Rathore hoping that he can facilitate positive change and trying his best to revive Indian culture through design, creator of the Jaipur foot - Dr Devendra Mehta on his effort to change people's lives one foot at a time, filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya who tries to highlight the importance of family values that are quickly lost on the younger generation... Indeed, change comes in different forms for different people. What's important is that all these people are on a continuous journey of soul-fulfillment and they are trying to help others get in-touch with their soul purpose too. Different people, different instruments of change, one soul-purpose. All of them are living soulfully, sharing their humbleness and living their change - for themselves and everyone else. 

I close my eyes and say a prayer of thanks: thank you God for giving me an opportunity to meet people who true purpose in life was to initiate change for the better. Thank you for blessing me enough to experience their humbleness and humility. Thank you, thank you. And you know what, each of them practiced Buddha's five percepts in one way or another. Here are just a couple of examples that personify Buddha's percepts and of course a few things that we can apply in our own lives.  

Dr Devendra Mehta said, "Us human can't even create an ant, what then gives us the right to kill?" Raghavendra Rathore said, "I can't think of politics at the moment. If I promise to put up a medical camp and fail to deliver, it will play on my conscious and I will not be able to live with myself." - If we read Buddha's percepts, we realise that they follow them. Whether we begin our day with Buddha's texts, the Bhagavad Gita, books by Sri Ramana Maharshi, the Bible, the Torah or any other spiritual book - we realise that all of them give us the same message, the same values for life.

All these successful people attributed their success to their life's calling - in other words, following God's plan. This begins by being true to ourself, true to our calling, true to our God, true to our destiny. It's time to stop, breathe, look within and ask ourselves a simple life-changing question: am I doing what the good Lord has planned for me? Am I following him? Am I allowing him to lead me on? Am I humble enough to accept that he knows best? I believe that God held my hand and led me through the last week - from buzzing Delhi to busy Jaipur to the peace and tranquility of Jodhpur. As I drove through the hot, hot desert, I saw people who found their peace in themselves, in God and in culture. Lessons in simplicity, humility, humbleness and truthfulness.

As I found myself back in noisy Mumbai city, I realise that I left a part of my heart in the hot Jodhpur desert... and I am glad for it. I am counting my blessings again and I realise that God is keeping on adding them to our kitty. I've learned how to look within and find my peace, now it's time for me to spread that peace and happiness to as many people, animals and nature as I can.

Life is about finding oneself and them helping everyone else to do the same. This is one of the many lessons I learned over the last week. Come, let's find ourselves and help others find themselves and their soul-purpose too. God is right here, guiding us, leading us and loving us. Let's embrace him and embark on the journey of a lifetime. That's all we have to do... begin with faith and love. 

Have a fabulously blessed day everyone. :) 

Journey On...

"It is better to travel well than to arrive." ~ Buddha

It's 45 minutes to midnight here and as I packed the last item of clothing, this line hit home. I have a flight to board in six hours and as I make my way towards Delhi, Jaipur and Jodhpur (for the latest book), I am quite sure Buddha's reference to travel is metaphorical. Even then, I can't help but draw similarities between the metaphor and literal sense.

'Life is a journey' may be one of the most overused phrases, however how many of us understand that the journey refers to a spiritual one. Our spiritual journey here on Earth determines the well-being of our soul. When Buddha stated the above, he meant that it is always better to travel well because having arrived means the ceasing of the journey; in effect the end of our spiritual path. As long as we're on Earth, it's imperative to travel metaphorically and literally. Our spiritual journeys and physical ones introduce us to people, cultures and different ways of lives. 

It's spiritually enhancing to see and experience how different regions, call for different ways of life. And amidst all these dissimilarities, we discover a common thread - the bond of love; the lifeline that connects us all. As I ready for my travel, I am excited about research and interviews for the book, but also about discovering the people and the place. While Delhi is a buzzing city quite like any other, I can't wait to get to Jaipur and Jodhpur, run my fingers through the desert sand, watch every individual grain glisten and make their way back to the desert. Our spiritual life is quite like the desert sand; we are all tiny grains in the larger scheme of God's plan. When life holds out its fist and grasps us, eventually the beautiful wind comes and frees us as we make our way back to the desert... to fit into the larger scheme of God's plan.

Yes, life is a journey and we may face bends, sharp turns, smooth highways and pot-holed roads along the way, however, our spiritual learning is priceless. Remember, when God presents us with one problem, he also presents us with several solutions; our real problems lie with us focusing on the problem instead of the solution.

Whenever we feel the desert sun beating down on us, look around and we will see a family that makes up the whole world who are right there with us. We have a long way to travel and our journey has only begun, let's accept God's plan for us and allow him to lead us on.

As I get ready to catch some shut-eye before my flight, I leave you all with lots of love, prayers, blessings and peace. I may not be able to write daily over the next week, but I promise to do so when I can. In the meanwhile, know this; I am praying for you and with you every day. And as I send out my prayers and blessings to you, I believe that the good Lord is showering you all with his choicest blessings always and forever.

Have a fabulously blessed day everyone and an even better week. :) I may not be writing for the next week on account of my travels, but please know that each of you are in my heart and prayers always. God bless you all eternally.

P.S: I can't wait to write back. I know our good Lord has a beautiful adventure planned and I will have so much more to share in a week. :)   

Walking with God

"Weave in faith and God will find the thread." ~ Author Unknown

Good morning everyone, as the sun plays hide-n-seek (again) this morning, I am confirming travel plans for this week. Last week was quite hectic conducting back-to-back interviews and it seems like this one is going into overdrive. As my plans for a quiet week seem to dissolve, I believe that God is taking me where he wants me to be. Indeed, he has a beautiful plan in-store and as I prepare for a marathon week of interviewing a fresh set of people for the latest book, I know there's learning and a spiritual adventure in the wings.

Most of us, at some point or another, wished that we were elsewhere - in a different place, different country, different time and probably as different people. But no matter how much we'd like to change our present situation and no matter what the situation is, we must believe that we are in the exact place God wants us to be. If the place and/or circumstances are tough, then God has a lesson in those situations, and if things are going fabulously well, then we're there to help another person in need. I believe that God puts us in certain places, at certain times as a part of his plan in the larger scheme of things. We're all connected by a common bond - love, and we must assist one another when needed. God puts us in certain places, helps us come across certain people and face certain situations because there is a lesson there for us and others.

It's normal to aspire to do better, move to a better place, change one's situation for the better; but remember, that before God's blesses us with the fruits of something better, he hopes that we understand and learn from our current situation. Sometimes, bigger is not always better, sometimes we lose our souls in our quest for change. I've learned that if God wills change, he will grant it to us. We put in the effort and the change will come. However, if God wishes otherwise, no matter what we do, we will find ourselves in the same situation. One may physically be able to change one's surroundings, but spiritually and mentally one is where one was to begin with.

This is where or faith comes in. We must have faith in our good Lord and trust him enough to know that we all are where we're meant to be. We are in a certain place to learn and to share what we've learned. I'd like to use myself as an example here: Exactly six months ago I was in two-minds about my next career move. I had quit the magazine I was writing for and I was in a 'what-next' situation. I knew I wanted to do something concrete in terms of my writing, and just lifestyle writing saturated me. I remember sitting on my bed, looking skywards and asking God to guide me, please just guide me and I will follow. About 15 minutes later, my current company called and asked me to meet with them the following day. Towards the end of the meeting, they offered me a position with all their coffee table books. Books, books - this is just what I wanted. Spiritually it felt right. I smiled because again, God answered me. I spoke to him and he answered me.

Here I was fretting about my next move and all I had to do was turn to God and ask him to guide me. I used a career as an example, however, if we sit down and introspect, we'll find how God guides us through everything: our relationships, careers, travel plans... everything. Indeed, some situations bring pain that is hard to comprehend but remember, God does not want us to comprehend our pain, he just wants us to accept it. There is great learning in pain and tears sanctify our spirits. Some situations make us tremendously happy and God wants us to enjoy that and share it with people less fortunate. Pain is about acceptance and having faith and trust in the Lord, happiness is about sharing and caring for other. And of course all the other emotions have little gems of lessons in themselves. The point is, no matter what the situation, our good Lord has take us there and he has brought us there as a part of his plan. In this journey of life, there will springs, summers, autumns, winters, monsoons and sometimes a mix of seasons - just like changing seasons, situations in life change too. Change and acceptance should be second nature; trust and faith in our good Lord the first.

About a year and a half ago, a very dear friend told me, "You know what, you could be planning something and then something totally different happens." I agree with him, but I also believe that whatever happens, happens according to God's will.

Remember, if God brings you to it, he will take you through it. Just have faith in him and trust him. When in doubt, talk to him, and he will answer you in his time. God answers us when he knows that we're spiritually ready for the answer, when we're spiritually ready for the change.

"God understands our prayers even when we can't find the words to say them" ~ Author Unknown

Have a fabulously blessed day everyone. :) 

Knock, Knock: Death's Here

A very good-day everyone; it's brilliantly sunny here and as a light breeze and chirping birds dance to God's music, I smile. How good God is and what lovely blessings he has showered upon us. Indeed, while we revel in our blessings and fulfill our destinies on Earth, we must spend a part of our life preparing for death. 'Death' - most of us regard death as a negative phenomenon; but death is a mere phase, a transition our soul makes, from one life to another. Death isn't the end, but a continuation. We've learned to grasp onto life and fear death, and there lies our folly.

Lama Sogyal Rinpoche (a Tibetan Dzogchen Lama of the Nyingma tradition. He is founder and spiritual director of 'Rigpa' - an international network of over 100 Buddhist centers spread across Europe, America, Australia and Asia) narrated a story told by a man to Dr. Kenneth Ring (professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Connecticut and a researcher in the field of near-death studies). The following excerpt is also included in his best-selling book - 'The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying'.

I realised that there are things that every person is sent to Earth to realise and learn. For instance, to share more love, to be more loving toward one another. To discover that the most important thing is human relationships and love, not materialistic things. And to realise that every single thing that you do in your life is recorded and that even though you pass it by not thinking at the time, it always comes up later.

Preparing for death doesn't mean that we cease living; it simply means that we're urged to live fuller lives. Do we truly understand how precious life is? Or are we just use to living it, that death is a far flung thought? When I talk about preparing for death, I talk about being aware that this time is transitional, I mean that the time to give ourselves some soul-food is now, the time to love, care, share, live our lives in goodness is now, the time to realise that our true wealth lies within our soul which is essentially good, is now.

The only time, most of us truly acknowledge death is when we lose a loved one. We mourn our loss, realise for a little while how short life is and then get caught up in the usual humdrum... again. Do you really, really want to know what a near-death experience is like? Try talking to a person who has survived a terror attack, a fatal accident or a life-threatening illness. While experiencing a near-death situation is different from listening to one, the narration helps us come to terms with our own mortality. I reiterate that like life, death is transitional, a phase from one life to another, one realm to the next; but preparation for it is important. We must begin preparations in our physical life to be able to enhance our spiritual one.

Life on Earth is about being thankful for the good time and enduring and learning from the tough ones. So, how do we prepare for death? It's simple really, begin by being thankful for the time we've spent on Earth, thank God for our joy, accept and learn from sorrow (it's pain that strengthens our spirits), call out to him and ask him for help during the difficult times, know that tears (whether they're tears of joy or tears of sorrow) purify our souls, live life in love and forgiveness (arguments - no matter what they're about are futile; it's time to accept our shortcomings and understand another), share joy with everyone, care for people and make it our life's duty to spread love... no matter what.

You could help someone in need, ease someone's pain and tell them that it will be okay because it really will, smile at a stranger, help an elderly person, volunteer at a children's home, do something nice for mum and dad... it really is up to you. God doesn't give us a laundry list of things to do. He hopes that we look within our hearts, know what our list has on it and start working on it right away. And yes, always, always live life in the faith that our good Lord is with us. Remember when we sometimes think that God has forsaken us, he is really carrying us then; he just wants us to believe in him completely... no questions asked. Talk to him and see how things fall into place. God knows our every thought, our every need, our every desire even before we know it. Our good Lord always gives us what we need, not what we want. And we must live our life in his faith, believing always that we are where God wants us to be. (A detailed follow-up post on this tomorrow)

Indeed, preparing for death is one of the best things we can do for others and ourselves because this preparation helps us spread love and joy in a world that is revolves on love. :) I leave you with a beautiful story that was recounted to Raymond Moody (psychologist and author of Life After Life):

When the light appeared, the first thing he said to me was, "What have you done to show me what you've done with your life?" or something to that effect. All through this, he kept stressing on the importance of love.

I am hoping that all of us will be able to answer that question when we face it. And you know what, if we start now, I know we will.


Have a fabulously blessed day everyone. :)

The Soul Story

Good afternoon, everyone. As the beautiful breeze caresses my cheek and plays with my hair, the two lines above sing a song in my heart and soul. C.S. Lewis famously wrote - "You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body."

Our souls; something we don't see, but feel, believe in and live. Our souls are one of God's most precious gifts and most enduring tests of faith. Like God, our soul is something we believe in without seeing. This physical life is just a path towards spiritual fulfillment. So, what are the scriptures trying to tell us in those two simple lines? Death is not the end, just a temporary stop in an ever-continuing journey. Our life on Earth is just a part of a longer journey that our souls must undertake.

When a loved one passes away, our physical being mourns the persons absence, however, our spiritual being celebrates the soul's passing from this life to the next. Most of us wonder what the next life involves; our soul's next step is determined by the path we take while on Earth. Who and what we come back as in a different life, depends on how soulfully we've lived our last lives. Have we been true to our God and ourselves and do we go to a higher realm or do we come back to Earth to pay for all that we've done and imbibe lessons that we've failed to understand? As we face our God and saviour on judgment day, we will have to answer some questions: Did we over-indulge in only worldly pleasures, ignoring our soul completely? Did we intentionally ignore our soul's purpose? Did we try and live as true to ourselves as we could? Did we abuse and misuse love? What have we done for the betterment of mankind, animalkind and nature? Did we allow our ego and pride to rule our lives? Did we depend on lies to get ourselves forward? How many times did we call on God, truly call on God in prayer without expectations, wants and demands? Did we live as God intended us to live?

What do you think our answers will be? Our physical life on Earth determines the path our soul takes. There's no reason to worry, because God is gracious enough to forgive us and allows us redemption. It's never too late to transform oneself and live fuller, complete spiritual lives. God doesn't focus on sins of the past, but on our transformation in the present in preparation for our soul's betterment... our true selves. Our true lives. Indeed, when the angel of death comes knocking on our doors, God awaits us, not to judge but to help us realise and understand that life is about our soul. Our transitional bodies in this temporary physical life are mere instruments that help us fulfill our soul's true purpose. While each of us have our individual soul purposes, the foundation of our physical lives are based on common values that find their breath in love, truth, goodness, peace, sharing, caring and all of God's will.

I've left all of you, including myself with a lot of questions today. These questions are mere little wake-up calls, nothing to be afraid of really, just little post-its for our physical beings. :) All of us have allotted times on Earth and as the clock ticks, we must spend our remaining time in accordance with God's will and our soul's purpose.

Dear God, thank you for a new day

Thank you for another chance to love and serve you

Thank you for reintroducing me to my soul

As always, I pray that when I open my mouth, I may say kind words to all

When I think, please give me the grace to think of good thoughts

When I'm weak, please help me find my strength in you

When I'm happy, help me to praise you and spread the happiness

When I'm sad, help me embrace and accept my sadness for what it truly is

My dear God, please give me the grace to live my life soulfully, just like you meant me to live it


Have a fabulously blessed day everyone. :)

Understanding Jīva (Life) and God

The words of Dhamma 

Akkodhena jine kodham (conquer anger by love)

Asādhum sāhunā jine (conquer the wicked by goodness)

Jine kadariyam dānena (conquer the stingy by generosity)

Saccenālikavādinam (conquer the liar by truth)

- Dhammapada 223

The Dhammapada is a versified Buddhist scripture that's ascribed to Buddha himself. My vipassanā practice urged me towards reading and studying Buddhist scripture. As I read on, I realised that all holy scriptures (The Bible, The Torah, The Bhagavad Gita, The Dhammapada) have a common message from God - live life with love. Love. God is universal, it's us, humans who choose to give him a name. I believe in the universal God and I am in the process of reading all the holy scriptures above.

Being the product of a Roman Catholic mother and Jewish father, a lot of people have questions regarding my diverse interest in all holy scriptures, love of mediation, vegetarianism and passion for Eastern philosophy. All I can say is that God is one, God is universal, God is love and Eastern philosophy and meditation bring us closer to God in ways that we cannot even imagine. All the scriptures above help us realise that life is about one thing - love; and all the good things come out of love - faith, caring, sharing, giving, generosity, purity, peace and of course the truth.

Today, I began my day with the above paragraph from The Dhammapada. As I read it over and over, I realised that Jesus too preached the same words. The Bhagavad Gita and The Torah too have examples of living life with equanimity (a state of mental and emotional stability that arises from a sense of temporal detachment from a reality we believe to be true), no matter what the situation.

So, how do we do this successfully? Especially, when we live in a world that is centered around 'I, me, myself'? Vipassanā helps us meet our mind, understand it and help it work with our heart and soul. Once our heart, mind and soul work together, it's easy to live with equanimity. Vipassanā started out as a quest for peace of mind, and has now transformed into a journey that shows me so very many layers to my spiritual self, that there is only one way for me now and that's the next step - the next step towards discovering another facet of my soul.

I woke up this morning, gave God, the universe, my guardian angels (my nana and papa) a big, sunny 'Good Morning' and read the above paragraph. So simple and sometimes, it's so difficult to follow, isn't it? But, vipassanā simplified it for me. You see, vipassanā helps us see things as they really are. When we do that, we realise at a deeper level, that we are just a part of a larger universe. We're here to fulfill our roles in accordance with God's will and leave when he knows that it's time. Life is about knowing oneself enough to realise that we're all children of God. Life is about another person more than it is about ourselves. That is how God lived, that is how he wants us, his children to live.

Think about it - a simple argument with a loved one or friend can turn very ugly if both parties argue. It's normal to have disagreements (human nature remember), but what's more important is to realise that an argument, any argument is not about anyone being right or wrong; it's about two or more people with different perceptions and understandings of a situation. Sometimes, mum and me argue. We hear each other out and try and understand the other. In case we don't, we let it rest for a while and when our minds are clearer, we decide to give communication another go. An argument isn't about the 'I, me, myself' being right - it's about accepting another's point-of-view and being able to move on from there. Of course, throw in a hug, kiss and/or a friendly handshake depending on who the person is. :) To me, this is a practical example of conquering anger with love. This can work in professional life too. Accepting an argument for the sake of peace is okay. Sometimes, sorting out a situation when both people are cool, helps. 

Anger shouldn't give rise to more anger, instead it must give birth to a lot of love and understanding, just as wickedness must be answered with goodness, stinginess with generosity and lies with truth. Indeed, the paragraph above is so simple, but the priceless lessons it helps us understand come straight from God. Religious scriptures are not something we may read and put away; they are God's lessons, God talking to us through his word. No matter what we may read, all scriptures teach us the same thing. I believe our universal God has given us different languages to help understand him better. His lesson though are all the same - all of them begin with love and truth.

If we truly contemplate and understand what he's telling us, we realise that different words mean the same thing - when we do things with love, we're able to look beyond ourselves and feel and understand another. Prayer and meditation are ways that bring us closer to him in a way that a blessed soul knows.

The universal language of love awaits us, our universal God loves us, prayer and meditation will take us closer and closer to him. Here's to all of us rediscovering him in each other and in ourselves.

Have a fabulously blessed day everyone. :)

Solace in Silence

How beautiful silence is, and how unattainable we believe it is. The power of silence is as strong as it is powerful. In this ever-noisy world of ours, silence is almost non-existent... almost. Most wonder about the mystery and power that silence holds -  mystery that solves itself and power, the power of being, the power of rediscovering one's soul. Indeed, silence brings us closer to our true selves, our true nature and in effect closer to God.

I am a silence fan; I like beginning my day in quiet contemplation. The search for inner-peace, self-discipline and mind-control led me to doing a Vipassana course in November, 2008. Vipassana is one of India's most ancient forms of meditation that was rediscovered by Gotama Buddha over 2,500 years ago. Vipassana literally means, to see things as they are. It's a way of seeing one's inner-being, leading to one's self-transformation. This form of meditation requires dedication and constant practice. I began by attending the mandatory 10-day course at Igatpuri in Maharashtra. Before the course begins, all practitioners take a 10-day vow of silence that prevents us from talking to one another, even avoiding eye-contact with another person. The only person we can communicate with is our Guruji, during an appointed question time. Vipassana focuses on the inter-connection between the mind and body, seeing oneself for who we truly are, accepting ourselves and in effect practicing change to overcome mental and spiritual impurities.

Indeed, those 10-days brought me closer to myself in a way that's difficult to describe. As I prepare for my second course in another month, my soul and mind crave the peace and serenity that meditation can bring. See, when we begin seeings things as they truly are, we begin to realise that the life we find ourselves bothered with ever so often, are problems we can overcome with ease. It's really not so much the situation, as  much as how each of us choose to deal with it. Vipassana helps us realise that our 'ego' is our greatest enemy. Our ego and pride are partners in crime and they want us to believe that everything revolves around us. If we continue on a path such as this, selfishness increases and we change our very nature for the worse. I've found that Vipassana meditation helps puts things in perspective and helps me see things as they are.

Here are a few of the many discoveries my meditation helped me make:

Gem 1: Anger and hatred are weak and unnecessary - every situation no matter how complicated is better dealt with love, understanding and putting another person before oneself (my nana always told me to live in love. She often said, "Nish darling, there is so little time for love, how can people find time for anger and hate.";
Gem 2: People will have their own perceptions, don't try and change them if they're unwilling to listen - assumption and perception are what they believe; while it's fair that you present your side of the situation, don't try and force someone to change their perception. The truth always has a way of surfacing and in time, people with assumptions and perceptions will realise;
Gem 3: Take a breather, it's good for your soul - we live in an ever-rushing world, that leaves little or no time for ourselves. However, each of us owe it to our souls to stop, just stop ever so often and breath, sit, contemplate, introspect, embrace ourselves and everyone else. No one is going to give you this time, you will have to make some for yourself;
Gem 4: Most alleged problems are self-made - this too stems from our devious friend, the ego. Most like to believe that they're right, no matter what. But remember, we aren't always right and we're not expected to be. However, we are expected to accept our wrongs and be humble enough to admit to them.
Gem 5: Conquer fear because it is nothing - fear, one of our greatest self-made obstacles usually spring from our minds. In fact, fear is a great cancer that prevents us from doing things that could lead to self-discovery at various levels. Meditation helps us reign-in our minds and find God, in effect conquering fear to live holistic lives at a spiritual level.
Gem 6: The truth begins with love - truth and love are great partners. The truth finds itself in love and love is eternal. Truth isn't what we want it to be or what we make it out to be. The truth is the truth in love - in its purest, eternal form.

I believe each of us see in others what we see in ourselves. Yes all of us make mistakes, but we must accept and forgive a mistake, just like we'd like our own accepted and forgiven.

Accept, love, forgive, live, give, care, share - all without expectation. Live life like this because this is how God intended us to live. This is what God is teaching us all through - simple little lessons that we turn into complex problems.

It's time to uncomplicate and we must begin with ourselves. Come, let's discover who we truly are, it's a long journey but with every step, we come that much closer to ourselves and our God.

So the next time you see another, smile and do unto him/her as you'd like to be done unto you. :) Let's rediscover our souls in quiet contemplation.

"In the attitude of silence, the soul finds a path in the clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after the truth." ~ Mahatma Gandhi 

Have a fabulously blessed day everyone. :)

P.S: Vipassana is form of meditation, not a religious sect. Please go to the Vipassana website for all details: http://www.dhamma.org/

Now

Life is about now

What's your now?

Close your eyes, breathe, look within

See who you truly are

Embrace yourself, with all imperfections

Discover truth in shortcomings

Know yourself, connect with your soul

Leave reason, explanation for another time

For now, just be... with yourself

Love yourself

Spread your arms open wide, skywards, embrace God, embrace the universe, embrace life, embrace now

You can fly; wherever you want, whenever you want

You will discover your wings

Your now, are your wings

Smile, hug yourself, love yourself

You always see in everyone, what you see in yourself

Love yourself, love everyone with all imperfections

Your now, is now

So go on, love yourself and everyone else, tell the people you love how very much you love them, hug your family and friends, hug a tree, talk to animals, embrace God and universe, breathe life... do whatever your heart wills you to do in accordance with the Almighty and the universe.

Go on, NOW :)

Your now begins in love, acceptance, contentment, humility, sharing and caring in now. There is no better time  than now.

Have a fabulously blessed day everyone. :)

That's Amore

"As I started to picture the trees in the storm, the answer began to dawn on me. The trees in the storm don't try to stand up straight and tall and erect. They allow themselves to bend and be blown with the wind. They understand the power of letting go. Those trees and those branches that try too hard to stand up strong and straight are the ones that break. Now is not the time for you to be strong, Julia, or you, too, will break." ~ Julia Butterfly Hill 

Good morning all, trust everyone's well today. Today, the above quote by Julia Hill reinforced my spirit. It's a rainy morning and as I thought of people I said goodbye to (my darling Nana, grand pappa), a tiny little tear wet my eye. She (my tear) made me smile, because she stayed in my eye for a bit (almost as if she was scared to leave); and then she gently made her way down my cheek and dissolved with time. :) One tear, one tear who reminded me that even though I said goodbye to the people I love the most in this physical world, it warms my heart when I think of them. (Peaceful, happy tears and faith in the good Lord and the universe are healing, ever so healing). :) 


I believe, love has no end; it's eternal and just because we say goodbye to people we love, does not end the feeling. While we may miss them, and the initial phases involve a lot of tears, questions, pessimism, what-if's, numbness and more tears, we get to a stage when we look back and smile.


I was talking to my soul-sister late last-night, and as we talked and talked and talked some more, we realised that even though we've both said our own goodbye's to the people we love, we're better people because of them. Yes, there was a lot of pain, tears and sorrow, but all these sanctify our souls. We also realised that the tears may not end in a hurry, however with each tear spent, we're that much closer to accepting the situation as it is.


My point is, love - the world and everything in it revolves and lives on and in love. It's such a fabulously beautiful, pure feeling that when we as much as experience it, it brings tears of peace and joy and sometimes tears of sorrow. When we love, we're looking to keep that love. But, the point I am trying to make is that no matter how love transpires, beautiful love changes and still stays the same. I reiterate, there will be a lot of tears, pain, sorrow, questions, numbness, anger and sometimes bitterness. Hey, it can even mean crying out so loud that we need a pillow to stifle out the sob, it can even mean cringing and praying that we can stay that way forever. It could mean crashing, getting up and then crashing again. But eventually, ever so slowly, as time passes, that same pain comforts and that same numbness turns to a healing balm. Amid all things, love is also about having the strength to say goodbye... with a smile (eventually). The anger and bitterness disappear and then we're left with space. It's in this space that we rediscover ourselves and reconnect with our souls. We realise that even though our hearts are broken (probably shattered into tiny bits) we learn to love each of those tiny bits instead of waiting for it to be whole again.


Saying goodbye to the person/people you love, does not mean the end of love, it just means that it is a progression to something new... a newer you. You will be able to look back at the time and smile; and while you acknowledge your pain and sadness, you will know that you were blessed to have experienced what you did. :)


My dear friends, true love has no beginning, no ending. Love is love, in its truest, purest form. Love is also about our hearts and souls evolving to a point where we love enough to let go. It's about being honest with oneself and acknowledging that we may love someone eternally. Love brings us joy and sorrow, happiness and despair, hurt and healing... and it's love with all her emotions out together that make us better people.


Whether it's love with family, friends or even a person of the opposite sex. Love is not about ownership, it's about saying, "I love you enough to let you go. I love you enough to know that this love sanctified my soul and fortified my spirit. My love made me better than I ever was, my love gives me the strength to take that one extra step when I stop, my love gives me hope in the future, my love helped me say goodbye with a lot of pain, sans the bitterness. And when I think about you, my love helps me smile." In the case of a person of the opposite sex, love says, "My love celebrates you being you and now me being me. My love has helped me find the space to love someone else in the future and for that I thank you. I will love you eternally, but I have space enough to love someone else and for that I thank you."

Love is a blessing, one of the best blessings from God. To love and be loved is to be blessed, truly blessed. :)


"Truly loving another means letting go of all expectations. It means full acceptance, even celebration of another's personhood." ~ Karen Casey

Have a fabulously blessed day everyone, with lots and lots and lots of love. :)