The Rainbow of Forgiveness

"Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that crushed it." ~ Mark Twain

A very good morning everyone. :) Every new morning, whether dull or bright is a blessing; and today, I received two additional blessings via email. The first one was a lovely soul's status update, it said and asked at the same time, "I saw a rainbow! When was the last time you saw one?" I replied saying, "I can see one as I type this; life's gorgeous rainbow is visible anywhere we choose to see it." Kartika's (the beautiful soul who typed the update) beautiful revelation helped me see my rainbow this morning. In the end, no matter what we go through (the good and the not so good), we need believe that the rainbow is here, right here, right now.

Miracle number two: I received a beautiful email from one of my best friends on forgiveness. It talked about forgiveness in her true form, about being able to love another human being as a person, as a soul, irrespective of his/her past. Someone's past should not stop us from accepting that person for who they've become in the present. Given a chance, they can become some of our best friends. The lesson here is forgive, just forgive because this is how God wills us to live our lives.

Think about it, God forgives us our indiscretions daily; can you imagine how miserable we'd be if the Almighty kept an account of our shortcomings and reminded us of them? In the same way, we must forgive anyone and everyone who may have harmed us in any way. You know what, life has some of her greatest lessons and most precious messages in tough situations. In fact, if someone is intentionally trying to harm you or bring you down, you will find a lesson and a message even in that situation. It's the uncomfortable situations that help us enhance our spiritual lives and define our character.

Of course, we're human and when we experience a situation such as the above, our obvious action is a reaction; however, we must try and practice restraint. Experience the situation, look at it for what it really is, feel the emotions, embrace them and pray that we're able to forgive, truly forgive people. Forgiveness may not come at that very moment, but it will in the future. Forgiveness and love go hand-in-hand and if we truly love life, we will be able to forgive, of that I'm certain.

Kia Scherr, is a beautiful living example. In an earlier post I told you about how 26/11 claimed the lives of her husband and daughter. Today, Kia co-founded One Life Alliance, a spiritual organisation whose very foundations lie in love and forgiveness. Kia is a picture of peace, calm and forgiveness and she has planned a spiritual event on the 26th of this month at The Trident, Mumbai to honour everyone who lost their lives. (I will give you details about this in a separate post). She embodies love and forgiveness. 

Just last evening, I was having a conversation with another friend. We were discussing a few characters who tried to sabotage our careers when we were only starting out. Of course, it affected us then terribly, we were lost in the woods for some time, but in the end we were led to a path chosen by God. We didn't find our way out, we're too mortal for that; we just placed our faith, trust and belief in the Almighty, allowed him to hold our hands and we followed. As we reminisced, we realised that in spite of the pain and grief we went through then, we learned, and that is our takeaway. Are we angry with the people who did what they did? No, not one bit; we were sad then, but now that sadness is replaced with forgiveness. In fact, we thank them, for if it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have learned what we did. As we talked about a time gone by, the only things we took were the lessons and a few good times through the tough ones.

When God asks us to forgive and forget, I believe he hopes that we're genuinely able to forgive with love (and that means truly wishing everyone well) and forget the negative emotions. However, he wants us to keep the positive, keep the goodwill, spread love, just like he continues to do. We too mortal, too human to resort to judging; no, we must embrace everyone for all they are and all they're not. In the end, we see in another person what we see in ourselves.

Then, there are some experiences that are crippling and each of us may see many deaths through the trauma we feel. But rejoice, for each dead part is replaced by a new us. We must remember, the pain of loss escapes no one, but, the birth of a new us does. So, it's up to us really, will we prevent our spiritual progression only because we hold on to anger? We experience pain, loss, hurt and then in time allow ourselves to heal and move on. The more we hold on to this, the more we hold on to grudges against people and the further we are from our spiritual destination.

Forgiveness is only as easy or as difficult as we want it to be. When someone hurts, cheats or slanders you in any way, remember they are not defining you, they are just defining themselves. If you choose to react and get back at them, then you allow them to define you. Forgive, just forgive and understand the lesson in a tough situation.

It has been said that the continuation of species is due to man being forgiving. He, indeed, is a wise and excellent person who has conquered his wrath and shows forgiveness even when insulted, oppressed, and angered by a strong person. Forgiveness is virtue and a sacrifice.

I see in you what I see in me. I see God, love, hope, transformation in you because I see that in myself. God the very embodiment of forgiveness; forgiveness the very embodiment of love; love the very embodiment of life.

Have a fabulously blessed day everyone with a lot of beautiful rainbows everywhere you look. :)

ॐ Aum ॐ

Ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, Ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, Ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

A very good morning everyone. :) Aum, ॐ, Ohm, different spellings, different scripts, but one beautiful universal mantra. Aum, the first intonation (Aum is not a word, but a divine sound) I say everyone morning, followed by a thank you to God and of course, my ritual silence. Aum, what a beautiful, beautiful, powerful, positive sound and vibration.

Aum is a sound, a vibration, the very heartbeat of the universe, but above all this, Aum is the absolute. Aum, is a symbol that represents Brahman, omnipresent, omnipotent, the absolute. Aum is all this and more. The Sutras try and explain Aum beautifully (I say 'try' because it's impossible to put the Absolute into words; no words and no image can do it full just and therefore scripture puts a symbol to Aum). The Sutras say: "The repetition of Aum should be made with an understanding of its meaning."

However, if you really want to try and understand Aum, Amit Ray's explanation from his book, 'Om Chanting and Meditation', tells it beautifully. He says, "Om is not just a sound or vibration. It is not just a symbol. It is the entire cosmos, whatever we can see, touch, hear and feel. Moreover, it is all that is within our perception and all that is beyond our perception. It is the core of our very existence. If you think of Om only as a sound, a technique or a symbol of the Divine, you will miss it altogether. Om is the mysterious cosmic energy that is the substratum of all the things and all the beings of the entire universe. It is an eternal song of the Divine. It is continuously resounding in silence on the background of everything that exists."

As you say 'Aum', from the very depth of your soul, you will feel a beautiful cosmic vibration resonate through your body.

Try it: relax, close your eyes, breathe normally and say 'Aum'; try and stretch the mmmmmmmmmmmmmm for as long as your breath allows you and after that, the relax for a bit. Repeat the mantra several times and then, allow yourself to exist in a state of being for a little while. You will feel beautiful cosmic waves surge through you, literally. There are various ways you can chant; some follow the inhale-exhale method, while others may try and match their breaths to their chanting. I use the method I just explained. When chanting, adopt a method your soul is most comfortable with. Try and stretch the mmmmmmmmmmm for as long as you can. The length of the mmmmmmmmmm is inconsequential, it's the chanting that's really important. As long as your chanting comes from the depths of your soul, you WILL feel a heavenly energy move through your very being while your chant and as you rest in your state of being just after you chant.

This beautiful mantra allows us instant peace. Chant and experience. While chanting is fabulous, it's imperative that we try and understand this mantra in its absolute form. Yes, it's an intonation and symbol that represents the Absolute, but do you know that it's also a vibration that is in keeping with our seven levels of consciousness (fours main levels and three transitional ones)!

Let's try and understand the Aum mantra in a deeper way, so that our next chanting will be holistic in the very sense of the word. Aum has four main parts and three transitional parts; the first sound - 'Oooooooooooo', the second sound - 'uuuuuuuuuuuuu', the third sound - 'mmmmmmmmmm' and then the silence that follows, are the main parts.

The 'Oooooooooooo' sound refers to the gross world, the physical world that we touch and feel with our external senses, the waking state of consciousness. Before we get to the second level, we have a transition level called 'Unmani' - this is the transition between waking and dreaming. The 'uuuuuuuuuuuuu' refers to the subtle realm, the world within, the dreaming state of consciousness, and this is followed by the transition level called 'Aladani' - this is the transition stage between dreaming and deep sleep. The 'mmmmmmmmmm' refers to the casual plane out of which the gross and subtle emerge, the state of deep sleep consciousness. This state is followed by the transition of Samadhi - this is a state that's beyond waking, dreaming and deep sleep, this level is a level of self-absorption, a level that's closest to the real us. And then we have the silence, the absolute reality, that is the substratum (foundation) and very basis of our entire being, our true self. This silence is also the witness consciousness who observes the other three states of consciousness.

Indeed, when we chant 'Aum' chant in a way where you are aware of these levels of consciousness and allow yourself to let go of these levels through your chanting. While it's lovely to start your day chanting Aum, you can even chant silently to yourself during the day, you will experience a great sense of peace and oneness with God and yourself.

After all, Aum, is a call to God and we can call on him anytime. In response, he tells us to find him within, in ourselves. Once we find ourselves, our true selves, we find God. The journey we must embark on is an internal one. :)

Have a fabulously blessed day everyone. :)

Winds of Change

A very good morning everyone. The beautiful festival of lights, Diwali, have just passed by, and as a new day dawns on sunny Mumbai, this morning feels different, it feels new. 

Amid chit-chat with my mum, dad, Rajiv (brother) and Namrata (my sister-in-law who is now a sister) ~ about one last dinner over the past weekend weekend ~ Nam and were contemplating our attire - sarees or churidar? In fact, I was sure then that I would wear a saree; a beautiful pink one with delicate sequence work.

Now, I simply must stick to my resolutions with such conviction. And you know what; I will… thanks to Aaron Gray, a 13 year old boy in the UK, whose name is already on the organ donor list. Aaron’s own life-saving surgery at just three years of age and organ transplant (thanks to another little child saviour), helped him live. His beaming smile and sparkling eyes personify life and the very sacredness of it.

We are all here today, but, we can never be too sure of what tomorrow holds... and we shouldn’t. I believe our good Lord has given us just the information we need and hopes that we understand his teachings through them. My resolution is to give more of myself to this world. Aaron is a shining example and someone who touches is and urges us to move, move to do something, anything we can, in our own small way to help someone in need.

We live in troubled times, but, this is why we need to give ourselves to others even more. In fact, no matter how much we may do, there is always more that we can contribute. My nana always said, "Darling, never count or measure the good deeds you do. God wants us to live our lives doing only good, so do all you can, ad help everyone you can. Who knows, even a little smile can brighten up someone's day, restore someone's faith and give someone renewed hope. And this is what we must strive to do." Think about it, if God sat and measured all the good deeds he does for us, he'd have a never-ending, ever-increasing list. And no matter, what we do, how we choose to live our lives, he is here, with us and living in us. He sees himself in us, and he wants us to find him in our hearts and in everyone else's hearts too. After all, he's made us in his image.

I've decided that one of the first things I am going to do this year is pledge my organs. I am here today and they serve me well, I may not be here tomorrow, but I want them to serve someone else even better than they’ve served me. Organ donation is not about living through someone else, it’s about helping someone else live and discover a life of their own – a healthy life, a life that God willed for them.

I have no questions for God, only answers, answers that he already knows, answers that he helps us understand and realise in time. Every little millisecond is an experience of life; every little breath is proof of physical life in us. How lovely it is to help someone experience and feel the same thing. For every 100 sufferers, there is less than one organ donor! So many people lose their lives due to the lack of organ supply… and that’s when we wonder, if only, if only X, Y, Z who passed away, had donated! If only…

Little Aaron Gray is a living example of respecting the sacredness of life and honouring it by pledging his organs. I thank him for helping me realise that I must pledge mine too… not to live through someone else, but to help someone else live.

It’s easy – make a commitment and keep it. You need to call your local hospital and express your desire to donate. They will be more than happy to guide you towards doing so. Who knows, our pledge could return someone’s smile, could rebuild someone’s faith, could restore someone’s hope and could give someone a renewed will to live… for himself/herself and for others too.

Oh to enjoy the breeze under the shade of a beautiful tree

Gentle ocean waves kissing our ankles

The twinkling stars with stories to demonstrate

A rising sun of a hopeful new dawn

A quiet moon that promises precious dreams to cherish over a lifetime

A new day to spread love and joy…

Let’s help everyone experience life and live it… as she should be lived.

All of us love positive change in our world, how about us starting with ourselves. We’re here today, gone tomorrow. For now, let’s use our todays towards helping someone have a better tomorrow.

Have a fabulously blessed day everyone. J 

P.S: The following link will give you an insight into organ donation. However, please check with your local medical facility for details: http://www.lorihartwell.com/GlobalOrganDOantionPolicies.pdf

Breathe

"You know that our breathing is the inhaling and exhaling of air. The organ that serves for this is the lungs that lie around the heart, so that the air passing through them thereby envelopes the heart. Thus, breathing is a natural way to the heart. And so, having collected your mind within you, lead it into the channel of breathing, through which air reaches the heart, and together with this inhaled air, allow your mind to descend into the heart and remain there." ~ Nicephorus the Solitary

A very good evening everyone. :) It’s a beautiful day today. I thought about the above quote a few minutes after I completed my morning meditation. I've been practicing Vipassana for two years now, and like most meditation techniques, this school of meditation too focuses on concentrating on one's breath.

The breath - breathe in, breath out. As we close our eyes, and help our mind focus on our breath, we become aware of the length of breath, its continuity, its simplicity. As we become more aware of our own breath, we become more aware of our very being. Meditation requires discipline and it's natural if our mind wanders sometimes. If it does, rein it in and start concentrating on your breath all over again.

Most people believe that meditation equals mind control, but, meditation is really about mind-discipline. It's about helping our mind co-operate with our heart. In effect, it's about our heart and mind living together. Wouldn’t it be fabulous if our hearts and minds made decisions together? Think of how beautiful life will be, for us, and everyone we meet.

Our physical life lies in each breath we take. It is this very breath, this silent friend who has the key to our spiritual well-being too. Why the breath, you may wonder? When we focus and concentrate on our breath, we introduce ourselves to our own mortality at a level that’s deeper than this physical one. By following our breath, getting to know its duration, we meet our inner selves. We’re more aware of our body sensations. This awareness leads to acceptance, acceptance leads to belief that this too shall pass… after all everything in this physical world is transitionary, acceptance leads to a fulfilled life, a fulfilled life will take us back to our peaceful mind, and there’s our complete circle.


Buddha's last words to his followers were: "Behold, O monks, this is my last advice to you. All component things in this world are changeable. They are not lasting. Work hard to gain your own salvation."

Regular practice helps us get to know our spirits and in effect we have a better understanding of life, all its happenings, and reasons for certain things happening etc. But above all this, there is a great sense of peace and acceptance; peace at knowing our souls and acceptance, that this is how things are meant to be. It may be good, it may be bad, but, whatever it is, it too shall pass. And when it does, we will find that acceptance is now easy, because this too shall pass.

As I write this, I am aware of my breath, I know that my physical life depends on me breathing, in and out. Life on Earth is a purpose all of us have to fulfill, a destiny we need to complete and rightfully it depends on our breath; our breathing to live and us observing that very breath to help our mind and heart function cohesively.

With every breath, let’s promise the Almighty, the universe and ourselves that we will respect and value our priceless breaths, get to know our true selves through them and honour our physical lives… because it is this physical life that helps us fulfill our spiritual purpose.

In the silence of our hearts, we hear ourselves breathe; the very breath who holds the key to who all of us truly are.

Have a fabulously blessed evening everyone. J 

Let's unclench fists and smile

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. ~ Anne Frank

A very good morning everyone. Anne Frank's quote is playing on loop in my head, against a very disturbing image. On my drive to work this morning, I saw a painfully thin man who was all but dragging himself forward. It was obvious that he hadn't eaten for days and his pain was palpable. On reflex, I shut my eyes and clenched my fists saying, "Oh my God." I passed by and then wondered to myself, "Is this all I am going to do when I see a hungry person?" Did shutting my eyes and clenching my fists help him in any way? 

I believe, no matter how much we give back to society, there is place for more; and, this man is an example. I begin my mornings with quiet contemplation and I sit thinking about that man now, wondering how far he has gotten, if he has any place to go to, when he is going to have his next meal, does he have family? I say a silent prayer for his soul and hope that he is able to find a saviour in this physical world.

You know what's telling? All of us have the ability to be someone's saviour... in some way or the other. Most of us wait, wait to help, wait to do social work, wait to contribute, wait to give back to society. How lovely it would be if we quit waiting, and helped.

The time to help society in whatever way we can is now. None of us have to go looking for causes to support, they're all here, right before our eyes, in the form of starving men, women and children, exploited people and animals etc. All living beings, man, woman, child and animal has the basic right to live... and if we're in any position to help them in any way that we can, we simply must.

We could donate to a cause that rehabilitates, counsels and supports those in distress, we can volunteer at one of the homes, hospitals etc., we can celebrate birthdays by sponsoring a meal for one of the homes, celebrate the joy of festivals by giving back to society, to those most in need. Yes, this requires a commitment, a time commitment and a promise to humanity and our very own saviour who has put us in a position to help others. But, this is one commitment that all of us simply must keep.

Another promise we can begin right away is by promising our saviour and ourselves that we will make life easier for whoever we come in contact with today. Family, friends, colleagues, bosses, even strangers. This is a promise we can fulfill right away because we can start now. It's easy, just look at the person and/or people around you and smile. See how lovely they feel. You know what, you've just sent out a beautiful positive wave into the universe. This wave is so full of goodness, purity and strength that it will go around and make a lot of others joyous. The person or people you just smiled at, will do the same with you and with people they meet and in effect we will have a beautiful chain of continuing smiles. 

A smile goes a long, long way in cheering someone up, making someone feel good and/or even giving people hope that no matter what ails this world, there is always time for a smile. Wasn't that ever so easy? :) Now that we've started the 'smile-chain', it's time we took a step out of our comfort zones and spread the smile-chain elsewhere as well. How beautiful this world will be if we spread these lovely smiles. :)

And while we're spreading smiles, we can volunteer for one or several causes that so need as much love, affection and attention. The time is now. As I think about that man I saw this morning (the inspiration for this post), I pray for him and send out a lot of love and spiritual embraces. I believe the beautiful universal waves will carry them to him. I must also thank him for a telling lesson he taught me, the time to make a contribution to society is now. He touched my soul so deeply that I renewed my promise of help and giving to God and the universe... and if this post has moved you to do the same, then he has touched you too.

Together, let's thank God for him and the priceless lesson he unknowingly taught us.

Dear God, we pray for the soul of the man who taught us that the time to give is now

We pray that he finds his peace and respite in you

We hope that you send him a saviour here on Earth and ease his pain

We renew our promise to you and vow to help and contribute to society in any way we can

We pray for all souls here on Earth, please help everyone to find their strength in you

We pray that we continue to make positive change in whatever way we can, whenever we can

Dear God, this is one of our many prayers to you

It's time to turn the clenched fists to linked hands, and of course, continue the smile-chain.

Have a fabulously blessed day everyone. :)

Forgiveness and Love

"There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love." ~ Bryant N. McGill

A very good morning everyone. :) Last evening, I had the pleasure of meeting with Kia Scherr, co-founder of One Life Alliance, a beautiful community that encourages and honours the oneness and sacredness of life. One Life Alliance is a non-profit spiritual organisation that was founded last year, to honour and respect all those who lost their lives during the 26/11 (2008) terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Kia herself lost her dearest husband and daughter at The Trident.

So many of us talk about the beauty of forgiveness, Kia is a shining example of living it. One of the main factors that ails our race is our inability to forgive, let go and move on. Most, spend time focusing on the pain and questioning it. It's all right to do that, in fact, feeling pain and questioning it is necessary, but, in time that pain and questioning must progress to acceptance and that very pain must turn into a helping hand. If we focus on the pain and hurt for time immortal, we breed hate, and slowly, ever so slowly, a painful situation changes us... for the worse.

Kia is a personification of a painful situation changing her for the better through the forgiveness and love she embodies. Yes, she was crushed, broken and found it hard (sometimes even impossible to pick-up the pieces), but, she decided that she would honour her husband and daughter's memory by acknowledging and respecting the 'sacredness of life'. Kia said, "A part of me died with my husband ad daughter that day. However, I've reached out to so many people through One Life Alliance, that I am now more alive in a way."

Her soft eyes reflect peace through her loss. Her focus is now setting up One Life Alliance in Mumbai, a city whose very spirit was attacked two years ago.

Forgiveness, how many of us really understand what the word means? Forgiveness is often confused with condoning a perpetrators actions. Far from it; Kia rightfully said, "Forgiveness is not about condoning what happened; it's about accepting what happened and then making a change for the better." Indeed, forgiveness is not about condoning or forgetting, it's about, being able to move-on, in spite of remembering what hurt us so terribly. It's an act that transforms pain into positive change. Forgiveness, like love, transcends time and space.

Love and forgiveness embody the universe. We're here because our good Lord loves us, love us so very much that he's given us a chance to enforce positive change. He's given us the ability to love selflessly, give endlessly and share ceaselessly. There is no greater joy than loving without motive and giving without expecting. Try it, your soul will give you a confirmation. 

It's time all us took a deeper look at ourselves. Is there anything that is troubling you? If yes, then be sure that there is a lesson in that confusion. Just believe and trust in the good Lord and know that in its time, everything will fall into place. Sometimes, things may not always work out the way we want them to, but you can be sure that they work out the way the good Lord wants them to... and it is this that makes it right. The sacredness of life is what our good Lord wants us to experience.

Life on earth began with love and it's this love and forgiveness that is keeping it going for so long, in spite of the turmoil our world in in today.

http://www.onelifealliance.org/ Come let's honour the sacredness of life.

As I get ready to begin my day, let's join our souls in a silent prayer:

Dear Lord, thank you for a new day

Another chance for me to love you and everyone I meet

Strengthen my resolve to do according to your will

Help me to forgive and understand

Help me to change at least one person's life for the better today

Help me to respect the beautiful sacredness of life

I pray that my smile brightens someone's day

I pray that I serve you and do according to your will in all my dealings today

Thank you my Lord, thank you for giving me another chance to do all this and more

As we end this prayer, let's open our hearts and send out a wave of love, joy and care to the universe. Let's pray that this wave reaches everyone on earth, especially those most in need of a healing hug.

Have a fabulously blessed day everyone. :)