Forgive... in a moment

Fleeting images, fleeting experiences

Are they truly fleeting?

She closed her eyes, they were there

She opened them, they were there

Precious moments, experiences too short

Sometimes time is in a hurry

And still, in so many ways time stands still

Like now, when beautiful memories play in her heart, her spirit, her soul

She wanted her own 'memory box'

A magical box where she'd store all her beautiful memories

And then she'd re-live them one moment at a time

She'd make those moments last just a little longer this time

Time, ah time... and she closes her eyes

It takes a moment to fall in love

A moment to say goodbye

A moment to wish moments were longer

But, a lifetime to re-live moments...

Forgiveness though immortalises moments and time eternally

Dusk turns into dawn, dawn turns into dusk

New sunrises, new sunsets bring with them days anew

A new day to love, a new day to forgive

Just when she thinks her moment has gone by

She finds it has found its sanctified place through forgiving

She didn’t need to look for a rainbow, she was already sitting on one

The divinity of beautiful, precious moments transcend time and space... and their truth, holiness and immortality begins in forgiveness and lives in love...

The Notebook - did i tell you

Eternity

What is life, its love

What is love, it's the dedication and will to stand up and say, 'I don't love you, I am in love with you. And, if it means that I have just one day to spend my life with you, I will have lived a thousand lifetimes in eternal, spotless, pure love."

And, when you close your eyes, mine shall close too

And when you pass through this world, my spirit shall accompany you

And we shall have our endless dance in a place called eternity

Where our love transcends time, space and boundaries

For now, I shall hold you

Lay your head on my chest

Listen to my breath breathe you

You are me, just as I am you

Eternally... 

Amore

It's in the dissimilarities you find similarities

In separation you find togetherness

In sorrow you find joy

In entrapment you find freedom

In pain you find comfort...

And in the midst of it all, over, above, through and through

As high as the bright blue sky

As deep as the emerald green ocean

You experience love in its truest, purest form

You are love, just as I am love

We are love

From the heart of a 16-year-old

Life is about coming's and going's, but the beauty of it all are the memories. For me, all memories are good, even the one's that pain, because if they weren't as good, they wouldn't be my memories, would they? Friend's, our little angels on earth, are some of the most treasured people we're gifted.

Exactly a month ago, a little girl sat next to me at work. I wished her a good morning and after the initial introductions and small talk, got on with "emails for the day". Little did I know that during the course of the month, the rest of the team and I would be close to an adorable little 16-year-old girl whose morning chatter about life in general would be the beginning of all our days. Of course, lunch was a picnic with a mix of food, but what all of us will miss the most is a look at life through a 16-year-old's eyes, a view and belief that we must try and recapture. Here's what her going away email said to us all:

• Sara :) you're just the cutest. I love how romantic and adorable you are, and how sweet and helpful. The sweet things you say, the lovely things you wear and the most wonderful optimistic strongest outlook to love - you're gorgeous, don't forget it :* 
• Ela :) you're also such a sweetheart, you're lively and engaging and interesting, and Ela is just the nicest name. :* you spoke to me the first, and i wrote/ helped you with some of your articles- such an experience. :D 
• Leena :) you're too considerate and you have the funniest stories to tell. talking to you makes me smile :) 
• Roshni :) you called me 'the new girl' the first time you saw me. love your humour, sarcasm and sense of freedom and fun. Blackberry Love Forever :* 
• Sharmishta :) you're so quiet and cute and dedicated to what you do- you're too nice. :) 

Love you'll. thanks for being so much and making a month WORKING instead of watching an 11am movie, full of laughter and fun. i've made new friends and heard new stories and met new people and i love you'll for that :* gonna miss you guys, tons. keep in touch.

Love forever,Avanti

I shall read and reread this note often, because this shows me life through the eyes of innocence... an innocence that I hope shall live on forever.

Sweet little Avanti,All of us miss you tremendously too, and there are but a few words that truly do justice to the joy and happiness you've brought to our lives.

Lots of love and blessings forever,

All of us

xxxxx 

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