The Child is Father of the Man...

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

William Wordsworth’s poem ‘The Rainbow’ goes as follows:

My heart leaps up when I behold

A rainbow in the sky:

So was it when my life began,

So is it now I am a man,

So be it when I shall grow old

Or let me die!

The child is father of the man:

And I could wish my days to be

Bound each to each by natural piety

In her it seemed as if I was meeting my 18 year old self, though a wee bit smarter, more articulate, better informed, and more sorted than I was at that age. Having figured her out after my one-hour session with her, I found myself full of nostalgia about my magical adolescence and remembered it with tearful eyes and a choking heart.

I was a promising young girl who just needed a little guidance and a strong belief in her abilities. A few wrong choices at that time, and I was delayed by next 18 years to take the correct route to fulfill my destiny.

She, however, has in her what it takes to attain greatness in her chosen field, and I feel happy to provide her that little guidance and the strong belief in her abilities to help her fulfill her destiny without falling for degenerative detours.

Though the child is father of the man, it still needs tending and love to manifest the desired results.

The Two Rivers

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

She recognized a force in me when I scored good marks in my first monthly tests in class XI and called me a ‘Chupa Rustam’. My insensitive teasing of a class-mate for her song ‘tera mera pyaar amar, phir kyon mujhko lagta hai dar’ irritated her, and she chided me for it. My immaturity took offence and I stopped talking with her. Her maturity, in turn, made her break the ice between us and apologize to me. Our relationship emerged stronger after weathering that minor storm.

Her observant eyes and alert ears were the first to detect the nuances of adolescent attraction that a class-mate had started feeling towards me. She warned me about it; and interestingly, a couple of years later, she was the happiest person to whom I first broke the news of my emotional attachment to the same person. I, in turn, enjoyed listening to her accounts of some of the ‘dreamers’ in her vicinity.

We both went our ways – she married and went to the USA, and I found my job and my husband in Mumbai. Life moved on, but she very much remained a part of my psyche. I continued to meet her and have long winding conversations with her in my dreams. I went to the USA with my husband and googled her name there. She, then a young and dynamic doctor from the top medical school in the USA, was easily found. Real-life conversations started between us on phone again. We talked mostly about our husbands, kids and careers; and then, I returned to India with my family.

After about a year of silence between us, she once again called me on phone. Our conversation this time touched upon our spiritual lives. She had read some of my blogs on my website, and was happy to know that I had finally discovered my true calling. She shared with me her deep spiritual explorations, and I was thrilled to hear from her the very same thoughts and feelings that comprised my understanding of life.

The two of us have been on the move ever since we got to know each other. We started out as the feisty brooks touching upon the fantastical shores of adolescent romance; lost much of our bounce, but gained depth in the responsible adulthood of a wife, a mother, and a professional; and have started sorting our souls for meeting the eternal ocean in the state of complete preparedness and absolute bliss.

The Show Business

Friday, April 16, 2010

Not many years ago among the Indian middle-class, Show-business was looked upon as a dangerous world for young girls. The girls working in the movies or as models, either came from illustrious families having a background in the film industry, or were the ones who worked their way up using any and every kind of means at the disposal of a blindly ambitious girl. Parents felt threatened at the sight of their young daughters trying to imitate the mannerisms of film heroines.

Not any more though…for the way the number of Beauty Pageants has increased exponentially is an evidence of the change in general perception about the world of Glitz and Glamour. Every second day, the front page of the newspapers carry the pictures of dozens of skimpily clad girls from some beauty pageant posing with some film-maker on the lookout for a’ fresh face’ for his new movie, charitably declaring that these pageants are like ‘finishing schools’ for the budding actresses and models.

If ‘Body’ has become an asset, and ‘Show Business’ has become a regular business, than the ethics and values determining the moral health of any regular business would be applicable to the show biz as well. It depends on the newcomers in this particular industry to purge the industry’s image of being ‘a cannibal world’ where ‘dog eats dog’ is the norm. To do so, they have to conduct themselves as thorough professionals who are out there to create value, or else, they would continue to be regarded as cheap ‘commodities’ by the male chauvinists who enjoy all the vulgar delights before their eyes and then sneer at the contemptible depths to which the modern woman can degrade herself to.

How to make Money?

Thursday, April 15, 2010



IPL season is on with its essential ingredients – Energy, Entertainment, and Economics.

Everyone connected with IPL seems to be rolling in Money…Big Money. But then opens the hidden door letting out the stench of Bad Money. The question that arises is whether all ‘Big Money’ in today’s world is in some secret way ‘Bad Money’?

How then will I ever fulfill my dream of becoming seriously rich while living by the values of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty (Satyam Shivam Sundaram)?

The answer comes from the Spiritual Guru, Deepak Chopra in his book ‘The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success’.

His prescription for success – in terms of material abundance, good health, energy and enthusiasm for life, fulfilling relationships, creative freedom, emotional and psychological stability, a sense of well-being, and peace of mind in life, is as follows:

1. Practice meditation twice a day, commune with Nature, and practice non-judgment.

2. Give the gifts of a compliment, a flower, or a prayer; receive all the gifts gratefully; keep wealth circulating by giving and receiving the gifts of caring, affection, appreciation, and love.

3. Witness the choices you make; when making a choice, ask yourself two questions: “What are the consequences of this choice that I’m making?” and “Will this choice bring fulfillment and happiness to me and also to those who are affected by this choice?” Ask your heart for guidance and be guided by its message of comfort or discomfort.

4. Accept things as they are this moment, not as you wish they were; having accepted things as they are, take responsibility for your situation and for all those events you see as problems; feel no need to convince or persuade others to accept your point of view, and remain open to all points of view without being rigidly attached to any one of them.

5. Make a list of your desires, and carry it wherever you go; release this list and surrender it to the womb of creation, trusting that when things don’t seem to go your way, there is a reason, and that the cosmic plan has designs for you much grander than even those that you have conceived; remind yourself to practice present-moment awareness in all your actions.

6. Allow yourself and those around you the freedom to be as they are; factor in uncertainty as an essential ingredient of your experience; step into the field of all possibilities and anticipate the excitement that can occur when you remain open to infinity of choices.

7. Lovingly nurture the god or goddess in embryo that lies deep within your soul; make a list of your unique talents which when used in the service of humanity, you lose track of time and create abundance in your life as well as in the lives of others; ask yourself daily, “How can I serve?” and “How can I help?”, the answers to which will allow you to help and serve your fellow human beings with love.

The Fear Factor

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Last night, I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t sleep again. My head was full of scenes from the movie ‘Vanilla Sky’, and it took me hours to think of a logical explanation for the strange happenings in the movie. The movie is about a prodigal young man who has inherited extreme riches from his late father, and he doesn’t really need to exert himself for anything in life. His only problems are his dreams which turn out to be very similar to the actual events that take place soon after in his life. The similarity between the virtual world inside his head and the real world in his wakeful hours is so striking that he soon begins to lose all sense of reality. The troubled man then turns to a Psychologist for help, but the Psychologist himself starts manipulating all the wrong connections of his patient’s mind, and therein lies the ‘Fear Factor’.

Muddle-headedness can be the biggest bane of one’s life, especially when there seems to be no reasonable explanation for it in the external world of a person. Unruly subconscious mind if left un-understood can be the single most dangerous problem. Where and to whom does one go to in such a situation?

The only answer I could think of during my uneasy few hours last night was that one has to have a clear understanding of the fact that human existence is not merely physical in nature. There is an all powerful Mind controlling the Body, and the Mind itself needs to seek counsel from the Soul. It is only at the time of Meditation that the Body, the Mind, and the Soul sit together and experience an all-enriching communion. God has put in place a self-diagnostic and self-corrective mechanism inside each human being, and to activate this mechanism, we just need to go deep inside our being by way of meditation.

18 Till I Die...

Tuesday, April 13, 2010


I couldn’t agree more with Bryan Adams as he sings aloud in his husky voice…

I wanna be young the rest of my life
never say no - try anything twice
til the angels come and ask me to fly
I'm gonna be 18 til I die - 18 til I die

Well, say what...I’ve found the secret to be 18 till I die. What? How? When?

- Yes, you heard it right! I’ve indeed found the secret behind staying 18 till one dies!

- By regular Pranayaams or Yogic Breathing Exercises, optimum amount of physical exercise, Satvik Bhojan ie Fresh vegetarian food, and daily practice of meditation, one can stay young and active till one finally departs for the Heavenly abode.

- The enlightenment happened the other morning when I sat in meditation after doing Pranayaams for some time.

After doing three rounds of ‘ KapaalBhati’ pranayaam, I sat with my attention focused on the Energy Chakra between my eyebrows. I could feel my face glowing with energy, my head feeling light, my mind floating in silence, my straight spine emanating warmth, and my entire body feeling weightless. I was instantly reminded of myself during my Senior Secondary School time when I felt healthy, alive and full of hope all the time. The only difference between the time when I was 18 and now, when I am the exact double of that number, is that at that age, I was happy because I hadn’t experienced real setbacks and shattered dreams, and thus, lived a life of dreams; but now, when I have already experienced failure, disappointment, deceit, and bitterness that life had in store for me, the quality of my happiness is such as can never be disturbed by anything in the world. There is no dream-like uncertainty about my joy for it has firmly found its source in the imperishable treasure of happiness that Creativity brings.

Shri Krishna – The Guru

Friday, April 09, 2010

An acquaintance of my husband once said that he uses Shri Krishna’s policy of applying Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed to get ahead of his competitors in the professional world. He is of the view that ours is a ‘dog eats dog’ world, and that there are people who are always ready to walk over you the moment you slacken your pace. He once narrated to my husband a ‘very interesting’ incident about a man who used to be his senior in his old company. He told that this man had joined his present company as his junior, but very soon fled without a trace when he made it a point to showcase before his entire team the reversal of position that the ‘poor’ man had suffered.

Shri Krishna’s policy of using ‘Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed’ while dealing with his enemies established him as the most sophisticated diplomat. However, his relationship with his friends and lovers was far from diplomatic. His sitting at the feet of his poor friend Sudama, washing away the dirt and fatigue off them with his own hands, shows the picture of a large-hearted friend for whom nothing mattered more than his dear friend. Every one of his lovers could feel his total presence with her whenever and wherever her soul thirsted for communion with him. His coming to aid of his sister Draupadi shows that his help was just a true call away from those who needed him. His preaching of Nishkaam Karma to Arjun, urging him to perform his duties sincerely without getting attached to the outcome, is the most powerful lesson in leading a successful life without getting entrapped in greed and disease.

Shri Krishna has to be understood in his entirety before we start following his teachings, or else, we may end up worse off than before. Like it is said – Half knowledge is worse than ignorance.

The Greatness of Gandhiji

Thursday, April 08, 2010

                                                                                           I found myself humming De dee hamein aazaadi bina khadg bina dhal, Sabarmati ke sant tune kar diya kamaal as I touched the sacred dust of Porbunder, the Janmabhumi (birth place) of Gandhiji. The moment my son and I entered the house where Gandhiji was born, my son, already familiar with the Saint by means of the great movies like Attenborough’s Gandhi and Rajkumar Hirani's Lage Raho Munnabhai, turned into a livewire. Forgetting his fatigue from the long journey and discomfort from the scorching heat of Mid-March in Gujrat, he roamed about in the entire three-storeyed house of Gandhiji asking questions about him, and expressing wonder at the myriad information he was getting. In my effort to answer his intelligent questions, I was reading frantically from the various engravings, posters, and paintings housed in the large museum in the adjoining building. The more I read about him, the deeper my longing became to feel his spirit in those surroundings.

We then came to Ahmedabad, the Karmabhumi (work place) of Gandhiji, and visited Sabarmati Ashram. Something about the atmosphere of the Ashram made me feel very peaceful. I felt privileged to walk on the land where Gandhiji had walked his Dandi March. Strolling around the Ashram premises, I walked into the museum building, and came across a poster in which Gandhiji was quoted as saying –

“I am mostly busy making sandals these days. I have already made about 15 pairs. When you need new ones now, please send me the measurements. And when you do so, mark the places where the strap is to be fixed – that is on the outer side of the big toe and the little one.”

It dawned upon me that Gandhiji belonged to the elite group of Yogis comprising Shri Krishna – the Gopal (who grazes cows), Jesus Christ – the Shepherd, Kabir Dasji – the Weaver, and Sant Raidasji – the Shoemaker. When such Yogis are at work, every work – humble or great, becomes the expression of their divinity!

Love's Labor's Lost?

Wednesday, April 7, 2010


He said, “I love her, but she thinks I don’t. How do I make her believe me?”


She’s a romantic at heart; he’s logical.
She expresses her love by arranging pleasant surprises for her beloved; he considers progression towards perfection as the ideal manifestation of love.
She is charmed by the beauties of the material world; he is attracted towards the allure of Spirit.
She questions the traditions of Hindu society; he understands that societal practices are skewed against women.

On what plane can the two meet and share love?

The answer probably lies in accepting women as individuals, and valuing God’s Nature over Man’s Custom.

When a man says that he loves a woman, he should accept the woman with the individuality that she is born with. Like men, women also live on three levels of consciousness – Body, Mind, and Soul. The man and the woman may or may not be on the same level of consciousness at the time of their union. Real love between them happens only when the one on the higher level lovingly and responsibly uplifts the other in order to grow together.

The wife should be allowed the space and freedom to feel genuine affection and respect for her Husband’s family, rather than being forced to accommodate with them in the name of tradition.

Then only ‘Love’s Labor’s Lost’ can be converted into ‘Love’s Labor’s Won’!

The Fall of God man

Friday, April 2, 2010

As I read stories about the self-styled Spiritual Gurus getting caught in acts far from spiritual, I tend to wonder as to how it is possible for someone to be unspiritual when all the actions and thoughts in conformity with Nature are purely spiritual. Every emotion, ranging from compassion to anger, is spiritual. Similarly, every action, ranging from meditation to mating, is purely spiritual. How then in the God’s world do these ‘Godmen’ manage to be unspiritual?

The answer probably lies in the intention behind the action and the emotion.

Any action or emotion intended to uphold the values of Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram (Truth, Goodness, and Beauty), can never go wrong or be unspiritual. Whereas, even the best action or emotion imbued with desire for Power, Money, and Lust, will always go wrong.

It is not unholy to have material abundance when it is used for the goodness and welfare of self and our fellow beings.

It is not unholy to enjoy the pleasures of the body when they are guided by the highest moral standards of Nature.

What make riches and pleasure unholy are the demons of greed and hypocrisy respectively.

Moreover, I feel that it is the great misfortune of those who, though pretend to have communion with the Divine, have never actually tasted the Nectar of unparalleled pleasure that the meditating soul enjoys.

For incarnations, the mind has been ruling us and forcing us to follow the ceaseless lures of sensations, feelings, and memories. But each little victory we win in controlling the mind brings us that much closer to mastery over our senses and our environment. – Shri Paramananda Yogananda

The Quality Consciousness

Monday, April 05, 2010

The first day I saw her at the tennis court, she looked attractive – her well-shaped body clad in good quality sportswear; her well-cut and tastefully highlighted hair; her attention-grabbing small talk with our Tennis coach on the highlights of the previous day’s Grand Slam tennis match; everything about her reflected good quality consciousness.

She came with her son to my son’s birthday party looking her best. I introduced her to my friends as ‘my tennis buddy’. She told them that though I had joined the tennis academy much later than her, I picked up the game really well. I could once again sense her consciousness about the quality things happening around her.

At the court, while taking short breathers between the play, I gathered that she studied English Literature for her Master’s degree, and is currently pursuing MBA from a renowned institute. No wonder, her good-natured short remarks reflect a cool combination of sharp humor and well-informed intellect.

A steadily increasing number of beginners at the tennis court was eating into the time and attention that each individual player got from the coach. She started talking with her fellow players about taking up the matter with the coach, and did actually make him conscious about the effect that the growing crowd was having on the quality of coaching we received.

The other day, she expressed to me her willingness to take personal coaching for a month in order to be able to practice repeatedly the strokes under the coach’s guidance, and thereafter, join the regular group. I am sure that behind her funny motto – I like to win, by hook or by crook, lies hidden the real mantra – Strive for Excellence, and Success will follow.