The opposite of every profound truth is often another profound truth, and nowhere is this more obvious than in the context of acceptance versus change. Lao Tzu said, “A man is born gentle and weak; at his death he is hard and stiff. All things, including the grass and trees, are soft and pliable in life; … More Acceptance and change
Last weekend, I found myself in not one but three different spiritual study classes. Here are selected notes: Divinity 24/7: The first one I attended was a satsang at an amazing place in the middle of nowhere called the Temple of Inspiration. Peopled by smiling, silent, everyday folks with halos around their heads, the prayers, … More Three lessons
The girl was having boy problems. “I have already told him I like him. So now he has hope that we’re taking it to the next level and going official about it. But the truth is, I don’t find him good-looking at all. I am in this only because he loves me so much.” “They … More Love to love me baby
This month, I celebrated the 14th anniversary of my turning vegetarian — a decision taken after returning from a pilgrimage. To cut a long story short, it was a voice in my head that said: ““Living out the effects of negative karma is so hard, let me not create any more negative karma knowingly.” My … More My meaty dilemma
“It’s your duty to be happy,” I coaxed my best friend after she shared that she’d tried to commit suicide, the last resort and cry for attention in a doomed marriage. (Thankfully, the thought of her baby kept her from going all the way.) That’s been a refrain for me in the past many years: … More On happiness duty
Continued from the previous post… Here’s more of what I’ve learnt in the past few months. 4. Your circumstances reflect your thoughts. My fears, which as mentioned earlier revolve around domestic drudgery, manifested in my environment. So the more I worried, the more acute crises I had to face. My dream help, who lived with us 24/7, … More Lessons in domesticity 2
A significant phase of my life is coming to a close, a phase that has given me the silence and space to look at my priorities, evaluate my goals and focus on my intimate relationships. I am left deeply affected and indelibly changed. As I look back for the meaning in the madness, I find … More Lessons in domesticity 1
“Where’s the toilet paper?” hollered the husband from inside the bathroom. “Where it always is,” I hollered back, busy with my early morning household chores. “It isn’t in here,” he said irritably. “I just put a fresh one in there yesterday,” I called back. “Where is it, I can’t see it,” he roared. “Look around, … More The missing toilet paper and other mysteries
Sometimes, you’re the daughter craving for your mother’s approval. Sometimes, you’re the mother craving for your daughter’s approval. Sometimes, you are lonely and wish for companionship. Sometimes, you have too much companionship and wish for solitude. Sometimes, you’re stuck in an office and miss the calm of the trees. Sometimes, you have the trees but … More Both sides
I have been reading a lot lately, and one of the books I read extolled the virtues of meditation (not that I was difficult to convince). So I sat down the very next morning at 4.30 am to enjoy 30 minutes of silence while everyone was asleep. Surprise, surprise. It was a cacophony in my … More We got a drooling kinda love
So it’s been ongoing, this discussion with the Voice in my head. *** “Things have been really great around here,” I said. “All’s really quiet and calm and peaceful. Life is good.” The best of all monopoly profits is a quiet life, the Voice replied. The economist JR Hicks said that, not me. So enjoy yourself. … More Clarity despite the white noise
Last Tuesday, P, an ex-colleague of mine and a single mother, found out through conclusive tests that her two-year-old son was autistic. She had suspected it for a while, she said. He didn’t look her in the eye and he was too quiet. But she had hoped against hope and kept her fingers crossed all … More A time of challenges
Some decisions suck the blood sugar out of you (this is research by the way) and some come so easily that you suspect something’s wrong. I’ve mostly always taken emotion-based decisions, which isn’t really a good idea, I know. I often regret it later, I often cry, I often go through difficult moments of doubt … More Decisions, decisions
Sometimes in tragedy we find our life’s purpose. The eye sheds a tear to find its focus. – Robert Brault Each turret, each tower, each little window on the sandcastle had been laid with precious love and care; each stroke of definition had a mother’s firm, devoted touch. Higher and higher it grew, taller than … More An invitation to anew
One of the folktales about Krishna relates an incident when the teenage god, wont to flirt with the young women (gopis) in his village, hides amongst the trees when they’re bathing. Naughty as ever, he snatches up all their clothes and runs away to a corner. When they’re done with their bath, they look around … More Naked
100 Paths 