Yesterday morning, I was hurrying to deposit a cheque in the bank when I saw a tiny black stray puppy on the side of the road. It had a collar on, so some shopkeeper was probably caring for it. A fellow passer-by had stopped to play with it. A big smile spread across my face … More No second chances

There are two separate realities in my life – as I am sure there are in everyone else’s – where I play separate roles and have different expectations in relationships. Let’s call them Situation A and Situation B. There’s also a Situation C, which is my work life, but this post isn’t about that. Situations … More Livin’ in the grey zone

“Endless literary controversy is for sluggard minds. What more liberating thought than ‘God is’ — nay, ‘God’?” I’d meant to read Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramhansa Yogananda for years now, and finally chanced upon it while shopping for stationery at Landmark with the kids a couple of weeks ago. I am not yet halfway … More Yogi bare

In the past few days, various teachable moments with the kids have come back to the attitude of ‘accepting what is’. The elder one was away on an inter-school sports meet in Ahmedabad, and three days into her trip, she called to say she’s not feeling happy, she’s bugged about something but cannot share it, she wants … More Accepting what is

A few days ago, I found myself in a working relationship with people that I judged in a negative way. I also happened to meet mutual acquaintances who gave me enough goss to reinforce my initial impressions. Around the same time, I read a post at Tiny Buddha about NOT JUDGING others: “When you judge another, you do … More Unjudge

I’ve just started at my new job, and the first couple of days were the hardest I’ve been through in a long time. And it’s not getting any better a week down the line. The physical discomfort of a new workstation, computer, chair, air-conditioning, coupled with the emotional stress of new colleagues, expectations, rules and … More Creating space for more

Goldie Hawn, award-winning Hollywood actress and founder of the Bright Light Foundation that conducts studies on how to enhance a child’s sense of self, capacity for joy and resilience, was in India a few years ago. I had interviewed her but the piece had never been published. I think my blog is a suitable space … More Goldie Hawn, up close and spiritual

It’s never a coincidence, of course, when two messages with similar meanings come across your path on the same day. Here’s what I got in the last 24 hours: “The amazing thing about impermanence is that the realization of it opens up in you the dimension of space or stillness, when it is not resisted. … More From impermanence to love

At a Buddhist discussion meeting last week (I’m part of the SGI, and follow Nichiren Buddhism), I came across the concept of ‘true friends’ versus ‘true enemies’. Simply put, a true friend is one that takes you deeper into your spiritual practice, and a true enemy is one that takes you away from it. So, … More Friends and enemies

I have been absconding from duty (this blog) not because there haven’t been any miracles in my life, but because there have been so many that I cannot express it all in words. So I thought, let me start with what’s right there in front of me. And what there is – is my girls … More Pow ‘wow’

Here are some notes from a discourse by TT Rangarajan that I attended a few months ago, putting them down in case I lose my notebook! 1. God is a matter of alignment, not belief. Faith in God is not enough, you have to align yourself with the message — whether it’s Krishna’s or Christ’s. Your value … More Teacher talk

On my last day in Singapore, my brother and I discussed that the most effective way of giving respect and attention to older folk was to ask them stories of their youth. Had he and I not had this talk, I would have missed precious opportunities that came up recently to uncover fascinating tales of … More Mongooses and a red lace sari

As an editor, nipping and tucking voluminous text is a vital part of my job. No matter how interesting the original text by the writer is, I have to cull out several portions of it due to paucity of space. Yesterday night, while editing a particularly interesting interview, I realised that my reader would only … More Editing life

I read a piece by T.T. Rangarajan, one of my favourite spiritual teachers, in Life Positive a few days ago. In it, he talks about the only three questions that are worth asking oneself as a measure of a life well lived. I decided to introspect on my responses and check my score. 1. Each … More Checkpoint

It takes seconds for the children to fall asleep. Their mother, however, lies awake in the darkness, unwilling to let go off what is Yesterday, unable to dive fearlessly into Tomorrow. Every night the same mental drama plays out; the minute the lights go off, the screen of my mind begins throwing up images I … More Light in the dark