My husband and I have started going for yoga classes together, and in one of the classes last week, our instructor took us through a visualization meditation process. We were supposed to first remember a happy moment from our lives, and then later visualize our fondest desire come true. In the first part, I remembered … More The marital hazards of visualization
A poem by Hafiz At some point Your relationship with God Will become like this: Next time you meet Him in the forest Or on a crowded city street There won’t be any more “Leaving.” That is, God will climb into Your pocket. You will simply just take Yourself Along! … More No more leaving
It was a pleasant day in Antalya, Turkey. I was on holiday with my husband and children. The clouds gave us respite from the pinching Mediterranean summer sun. I’d had a sleepless night so all I wanted to do was lie down and doze off on the beach chair. My husband sat next to me, reading … More Loving what’s within
“What so great happiness as to be beloved, and to know that we deserve to be beloved? What so great misery as to be hated, and to know that we deserve to be hated?” -Adam Smith Isn’t it a wonder that we have been, or are, both?
I have been caught up in the whirlwind of Maya. Passion for work and overriding attachments to my family have kept me firmly rooted in the rajas guna (ambition, material growth, desires), while a certain sloth has taken over my physical condition — s symptom of the tamas guna (immobility, darkness, pathway to stagnation). I’ve seriously missed … More Catching myself
My team at work is aged between 24 to 30 years, and (besides me) all are single. Some of them are looking for love, others are dating and confused, and a few are dating someone their families would never approve of. So my Monday tips (a ritual we began couple of months ago) today were … More Lessons in love (from an older person to her younger colleagues)
We take a lot of things for granted, and when we do, we end up undervaluing them. Our mother’s love and attention for example. We figure it’s a given that she will take time off from work and be there in audience on an important school event. We figure it’s a given that she will … More The mother in us
When we’re in heaven I’ll rub almond oil on your eyes and lips And you will massage my feet (just out of curiosity) And we’ll look into the mirror together And see the other’s face glow When we’re in heaven We’ll cuddle under enormous blankets And your warmth will melt me (and mine will put … More When we’re in heaven
A scene comes to mind. A face, an unlikely location. You are the protagonist but everything else appears to be a dream. You have another home, another husband, another life. You do not recognise yourself. This cannot be you. Those are not your words, your thoughts. You aren’t like this. You aren’t like this any … More Value-added moment
“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
It doesn’t take much, really. Doesn’t take much to find happiness or joy or God in everyday life. Just caught the daughter’s eyes: she’s watching Keeping up with the Kardashians on her laptop on the sofa, and she looks up at me just as I look up from mine. My eyes are full of love, … More God at home
Today morning, I chanced upon an endearing sight, once again from my laundry area that overlooks the service lane behind our building. A young woman (in her late teens, and most likely the wife of a labourer working at the new construction there) had laid out a charpoy in the winter sun, right there in … More The God in grooming
I’ve been working from home the past couple of weeks, managing a magazine from 2,160 km away (thank God for technology). Instead of a stuffy, airless cubicle, I now look out at an expansive manicured garden as I work from my younger one’s bedroom (and it’s grinning lush green in the rain today). Instead of … More The presence of love
100 Paths 