01 May, 2014

The Deafening Silence -

During 1964-65, Ellora was a tiny, sleepy but happy village just a mile away from the now-famous Ellora-caves in Maharashtra, India. I had stayed in the village over a period of three months to work with the village folks to start a souvenir manufacturing unit. As a result, I had developed friendship in the village with an official Tourist Guide who was resident in the village. He had narrated to me the magnificence of the majestic artwork chiseled out of a mountain range from top down. I was in awe because I could not even begin to fathom the perspective and skills of the artisans that had chiseled the mountain range with such beauty over a period of a few centuries.

Every evening around dusk time, I took a solitary walk up to the entrance of the Ellora caves. I was afraid of entering the caves lest I shatter its deafening silence. But, I always paused at the cave, a bit afraid of darkness and the silence of all those majestically carved human figures and the hallways within the caves. There were no lamps of any kind around.

The utter silence of the caves in the evening, without a single tourist or human hanging around, seemed to audibly communicate the dedication and devotion of thousands of artisans.

Hanging around the caves in the darkness of its deafening silence, I was not a tourist; just an observer and listener with an awe of all that I was experiencing.

26 April, 2014

Sainthood  -

Modern press hunts for  sizzling topics every week to yap-yap about. One of the centuries old topic this week is about elevating two fellow brothers to Sainthood. Somehow, the words sainthood and spirituality get intertwined with individual opinion. Life also seems to be judged with individual perspective.

In the seemingly timeless and boundless Universe, a human is destined a lifespan of merely 100  years.

Sainthood seems to be the ability of a human to merge with universal consciousness; it is not about magic, miracles, and curing diseases. Disease is simply absence of ease and harmony within. The all pervading universal forces within and outside of us are identical.

From one perspective, the self-evolving Universe seems to be in a perpetual and repetitive cycle transitioning from Silence to Sound to Creation to Preservation to Transformation, and back to Silence. The much touted Big-Bang seems like just one incident in this repetitive and timeless cycle. In this timeless cycle, a human has the audacity to define ideas with words such as Religion, God, Spirituality and Sainthood.  Yet, each human seems to have an innate capacity to harmoniously blend with the Reality which manifests as the Universe.

Reality is woven in the entire fabric of Universe. Sainthood seems to be the capacity of a human to cross the borders of self-imposed limitations in the boundless freedom of the Universe. Every individual has the capacity to experience the boundless freedom, but often lacks the courage and will.

Sainthood seems to be the aroma of spirituality that engulfs the environment;  it is not something that is bestowed by one brother on another. Spirituality is universal consciousness that is not sown and harvested from the parched fields of ignorance, scholarship of scriptures, or holy places of worship. Sainthood and spirituality are expressions of boundless freedom without a word.

21 Jan. 2014

Supreme Meditation and Power Yoga –

Supreme Meditation and Power Yoga are the new marketing slogans addressing the global ignorance and impatience with time and space.

A Pizza can be ordered in specified sizes including small, regular, large and extra large. Then there is a choice of garnishes or alternately order either a standard or a supreme quality in which the garnishes are standardized. Ordering a Pizza has been simplified as 1, 2, and 3. The commercial marketers try to apply the same business principles to Yoga and Meditation.

It is amusing to see modern TV commercials offering a Power Yoga course to accelerate the end results of building bull power.  Meditation and Yoga are being offered as franchised services by those who do not comprehend the essential spirit and purpose of these self-disciplinary and self-enriching systems.

If you are aspiring to know what Yoga and Meditation is all about t , please do not search for a franchised deal or  bearded self-proclaiming Guru , sitting cross legged with closed eyes.  Instead, look intently at athletes or gymnasts performing unbelievable balancing acts that will leave you breathless. It is that intensity and focus of mind that is required to accomplish what we wish.  This type of disciplined state of mind and body prepares us for Meditation. Only through this meditative state can we experience the universal wisdom that reveals itself. This is a precious message that has transcended through millenniums of human consciousness.

Each man-made competitive religion has followed trajectories like miss-guided missiles, hitting wrong targets, accomplishing wrong objectives and dividing humanity. The progressive disciplines of Yoga and Meditation only unite universal energies.

In reality, Meditation and Yoga systems are offered as progressive disciplines suited to the physical abilities and limitations of each aspirant.  

Let the uncapped and unbridled spirit of life enable each aspirant of universal wisdom to disperse himself/herself in the reality of existence and its supreme power.

15 January, 2014

Pessimism, Optimism, Idealism and Realism -

It seems that life is acted out in an individual specific style. Pessimism, optimism, and idealism are all maladies of heart, which are manageable through  transformation of mental attitudes. Optimum balance of these mental faculties transforms us into a Realist.

Pessimism is symbolic of an injured heart and mind that radiates its pain through the neck, left shoulder and arm muscles. Optimism is symbolic of an enlarged heart with an overactive mind that blankets the pain of reality. Idealism is symbolic of a heart that beats at an unnatural rhythm and a judgemental mind.  All three represent maladies of the heart and mind.

Realism is symbolic of a normal heart with balanced mind that breaths the natural rhythm of life.

13 January, 2014

Arielle –

Two year old Arielle Deo is up in the air at the moment travelling from Mumbai to Chicago. Unknowingly and innocently, she is moving though changing altitudes, latitudes, time zones and cultural zones. Since she is not yet aware of Time, there is no chance of her getting any jet lag. While in transit, she knows that when she is hungry it is time to chow and if she is sleepy, it is time to sleep. All other mundane activities such as changing her diaper, clearing customs and immigration are efficiently delegated to her parents.

While she is awake in flight, Arielle is humming “Oh what fun, it is to ride without any luggage and baggage”. As soon as Arielle lands in Chicago, the same day her Deepak chachoo will start travelling in the opposite direction from Chicago to Mumbai carrying only his backpack. May be, this is the forthcoming trend of international travelling in the 21^st Century.  

मकर संक्रांत -

आज है १४ जनवरी, महाराष्ट्रमें मकर संक्रांत का माहोल है, और सुबह आकाश वाणीपर सुना कि पीर हजरत मुहम्मद पैगम्बरका जन्म दिन है . आजसे सूरज की रफ़्तार मकर वृत्त  से (Tropic of Cancer latitude) से  भूमध्य रेखा (Equator) की ओर बढती जाती है . इस माँहोलमें सुना है कि विश्वचैतन्यका प्रभाव मानव जातीको खुदकी असली पहेचान पानेके लिए प्रफुल्लित करता है. इस महोलको अपनी खुदकी  सोचमें बिठालो, और खुदको पालो।

इसी खुशीमें महाराष्ट्रमें तिल-गुड खानेका और खिलानेका रिवाज है एक याद दिलाने “एक दूसरे से मीठा बोलो”. ना डरो , मीठा बोलनेसे डायबेटीस नहीं होती; बल्कि अगर आ रही होगी तो दुम दबाकर भाग जायेगी।  जुगराथ में हजारो पतंगें उड़ाई जाती हैं जो आकाशको रंगबिरंग करदेती हैं; ये  सुनहरा दृश्य  मैंने वडोदरामें १९५६ - ५७  में देखा है.  सारे भारत में अलग अलग तरीकेसे इस माहोल को मनाया और अपनाया जाता है।   

खुशियां बाँटने वाले अपने मीठे त्योंहार मानते और मनाते जाएँ। इसके अंदर जो अनमोल सुनहरा संदेशा होता है,  वो एक दिन मनमे खुल जायेगा। जिंदगी प्रफुल्लित हो जायेगी।  

मकर संक्रांत -

आज है १४ जनवरी, महाराष्ट्रमें मकर संक्रांत का माहोल है, और सुबह आकाश वाणीपर सुना कि पीर हजरत मुहम्मद पैगम्बरका जन्म दिन है . आजसे सूरज की रफ़्तार मकर वृत्त  से (Tropic of Cancer latitude) से  भूमध्य रेखा (Equator) की ओर बढती जाती है . इस माँहोलमें सुना है कि विश्वचैतन्यका प्रभाव मानव जातीको खुदकी असली पहेचान पानेके लिए प्रफुल्लित करता है. इस महोलको अपनी खुदकी  सोचमें बिठालो, और खुदको पालो।

इसी खुशीमें महाराष्ट्रमें तिल-गुड खानेका और खिलानेका रिवाज है एक याद दिलाने “एक दूसरे से मीठा बोलो”. ना डरो , मीठा बोलनेसे डायबेटीस नहीं होती; बल्कि अगर आ रही होगी तो दुम दबाकर भाग जायेगी।  जुगराथ में हजारो पतंगें उड़ाई जाती हैं जो आकाशको रंगबिरंग करदेती हैं; ये  सुनहरा दृश्य  मैंने वडोदरामें १९५६ - ५७  में देखा है.  सारे भारत में अलग अलग तरीकेसे इस माहोल को मनाया और अपनाया जाता है।   

खुशियां बाँटने वाले अपने मीठे त्योंहार मानते और मनाते जाएँ। इसके अंदर जो अनमोल सुनहरा संदेशा होता है,  वो एक दिन मनमे खुल जायेगा। जिंदगी प्रफुल्लित हो जायेगी।