Some Feelings..Some Words...From The Heart...

A sweet friend called and exclaimed, “Oh, why do our near and dear ones (relatives) talk ill, are upset with us in spite of our best intentions, backbite us? Why can’t there be purity, understanding, and goodwill in relationships?” She was a little disturbed and she expressed it in her extremely sweet Hindi. I tried to explain that every person acts in accordance with their deep-rooted sanskars (conditioning of the past) and the only way to change these sanskars is to first realize that they are obstructing outgrowth and happiness. Most people today have a low Spiritual Quotient (SQ) and thereby operate from an egoistic and self – obsessive thought pattern. And on top of that, they are convinced that they know what life is all about, they know what is right, and that they are always right. I suggested to her that she needs to give top priority to ‘SQ’ in her desired list of what she would want in her life – companion. How many people even think of this factor when they make friends, ...

My close friend Rohan’s Wife Bhavita read my last article “Who Cares” and called me. In the concluding part of the article, I wrote that parents get worried if their daughters cross 30 years of age (and are yet unmarried), without bothering whether she or the guy have within themselves what it takes to marry. Yes, family background, financial background, looks have their own place in this decision, but what about the mental readiness needed to sustain the relationship. So Bhavita called and asked if there can be a check-list to know this potentiality of readiness. In other words, she enquired simply if one could know if one is qualified to marry. It gave me the raw – material for this article. A few points, as I understand life and love, are listed: 1. Learn to accept and adapt to the other person as he/she is with all his/her weaknesses. You do not need to agree with or endorse those weaknesses. 2. Understand that every person is on their own journey of evolution and has a differ...

If we seek real, lasting happiness (which we do), we need an inner change in our understanding of the world and ourselves. But we keep trying to trade in one set of circumstances for another keeping our ‘take’ on everything the same. We change schools, colleges, teachers, wives, jobs, servants, houses, business, and even Gods. The only exception we make is our mind which remains the same in all the above changes we rush into. When all we need to do was to change the mind and its conditionings/patterns. And for this, it is vital to observe our mind, life, where it has led us so far. We must do this self-introspection objectively and seek knowledge/wisdom/better understandings/truths about this world/who are we/what is love, etc., etc., etc. (the list is endless). But we don’t feel this need as we are convinced that we know everything. Therefore, my favorite one-liner is “The trouble with most folks is not so much their ignorance as their knowing so many things which aren’t so” – Josh B...

My Guru Shri Haribhai Kothari often spoke about two kinds of people – one who is only wanting to enjoy this life. Their only mantra “Eat, drink, be merry.” They seek no higher purpose nor are they inclined to know if there is any goal of human birth, except to acquire and to enjoy sense pleasures. Most of their time and energy is spent in earning and then deciding where to holiday. A majority of this group do not believe much in afterlife or rebirth nor are they aware of any aspect of this life which will accompany them and carry forward to future lives. I have heard so many well-meaning people say that what you sow, you will reap here only. Such people (with very few exceptions) are allergic to any form of Satsangh or Guru since they are convinced that they know what life is all about. Since they would not be inclined to believe what our scriptures have been saying since time immemorial about reincarnation and rebirth. I would strongly recommend them to read “Many Lives, Many Masters...

My young friend called me up and without a Hi or a Hello said, “Listen why doesn’t he even listen to me? I only want him to listen to what I say. It’s okay if he doesn’t understand me.” She was talking about her fiancé, who she claims was once crazy to just hear her voice. Well, this is the commonest complaint I hear these days. Nobody it seems has time much to listen to anyone else. I recently went for dinner with a couple. And at least 3 times in the hour that we were together the wife told my friend, “Will you please switch off your mobile and listen to me?” He didn’t comply. She gave up and switched on her own mobile. I ate my food silently with intermittent “Take this, taste that” from them both. Perhaps the only need many have is just to be heard, and the only problem they have is that nobody has the time or inclination to hear them out. I remember a lovely Mohmad Rafi Song from ‘Hun Dono’ which has a verse saying, “Kaun rota hai kisiki aur ke khatir aye dost. Sabko apne hi kisi...

A king’s minister always reacted to any event by proclaiming “whatever the Lord does is always for the best.” Once the king’s finger got cut badly while cleaning his sword and while it was bleeding profusely, the minister made his proclamation. The King was furious and ordered the immediate imprisonment of the minister for his insensitivity. While the minister was being taken to jail, he made his proclamation again. A few days later, the king went hunting in a forest and lost his way. He was caught by a jungle-tribe who took him to their king. He was then chosen to be sacrificed as per their custom. While he was being dressed for this, an elderly tribesman saw his finger cut and as per their tradition, the king was released, since the person sacrificed had to be immaculate and perfect. The king remembered the minister's proclamation on his finger being cut and rushed to release him immediately. Thanking him profusely, he asked, “I have just one question, how was your imprisonmen...

Life has its ups and downs, only sometimes they are very stark. In the last 15 days, divinity took me onto this merry-go round trip. In early October, I visited Pondicherry and Auroville with our Savitri teacher Ms. Sanjana. I will never finish thanking her for insisting that I should join the group visit. Pondicherry is simply beautiful and has a magnetic pull. I just fell in love with the place. We visited the Samadhi Mandir of Sri Aurobindo and Mother. It was an experience. We had some lovely sessions with different teachers and we stayed at the Guest House of the Ashram which is right over the beach overlooking its entire ocean, especially the early morning view from the balcony of my room. I was blessed at the Ganesh temple by the elephant Lakshmi who was splendidly cute. And on the final day, we visited the Matri Mandir at Auroville. It was so beautiful that I wonder why it has not yet been included in the “Wonders of world.” This was the peak part of my merry-go-round. I am ...