just flow...

"Don’t try to force anything. Let life be a deep let-go. God opens millions of flowers everyday without forcing their buds.”

~Osho

irony...

Today is Vaikunta Ekadashi, a day when traditional Hindus aspire to breathe their last as it is believed to take you directly to heaven....

Ironical that a man condemned for his heinous crimes should be put to death today!!!

inspirations...

'Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love, but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.'

- Kahlil Gibran

Merry Christmas!!!

"If God has loved the world, the whole of fallen creation…

then God gave us no preference over the others.

God has loved my worst enemy

no less than myself."

- Mystery of the Holy Night

Though the word "fallen" does not suit my perspectives, I like what is said here..

And from a message in my inbox,

"Christmas – a moment in time
God takes on the texture of human skin.
A particular color, race, nationality, language,
Gender, family, creed
Markers of identity we will protect.
Through manger, cross, resurrection
through grace alone that which confines is set free.
We are invited to bear a new identity;
the sons and daughters of God."

MERRY CHRISTMAS - REJOICE....

True Listening...

Even as we are in a conversation, it is important to listen to oneself even as one is hearing and talking to the other.A whole occupied space, full of opinions and conditionings is what comes into play. There is so much within us which makes us incapable of listening to the other wholly.When the chatter or the echo within ceases, we just experience the other's words in toto, not judging even as they are speaking, rather "experiencing"...

The silence within is a destination of calm and bliss; a cyclone normally characterizes our existence there.A cyclone that adds to our "positionality" and makes us poor conversers..It is from this domain of acceptance in silence within that enables us to "relate".Else, we are hardly connecting even in seeming intimate zones.

And to relate is to live, rather than exist; in the words of a great contemporary master, Life is Relationships....

Being Oneself...

Integrity is being true to oneself.It requires one to really know oneself and operate from one's real motivations.Why are we really doing what we are doing? Our aspirational perceptions of ourselves often get so internalized that we often think and act as persons we aspire to be.What we are is a far cry from what we would like ourselves to be.Wearing masks for the world at large is one thing whereas deceiving oneself with a projected ideal is an altogether different thing.Thus, a person working with under-privileged sections in a socially relevant scenario , in my opinion is there as a matter of personal choice, not any sacrificial lamb led to slaughter.When we make choices, it comes at a cost and we cannot escape them.The manifest of our lives is a direct parameter of teh choices we make deep down within us.The choices themselves are rarely, if ever in domains of freedom, more often than not emerging from realms of conditionality in our unconscious mind layers.

Integrity is the key to all the doors that are seemingly closed in our lives.To be ourselves is to be true to ourselves...the way to live rather than exist...

Prayer - a potent weapon

Prayer to one’s chosen form has been regarded as a gateway to Grace from time immemorial.When we operate out of a dire need , prayer is a “happening” in helplessness.

There are a few aspects that require clarification vis-à-vis the art of prayer.Very often people mistake worship for prayer. Worship can be a part of a nitya sadhana(routine religious exercises); it is an acknowledgement, an offering of gratitude to the source of all that is in a way we perceive it.

Worship can also be a part of a planned prayer session; it is always beautiful to start with an acknowledgement of blessings in one’s life and feel grateful for the same.It sets a sacred inner ambience for releasing our prayer or intent into the vast expanses of the universe.

A fundamental need to release a prayer is a strong bond or a sense of connect with one’s chosen form, this could also be formless.A sense of deep connectedness helps emotionalise the prayer and energize it’s manifest more effectively.When one is relating to a form, the scriptures recommend a bond in one of the four Bhavas; Vatsalya, where the object of our worship becomes a parent or a child ; Madhura Rasa, where the object of our worship acquires the hue of a romantic lover or beloved; Sakya Rasa, where the object of our worship is a friend and finally, the Dasya Rasa, where we treat the object of our worship as a master, a ruler, a Guru, God or any other….Relating in one or the other of these forms help us connect in a deep sense of bonding and emotional intimacy.

When the bond is strong, it has the capacity to breakthrough various protocols of communication in this Divine connect.Hence, the emphasis on the Bhakti Rasa in our scriptures.Have we not heard immortal tales of great bhaktas such as Namdev, Pundlik,Mirabai, Sudama and many others who enjoyed a great personal rapport with the objects of their worship.

A second aspect in prayer is the need for clarity vis-à-vis our need. The greater our clarity, the more probable it’s chance of manifesting.Prayer has to be always positive; as an eg if one is praying to seek alleviation from a financial crisis, one should ask for the money one requires rather than wallow in the problem.It also helps to visualize the solution clearly.A positive intent thus released into the universe has a greater possibility of manifesting into an actuality.A person with a chronic and crippling ailment tends to focus on his miserable condition and reinforce the situation.What should be done is a release of a positive intent visualizing ourselves a healthy bereft of the currently manifested condition. We should see ourselves as healed and offer gratitude for the same..

The Universe does not respond to vagueness.However, in the presence of a strong bond, the Universe responds from a tuning in of our deepest needs.

Generally, needs are answered , not desires born in mere mind comparisons.We see a Mercedes Benz as we walk down the road….a desire grips us to own one…this is not a need…When we observe childless couples, more often than not, their need is born in peer pressure rather than in intrinsic longing.One man’s desire can however be another’s need.

The completion of a prayer is in an expression of gratitude to the Divine Will and an unconditional acceptance of Divine Will vis-à-vis the response.We have to acknowledge that our seeking is in the context of our extremely limited perspective of things and events.

Pre-requites for the manifest of our prayers are a harmonious relationship with our parents and with those around us. It is always advisable to offer pada-pooja to our parents in a sense of gratitude and seek their blessings for an alleviation of our problems and a fulfillment of our desires.

The Universe responds to every need of man….as our consciousness levels evolve, we grow in our abilities to manifest whatever we conceive for ourselves.

knowledge and wisdom....

People who seek wisdom soon make an important discovery. Wisdom cannot be sought. Unlike information - which you can most definitely go out hunting or fishing for - wisdom is nobody's prey and nobody's quarry. If you wish to encounter wisdom - you must stand still and allow wisdom to catch you! Wisdom whispers. It rarely shouts. It suggests. It doesn't insist. It finds its way to us if we invite it into our life.
-Jonathan Cainer

functional space moults...

Have been a bit stressed on a current professional assignment involving mounting of a corporate celeb event on Saturday.Seem to be magnetizing lot of vagueness on my outside...looking within to explore the seeds of the pattern manifest.. I myself have a tendency to be vague and uncertain on professional terms of interface...simultaneous moult time within and cyclonic functional demands outside...trying to manage two distinct flavours of existence...one demanding action and other demanding silent withdrawal...