Here is my reflection to the article by Aiden Cinnamon Tea
Animate and inanimate look opposite of each other. It depends on our perspective. If I look at the reality with a narrow or close mind I see it differently than if I see it with an open and clear mind. There is wise saying in Sanskrit which says "Yatha drusti tatha srusti". The world appears as I see it. My perception is based on how I see the reality. A distorted perception will create a distorted reality. An important challenge for us is how to see the reality as it is. No perversion, no distortion. Sadly, we live in a world where differences create distances. How do I see the differences: differences in color, race, casts, and creeds. According to my understanding differences, are created by our narrow and prejudicial mind set. Our mind gets conditioned. We are conditioned to think in black or white colors. And we all know how injustice is created by our black or white perspective. If we go beyond these walls we can see oneness in manyness. We realize unitive consciousness.
A question arises in my mind. Is an inanimate the same as animate? Outwardly they appear different; but inwardly they are identical. Who or what has created such differences? According to my understanding, we ascribe positive value to those who are like us and consider them ours, and those who are not like us we consider them different from us, and lower than us. We have created these walls of differences and divisiveness. We may also consider inanimate objects not only different but distant. This is an illusion. The divine spirit doesn't have that divisiveness. People who are noble-hearted have gone beyond these walls and they accept others as the citizens of the same world. I remember an illuminating song written in Sanskrit by an enlightened spiritual teacher, guru Adi Sankaracharya:
Pratha smarami hrudi sampurit atmam,
Sat chit sukham paramahansa gati turiyam.
Yat swpana jagarat sushiptim aveti nityam,
Tad brahmanishkalam na cha bhuta sangaha.
Every morning when I get up I remember in my heart, Brahma , the creator satyam is truth. jagat-world mithya, an illusion.
Every morning when I wake up let me remember in my heart, I am the divine - truth, Brahmaiava satyan, jagat mithya. The Creator the world is an illusion.
Brhamaiava satyam na cha bhutasangaha- I am the Divine soul and not the collection of matter. This is a wake up call. This is the way we connect with nature and and with each other.
Namaste!

After reading the wonderful writing by Lata Mani, here is my reflection:
Isness means that something is. Isness is the understanding that everything that exists is not only infinitely alive but it has its own particular vibrancy that connects our body, mind and heart as a triadic form of intelligence that is available to us all as humans. Sadly, we are taught or conditioned to focus on divisiveness on the basis of caste, color and creed. According to me this is not spirituality. Spiritually we all are children of God regardless of which religion we may follow. Real religiosity unites us as brothers and sisters. It doesn't hurt, It heals. To a real religious person, the whole universe is a family. Such a spiritual orientation does not believe in conversion, in a spiritual superiority. Unfortunately and sadly we have leaders who sadly have this kind of mental complex. I have heard some political and religious leaders proclaiming God is on the outside when we fight deadly wars. Understanding and practicing illness unites us, elevates us on a higher plane of awareness and consciousness. We transcend from Me to We, from personal consciousness to unitive consciousness. Daily Mindfulness practice and practicing Mindfulness Meditation helps me stay on my path.

Namaste!

Based on the excerpt from Thich Nhat Hanh's book 'Touching Peace', here is my reflection:
Who am I? Am I my body? Am I my mind? Am I my heart? Am I beyond these three dimensions? Is there something invisible in me which transcends these three dimensions? Am I the fourth dimension which is free from the three dimensions-body, mind and heart? As the Buddha said when he got enlightened: Gate, gate, parasangate Bodhi swaha. Gone, gone beyond, gone beyond the beyond. It is nameless, formless, shapeless. And that's who I am, my true identity. What an awakening! This is enlightenment.
Knowing the reality, suchness, cognitively, emotionally and relationally has limitations. By freeing oneself from oneself is real freedom. It is like an open sky with no clouds. I fly in that open and clear sky in which there are no man-made boundaries. By understanding and implementing such Realty in my daily life, my life blossoms like a flower with one thosand petals. And that flower does not wither away. This is a holistic way of living. It is fulfilling. I need to remain awakened and not go back to sleep. May the light within help us keep walking on the right path.
Amen! Namaste.

This passage on not knowing the future makes me think about how I live my life. There is certainty about uncertainty. This is a paradoxical truth. There are a few certain things I know and I feel sure of such things. However, a large portion of my living is in the uncertainty zone of my life. A great challenge that I face in my life is how to live with uncertainty. Living with uncertainty drains my energy and I get exhausted. Growing up in the twilight zone, the zone of light and darkness has taught me how to walk on the Middle Path without resistance.
Accept what I can and do not employ my energy in combating what I can't and know the difference, and have the courage to change. This serenity prayer helps me walk on the right path, the path of living a balanced life. Nothing in the world we live in remains the same. Seasons change. Life changes. Body changes. Mind changes. Heart changes. Fortune changes. Change is constant. Awareness of such changes and accepting them gracefully has been very helpful to me in the journey of my life.

​Namaste!

The passage "The Softening" authored by Richard Rudd is very illuminating to me. It reminds me of the saying Simple Living And High Thinking. Our simple living can be enriching and fulfilling. Our basic needs to survive and enhance our living are very few. Sadly we are not content with what we have. We ask for more and more material things and possessions. We believe the more we have, the more merry and happy we will be. The thirst for having more possessions is rarely quenched. The more possessions we have the less we become fulfilled. We need to be aware of this hunger and thirst for more material possessions. There is no end to this thirst. Before I came to the US, we were relatively poor. However, we had inward richness, inner wealth of peace, joy, fulfillment and gratification. When I came to the richest country in the world I saw inward poverty. I believe in living a balanced life. Living in a balanced way I feel happy, peaceful and fulfilled. I believe there is light of awareness within all of us. This light helps me walk on the path of natural wisdom. However, there are times when I do not remain awake and create suffering in me and others close to me. I wake up from my sleep, remain awake and walk on the path. As I am getting older, I remain more awake and walk steadily on the right path, the path of natural wisdom. May we all join each other's hands and walk on the path of awareness. This is my prayer. Amen.
​Namaste.

This passage Staying True To Your Heart Is the Essence of Life authored by Kerri Lake opens the window of my Heart, the window of Unconditional Love, the window of Awakening. The mind has a tendency to divide and dispute. The heart unites us. Heart is the center of pure love, unfiltered truth. Love and Truth unite us and create a sense of Oneness. Truth is always open. There is no need to hide from the truth. Truth always unites us. Truth makes us the citizens of the universe, the children of God. When my mind is not filled with noises like right and wrong, mine and thine, rich and poor, black and white I see the Light of Oneness, Light of Unitive Consciousness, Light of Transcendental Awareness. I see Oneness in Manyness. This is my relationship with the Divine Truth. This is an awakened state of Consciousness. There are times when I go through the state of inner blindness and I do not see the light of awakening. I go inwardly blind. I get divided within myself. This is a wake up call for me. Daily practice of non judgemental Mindfulness and Mindfulness Meditation helps me to walk on the path of awakening. This is my sadhana, the spiritual way of living my life.
Namaste!

​Looking Through A Window authored by Sam Harris reminds me of Advaita, No Twoness. We all are One, regardless of apparent differences and divisiveness. It is an illusory, delusion of the Self. The Self is One regardless of apparent differences of me and you, us and them, black and white, rich and poor, me and you, and religious differences. Essentially we are one. In an ancient Indian book of wisdom called Kathopanishad it is described in three Sanskrit words Tat Tvama Asi-Thou art that-the Truth, That Unitive Consciousness. For worldly transactions we relate to each other with such differences. In the spiritual world we all are one. We know how many battles and wars are created by this divisiveness. We tend to forget that in the Divine eyes we all are children of God. An important question arises in me: Who created such divisiveness and dividedness? This inquiry needs to be made with an open and unbound consciousness. We have to keep the window open and the mirror clean to understand and realize the Unitive Consciousness. Sadly we remain blind and our mind closed. We need to awaken from our delusion to see the Divine Truth. The mirror of our eyes needs to be cleaned and cleared to see the Truth as it is. It is called Self-transcendence. When, how long are my eyes open and clear to see and realize the Divine Truth in my everyday living? How often do I keep the moors clear and clean? How long do I remain open, alert and awake? Often my eyes are open to see the Truth of oneness and harmony and unconditional love. It happens when I transcend my self-created and self -serving self. This is a spiritual journey, a road less travelled. At times I miss the road. I get up and start walking on my path. What keeps me awake? What keeps me on my path? This is the time for me to awaken and keep on walking on my path. If nobody walks with me, as Rabindranth Tagore says, Walk Alone, Walk Alone. I walk alone with my inner eyes open to see the Light of Love and Truth. Practicing non judgemental Mindfulness and Mindfulness Meditation helps me walk steadily on this spiritual path.
​Namaste!

Below is my reflection based on Rabindranath Tagore's excerpt from Shyamoli :

Consciousness is without boundaries. It is like a clear sky with no egotistic clouds. It is "I" with no egotistic boundaries. It is defined as Brahman. When my consciousness is not bound by myself-created boundaries, I become the "Iness", free from my self-created boundaries. It is unbound, limitless, free, ever shining light.
A long time ago, we were on a pilgrimage to Amarnath located on one of the tops of the Himalayas. The sun was setting with no clouds in the sky. The air was pure with no pollution. There was total silence. There were no clouds of thoughts in our minds. We became one with existence, the divine existence without human made boundaries. I will never forget the Divine Presence.
My daily practice of Meditation and Mindfulness have been very helpful to me. It keeps me awake from my self-created sleep. May we keep that inner light shining and walk on the path of Oneness and Awakening!
Namaste!

To go beyond fragmentation and divisiveness is essential not only for the survival but also for the fulfillment of our potential. Sadly we see the world fragmented by religions, races, classes and colors of our skin.. God has created all beings equal regardless of man -created differences. This looks like a revolutionary idea. We all need not internalize it and to manifest it and put it into our daily actions. I agree with Vimala Thaker's assertion when she writes, "In this era to become a spiritual inquirer without social consciousness is a luxury that we can ill afford, and to be a social activist without a scientific understanding of the inner workings of the mind is the worst folly." This is a big challenge as we have to revolt against our long held beliefs of discrimination, prejudices, and preferences to expand our narrow mindedness outlook. The inner change leads to outer change. This way we become whole and embrace unitive consciousness. Such inner work takes time as the inner chains of divisiveness are strongly built.
I was blessed to be in a relatively poor family but my parents have cultivated inner wealth of love, compassion and kindness. They were role models for all of us in our family. My childhood experiences and learning to live with open mindedness and open heartfulnes have enriched my life and I am very grateful to them for planting the seeds of uncondional love. Learning and practicing mindfulness and meditation in my everyday life and living mindfully has kept the candle of awakening shining in my mind and heart.
​Namaste!

Here is my reflection to the short essay by Robin Wall Kimmerer:
How do I see the world and how do I relate to is very important. If I view the world with a sense of ownership I am going to suffer and make others suffer. If I view it as an unconditional gift I am going to be happy. Giving is receiving seems like a paradoxical statement. When I give something to somebody from my heart I feel deeply content. My heart gets filled with joy, happiness and fulfillment. How do I reciprocate such a gift unconditionally? When someone loves me unconditionally I offer my gift to him or her with no conditions, with no expectations in return. Such gifts bring a deep joy in me. I was born in a relatively poor family but rich in heart. I had a few friends who were born in affluent families. When they came to our house my mother used to offer them homemade bread made with love. And they loved to eat it. My mother used to tell me," Bread made with love tastes better, when it is offered to others as a gift from your loving heart." God has given us many free gifts without conditions. Gifts such as the earth, water, air, heat, light and sky. Without such gifts we cannot survive. How do I reciprocate such gifts? According to my understanding, we keep such gifts clean and do not pollute them. This is our sacred responsibility. If we don't take this responsibility seriously and earnestly we will pay a very heavy price. So the time has come up for us to wake up and do the right thing. I practice mindfulness, awareness of my thoughts, feelings, emotions and actions walking on the path of awakening. That helps me stay on the course. May we all walk on this path and fulfill our sacred duty.
Amen! Namaste.