Based on the wonderful reading, written by Rabbi Yael Levy, I have penned down my reflection:
​
Offering forgiveness, compassion, connection and love to the people who hate us is the antidote to hatred, scorn and disdain. Acknowledging the waves of anger and revenge and letting them go helps me maintain my equilibrium. It takes time to cultivate such mindset. Patience and perseverance help me to navigate my life course.

Sadly, some times people have thrown arrows of hatred towards me. They are judgmental and cynical. I have learnt not take their behaviors personally. Becoming aware of what's going on inside me , process it and let it go.

Namaste.

This passage reminds me of a poem composed and sung by Saint Kabir. " Dhundhe kahan mere bande, main to teri pashun" It is a dialogue between God and the devotee. God asks his devotee: Where are you looking for Me? I am already within you. Awake. Open your eyes and see that I 'm within you."
All wisdom traditions teach us that by emptying the cup of selfishness, it is filled with fullness. It is a paradoxical truth.
I have been reading, and reflecting, and chanting such spiritual mantras. It keeps me awake and helps me to losen and eventually let go of the grip of selfishness. It is a slow and steady journey. And I am not in a hurry.
Light of awareness helps me awake to see the light of the truth.
​
Namaste!

Is there soundless sound? Yes. When the noises are created in the noisy mind and by the noisy mind, I do not hear my genuine voice. When I and the person are talking with noisy mind we do not hear the genuine voice. According to my understanding, when I listen to my genuine voice as well as the genuine voice of the other person there is genuine understanding of myself and the genuine understanding of the other person. Genuine listening with a quiet mind creates the sound of the genuine. The sound of the genuine has depth in it, the realness in it, the authenticity in it. There is a word in my native language that describes the noisy and meaningless sound as bakavas. Such communication causes headaches and frustrations. I have experienced and I experience genuine sound when my mind is calm and clear. These are the precious moments when I am able to think and act clearly and wisely. Mindful listening helps me hear my self-created noises and it creates genuine, enriching, and wholesome relationship with me and with others. Keeping my mind and heart open, clear and free and relating to others mindfully helps me create and sustain genuine relationship with me and others in my life. I love this short, sweet and thought provoking passage authored by Howard Thurman.

Namaste!

The notion of brokenness is not something to be hidden but unveiled, reminds me of Buddha's four Noble Truths.

• The first noble truth is that suffering is inescapable. As human beings we all go through sufferings. Accept that truth.
  
• The second noble truth is to know the cause of suffering.
  
• The third noble truth is accept it and work on it diligently.
  
• The fourth noble truth is that there is a way to be free from suffering and that leads to liberation from suffering..

When we accept the brokenness and we do not hide it, fight or deny it, then that brokenness becomes a doorway to be free from it, to heal it, and grow from it. Like other human beings, I have gone through brokenness of my heart. It hurt me deeply and caused deep emotional wounds in me. I have learned not to deny my brokenness, my hurt and pain, not to blame others for it but to accept it. When I relate to my suffering this way my emotional energy doesn't get stuck or drained and it opens up my capacity to enjoy life. First of knowing and realizing what love is very important. Unconditional love and love without expectations of what I am going to get out of my relationships with especially people close to me is the first step. When I go beyond my expectations of getting something for loving people in my life, I experience abundant unselfish love and joy.. It takes time and efforts to move from selfish love to selfless love. Studying spiritual books, reflecting on the spiritual teachings, and putting these teachings in practice helps me immensely to walk on my spiritual path. Awareness of my cravings and mindfully working on them also helps me stay on the course. And the joy I experience following this path reinforces my endeavors. It is a joyful journey and I am not in a rush. I walk on my path slowly, gently, and mindfully.
Namaste! 

Above is my reflection to the article written here.

I love the analogy of the raft used by the Buddha mentioned in the awakin article by Christina Feldman. The raft is needed to cross the river of life. We carry the raft while crossing the river. We drop the raft after crossing the river. We walk carrying the burden in our minds and we get exhausted by dwelling on the past which, is already gone. We need to relate to the past wisely. We are asked to make wise choices in our life. We need to learn to cultivate wisdom by letting go of the past and not worrying about the future. Wisdom would be to leave the raft behind and to walk on unencumbered, untethered.

A few years ago I read the book Be Here Now authored by Ram Dass. The theme of this inspiring book, is like the theme of the raft analogy: to learn to live in the present, in the Beginner's Mind. The past is gone and we do not need to hang on or be fixated on it. The future has yet to come and we do not need to fill our minds with anticipation, worry and anxiety. I know it is difficult to break the chain of the past and the chain of the future. What has been helping me to live in the present and welcome the moments of wonderment, is the practice of Mindfulness, the practice of non judgemental awareness and daily practice of meditation. These practices have been very helpful to me freeing myself from the grips of the past which is already gone and worries about the future which has yet to come.

Namaste!

The philosophy of Radical Optimism deeply resonates in me. The concept of radical optimism looks identical with the concept of Karma Yoga in the Bhagavad Gita. Karma Yoga is a spiritual path of doing actions without any expectations of outcomes. The input and the output, the action without expectation of a reward is radical optimism-selfless action, a path of selfless service. To me Bearing Witness means serving others with no expectation of a reward for my action, free from attachment to the outcome of my action. It becomes a mantra for radical optimism, a light house that enlightens my path of daily living.
Spiritual materialism is very seductive, and possessive. Having deep trust in the spiritual way of living and following the spiritual path faithfully is very helpful to me for avoiding the trap of spiritual materialism. Practicing mindfulness meditation keeps me on the path of Radical Optimism. And it is an ongoing pilgrimage for me.

Namaste!
Above is my reflection to the article here.

As a child and as an adult I have heard many times the wise statement, "To err is human, to forgive is divine." I see the value of forgiving others in all dimensions of my personal well-being : physical, mental, emotional, interpersonal, and spiritual. To me, forgiveness is letting off judgmental attitude that comes in the way of being a healthy and happy person. It means letting go of hard and judgmental thoughts, feelings and actions. I call it purification of my internal demerits and making my consciousness free from the past hangovers. Lack of forgiveness hurts both persons in relationships. Blame game and self-pity game drains my energy and comes in the attainment of the well-being of myself and of others in my life. I know an important person in our extended family who has been holding her grudges from a couple of past events. I would like to clear up heavy clouds of misunderstandings and ask her forgiveness for causing grief in her life. She has been holding on to the wall of the past grudges and wounds and not letting them go for her own well-being as well as the well-being of others related to her. I have let go of the past sad and painful experiences and that way I live in peace. I deeply value empathy and compassion in my relationships with people in my life, recognize and accept my own shortcomings and mindfully work on them, let them go and that way be free from the hangovers of the past. I find this way of working on myself liberating.

Namaste!

Above is my reflection based on the excerpt here.

Reading this passage reminds me of a song written by Rabindranath Tagore: A lover tells his beloved: Jaisi ho veshioho ajao shringarko rhenodo. Come as you are without any outward special decorations. He is waiting for her with no expectations. His mind is open, unclouded, relaxed and unconditioned. I love you only if-such conditional mind creates expectations causing disappointments, hurt, grief, distress, and misery. Such a mindset works both ways. It causes disappointment and grief intra personally and interpersonally. I have learned from my personal experiences to relate to people and situations with an open and empathetic way without building up a huge tower of expectations and that way causing my own disappointment and depression, and frustration and anger. Waiting with an open mind has been very helpful to me. A mind that's closed has no chance to be happy and peaceful. A mind that is open and relaxed opens the portal to joy, happiness, love, and peace. Cultivating such a clear, compassionate, and authentic mindset takes time, patience, and perseverance. I am grateful to my parents and teachers who became role models to me for cultivating empathic, compassionate and mindful ways of relating and loving people in my life unconditionally and joyfully. What a blessing!
​Namaste!

Marriage which takes away freedom to be oneself, to be an authentic loving self creates imprisonment for both the man and the woman. Such marriages make each other's life miserable and breaks up intimate relationships. Adorning to my experience unconditional love enriches and deepens relationships. Sadly many marriages have caused heart aches and head aches and they result in separation and divorce. According to me, marriage helps each other blossom and makes life fragrant. I also believe that freedom without responsibility is conducive to failure and unhappiness. I remember Carl Ung's pronouncement when he came to America,. He said," America needs two statues: Statue of Liberty on the East coast and statue of Responsibility on the West coast. Freedom without responsibility is license to do whatever one wants to do. It is a sign of self-will and immaturity.  I married Vaneela who showed true love and courage to marry me born in a poor family. She married me though her father was against her choice. Both of us loved deeply and our love flourished our life. Such loving relationship fuels the engine of our experience. She passed away a few years ago but she lives in our heart for ever.
Namaste. 

Above is my reflection to the excerpt from Neale Donald Walsch's article.

Based on the lovely article by Deborah Hawkins, here is my reflection:

If and when I relate to someone without preconceived notions and prejudices I get connected with that person easily. I need to keep my mind open to relate to the other person openly. There is freshness and openness in being with that person. My mind needs to be free from my preconceived ideas and notions about that person. This way of relating to the other person keeps our relationship flowing. Empathic listening with non-judgmental attitude is the key to creating and sustaining rich and nurturing relationship. We all need to be connected with others emphatically and compassionately. Sadly we feel lonely in a crowd with people relating to others as strangers or sometimes as adverbial. It is a lonely crowd syndrome.

When I came to America in 1959 to study at the University of Chicago. I felt like an alien on the campus. The weather was very cold. I was away from my family. I felt lonely and depressed. There was a Polish student who lived on the second floor. I was on the first floor. As I was was walking out to attend my class, I heard a voice of that student. He put his hand on my shoulder, looked at me empathically and told me that I looked very sad. I told him that I was sad and somewhat depressed for leaving my family and having no friends. He held out his hand and and told me, "Consider me your brother". He as 6 and a half feet tall. He was white. He was Catholic. I am a brown colored Hindu, 5 and a half feet tall. He held my hand and told me: "Consider me your brother." When my family came to Chicago from India, he drove me to the airport to welcome my family. He became uncle Paul in my family. We will never forget him. He dwells in our heart. As human beings, we all can relate to each other as brother and sisters, uncles and aunts regardless of color, caste, and creed. In the world we live in which is torned by divisivenss, alienation and hatred, we need to wake up and relate to each other with empathy, compassion and open-mindedness and open-heartedness.