I would like to begin my reflections on suffering by quoting the last sentence of this awakening article written by Richard Flyer: Suffering and supreme peace fit together like hand and glove. There is no light without darkness and no darkness without light. They are twins, not opposing each other but by joining hands together, they create wholeness and oneness. I am writing this from my personal experiences. Like others, I have had a belief that by denying my suffering I will be blissful and happy. It took time for me to come to realize that suffering and peace are two wings of the bird of life. By acknowledging and accepting my suffering without resistance, I can create space within me to learn from my suffering, the cause of suffering, and how to be free from suffering. I have learned to listen non-judgmentally to my inner voice to understand the cause of my self-created suffering, the way of going though it and beyond it. In our weekly Mindfulness Meditation satsanga group we share our joys and sorrows, what causes theses emotions and how to work through them mindfully. Sharing our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors with others without judging them, we have created a spiritual family where we relate to each other empathetically, candidly and compassionately with an open mind and open heart.

Learning and practicing how to be fully aware and attentive to my self-created distractions and noises has been very helpful to me. This process of self -awareness without judgment has been a strong foundation for a peaceful, joyful and service oriented living. Awakened life is like a lamp that creates light to dispel darkness of ignorance, prejudice, self-serving cravings and attachments and leading to enlightenment. May we all have this light shining within us to keep us awake and walk on the right path.
Namaste! 

I love and appreciate the work of building spiritual communities or communes by the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. We are social beings and we need to build spiritual communities not only for our survival but also for the enhancement of the members of our community. This is everybody's calling. Spiritual leaders, monks and nuns play a significant role in creating and sustaining spiritual communities. However, lay persons like me and you have a responsibility to create and sustain spiritual communities. Survival and enhancement of our precious life is up to all of us. We all need to join our hands together to protect and enhance the wellness of each member of our community, not only for a special group of people. It is a call for inclusion, not exclusion. I deeply appreciate the contribution of the Dalai Lama , Thich Nhat Hanh and other spiritual leaders for creating harmony and peace in the world which is dangerously divided. What is my part as a lay person in creating such a community? I have created two small communities with different spiritual oreintations where we get together once a week to explore different ways of working on diiferences to create and sustain inner peace for living holistically. It is a relatively small community. We hope and wish we all play our part in working for peace. If we do not make our sincere effort to work on this task of building a harmonious community, I see dark clouds of divisiveness, discord, and destruction. I hope and urge that we all do our best to create and sustain harmony and peace. Reading and discussing such writings and figuring out ways of building and sustaining such spiritual communities is our responsibility. This is a way of moving from Me to We.
​Namaste!

Reading this article authored by A.T. Ariyaratne deeply touched my heart. Peace is the foundation of survival and sustenance of our life. All spiritual traditions sing the song of peace. Inner peace is the foundation of outer peace. We cannot create and sustain outer peace without creating and sustaining inner peace. The challenge for all of us as humanity is to learn, practice and apply ways and means of creating and sustaining peace. Meditation is one of the most effective ways for creating and sustaining peace and harmony at all levels: intrapersonal, interpersonal and collective. Peace is the sumam bonum of life. Without peace, there is no survival, no security and no safety. Upanishadic mantras end with these inspiring and uplifting words: Aum! Shantihi, shantihi, shantihi! Aum! Peace: intrapersonal, interpersonal, and universal.
My father was an ardent follower of Mahatma Gandhi. When I was a five- year old child, my father used to take us to attend evening meditation and prayer meetings in Gandhi Ashram in Sabarmati, a suburb of Ahmedabad, I will never forget these spiritual gatherings. Attending such gatherings laid a spiritual foundation in my life. Daily meditation has been my spiritual practice in my relatively long life. Practicing mindfulness meditation has been very helpful to me for leading a peaceful and fulfilling life. Every Saturday evening I meet with a group of meditators. We do Mindfulness Meditation regularly and share our experiences in the group. We have become a family and have created a strong, enriching, peaceful and nurturing foundation. May we all join our hands to pray and meditate for a peacful and loving world to live in and flourish!
​Namaste!

Based on the article by Michael Gordon, here is my reflection:
If we want to flourish personally and socially we need to replace old paradigms by innovative ideas and approaches. Adam Smith is considered the Father of Western Capitalism. His philosophy has given rise to capitalism. There is nothing wrong in creating wealth when it creates wellness not at the cost of the wellness of others who do not have adequate wealth for survival and maintenance. Communism and socialism provide an antidote to self-serving capitalism with their own shortcomings. A new movement called Sarvodaya has been launched in India by the enlightened teacher Vinoba Bhave, a close companion of Mahatma Gandhi. His movement is based on the spiritual concept of Dana-gift from the heart. It is a way of serving others with no selfish desires and aspirations. Going beyond oneself and serving others is the spiritual foundation of liberation or salvation. This is a spiritual call not only for survival but also for enhancement. Research shows that capitalist countries are not on a higher scale of happiness. Materialistic prosperity does not lead to contentment, peace and happiness. Wisdom traditions have shown the ways of living happily, peacefully and consequently, we need to be free from the conditioned mind. Wake up from the sleep of ignorance and follow the wise and right path. It is not easy to be free from the grip of the old conditioned mind. It requires open-mindedness and open-heartedness. I am happy to walk on this spiritual path. Following the path of selfless service, Nishkama Karma Yoga, has been a blessing to me. Reading, writings like this article, reflecting on uplifting ideas, sharing them with like-minded people, satsanga, and walking on this path mindfully have been very helpful to me. Walking on this path is Yatra, a spiritual journey for me. May we wake up, remain awake and walk on this path.
Namaste!

Based on the wonderful writing by Howard Thurman, below is my reflection:

We all have the potential source of Inner Light to see the Reality, the Truth, the Sacredness. Such inner light shines when our eyes do not get blinded by the power of hungry and self-centered people in our life. We are witnessing such authoritarian power, hungry, and self-centered leaders in many parts of the world creating divisiveness, hatred and destruction. How do we create a world where we can relate to each other as highly evolved human beings? How can we create light in darkness? We have been blessed to witness highly evolved leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Howard Thurman, Martin Luther King Jr and others mentioned in the introduction of the passage. This is a call for all of us to wake up, to remain awake, to join hands with our brothers and sisters and take a firm and strong stand for peaceful coexistence. Cultivating inner qualities of knowing the truth, listening to it with an open mind and open heart, and taking a courageous stand and joining hands with others is my way of going through such difficult times. When I am walking on this path I remain alert, awake and aware of not taking a wrong step. I am blessed to have people in my life who provide a clear mirror to see my blind spot. I am very grateful to them for helping me to walk clearly on my path of serving others. Studying and following the Eightfold Path of the Buddha has been very helpful to me in my journey of life. May we all awaken and walk on the path of authenticity, compassion and selfless service! 
Namaste!

Virtues weave the tapestry of our life and make us virtuous, make us human and contribute to the wellness of life. Virtues connects us and creates harmony in the world. One of the core virtues is forgiveness. I love the famous wise saying: To err is human, to forgive is divine. We all have small errors and big errors. I forgive myself for making a mistake. Such forgiveness comes from the heart. And such forgiveness elevates my consciousness. Forgiveness has two sides of the coin connected with each other: self-forgiveness and forgiveness of others. Both are essential to complete the circle of virtuous living. As the author of the article Kent Nerburn writes," It is the glue that holds the human together. It is the way to bridge the loneliness that often surrounds us. Genuine forgiveness is a way to build that bridge." As a human being I have made many mistakes. That way I have hurt myself and others close to me. I cultivate truthfulness courage and boldness to recognize such mistakes and forgave myself for hurting me and others related to me. With kindness and compassion I have forgiven myself. And there are people who have hurt me. I lit the light of forgiveness for me and for others. This way I am building the brides of loving kindness. How about people who do not raise their voice against injustice and take a stand? They are afraid of retaliation. We must not act out of fear but act with courage. And those who have courage to act eventually succeed. Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr and Dalai Lama are living examples of living courageously and bravely for fighting against injustice. Let us enkindle the light of forgiveness and remove the darkness within and without ourselves. Let join our hands and be the torchbearers of forgiveness.
​Namaste! 

I love and value this thought provoking passage written by Francis Su. When I was studying in a college my teacher who was also a poet, was teaching us the difference between the sinful action of a person and the person who did that action. He cited a line from his poem in my mother tongue Gujarati: Tu papasathe nava papi marto..Condemn the sin, not the sinner. We all make mistakes. Nobody is perfect. How do I relate to my mistake, my shortcoming makes a big difference. Do I put myself down and humiliate myself for the mistake I have done or do I assess my mistake and do not equate my mistake with me as a person? In the same way how do I relate to the mistake made by someone like my family member or my friend or by my student? I would assess what the other person did, his action, and not him as a person.

Relationships break down when we condemn the other person. Relationships survive and thrive when we relate to our mistakes and the mistakes of other persons truthfully, empathetically and compassionately. As a teacher I have accessed my students coming from all kinds of cultural and economic backgrounds. I want to be an imperial teacher. I want to be fair in assessing my students. When my student gets a low grade or a failing grade from me, I spend my office hours with such a student and offer my help to work on his academic deficiencies. I cannot have two different standards for assessing my students. I relate to such students with an empathic mind and compassionate heart. This way of relating to people in my life has enriched my heart and my relationships with others. When I relate to people not doing well, with open mindedness and open heartedness, with empathy and compassion I honor their dignity. I would like to conclude my reflections with the wise words of Mother Teresa: Not all of us do great things. But we can do small things with great love.

​Namaste!

Love is the foundation of all thriving and deepening relationships. When we join our hearts, heads and hands together our life thrives and flourishes interpersonally and interpersonally, in our families, communities and in organizations. As the author-Adrienne Maree Brown says," When we are engaged in acts of love, we humans are our best and most resilient." Love is the core foundation of all relationships not only to survive but also to thrive. What I am saying is based on my personal experiences at all stages of relationships in my families, friends, in my intimate relationships, societal and professional relationships. I have lived and grown in extended families all my life. I learnt the art of relating to differences by listening to each other with open ears, open mind and open heart. I have learnt to let go of my irrational, inflexible and rigid opinions and ideas and to be fluid and flexible and appreciative of ideas and opinions of other members of the family. I also learnt how to appreciate somebody's opinions and ideas which would be better than mine. Such a stance helped me grow mentally, emotionally, relationally and spiritually.
From my experiences I have learned how to grow deeper in my relationships. The core qualities of growing in my realtionships are unconditional love, empathic mind, compassionate heart, nonviolent communication, telling the truth and accepting my mistakes, forgiveness, gratefulness, and patience. It takes time and effort and mindfulness to cultivate deeper and fulfiling realtionships. It is wise to take time and be patient to enjoy the gifts of such deeper relationships. May we all have such precious gifts to flourish and deepen our relationships!
​Namaste

The first sentence of the passage written by Carrie Newman says a lot about keeping the mind and heart open to the unfolding reality. "Proceed as the way opens" . This Quaker saying is an encouragement to live with a kind of intentionality and willingness to "be" with intention and willingness to "be" with a question or decision rather than jump to a rash action out of panic or pressure." This is a counter cultural idea of jumping to a rash action or decision out of panic or pressure. It is a wise way of living to listen to the music birthing in our quiet and awakened mind with an open and compassionate heart. As Parker J Palmer says,'' Let your life speak and you listen." An open and closed door are the same. They both send us a direction. It's up to us which way to go. Proceeding as a way opens means that life has a holy rhythm that brings us together to sing a song of humanity. When I walk in nature connecting myself quietly with the natural wonders of the world, when I pay my attention to the drop of the rain falling on a tender leaf, when a mother holding a crying child in her soothing hands and when two lovers becoming one by uniting their hearts, I proceed the way as it opens. These are precious gifts of living in the presence. Patience, perseverance, loving kindness, living mindfully and meditation, help me live with an open mind and a loving heart.
Namaste!

Here is my reflection to the poem of 10 year old Afton Wilder :
​
Who am I? What is my true identity? Why am I here? What is my original face? What is my original voice? What is my authentic self? What is my purpose of being in this world? What if nobody walks with me on the road with me? What is my vision? These are very important existential questions for me. There is one SELF. There is one FACE. There is one VOICE. There is one authentic ME. If I lose my true identity, I become a multiple personality. I lost my real self. I lose my real voice. It is not that easy to be myself but it is essential for me to listen to my voice and sing my own song. As I am reflecting on this question Rabindranath Tagore's song Ekla Cholo Re comes to my mind. Walk alone if no one is standing by. Open your mind and speak all alone to be in harmony with all existence. This kind of authentic identity is not against universal identity. I am a part of the whole, not apart from the whole, oneness in manyness. There have been times when I have served people going beyond the limits of myself. I follow the spiritual path of living called Karma Yoga. As a counselor, I provide my free service to people who do not have money to pay for getting counseling from me. Doing such selfless service brings deep joy and fulfillment in me. As I was growing up, I saw my parents doing selfless service and living a truthful and simple life. We were outwardly poor but inwardly rich. They showed me the path of living without the burden of the world, living lightly and fully. I am deeply grateful to them for teaching me the spiritual path of living, Karma Yoga.

Namaste!