Below is my reflection to  Eric Jones' inspiring article:

A long time ago I had read that childhood is the fatherhood of a human being. How I am raised as a 2 to 3 year old child lays the foundation of my adulthood. Seeds of "true self" or authentic self are planted in early childhood. Our "true self" is naturally developed by the unconditional love and positive regard by our parents or care takers. If as children we were raised by adults who were raised in authoritarian ways our adult self will be shaped by such experiences. I was raised by parents who were neither authoritarian or "do as you please"- laissez faire ways. They would let me follow my needs, wishes and passion if that way of behaving did not hurt me and hurt others. This way of being raised by my parents created wholesome balance in my life. There are many examples of narcisstic, self-centered and autocratic leaders in the world we live in. It is very important for us as parents to raise our children in loving, caring and authentic ways. This is a challenging task for us as parents or care takers of our children. Family dynamics is very crucial for the welfare of not only families but for the world at large..

Namaste! 

Based on the article written by J. Krishnamurti, here is my reflection to it:

We need to cultivate and embrace radical thinking to create radical changes in ourselves and in the world we live in. Everyday many of our political leaders are planting the seeds of hatred, violence, divisiveness, and disunity. We are in the self-centered destructive race without awareness of the possibility of causing world wide destruction. Seeds of violence and destruction are planted in our minds. The same way, seeds of peace and construction are also planted in our minds. We need to pay our attention and be mindful of what kinds of thoughts and feelings are going on in our minds. It requires radical thinking to transform our vision to see the truth. Listening to the truth is not easy, especially the truth which may be unpleasant or bitter. We need to keep the window of our mind open to see the light of the truth to dispel the darkness of ignorance, bias or prejudice. As I was growing up my father used to tell me in Sanskrit: Yatha dristy tatha sristy: As is my vision is so is my world. This wise saying has been very helpful to me to walk on the path of Truth and Love which liberates us from ignorance and prejudice. Keeping my mind open and free has helped me to live wisely in the world. It is an inner journey of light and liberty. May we all walk on this path of life mindfully and persistently.

Amen!

The opening statement of this article helps me understand the notion of enlightenment. "Enlightenment is like the moon reflected in the water. The moon does not get wet, nor the water is broken." According to my understanding, when one gets enlightened, he does not get attached to that state of consciousness. There are no clouds of attachment. Enlightenment is like the open and clear sky. Enlightenment is not bound by space and time. It is a pure and free state of consciousness. When we get free from the boundaries of mine and thine, me and you, we experience oneness. Enlightenment frees us from the egotistic and divisive mindset. An enlightened being is a member of the universal family, He has attained a unitive pure state of consciousness filled with eternal bliss. I experience glimpses of enlightenment when I am not bound by my self-created bondage. When I let go of my self-created attachments, my possessiveness, my righteousness. When I transcend my self-created boundaries. When I assume and declare that I am a self-realized being and I am not bound by my inflated ego. I am no longer trapping myself by myself. Awareness of my self-created egotistic mind frees from my self-created prision.
​Namaste!

Based on the excerpt from Anil Seth's book, 'Being You', here is my reflection:

How do we perceive reality, the things as they are or the people as they are? Is my perception of things and people changing or remaining the same? This is a profound existential question. According to me, my perception of things and people changes depending on the condition of my mind. When my mind is quiet, clear and open, my perception of the external world of things and people becomes clear. But when my mind is clouded by my past experiences, biases, and prejudices, my perception and understanding of the external world changes. The past has an impact on the present. As is my vision, so is my vision of reality. If my vision is blurred so is my vision of reality. If my vision is clear like the clear blue sky, my perception of realty is clear without any distortion. Letting go of my biases and prejudices is very important for me to see the truth. Clearing up and quieting my mind is very important for me for my mental and emotional health, for my relationships with people in my life. It took time for me to have clear perception of the external reality. One of the barriers to seeing the external reality as it is had my own insecurity. My relating to my beloved wife was affected by my jealousy which had an adverse effect on our relationship. It causes deep wounds of hurt and pain in both of us. Learning and practicing meditation helped me immensely to clear and quiet my mind. Our relationship began blossoming and continued blossoming until she passed away. I learned many important lessons from working on my self-created emotional wounds and creating emotional wounds in others close to me. I grew from my deep suffering. Understanding and working on my own suffering has taught me to live fully and help others going through emotional suffering. As mentioned before knowing and accepting the cause of suffering and diligently working on it has opened the door of empathy and self-compassion, self- hopefulness and self-kindness and forgiveness in me. That is my inner wealth, inner happiness, and inner peace. May we all learn lessons from our own suffering and fill up the cup of our life with joy and happiness! This my prayer. Amen!
Namaste!

Based on the article written by Rupert Spira, below is my reflection​
The infinite is beyond the limits of the finite. The finite is bound by time and space. The infinite transcends time and space. In that sense there is no room for the finite in the infinite. They cannot coexist. It is like light and darkness. They are different phenomena. Light is absence of darkness and darkness is absence of light. I feel the presence of the infinite when my mind is completely silent and clear. In that state of consciousness I go beyond time and space and feel the presence of the unitive state of consciousness, wholeness and divinity. It is a transformative experience, an experience of the infinity. Prayer and meditation are the wings of the bird of the unitive state of consciousness, the experience of wholeness. When I love someone unconditionally, when I serve someone selflessly and silently, I feel the presence of Divinity, the presence of Infinity. It is an experience of Truth, Reality, and Unitive Consciousness-Sat, Chit, Ananda, and experience of wholeness, perfection and peace. This is my prayer: May we all experience Sat, Chit, Ananda-Wholeness, Perfection and Peace!
Namaste! 

What is a jeweler's eye? A jeweler's eye is willingness and open-mindedness to look at the situation with fresh, sharp and clear eyes. Normally when I suffer physically, mentally, and emotionally I would tend to minimize it or try to ignore it, deny it or wallow in anger or sorrow. Ignoring or denying or suppressing my suffering has not helped me. I have been learning to accept my suffering mindfully, compassionately, openly and with equanimity. Going through suffering with this open and curious mindset has taught me the value of my suffering and relating to other's sufferings with empathy and loving kindness.

We all suffer physically, mentally, and emotionally. The question is how do we relate to our suffering and what we learn from it.

Namaste!
Based on the original Post by Suleika Jaouad

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!