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.

There are many shapes of silence. Silence in the mind. Silence in deep sleep. Silence when I am fully present without distracted by the past or hijacked by the future. There is meditative silence when the mind is here and now. There is relational silence, silence of attention. Silence of oneness. Silence in nature when the human voices are quiet. Silence in deep dreamless sleep.

Reading this passage reminds me of a story I had read some time ago. It is an old story. Lao Tzu, the Chinese philosopher and author of The Tao, was passing by a village. It was night time. He was invited by the village chief to spend the night at his place. Early in the morning Lao Tzu was ready to go for a meditative walk. The chief requested that he walk with Lao Tzu. Lao Tzu welcomed him to walk with him. After a while the sun started rising filling the clouds with beautiful colors. The chief expressed his wonderment by saying," Look how beautiful the sky is looking!" Lao Tzu rebuked the chief by saying these words, " You talk too much." He taught him a good lesson of silence and a lesson of mindfulness. I have learned to listen to silence by practicing mindfulness meditation. The clouds of agitated thoughts and disruptive emotions fade way and I see the sky of clarity. The noises in the mind go away and I feel the presence of silence. Such experiences are very profound and they help me to realize my true identity. May we all cultivate openness, clarity and silence! This is the way of being.

​Namaste!

The end of the world is the beginning of the world. The death of the world is the rebirthing of the world. As Dougald Hine says, "It is a work of midwifery" facilitating the birth of a new life with an open heart and with the support of the head. Whenever an innovative and creative idea arises in me, I welcome it with open hands, an open mind and an open heart. For the new idea to be born, I need to let go of the attachment of the old and worn out ideas. There have been times in my life when I have embraced the uncertainty of the outcome of a new idea by letting go of the old, safe, and familiar ideas. It is an adventure worth taking. A few years ago I had spent a month in a community where we were encouraged to listen to our unconditioned voice and follow it without societal inhibitions and prohibitions. This experience helped me realize how I had built walls within me. Recognizing such walls and taking bold steps to overcome them made me free from the self-created bondage. It is up to me to be aware of such walls and obstructions and have courage to transcend them. It is a journey. What helps me to walk on the path is open mindedness, open heartedness, mindfulness, and courage. This is an ongoing journey and I am happy to travel on this path with fellow brothers and fellow sisters.

​Namaste! 

Being has no -time and no- space boundaries. Being is ONE and WHOLE. Being is UNIVERSAL. I have read this truth and heard about it many many times. And I also know that TRUTH needs to realized, to be lived. And when I live this way, the dividing walls of me against you break down and we spiritually become one. There is oneness in manyness. In fact there is only ONENESS and that is who I am and that is who you are, and that is we are. There is no subject-object duality. Enlightenment is seeing this nondual existence and living it.

I feel the light of enlightenment when I love someone unconditionally, when I serve someone selflessly, when I feel unitive consciousness in meditation. Wakefulness, awareness, looking within and practicing mindfulness meditation have been very helpful to me to see through the mirage of the subject being separate from the object, closing the gap between the subject and the object.

Namaste!

Above is my reflection based on the article by Charlotte Joko Beck. 

This passage reminds of me of one line of a song I used to sing. It is in Gujarati, my mother tongue. Namage' dodatu ave'. Tranlation: It comes fast if you don't ask. It stands for spiritual blessings- Divine Gifts. Spiritual gifts do not come to us when we have selfish desires, self-interest and self-serving mindset. " In giving we receive" as St Francis of Assisi says. Or as The Rishi of Ishavasya Upanishada says in Sanskrit, " Ten tyaktena bhunjitaha". Renounce and rejoice. Sadly, the world we live in values more the merrier, and there is no end to possessing and grabbing more and more. We were born in a relatively poor family but we didn't feel poverty in our heart. My mother was very hospitable and generous. My friends who were brought up in rich families would come to see me at lunch time. My mother offered them very simple food to eat. They enjoyed eating simple food with great joy. They loved to cherish the simple food as it was made with the sweetness of her heart. I still feel the sweet presence of my mother in my heart. I was blessed to have such a loving mother in my life. I am very grateful to her for planting the seeds of spirituality in my heart. The more I fertilize them with selfless service and unconditional love, the more my life blossoms with fragrance of deep joy and contentment.

Namaste