Life

People who have not experienced meditation are generally quite closed to exploring it. Some reject it as a time-pass activity wherein the meditator wastes time sitting cross-legged, thinking about the past and future. That's true many times. But that is not what meditation means. Probably, we need to go a little deeper to understand the real meaning of meditation.  Our existence, as human beings, comprises three dimensions. The body, mind, and Prana. Human beings are Manas putra, and therefore our awareness is generally confined to the world of mind. The mind has three parts: Chitta, Mana, and Buddhi. Whatever experiences we gather during the course of our lives are stored in Chitta. We have some experiences, and we make many more stories around those experiences. For example, a friend does not attend a function we organise. That's a fact, and we make many stories around that by linking the past and future events. Our Chitta contains many such experiences and many such stories....

 अस्तित्व के तीन अलग-अलग आयाम हैं। भूत, वर्तमान और भविष्य। अतीत की यादें और छापें हमारे जीवन को दिशा देने में बहुत महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभाती हैं। अतीत की यादें हमारे शरीर के अंदर गहराई से संग्रहीत होती हैं और अनजाने में हमारे निर्णयों को निर्देशित करती हैं। उदाहरण के लिए, अगर हमारा किसी रिश्तेदार से झगड़ा हो गया, तो हम उनके घर से गुजरते ही असहज महसूस करने लगेंगे। ज्योतिष में, ये अतीत की यादें, जो मनुष्य अपने पिछले जन्मों से लेकर चलते हैं, उन्हें "प्रारब्ध" के रूप में जाना जाता है। तीन ग्रह हैं, शनि, सूर्य और चंद्रमा, जो प्रारब्ध को दर्शाते हैं।  शनि उन अतीत की यादों और छापों का प्रतिनिधित्व करता है जो तामसिक हैं और हमें स्थिर करने की कोशिश करते हैं। मंगल उन अतीत की यादों और छापों का प्रतिनिधित्व करता है जो राजसिक हैं और हमें जीवन की वर्तमान समझ के भीतर कार्रवाई करने के लिए प्रेरित करते हैं। चंद्रमा उन अतीत की यादों और छापों का प्रतिनिधित्व करता है जो सात्विक हैं और हमें अपने क्षितिज का विस्तार करने और जीवन के नए आयामों को तलाशने में मदद करते हैं। हम पहले तीन नवरात्रों में प्रक...

There are three different dimensions of existence. Past, present, and future. Past memories and impressions play a very significant role in guiding our lives. Past memories are stored deep inside our bodies and guide our decisions unconsciously. For example, if we had a fight with a relative, we would start feeling uncomfortable the moment we pass through their home. In Astrology, these past memories, which are carried by human beings from their past lives, are known as "Prarabdha". There are three planets, Saturn, the Sun, and Moon, that reflect Prarabdha.  Saturn represents the past memories and impressions that are Tamasik and try to stagnate us. Mars represents the past memories and impressions that are Rajasik and motivate us to take action within our present understanding of life. Moon represents the past memories and impressions that are Saatvik and help us expand our horizons and explore new dimensions of life.  We pray to these three forces of nature in the first thr...

Every decision we make hinges on one fundamental question: "Who am I?" The answer to that question determines how we live our lives. However, in most cases, the parents as well as society do not encourage a genuine inquiry into that question. Rather adults vomit their mental stories of the meaning of life into the minds of youngsters. By the time kids grow as adults, they are already loaded with these mental stories about the meaning of life. Such mental stories are constantly confirmed by society and peer groups. Life is all about family, relationships, excellence, money, efficiency, positions, and fame. There are so many mental stories being propagated in society about the meaning of life and almost all of us end up picking one or the other. Not only there are material stories of the meaning of life, but there are also so-called spiritual stories stating that the purpose of life is to accumulate "good deeds",  "be happy", "be positive", "s...

The human brain is probably designed to take easy paths. That is why, despite having so many different types of content on YouTube, we end up watching the reels. We can spend the same amount of time to know about the cosmos, or getting to know our own brains better. Almost all types of information are freely available on YouTube. The best authors have given TED talks that are freely available on the web. I have also experienced that when we are tired or ill, the tendency to watch YouTube reels and short videos increases probably because the brain does not have the energy to analyze and apply mind to topics that are hard to comprehend and that's why choose easy options. The same applies to almost all walks of life. That is true for meditation and mindfulness also. That is the reason why most people inclined towards spirituality end up joining one or the other organization which promises them quick results. It is difficult for us to practice patiently for the truth to be revealed and...

Sometimes, interacting with people gives great insights into the human psyche. In fact, it surprised me to see the people at the top positions with huge wealth be aggressive in their behavior. I always feel that aggression is a sign of insecurity. Why would people with huge wealth and high positions be insecure? On the other hand, people with no means are sometimes so loving and you feel the warmth while talking to such people. That is where I realized that "understanding of life" is fundamental to our existence.  The people who grow up with an "understanding of life" that they are "empty" and they have to become someone or acquire wealth to be "complete", tend to spend their entire lives under an illusion. They feel "complete" with the money they have acquired and the positions they hold but ironically, they feel absolutely "empty" without these because there is no "self-worth". That is the reason why they become so...

 A friend sent the following video some time back: https://youtu.be/K9vFWA1rnWc?si=IJMUOw-fKoJUB9De An interesting video where a person is helping everybody. He is trying to help a plant get water, feed a dog, help an old woman, help an old neighbor, and also a girl begging for money on the street for no reward or expectation. I often wonder about "helping" or "giving". Doesn't it imply an artificial division between the giver and the taker? The moment there is a division between the "giver" and the "taker", there will definitely be an exchange of considerations. The "taker" may be taking something tangible and returning something "intangible" in the form of a smile on the face or gratitude or something else and that "smile" or "gratitude" may carry more value to the "giver" than what he gave.  There may be quite varied types of exchanges. For example, some "givers" may give to impro...

Wherever we interact with the kids, we find a lot of confusion in their minds about their career choices. Kids are confused and the parents are also equally confused. I observed that there is a fundamental problem while making these choices. Mostly, parents and the kids concentrate on what a career option has to offer in terms of money, power, and comforts, rather than focusing on what is there to do.  The moment we evaluate the career options in terms of what are we going to get out of that, we enter the domain of mental stories and concepts. Suppose we evaluate the career options in terms of money, first of all, we believe in the stories of money prevalent in society. Money can buy us the comforts and pleasures. This is one of the most prevalent stories of money. But do we get an opportunity to verify these stories right from the horse's mouth? Have we interacted with the people who have money? The moment we interact with those people and get to see the sufferings in their lives,...

Today, in our Sunday Dialogue at the Krishnamurty Foundation, there was a discussion on choice. How do we make choices? There was a view that choices are based on our experiences and memories. Few conscious and many unconscious. On the other hand, there was also a view that when there is clarity, there is no choice. That made me introspect as to whether Arjuna had a choice between Krishna and his army? Did he calculate the benefits between Krishna and his army? Definitely not. That calculation was made by Duryodhana and that's why he was very happy with the choice he made.  Arjuna loved Krishna and had absolute trust in him so much so that even amid the battle of Kurukshetra, when he is experiencing a conflict and feels like running away from the battle of Kurukshetra, thinking that fighting the battle will not be an appropriate act, and the generations to come will suffer, he approaches Krishna for the guidance. His mind is full of calculations when he is trying to make a choice. ...

 Some parents say that they had great financial distress during their childhood and therefore had no option other than studying hard. Because their kids have resources available to them, they do not have that kind of motivation to work hard. On the surface, this looks like a very genuine problem. However, if we dive deeper into this, it will reveal significant issues with the mindset. Doesn't that mean that the value of education in the minds of students as well as parents is restricted to employment. Is education just a tool to earn livelihood? Probably, as parents, we have been unable to inculcate the value of education in the minds of kids. A toddler learns to walk and talk effortlessly and without all the calculations about its utility. It is because the toddler is interested in exploring new things in life, and he wants to walk out of his room to the other room to explore what lies in that room. He also wants to talk to his parents and friends to share his explorations and to ...

What a wonderful festival Holi is. Everybody has different colors, yet they have lost their identity in the spirit of Holi. Nobody minds as to what clothes they are wearing. Everybody is in a spirit to celebrate. We hug even the people we do not know. New clothes or old, branded or unbranded, expensive or cheap, fair and dark complexion, rich and the poor, every identity loses its meaning. Yet, there is so much diversity. Each person has a very different combination of colors on their body. All the artificial divisions are lost in the spirit of celebration. This morning, my younger daughter asked me as to whether we have any genetic makeup of our own or the entire genetic makeup is the same as that of the parents. I am not much aware of this, but I read long back a book written by a renowned scientist who wrote that human beings share almost 99% of the genetic make up with Gorilla. In fact, human beings share almost 99.9% of their genetic makeup. It is that 0.1% gene that makes all the...

There are three Gunas of nature. Tamas, Rajas and Sattva. Tamas implies fixation to a form. Rajas implies energetic movement and Satva implies expansion. For example, water exists in all three forms. Water, when frozen, is Tamas; when moving like a river, it is Rajas, and when it takes the form of clouds, it is Sattva. The right balance of all the Gunas is necessary for the survival and growth of nature.  In Indian scriptures Tamas has been linked to Danavas and Sattva has been associated with Devas. Devas and Danavas are always at the fight. Sometimes Danavas rule the world and sometimes devas rule the world. When Danavas ruled the world, it became very prosperous within their kingdom, but at the same time, they stopped the expansion and growth of the world. When Danavas rules the world, the world expands. Lord Shiva is prayed by both the Devas and Danavas and he equally blesses both. Shiva is not biased towards one Guna or the other. He blesses everybody equally, whoever wants to...

This world is full of beliefs. We believe that we will be alive tomorrow when we wake up. We believe that our relatives and friends will stand by our side in the moments of difficulties. We believe that we will continue to be the owner of the piece of land we own. We believe that we will reach a destination when we start the journey. We believe in God. We believe that there is a purpose of life. We believe that life exists beyond death. We believe in  Gurus. We believe in heaven and hell.  But what is reality? Reality may be very different from our beliefs. Reality is quite impersonal. It may or may not confirm our beliefs. Most of us do not intend to know the reality and we want to live with our belief systems. We make our mental stories about right and wrong. We make our own mental stories of the meaning of life and death, the purpose of life, meaning of relationships, meaning of love, and so on. These mental stories generally conform to the popular stories around these conc...

We all contribute in different spheres of life and in diverse roles assigned to us. We contribute as mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, employees, employers, and friends. In some cases, such contribution requires great sacrifice. Somebody sacrifices his life while fighting for the country, somebody donates his kidney to another person, somebody donates all his money for a social cause. But a question arises whether there exists a possibility of contribution or sacrifice without love? Somebody long back sent a video to me and I found the old man speaking in the video to be the wisest man. He said that love is dynamic. When we interact and talk to each other, listen to each other, we undergo a change. A part of "I" becomes part of "you" and a part of "you" becomes part of "I". After each interaction, "I" and "you" have undergone a change. So much so that when we connect with each other without filters and guards, osmosis and rev...

We all feel quite insecure and therefore develop different "winning formulas" based on our upbringing. There are various popular "winning formulas" such as money, relationships, powers, social validation, etc. We try to get these "magical powers" by different tried and tested methods. Some try to get admission to the best of the colleges and universities, so that they may get lucrative packages.  Some try to clear civil services, to get the powers. Some invest in their relationships so that these relatives stand with them in their bad times.  For most people, such saturation point does not arise during their lifetime and they keep making efforts to "become" or "get" whatever they wished in their life. Some of us are lucky to realize the futility of some of these "winning formulas". For example, some earn a lot of money and feel that any amount of money can't make them happy. Now what? We face a mid-life crisis. We invested...

The world is driven by beliefs. Hardly anybody has time to invest to understand or know reality; therefore, almost everybody just wants to jump at the conclusion. It requires quite less effort to believe, especially if it is a widely held belief and more so if it is comfortable. That is why many beliefs that make us comfortable are so widely held. For example, almost everybody believes that he is a good human being. If anybody believes that he is not a good human being, that would require immediate action to change, and therefore it is so easy to believe that we are good. Almost everybody believes that he did best in a given situation, which gives him comfort. The moment anybody accepts that he did not do enough, it would mean that the next time he should work harder.  We have a similar belief that we are intelligent and know what is best for us. If such a belief is not there, it would be quite difficult to make decisions, and we would always be confused. We believe that we are not...