Life

 I was reading a book titled "The Comfort Zone" written by Kristen Butler. This book made me think about the different types of human beings I have encountered. The author has used the concept of three zones, viz, the zone of complacency, the zone of survival, and the zone of comfort. In the zone of complacency, we just give up and don't make efforts, in the zone of survival, we make efforts to "become" somebody, and in the zone of comfort, we act effortlessly in a state of flow.  Probably, we can look at it from a different perspective as follows: Some people do not understand their "Swadharma" and get a supporting ecosystem. They have no motivation to work hard since they have whatever they want in life. That's why they become complacent. We see many such people in our vicinity. Their parents have money, or they have a family business, and they settle comfortably in that business or start enjoying that money. Such people never contemplate their p...

 I wonder why so many of us spend our entire lives in a very limited frame? Is it the "Fear of the Unknown" or the "Fear of Missing the Known Comforts"? How could Mahatma Gandhi leave the comforts and enter into a completely unknown territory and fight for the rights of the blacks in South Africa? Did he not have the fear of the unknown? How could Sri Aurobindo enter into a completely known area after he engaged with the freedom struggle? How could Columbus and Vasco da Gama face the fear of the unknown? How could Rama leave the comforts and pleasures of the palace and enter the domain of the unknown? What did these people have within themselves that is not there in ordinary human beings? Was there something common in these extraordinary beings? How come so many people, even after passing IITs and IIMs and graduating from the best professional colleges, get caught in the trap of known comforts and fail to grow over their lifetime? There is at least one factor that i...

 Taking a cup of tea with milk and sugar in the morning, eating Aloo Paranthas, fried food, street food, and chat papri tastes excellent. However, inside the body, the inner organs such as the liver, intestine, and pancreas need to work hard to digest the food. However, the inner organs tolerate the violence for a significant period until they get tired, and once they get tired, we get symptoms in the form of different diagnoses, such as fatty liver and blockage of the veins and arteries. We are so obsessed with the outer organs that we ignore the inner organs completely. Or, in other words, we are hardly aware of our inner organs. It is only through diagnostic tests that we get to know our inner reality. Similarly, in the domain of mind, we are obsessed with the conscious brain. As we keep eating food that tastes good to our tongue, we keep ourselves busy with the discussions and thoughts that make our conscious mind feel good. We attend social functions and meetings where everybo...

We come across many people who have almost everything in life, have earned a lot of money, are in very high positions, and have a "trophy" family. Yet, their personality is so difficult to bear. They make the atmosphere quite stressful, and people avoid interacting with them. On the other hand, some people have very few achievements and trophies recognised by the world, yet have such a pleasant personality that we can talk to them for hours effortlessly. I am sure that all of us come across people of both types. What brings such a huge difference in the personalities? So far as my understanding goes, "achievement" and "contentment" are two very different things. "Achievements" do not necessarily bring "contentment". In fact, mostly, "achievements" make us quite discontented? It seems quite counterintuitive. After all, we set targets because we seek happiness and believe that "achievements" of our targets will make us...

 Depression and mental diseases are spreading all around the world. In the last few years, I have heard of midlife crisis, loss of purpose, depression, sense of purposelessness, anxiety, stress, and so many other mental issues more than physical diseases. People are really struggling with many mental issues. It is strange to see that the cognitive problems are constantly on the rise, especially among the so-called "achievers" in society. It is easy to ignore the reality and brush it aside under the carpet, but the issues are real and need to be addressed urgently, if we do not want this to turn into a menace. It was not such a big problem a decade back in India. Children used to set targets in terms of a good job and a decent lifestyle, and the same was so difficult to achieve that almost the whole of their lives would be spent running after the illusion of wealth. Life was singular, but the target set was almost unachievable, and people spend their entire lives running after...

 Yesterday, my daughter finished her first non-fiction book on morality and political systems and discussed the concepts with me. She has just commenced her journey in the 11th standard. I was quite impressed with the quality of discussions and the way she approaches the subject, and somehow recalled by my understanding of the world when I was in the 11th standard. I had nothing in my life except the PCM books, and day in day out busy solving the problems of mathematics and physics, and was not at all initiated into the world of books on different aspects of life. I got my first book, "My Experiments with Truth," in November 2003, after writing my first mains for the Civil Services. It was a magical moment. So and so, my first three books are "My Experiment with Truth", "Emotional Intelligence", and "Freedom at Midnight". I was so amazed with my first contact with "life" that I decided to drop my examinations for the Company Secretary F...

 Yesterday, I had the opportunity to watch a magical stage show about Meerabai's life. It was an excellent show performed by accomplished and passionate artists and very well organised by Rishi Chaitanya Ashram. Each and every aspect of the show was very well thought out and perfectly executed. Two questions came to my mind. First, why did the parents of Meerabai not support her quest for spirituality? Why would they pray to Krishna and resist if their daughter wants to devote her life to the Bhakti of Krishna? What is the relationship between the parents and the kids? I can understand that the parents have not grown beyond the social validation, and they want to conform to the social convention. Since one of the social conventions is that it is the duty of the parents to get their kids married, the parents of Meerabai are quite keen to get her married. However, can't they see what is good for their kids? Can't they read what's written inside the heart of Meerabai, and ...

Are growth opportunities limited to a few human beings? Definitely not. Then why do most human beings refuse to grow and remain ordinary? Why can't more scientists invent like Einstein and Newton? Why do most teachers fail to transform the lives of their students? Why do most spiritual teachers fail to guide their disciples towards their life goals? Why do most industrialists fail to grow and remain limited? Why do most bureaucrats fail to bring about the changes for which they aspired?  I feel that the reason is quite apparent. It is due to a mix of two reasons. First, our fixation on the comfort of the known, and second, our fear of the unknown. A bird can't fly with a heavy weight, and therefore we need to shed the weight of the known to enter into the domain of the unknown. Growth exists in the domain of the unknown. However, leaving the known comforts requires a lot of courage. In fact, as children, we all dared to leave the known comforts while going to the hostel for stu...

During our sessions at different schools, we talk to the kids, learning about insensitive parents who are so driven by their limited frame of life that they do not hesitate to kill their own kids' dreams. Every child is different. His soul has a different journey. Children wish to explore this world in quite different ways, which may differ from how their parents have explored the world. However, most parents are so insecure that they end up killing the dreams of their kids to ensure the perpetuity of pleasures.  It is so shocking to see that we sell our dreams so cheaply. In a country where people did not bother about their lives for the freedom, we have become slaves of our pleasures, and more than that, our mental stories around the pleasures. Parents have such a limited vision of the reality of life. More than the limited vision, they are so reluctant to open up to reality. Even more surprising is that they force that limited vision on their kids by defining their life purpose ...

 We all do hard work and tell our kids to do hard work. But if hard work alone had sufficed, donkeys would have ruled the world long back, and robots would have ruled the world in the present times. There is no doubt that hard work is essential for a fulfilled life. However, what is equally important is direction. We may drive faster and reach the wrong place if we do not follow the right direction.  Society tries to give direction to the entire generation of kids. When we grow, we observe the behaviour of the people around us. Society's preferences and values get reflected in explicit and implicit behaviour. For example, parents in some cases may guide their kids to try for a career option that offers the highest package. On the other hand, they may not be that explicit in their preferences, but through their differential treatment of the poor and rich relatives, they may give this message implicitly to the child that money matters the most in life. The same is the case with ...

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...