What does it Take to Give ?

During a casual conversation over tea, a friend shared with us a video by Abraham Twerski where he talks about true love. Just a two minute video and it made so much sense to me until I thought over it again. He mentioned that ethicist Rabbi Dessler had said, 'People make a serious mistake in thinking that you give to those who you love.' Twerski interprets this by saying, “You love those whom you give. If I give something to you, I have invested myself in you. And since self love is a given, everybody loves themselves; now that part of me has become in you, there's part of me in you that I love”

It came across to me as a fresh idea. However, I am just not convinced on how can the act of giving be narrowed down to just 'self love'! Like how is the Sun being selfish by burning itself to give us light. Where is self love for the soil who is indiscriminate to seed that falls on it ? Nature is a great giver. Considering this an exemplary exception lets just talk about fellow humans.

How did Eklavya see self love in giving away his right thumb as gurudakshina to a guru who never really taught him? The monster who started eating himself on a single command from Shiva – his creator, may not have thought of himself either. A mother never really thinks about the returns she would get in investing 15-20 years before feeding her new born. You go back and see what Swami Vivekananda, Mother Teresa and the likes have done. The only thing they got back was probably a good sleep at the end of the day for having done their part in the larger ecosystem.

One may feel intimidated by these ginormous examples. But it is really very simple. I personally believe if you feel like doing something for someone; do it! See them happy and what you would get back is happiness multiplied. Precisely why the act of giving is not about being selfless either. Also, giving is not a gesture of returning something. There is no obligation, guilt or sympathy in it. So what does it takes to give? It is your time and purity of heart.

We still remember Eklavya as a great archer although he never had a face off to show his skills as Arjun did. The “all consuming” monster who just had his face and arms left is remembered today as 'Kirtimukha' meaning the face of glory and is seen at the entrance of every Indian temple. We are really only an ageing vehicle, who are striving to become more aware and spread this awareness. And this definitely demands giving a part of us and rising above self love.

Break through the Circle

Sitting down to think of where you have arrived in your life and evaluating what you want do to next feels like Déjà vu towards the end of every single year. It takes you back to your highly motivated self towards the beginning of the year when you had all the perfect plans lined up. 

May it be gym, healthy eating habits, starting a business or cracking an exam. You end up seeing a huge difference between what you thought and what you did. Holi, Ganapati, Diwali, weight gain and the year ends. Leaping into another year comes as a wake up call to many because a new year is as seen as an event in itself. I know it is still better than people who never a get one. But let's just talk about getting better here. So, we do follow an exercise where we revisit the year. We feel grateful for what we have achieved and remember the lessons we have learned and plan the coming year. Unfortunately, this plan is remembered only till Sankrant and then towards Christmas. And still further, it is highly in the favour of a lazy mind to sketch fancy plans than Act now.

The point is to understand and accept that it would actually pay off a to do  a 7/10 thing everyday than to plan a 11/10 thing once and execute just 3/10. Why wait to listen the midnight ring on 31st Dec? Why not today? I emphasise on being motivated every morning when you wake up. Take active control of your life and reconnect with your long term goals. A thought that is not nurtured is a thought lost. In the same way goals that do not get the fodder of daily motivation are lost in oblivion.

Your life should not be a circle to start and end at the same point. Break through the Circle of life; for its meant to be an Upward Spiral. You may go through the same seasons and festivals every year but you've got to make sure that you have lifted yourself up every single day. This is where you would actually see the difference towards the end of the year from where you started. With this note I wish you all a Happy New Day.

The Only Rule of Self Growth

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Victory? It is that mad adrenaline rush that makes you feel at the top of the world or rather something that simply makes you happy. Imagine you winning over an argument with your colleague who loves to debate over everything. Is it not good enough to make your day! :D

In most cases, with you stepping up as a winner there is always someone on the losing side. There is absolutely nothing wrong in wining as long as your intention is not to dominate or harm someone in any way. And even as this sounds holistic and ethical, there is a scientific and logical side to it.

It never made headlines in the newspapers but an Experiment conducted in the University of Paris came out as a major breakthrough challenging even the biggest works in the field of Physics. It was the experiment claiming that the Universe is Holographic in nature. In a Hologram what happens at one place happens everywhere. The other way of understanding a hologram is if you cut a hologram in small pieces, then even the smallest piece shows the same image as the complete hologram itself.

We as humans have limited our identities to our physical bodies but lack the understanding that we are not just a part of the larger universe but a micro universe ourselves. Just to site a comparison, look at the striking similarity between the filaments of empty space in the cosmos and the neuron network of the human brain!

The message is ... my act of being happy or my intention to learn new things is increasing the happiness and awareness of the whole holographic universe. At the same time my single intention of winning in order to intimidate someone else has harmed the hologram of the whole universe. Nevertheless, I would end up doing more bad to myself than good in the due course of time since what's in the universe is in me. This is a very powerful idea and if understood by all then we would do no wrong to anyone and words like war, hatred or jealousy would be a thing of past. This would also stop us from doing things for instant gratification and instead be more patient and work towards things that bear an everlasting sweet fruit.

If we have intentions of being more aware, respect others views and tune into positive thoughts and action then we are making this world a better place in literal (and now also in scientific) sense! Being happy for your our success is fine but being happy over other's loss is not. When you are the only person you compete with and help others live a better life, then you live in harmony with your higher self. This is The Only Rule of Self Growth. If you can change yourself for good then you can also change the people and situations around you for better and in turn grow as a better individual.

Happy Thinking Folks! :)

Where is your God ?

So, we had some good movies in the last couple of years like OMG and PK that touched upon religion and the chaos around it. While things still continue to remain the way they are, it surely was a wave of change. A change that made people think rationally.

As a child, I have grown up seeing my Dad pray religiously two times a day. More than anything I love his devotion and discipline to do so everyday without fail. We have a pooja ghar in our house and do visit various temples like most other Hindus would.

What is common in the pooja ghar at my house and the temples outside? It is the Idol or the picture that we know as God since our childhood that is worshiped. And what is different between the two ? Or for that matter, what is the difference between the idol at temples, the custom made pooja ghar in each house and the idols displayed in shops. Where is your GOD ? Whom do you bow before and do you bow with equal devotion in front of all?

Well, think about it. How do you feel when you enter a temple ? Calm, peaceful and positive. But these vibes are stronger at a temple than our pooja ghar. I wondered why ... and the answer was not difficult. It is the faith and belief of many who visit the temple everyday and the chanting of mantras which are so synergistic... that elevate the positive vibrations of the temple. No wonder why people go from Kashi to Tirupathi to fulfill their mannats.

At this point, I have a question. What if my parents showed me an image and told me as a child that this is God. I would have believed it easily. So basically it the game of beliefs.

God is our highest potential and we pray in order to untap this potential. The reason we have idols or images is to make it easier for us to understand and relate to the otherwise the 'nirguna' and 'nirakara' i.e. someone without any attributes or shapes and form. God is the life that we see around and the universe that we live in.

Before an Idol is worshipped in temple, there is a ritual called 'pran pratishta' that is done by the priest. 'Pran Pratisha' means infusing life into the sculpture of stone. The irony is... we the small speck in this universe try to imitate God into an idol using mantras and rituals and in turn bow before it. Really there is no need to do this. You already have a full fledge miracle with life infused in it. Is it hard to guess ! ? It's YOU and every human being around you.

So where are we going in this discussion. My point is, there is God in each one of us. And you should not be surprised by this statement. The universe by it's nature of increasing entropy is moving towards more chaos. The coming together of so many factors to form something as constructive and as intelligent as a human in this universe itself is the highest form of God around. And our life is an opportunity to reach that highest potential and awaken the God is us.

You may well begin your day by being grateful to have got a human life. Thank the Food you eat and Mother Earth and the Sun. Untangle your chaotic self. Try listening to the silence between your breathes. Keep anger, worry and greed at bay throughout the day. Love your work and live your life with passion. Be the beaming smile to make someone's day and be the helping hand for someone in need.

Your gratitude to yourself every morning is like your prayer to God. And what is more relateable than your own human self and yet there is so much to discover each day. You are the most unique and custom made temple with a living soul within that accompanies you everywhere. Make it your one stop temple for all your mannats. Good thoughts will keep your temple clean and the God within you will inspire everyone around. Even as our our body ages and goes back to earth with time, your soul is immortal and continues it's journey. Good deeds are always left behind and continue to do what you did during your lifetime. Where is your God ? End the search here to begin a new journey now :)

Blessed to be a Human !

Most of the time I write in order to get back to my normal self when I face deep disappointment and when everything around looks gloomy. Today I am writing in order to get back to my normal self from the feeling of being overwhelmed with happiness. I want to contain the feeling of overflowing excitement and optimism. This is the excitement of a happy realization of the state in which I am. It is the state in which we all are. The state of being a Human...!

Being Human is a Blessing because we truly have immense possibilities and  enormous potential. Just take a moment and ask yourself when was the last time that you had an opportunity to change things for better ? The answer is ...it was the last moment of time when you just thought about bringing the change. :) Your thinking already starts a process and your efforts decide how fast will you get it done. It is really that easy!

Imagine how blessed you are to get a new day in your life. Imagine how happy and content you will be when you go to bed knowing that you have leveraged the day to the best of your potential. When you look up to each day with excitement, is when you "live" in real sense.

If we were here to simply earn and spend money, to eat and sleep and just have leisure... we wont have been humans. Humans who have done things in life that are beyond the above activities are the ones who are truly remembered and have become immortal. To do the best that you can, to be the best in your job and your role and to be a compassionate person is the highest form of service to humanity.

Die Enormous

Waves of shock and despair spread across the globe as a devastating earthquake of magnitude 7.8 hits Nepal. The mighty Mount Everest stands and shivers helplessly as Mother Earth shakes her head in rebellion.

Time and again we humans feel the burns of Mother-Nature's rage and are reminded how tiny and insignificant we are. It reminds us of the delicate balance in this universe on which we gamble each day. The Earth's history has seen enormous devastations in the form of natural disasters. They make us sit back and rethink about our social, moral and even ethical responsibilities and question ourselves... are we doing our bit of duty as earthlings?

I take a look at my surroundings, I see the bustling streets and the crowd. I look further up there and I see the vast sky. As I close my eyes to visualize this earth hanging in this galaxy with a billion other ... supposedly lifeless objects, I get overwhelmed.

I am forced to take a moment out and contemplate on what I am doing on this earth. I feel great thinking how lucky I am to be where I am. All the feelings of greed, hatred and envy just look meaningless in the awe of the universe I belong to. The latest scientific study inspired by self-help author Mel Robbin's Ted Talk says that the way we are born, in the given point of earth's time-frame, and at the given place is an incidence counted as one in 400 trillion. Yes... that is like 4 multiplied by 10 for about 14 times! Isn't that a miracle? It is extraordinary and as the famous motivational author Robin Sharma rightly says.. "Today" is a Miracle.

In a civilization, we count ourselves as commoners and give power into the hands of those who have the most to serve and deliver. The person with highest power has the most responsibility. Realizing the fact that we are one in 400 trillion, I understand, we humans are not just special, but we are extraordinary, having got so much of power within us...!

The question is... are we living a life that is worth the power we are bestowed with? Are we serving and delivering our duties to our giver... to our Mother Earth? Its time we stop and see where we are going and ask ourselves these questions. I can only recall JayZ's famous words as I ask myself these questions... but "I choose to rather Die enormous, than Live Dormant". This is life... visibly tiny and potentially enormous.

Thank You In Advance...

Thank You In Advance... sounds like an ideal concluding line of a formal conversation. We are taught to say 'thank you' since our childhood as a part of our etiquette lessons. Our elders put it quite simply and tell us to say thank you in return of some help that we receive.

However, what used to intrigue me is when people say Thank You In Advance. It is like I am asking for something, I don't know how I am going to get it but I have a wild imagination that says my work is already done and I express my gratitude in advance! More often, this phrase goes like a million mindless things that we say everyday but we never really feel it. The question is, is there more to it?

Lately, a friend of mine asked me to watch the Divine Matrix by Gregg Braden. Honestly speaking, neither the name nor the length of the video pushed me to watch it in the first go. But being labeled as a life changer video by him, I watched it. Almost within the next two days, during a casual conversation with my uncle, he recommended me to read The Magic by Rhonda Byrne. Both these things said quite the same thing and the mystery was now completely unfolded. I learned that what has happened, is happening and that which will happen already exists. Its just that we need to attract it and we do so at different times of our life and name it as our past, present and future. For example, my dream job already exists, its just that I do not have it today but there is every possibility that i can have it soon. How? There lies the answer... by saying Thank You in Advance. Yes, it takes time and time tests you and your beliefs every time; nothing comes for free. But given the impatient person I am, I did something to test this little magic.

Two days back I lost my pen-drive that had all my important files. I was tensed and confused. I must have searched every possible corner of my house and recollected every possible place in the college where I went but in vain and gave up when even my mom couldn't find it. I soon realized that worrying isn't helping me. I sat down, stayed calm and tried to get over my anxiety and sense of loss. I closed my eyes and imagined that I opened my bag, reached my pouch and took out my pen-drive like its already there. Simply thinking about this made me so happy and so relieved that I spontaneously said Thank God. And it struck me why not do the magic test and explicitly, I said thank you in advance and left for my college forgetting that I ever lost my pen-drive. In the evening before leaving for home, a student out of nowhere came upto me and said, "Hey, I saw you in the lab the other day, you forgot your pen-drive it seems." I couldn't believe my ears. 

All I could say is 'Thank You' form my heart. It is the power of belief and of gratitude and it is no magic. Whenever in a problem, my mom always says, think positive and believe and say that good things will happen. I would always argue and say I am not being negative, I am only being practical. Now I feel she was always right, as if she knew this little secret of life! Say Thank you in Advance and your preparation meets the opportunity earlier than you could expect. It is true and has given a whole new meaning to my life. :D