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 :)