We experience life through our intellect and memories but rarely do we ask ourselves who is experiencing all this? I am sure you must have also had this feeling that though time has passed and you are completely different from what you were at various stages of your life, yet something within remains the same and has not aged with time…

We get identified with various things like name, title, status, ideas, desires, etc but stop for a moment and observe that you can’t be any of it. You are that which never changes – the soul which is pure awareness and hence it is said in the Bhagvad Gita – 
nainaṃ chindanti śastrāṇi nainaṃ dahati pāvakaḥna cainaṃ kledayantyāpo na śoṣayati mārutaḥ
English translation:
No weapon can cut the soul into pieces, nor can it be burned by fire,
nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.

On the auspicious occasion of Buddha Pournima may we be enlightened to the eternal nature of the soul which is pure awareness.

Buddham Sharanam Gacchami;

Dhamam Sharanam Gacchami;

Sangham Sharanam Gacchami…

There is grief everywhere, loved ones are succumbing to the dreaded “C” and amidst the grief of losing a loved one is also a fear of being next. This is where how and what we perceive life to be makes a world of difference. Sharing some perspectives that may help.

Ram Mama – my maternal uncle, mentioned to me that as time passes, more and more people that he loves are waiting on the other side for him but their memories are fresh in his mind “Ya to khud aajao ya hame bula lo”. I thought that it was an uncomfortable truth expressed in such a lovely way and the words of a soul prepared to cross over with love and affection which he is practicing every living moment… 

Death and impermanence are two fundamental facts that Buddhists keep reminding themselves and yet every action that is performed in life is as gentle and loving as can be. The preparation for the onward journey is ingrained from a very young age as a part of the culture and to live by a code of loving, sharing is upheld. That’s possibly the reason why Bhutan is the only country in the world that has “Gross National Happiness” as a metric of progress and not GDP… 

Spirituality is not a matter of faith, it is truth that has to be accepted as Osho has beautifully put it 
“I have left myself in the hands of existence. If it can manage millions of stars, millions of planets, millions of solar systems.. l am just an ordinary man, it can manage life for me too.”

Finally, if you understand the significance behind Sant Dyaneshwars words “Ata karne nahi Hone” – “Now no more doing, being” you have understood the essence of living and of course dying which is but a stage in existence…

In Hindu Mythology, we have two apparently contradictory forms of the same God – Vishnu – One named Rama(Whose birthday we are celebrating yesterday on Rama Navami) and the other named Krishna. Both followed diametrically opposite methods to uphold Dharma in their own way. Paradoxically even Buddha is considered to be an Avatar of Vishnu and the path he followed is one of complete non-violence. How can the same power manifest so differently is a question that has flummoxed most people for ages now, and the debate still continues. 

Per me, the common thread running through all avatars is the sense of duty (Dharma) – Rama/Krishna achieved what they considered to be their duty even by resorting to violence whilst Buddha achieved his goal of Self Realisation through non – violent methods. The goals, situation and context for each one was different but if you notice, each one had a sense of purpose and duty (Dharma) that they held higher than themselves and that is the take away that we should have from these role models.

They should inspire us to accept (Dharma) purposes that are higher than ourselves and to devote ourselves to achieving them without fear or favour. Let the force be with such a purpose and such individuals.
Who you pray to doesn’t matter so long as you uphold your dharma…

Jai Shri Ram

Jai Shri Krishna

Buddham Sharanam Gacchami…..

At first, we define labels and later these labels define us. The labels could be of name, status, position, wealth or simple likes and dislikes or groups/political ideologies that we subscribe to, etc. In trying to live up to the dictates of these labels, we lose track of what life actually is. In moments of natural calamities, pandemics we observe that these labels don’t mean anything – you will die irrespective of whether you are the Prime Minister or a Beggar and yet we cannot shake off the labels since we don’t know how to live any other way.

The social machinery is working on these labels and you feel that it is impossible to change the larger picture. Here is where you need to let go of trying to change the larger picture and instead focus on yourself – find out who you are without these labels and try to live out of that understanding. There is nothing wrong with the labels, it is your attachment to living life out of them that is wrong – let go of the attachment to these labels. 

You are as much an inseparable part of the world as the world is an inseparable part of you. You can change the world by changing yourself and change begins by knowing oneself…

As Ramana Maharshi said, just contemplate on the question: Who am I? 
Reject all the labels that are imputed upon you and have the courage to go to the end of this enquiry till you find out that you are nothing and yet everything…

The difference between what “I am” what “I could be” and what “I should be” is the cause of suffering, wherein “I am” represents point A and “I Could be” Point B, “I should be” Point C and we spend a lifetime in reconciling the difference between the points and making efforts to move from Point A to the other points… This approach assumes that Point A is somehow not good/enough and that reaching point B, C,….Z is what is “missing” in our lives and we spend a lifetime searching for this missing thing.

What we fail to realize is that Life is at Point A, it always was and always will be… Points B, C, …Z are in our minds and take the attention/joy away from Point A. The essence of our being is always in the moment, you can experience it by being here and now. Irrespective of your stage/station in life if you cultivate awareness by being in the moment and observe the impermanence of everything, you will let go/not be attached to anything and experience the bliss of liberation/freedom. It is unconditional acceptance of Point A with a layer of observation/awareness. 

Attention/Awareness/Being Present, my friends, is everything…

Whilst dealing with the ongoing crises, we are not only falling short of physical resources but also seriously unable to cope with the psychological effects of this ongoing trauma. PTSD- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is suffered by soldiers who are in stressful war situations for a long time & unable to cope with it. We are collectively experiencing a Continuing Trauma Stress Disorder CTSD in the war against COVID and we don’t even know it or even if we do, we are unprepared to deal with it. 

The feeling is that of being trapped civilians in a war zone who are not even a part of any army and yet being exposed to complete risks of the war. Most of us are confronting pain of the loss of loved ones, dealing with the fear of us/dear ones contracting the deadly virus & suffering the consequences. We are not only in the same boat as regards our physical/financial condition but also not in the same boat as regards our psychological condition and our ability to cope with stress. It is a time for a crash course in psychological training to deal with the stress.

I recently saw a video of a psychologist who suggested 3 interesting techniques to deal with Stress. Needless to say that there are many other techniques to cope with stress but I found these simple and practical to be implemented by anyone, hence sharing. 

1. Act on the “Controllable” – Accept the “Uncontrollable”: Note on a paper all the “Problems” that you can perceive on the left side and on the right whether there exists a solution that you can currently work on to resolve the problem. Do whatever you can for the ones that you can, for the ones where no solution exists or you cannot work on it presently then put it in God’s bucket and say”God will solve this”. Later if you are worrying yourself about the same problem – refer to the paper and say that it’s already in God’s bucket and over time your mind will stop stressing over it.

2. Stop Negativity: Stop watching news/messages/statistics incessantly like your life depended on it and stop sharing information that you think would negatively affect people.

3. Conscious Relaxation: Close your eyes and consciously relax your eyes for a 20 seconds, whenever you can, you will find that your body and mind both relax.

This COVID Trauma seems to be in for the long haul and we don’t have any alternative but to prepare ourselves physically and mentally to cope with it with consistent exercises both physical and mental. Learn & consistently practice physical/mental exercises for your own good and for the good of your loved ones – since your stress not only affects you but also your loved ones. If you are in a position to be of help to others in any way, try to do whatever you can, whenever you can. Doesn’t matter if you haven’t tried all this before, the best time to start was yesterday, the next best time is today. 

Above all remember: This too shall pass….

Survival or Freedom?

As a race we have been unable to decisively answer this question whilst the answer may seem obvious to us when we read but when put in the situation, we may choose otherwise. Look at the crowds at the political rallies, kumbh mela, … Are we blind to the fact that these very people would return home infected and the disease would spread? 

The second wave is deadlier than the first, in a sense that people we know directly have been infected/suffering/passed away and yet we refuse to accept the “lockdown” conditions as essential for our very survival. Meteors may not be needed to wipe out the human form – we ourselves are capable of doing so and are running/sprinting towards it with open arms. 

The idea of freedom appeals so much to us that we don’t mind even the body being sacrificed for it. This is the very basis on which revolutions are based – freedom over survival but surely we cannot use the same yardstick to deal with a pandemic that threatens the survival of the human race itself…

One can only hope and pray for Divine intervention – in terms of reducing the potency of the virus or making the human form somehow immune to the virus since human intelligence has acquired an Auto Immune Disorder and seems to be working against itself…This AIDs infected intelligence presumes that a dip at the Kumbh would be more effective than vaccination/other preventive measures lockdowns or better still perhaps attending a Political Rally would offer a better way of countering COVID…

We have managed to get ourselves into a much more concerning situation qua COVID than we were a year back. The vaccinations will take their own time to work and reach the herd immunity level but by then how many lives would be lost? 

The current situation, more than ever, forces you to confront your mortality. If you don’t accept now, when will you? Life was never meant to be permanent as we hope and imagine, it will end and when? you don’t know. Whatever it is that you dream of “accomplishing” in life is rendered meaningless. Like it or not, that is how it is…

Awareness of mortality brings about 2 kinds of responses in people – One is that of fear and the second is that of gratitude/joy/bliss. 

Fear is due to the fact that we feel that we are our body/mind and losing it means the end of everything. We are attached to experiencing life through body/mind and don’t bother to acknowledge the fact that there is life/soul within that is enabling the experience of body/mind. We clutch on with our dear lives to preserve this body/mind despite seeing all around that it is going to go some time…. and even then we are not prepared to leave…

All of us know that the best way to overcome fear is to face it which is the second path, of bringing the awareness of mortality in every moment and facing the fear till it no longer holds any sway over us. When the stage comes wherein you are no longer attached to the body/mind you experience an unparalleled freedom and a sense of gratitude/joy/bliss that emerges from within.

Life is never about holding on, it’s about letting go… Sooner you start accepting this awareness in every moment of your life, sooner you will find the bliss within…

Attachment denotes a tendency to possess whether it be in relationships or things or habits. Ultimately it is your habits, possessions, relationships that lend you an identity, define you. Attachment in Yogic terminology is “Raga”.
If you observe, you will find that the opposite of what you are attached to is something that you fear or detest and generally avoid. This is “Dvesha” in Yogic terminology.

What we are attached to is the concept that something would bring us pleasure and what we avoid is that which we feel would bring us pain. We spend lifetimes upholding or repeating “Raga” and avoiding “Devsha” and thereby they become “vasanas” – tendencies that not only influence the choices/actions of this life but also are carried forward to next lives…

The solution to this is “vai-raga (Vairagya)” – detachment(Not renouncement), which in spiritual terms means being non-possessive. It means that you are involved but not entangled. 

Remember what brings us pleasure also brings us pain, if denied to us. Especially in COVID times when we cant roam around freely, meet friends, go to public places we are denied the pleasures that we once experienced and hence it brings us pain. 

What is required is acceptance of the times and situation and to do what is necessary as per our capability and most importantly to be happy with the choice regardless of the external situation. That is vairagya… 

Vairagya during COVID times is gladly maintaining social distance/wearing a mask / getting vaccinated/ taking necessary precautions for your own protection / helping out others in need, etc willingly and happily. Else you are trapped in the raga/dvesha (pleasure/pain) cycle which is never ending. Only you can free yourself(by vairagya)…

A year has already passed since the lockdown was announced and we are still struggling with the virus and the changes it has forced/is forcing us to make with our lifestyles. Have we learnt anything from it? Yes that it is possible to live simply on as little, if the situation necessitates it. The attempts at relaxing the lockdowns have shown that people want to return back to their old lives, some out of necessity and some out of boredom – the effect of both is the same, the virus keeps spreading & creating havoc. 

What is needed is that we take ownership of our own lives since that is the only way we can survive this pandemic. We have to reexamine the parameters which got us here in the first place. The crux of the problem is the way in which we choose to live life – it is a consumption oriented, accumulating kind of a lifestyle that brings about categories of haves/have nots wherein the have nots are forced to take risks for sheer survival. We compound the problems by introducing differentiations in terms of religion, caste, gender, etc and we then face a fractured social fabric which gives rise to situations like this in which even if you want to change, the social structure is beyond repair…

Going deeper, this is due to the fact that we have given importance to power, wealth, fame(PWF) as parameters of a successful life. Look around and assess for yourself the “successful” people, are they happy? No, they still want more PWF to keep surviving since they are like honeybees who only know to accumulate honey, but don’t know the purpose of that “honey”.  What use is “honey” if it does not give you peace of mind? The point completely missed out in this chase is that the direction of the pursuit itself is wrong, peace of mind is a result of “letting go” not “accumulating”…

Change always begins with self, so if you start with yourself and take ownership of your life despite the pushes & pulls of the society, you would bring in the change. Start simplifying your life and move away from the consumption/accumulation oriented lifestyle to a more “Letting go” lifestyle – such a lifestyle besides being a reward in itself, would also leave a legacy worth perpetuating…

“Legacy is not leaving something for people. It’s leaving something in people” – Peter Strople​.