All would agree that no two people are similar, everyone has a unique fingerprint representing a uniqueness in their beliefs, karma, thoughts, desires, etc but the funny part is the same person is not the same when looked at in two different points in time. It is like Heraclitus said – No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man. Hence there are bound to be contradictions in life which is a fact but how you deal with them is up to you.

In such ever changing life, your approach to life should be based on principles that must not change even though everything else changes. Hence Yama (Restraints) and Niyama(Observances) provide the much needed code of living and are the very foundation of Ashtanga Yoga. 

Ahimsa (Non-Violence), Satya (Truth), Asteya(Non Stealing), Brahmacharya(Continence), Aparigraha (Non Possession) are the 5 Yamas (Restraints).

Saucha(Purity of thoughts, words, actions), Santosa(Contentment), Tapas(Austerity), Svadhyay(Self Study), Ishvara Pranidhana(One Pointed attention on Ishvara-Self) being the 5 Niyamas (Observances)

It is said that you bring/take nothing from this world which is not entirely true. After the death of the body, your habits, samskara’s, vasana’s are carried forward in the subtle body to join the next game of life. Aligning to Yamas and Niyamas is the best gift you could give yourself for this life and next….

With a world that is primarily focused on Artha and Kama, it is difficult to focus on Dharma and Moksha and yet essential.

This Dusshera, may you be blessed to climb the ladder towards Moksha, that would be true victory

Happy Dusshera ☘️

With a world that is primarily focused on Artha and Kama, it is difficult to focus on Dharma and Moksha and yet essential.

This Dusshera, may you be blessed to climb the ladder towards Moksha, that would be true victory

Happy Dusshera ☘️

A Titan merges with eternity. 

Who was born and who passed on? The body/mind is but a blip in the eternal unfolding drama​. We​ however identify ​only with the form that is visible through the body and mind but not with the essence/power that is underlying it….Th​is power (Shakti) is not separate or different from its unchanging Source(Shiva). Shakti is the manifest form of Shiva, they are Advaita​.​ This Shakti Mantra is to remind us of this reality

“Sarva Mangal Mangalye Shive Sarvartha Sadhike. Sharanye Triyambake Gauri. Narayani Namastute

Let everyone be blessed with well being. Shive(Shiva the unmanifest and Shakti the manifest) fulfils all Artha (Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha). I surrender(my ego- I Me Mine) to this all powerful energy Triambake Gauri, may she bestow wisdom upon me to​ Realise Self whilst navigat​ing  the journey of life….

Life is all about getting out of our homes(comfort zone) and constantly challenging ourselves to become a better version of ourselves…A spiritual life is trying to move away from the comfort zone of our very identification (I,Me,Mine) – our Wajood and realising that it is merely a sum of parts that we are clutching onto, until its game over…

Who can predict how many days one still has to live? Unless you find peace with yourself at this very moment without wanting to cling on to something, you will always be dependent on a future event to bring you peace. So you have to curate a journey for yourself that is independent of anything, yet joyful in this very moment – this is an internal journey and a state of mind that is realised when you observe the impermanence in everything which is the purpose of meditation… 

Coldplay concert tickets in Jan 2025 in Navi Mumbai from a few thousands to lakhs of Rupees per ticket sold out within the first day​, long queues for buying iPhone 16, Ambani’s spending millions on Pre/Post and Main Wedding, etc – is the world going mad? This is the effect of the new age YOLO(You Live Only Once) lifestyle. 

Welcome to the World of Valuables where even your worth is determined by what valuables you have and not what values you uphold…and I thought good character was based on the values(Sanskar) you uphold but sadly in today’s world no one gives a damn to character as long as they have a iphone 16 in their hands and million followers on social media…

You reap what you sow is the inevitable law of karma. We are sowing valuables chasing rather than value based living, you don’t need a genius to predict where this circus is headed. 

Time to wake up and smell the coffee and not get lost in valuable chasing but to live by good old values is the need of the hour…

We are but a reflection of that One Source which is perfect/mukammal, so how can anything be imperfect? 

A rose with lesser petals or lesser red colour is beautiful on its own, it is our perception of what it should be that we compare it with and feel that it is not perfect. So you see, the problem is with our perception and ideas of perfection and not with the world around us. We are born to a Perfect world with an imperfect perception and we try to change the world around us instead of changing our own perception…

“Umr bhar Ghalib ye hi bhool karta raha…

Dhool chehere pe thi aur aina saf karta raha….”

​With the advent of Raja’s(Lalbaug cha Raja, Fort cha Raja, etc) of every shape and size, the city of Mumbai is in a festive mood. I don’t think even Lokmanya Tilak would have envisaged the scale and pomp of Sarvajanik Ganesh Mandals when he had started the concept of Ganesh Festival. 

Every creation has its good and bad sides much like a knife being used to cut fruits or to inflict violence on others, so it is with Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandals pursuing “Mine better/bigger than yours”. Some do good for the society in terms of charity and provide employment for many artisans for the festival period whilst many simply fill their pockets with the money that devotees donate in hope of being blessed with better things in their own lives…And life goes on…

Just to remind ourselves, lest we get lost in the din of the Mandals, of what is the essence of the Ganesh festival…

To create the Ganesh Idol from the elements, celebrate its presence amongst us and to dissolve it to its elements when it is time…reminding us of our own mortality that whatever has been born will surely die and that we can take nothing with us – so celebrate your limited presence joyfully and share the same with others around you…

There is Ganesha(Divinity) in all of us but that is covered by layers of ego(I/Me/Mine), this festival reminds us to consciously dissolve such layers during our lifetime and allow the divinity within to shine forth….

We(The Human Race) have tied ourselves in knots and have lost the way of peaceful co-existence(If we ever had one). The worst part is we don’t even realise it and think that this is how life is and continue living repeating the same things over and over again. The last I heard, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is called insanity. Welcome to an insane world where labels, titles, possessions, beliefs (whether religious, political, etc) are more important than humanity itself. We are suffering the effects of this insanity in terms of Global Warming, Wars, Geo-Political conflicts, whilst the Planet is being rendered increasingly unsustainable for any life…

Reminds me of a Persian verse describing Sufism which means -the sons of Adam are limbs of each other, having been created of one essence. When calamity of time affects one limb, the other limbs cannot remain at rest. If you have no sympathy for the troubles of others, you are unworthy to be called by the name of a Human… 

​What is preventing us from being human(Insaniyat) is something that we need to reflect & act upon, the rest will take care of itself…

​This recent news article reinforced my belief that to have Santosa(Contentment) is the greatest blessing in life… The craving for more, whether it be pleasures, experiences, possessions, power, wealth, fame, etc is the beginning of the cycle of discontentment that we should guard against….

This reminded me of a story of a Fakir oft narrated by my father pertaining to my fathers childhood in Hyderabad. The Fakir only took one anna from whoever wished to give him alms and return any further money received saying that it was not permitted by his Pir/Code and bless even those who did not give him anything as well saying “Na Diya Uska Bhala” – Meaning those who did not give are also blessed.

Simplicity therefore is a code to live by and only some people who are blessed, understand it. Declutter your lives, share whatever you can, whenever you can till you reach the mindset of the Temple Priest/ Fakir in the above examples – then perhaps you would have understood the true purpose of life…