Take a Hike!

It's hard to say, why religion exists? Hard to understand, why it becomes a mass-accumulator. Easy to see why people fall trap to its social herdings..it gives them an identity. Man is in search of an Identity, about who he is, all his life. Religion has the intoxic mix of spiritual and social gathering. We feel connected with the group socially and spiritually.

But see the toll it takes. It divides man from man. People get defined by their religious beliefs. And worse, sometimes that seems to hold true!

These days there's a new controversy: Hindu saints saying Sai Baba not be worshipped.
Regardless of anybody's opinion, why do they have to get didactic. This is not what religion, and especially the Hindu way of life, was meant to be.

Religion started off, and should've stayed as an individual's journey. An invidual's journey to self-realization. Social norms should have been kept separate and not intertwined with religious norms. In that I respect the Hinduism religion being the most tolerant; not enforcing the individual to any practice. I think it became a social accumulation more as a response to other religions who were able to exert influence around the world, by commanding mass gathering, fellowship and rules.

But regardless, every religion should not intervene with individual freedom. These days, the much-hated "western culture" has brought about that good. Little do they realize that people even in western societies follow strict religious norms. It's more an individual choice there though, than something enforced. And that's how it should stay!

Let religious influences, on either side of the pendulum, be discouraged, a heady concoction though it might be. Let religion be encouraged as an individual's journey, his/her search or pursuit.  Let religious intermingling be encouraged in all social institutions, celebrations, and even marriage. And those who dislike the idea, let's tell them to "Take a Hike!"

I am One..

I walk down the green, my shoes are clean
They chirp overhead, the birds at their best
I know the sun will, any moment now
I await the glory glimpse, the scenic crimson brim

I know that we are one, the Surya and the Son
I will forever desist, the hesitation and resist
To accept, to bind, to stifle, the kindling of the mind
To know that I am more, than just a beating heart

Are we Connected...from Before

Dear Son,  You amaze me. I wonder, and I'm almost getting convinced now. That we are connected, from before. Like I knew you were a boy even while you were in Mamma's womb. Even then when you look at me, and I know our souls speak. You seem to guess our feelings right. You like the small things I and Mamma say..you belong to us, we are the same family!!

And most of all, like today, you are equally fond of the very same songs that I love! These songs, some of them old film ones, some devotional, which for no reason have attracted me. These same songs engross you! Have we heard these, together, a lifetime before? Did we know each other, were we connected, once before...

Life is an eternity, from one birth to the other. Until we "realize", and choose to escape. I know now no fear of Death. It follows a period of deep rest. The anguish I choose not to carry, I realize the nature of Self is joyous. Does your love bind, prevent me from the next stage. Oh c'mon Pradeep, aren't there so many entanglements even before that!!

Musings from the book "Siddhartha"

The book Siddhartha, I heard from the then CEO-designate of Infosys, Mr Vishal Sikka. He kept quoting the book on various occasions. Perhaps this is his favorite book. I took it upon me to read it.

The book is philosophically heavy. The ones who'll find it most interesting are the spiritual seekers. Those looking for answers on why life exists, from the spiritual angle. Being one of those, I just enjoyed the book. At places I did not agree with the protagonist Siddhartha, at his thoughts and actions. You could judge one's own level of spiritual maturity when you realize certain early actions of Siddhartha, or how one aspects his point of views later on in life.

In a sense, the book also makes you instrospect. To ask yourself are you willing to agree or adhere to everything Siddhartha had to say, to follow his path, even if true. Remember, isn't it Siddhartha himself who says that no teaching can lead you to salvation. Each person's path has to be unique!

I see the reflection of the Hindu way of life, and how it helps one, through the experience of Life itself, to reach salvation; the concept of the four ashrams in Life. I also began to get a deeper appreciation why this way of life doesn't expect anything from the individual. No need for temples, idols, books, teachings. Although if you need any source, every kind of guide is available.

Siddhartha could never have achieved enlightenment by converting into a monk. Like he said, those teachings are good, but will continue to keep you as a seeker, as happened to his friend Govinda. For experiencing enlightenment, one has to go through Life, and still be able to see the transitionary phase of things.

This is where I also agree with the teaching of Sri Sri Ravi Sankar, that the only way to dissolve Karma, is "awareness". You have to live out your current Karma, but if you are aware of what's happening, you refrain from action that traps you further into the cycle. Or perhaps even leaves you (the self or the soul) alone as the observer, and not the doer. So you do not accumulate the effects (good or bad).

And that's where the teaching of the Gita was point-on: If you are already in the war, fight it. The time to rethink it has gone. You'll have to live through this Karma (or die, as could happen in a war). But being unattached, where you are not doing it for personal benefit or other's doom, takes you out of the loop. Leaves you with a chance to leave the effects (the war-wounds) with the body, and not carry it on your soul!

The Spider's Web

Walking in my shoes, Living in my Dreams
With Aims and Pursuits, my Life is Replete

I wonder Magic, is this whole world
Am neither real, nor anything around
How beautifully it has, trapped me in it
With each act I just, keep getting pulled in
There is one savior, it is my Breath
The minute it stops, reality begins

But still this world, I keep marveling
Has thrown it on us, the Spider'sWeb
And yet we wonder, what's going on
How can we know, until we look from beyond

Trapped in thy Dream

Imagine a situation where you are trapped in your dream. You can't come back, you can't wake up. That's what happened to Dilip. He found himself lost, and caged and trapped. He suffered inconsolably, controlled by a soul on vengeance.

His consciousness had escaped, as does everyone's in dream-state. While we can come back, to senses and this world; poor Dilip could not one day, his consciousness was held back. His wife when she woke up, she tried her level best. She could see he was breathing, but yet not waking up. Is this what they call coma, she haplessly wondered aloud...

Alas medical science, limits itself in its process. That seeing is believing, learning from intuition is nothing. So while the knowledge of "What" has progressed, the "Why" and "How" continues to confound. And while another soul could have rescued, someone needed to be told.  Instead they left him in bed, with glucose injected.

The wails and the sighs, could Dilip hear from within. For he was not gone, he just could not come back!!

This River Still..

This River still, bears its heat
It flows on merit, and mirth uphill
It glows in sun, and moonlight alike
It holds fire within, and coolness abright

I know it breathes, it speaks, it listens
It is I who speed by, not waiting by him
It is blue and is black, angry and is calm
It is all of these and yet, water is not these

It exists at same time, at source and sea
It teaches me verily, there is no such thing as time

Hear the Silence

I heard it in the silence, that rustle of the leaf
That beauty in space, of nature divine

I wet in the rains, I dried under sun
My Self was this creation, a glow innocent

So much to do, but no inkling to say
What words can convey, that heaven is earth

You sleep on soft grass, and still look upwards
Paradise is not beyond, it is just behind a veil

Why do we live life

I sometimes feel we should cut the crap out of this rat-race of career. Go back into the question of why are you doing this. Do not do it for your next promotion. This body, this life-history is not what matters. Do it for a real sense of bigger purpose. Let that purpose be to make life better for someone. Let the means be your work.

If you are rooted in who you are, what life is, what is really under your control and not, you stop getting too worried and worked up in office. In effect, you behave better with your colleagues, and give better output in work. You are more in control of the situation in this context, than any else.

Why do we live life? What's more important for us? What gives us most satisfaction, a blissful feeling? To me, it's family. My writing, my poetry. My meditation, physical exercises. Temples and the poignancy in their sandal, flower and fire scented air. Nature, greenery. The sun.

At work, I've felt so when a code I'd written executed successfully. I got this feeling when I score 96/100 in Mech in Sem 2, and recently when I scored 740 in GMAT. A sense of satisfaction of a job well done. I feel a drive to set a process straight, be it at home or work, and I strive towards it. I really like it when it completes well. It's not really a blissful feeling, as it is the second level feeling of satisfaction. I like it, but can live without it.

I see a lot of reasoning in the 4 ashrams of life. I think there will be a Vanaprastham for me, after Grahasthashram, which will again be secondary to Sanyas ashram. And to be clear, these ashrams reside more in the mind than the physical self. Although the physical seclusion would be ideal.

Life flies by. I was the same person when I was 15. I might have learnt, worked, formed family. But I am the same. And I think this applies for all humans. Matter is, if they realize it or not.

One realizes that shortcuts, negative manipulations, and actually even positive Karmas matter little because you keep getting pulled into a cycle. More importantly, negative karmas keep pulling you farther and farther away from realizing the truth, that's all. But someday, somehow, in some life, this Self will suffer through it. If one just realizes this, people would just put effort towards a goal, but with no attachment to it.

The result will and has to come. And even if it doesn't and when it does, it does not belong to you. You were always just the medium. Your purpose is bigger. It is that of the Soul, it is that of Life.

The Mode of Awareness

I recently heard an interesting talk by Sri Sri Ravisankar on Karma and Reincarnation. He spoke about how "awareness" can dissolve all Karma. It was thought-provoking...

The gist of his message was that if "you" (the Self) are observing yourself, your actions, your Karma, then you realize what's happening, what could happen, and you stay detached. The very act of being detached to your current Karma will ensure you don't earn future reactions to it, in effect "dissolving" it, and freeing you from the Karmic cycle. Easier said than done, of course?

But I tried it. Of course one should have firstly reached the level of spirituality to realize that this body is temporary, but there is a self within it, which has stayed unchanged, since childhood. The mind, the emotional maturity, the physical nature and features, always keeps changing, even if not always visible. But the Self stands apart, experiences, and carries impressions like Guruji put it. These impressions are the Karma that earn its effects.

So if we "position" oneself in the Self first, and watch what are doing and experiencing (and we are doing something every second, even if just watching what we are doing), then the first immediate benefit I experienced was relaxation. I felt the stress floating away. In an instant I realized this was just like the feeling of meditation. Indeed, this is what we do during meditation isn't it, separate "self" and observe. We just let the thoughts come and let go without any physical activity during meditation. So we are relaxed and are definitely not earning any Karma. The thoughts are good or bad, but it's in the mind. The self is detached.

The next benefit I realized, I guess which is a product of calming down and getting free from stress, is we prioritize things right than just rush.

Our physical movement is slower, but not really slow. The right word is graceful.
Our general  demeanor is to look at the surroundings with awe. The greenery, the small antics of a child, the humor in small things, the goodness of beings. It's as if the soul has opened its eyes and is finding everything new and beautiful.

This Mode of Awareness is also resembles the mode of creativity. When I'm writing this article, or a poem, I'm just letting the words flow by. My mind is processing it, but after the fact. The idea keeps on getting generated from the consciousness or beyond, and the mind's just shaping it instantly. Poetry, especially, flows most freely in this mode of creativity. Words are rhyming, phrases rhythmic. In this mode, I'm just sitting still, and communicating what's coming from within. That's how creativity arises anyways. We see it in music, in painting. And I think one is a subset of the other. Awareness precedes the mode of creativity.

And because we are in the mode of creativity, in general any work done is of good quality. Even when work needs analysis say, we switch to the analytical mode, but because we were in the more relaxed mode of creativity before this, we are less tired, less stressed, more relaxed.

The last, but the not the least, thing I noted was that it was not possible to stay always in this mode. At some point you get engrossed in what you are doing, and obviously the Karmic clock starts ticking without us realizing. I'm sure the gurus always stay in this Mode of Awareness. The realized beings always free of Karma although always in the mode of service and activity. This is perhaps where practice will lead us..