Consider yourself the actor.. And step by step do deeper

See yourself as playing a role.
And one day you will be able to see yourself as even the producer (not the director, which is the karmic law). You will realise yourself as the one that projects this all.

Let go of all fear, that of being one in a crowd, or of losing things you value, or of even death. See yourself as just the agent, never the doer. What was meant to happen, will happen. You just plan and do the tasks being assigned by the empirical world. Don't even worry about both the plan and the tasks turning up wrong. The outcome will be what is meant to be. Your duty is only to have the correct intention.
And one day you will realise you are the not even the agent. Just a witness of all these agents. And these agents, and even the time and place they are in, is also within you.

Eternal Love is God's

Sitting by the ghats, I waited my dear
As lifetimes passed away, drowning sorrow in my tears

The mistakes that I made, were perhaps due to haste
Maybe I didn't wait, for eternal love's bait

The moonlight now reflects, showing me the path
At the dawn of realisation, beckoning me to bath

Advaita's projection is made by love

Advaita called complex is made so only to explain in depth.
But the very essence of it is the same as Bhakthi.
Advaita speaks of all as a projection. From the very consciousness that gets reflected in us all. Suggesting that in essence we all are one. Including all living and also non living.
In so many words it says we are pervaded and that it's like a dream and that it even can't be expressed in words. Or even to lengths we can't ask why as causation is within Maya.
This is because the great philosophers took it upon themselves to explain Advaita.
But listen to Sri Ramakrishna, look at his life story. Or Swami Vivekanand or even Adi Sankaracharya. These greatest proponents of Advaita did not shun Bhakthi.
So don't pay much heed to the scholars looking too deep into Advaita and in essence confusing everybody by saying things like there is no birth itself then why rebirth, a sort of avoiding the questions.
Look at Advaita as simply telling us: We all are projected out of love. Which is also what is implied in saying that all are one.
Lose all concerns and rest assured that all is well taken care of.
Don't worry and do your duties with no tension. Try and stop seeing others as "others". Keep reminding oneself that we all, living and non living are one and love everything and everyone equally.

Sweeter than love is bliss

Sweeter than the sweet pain of love is this bliss
Stronger than the stormy wind is this bliss

Deeper than the ocean with calmness within
Potent than the forest fire is bliss

Use means for spirituality as pole vaults

Use all the means of spirituality you like
Do not fight over which is right
Indeed they all have their place in flight
Choose each one and transcend that

The world was not meant for spreading religion
Nor was life to enforce religion
These are meant for your own Nirvana
Do prevent Adharma and be at peace

Know all religions and religion's practices
As sadhanas the pole vaults for progress
Prepare to let go at the right time
And leave attachment itself towards freedom

Which biscuits to eat

There is a good series from the Fit Tuber channel on YouTube about healthier Bhartiya options about various daily used consumables. This includes soap, toothpastes, oil, shampoos.

Recently the anchor Vivek covered a 5 minute review of biscuits. It is very valuable and informative like his other videos.

I have been a big fan of Parle since it was not part of a conglomerate unlike Brittania (belonging to Wadia group) or Sunfeast ( belonging to ITC- Indian Tobacco Company).
But had been shocked recently to realise that all their biscuits including the non-cream varieties like Krakjack and Monaco and even the ubiquitous Parle G was loaded with Transfat.
I felt cheated that generations of loyalists had been slowly been poisoned by the Parle brand itself.

I would never back ITC which has made its money by selling cigarettes and is now trying to rebuild its image albeit without even showing remorse by changing its name.

But was pleasantly surprised to realise that Brittania products are always zero transfat. Including their cream biscuits.

The video by Fit Tuber makes the case that even these Brittania products are not healthy (he seems to have missed mentioning that all Parle products contain transfat).

Vivek has advised to look for other ingredients to avoid like Artificial sweeteners. This was an eye opener to learn that all products claiming 0% sugar actually add artificial sweeteners. As Vivek rightly mentions, better to feed sugar to children that Artificial sweeteners. He even shows biscuit labels mentioning the same!

The other ingredients to look out for and avoid are raising agents, refined flour, artificial flavours and colours.

The video also provides healthier alternatives that are made in Bharat.

A must watch, must know and better followed!

Are you valued for doing more or knowing more

This is a critical piece of self value evaluation each professional has to do: What is he valued more for in the organisation he works at. Is it for his knowledge and skill. Or is it for his hard work and team player attitude.

Because the aim of every professional in this era of knowledge and technology at the driving seat of rapid change, you need to reach the stage where you are valued more for your professional skills than just your work ethic.

This is not to downplay the importance of having the right attitude to work. I must also hasten to add that the best in any field will be those who have both: the skill as well as the work ethic. But always remember that this is the era of machine learning, of robotics, of artificial intelligence. So no matter how hard working you are, you are replaceable if you don't have the knowledge and skills to stand apart from them.

I'm sure your managers perhaps value you more for toiling for them, at least that would be their first impression. But believe me, if you have the skills to speak for you and your performance, in the long term, they will overlook and even spend time mentoring you on the soft skills part.

So spend time in a disciplined manner daily towards skill enhancement. There would be nothing that you can learn in a day. It'll require identifying a course online (I use Udemy), working towards studying, assignments and getting a certificate to show for.

But this discipline to study and learn daily will be the key to your survival and success!!

The mind that destroys

There lay in the mind desiring a feverish soul
Mistaking it to be a true heart's wish he burnt
All that was happy, content and truly worth
To ashes that howled and cursed their lot

The diseased mind imagined
Though wrong as a must
The ego claiming pride
Over Mother Nature's trust

Training children on games

Training and initiating children to take up games or sports, especially competitive is an art in itself.

Some children have an innate talent for certain sports (and not others) while others won't. Sport is seldom taught for them to excel in it, but more so they developed the skills to collaborate and develop healthy competitiveness in a social environment.

But what one wouldn't want is the child losing  interest in the game due to many losses early on. Or worse, lose confidence and self-belief in his ability to succeed in social dealings.

Here the parent or coach should play a guiding role. Initially, find out the child's calibre. Then, make him play with others lower in calibre so that the child wins and develops interest and confidence. The parent/ coach could even themselves play with the child and deliberately lose the overall game. But one may win some points all the while teaching the child the mistake he made due to which he lost the point.

The fact that he overall could still win the game will instill confidence. And prod himself to improve and try harder.

As the child thus nurtured in basic and core abilities is then exposed to peers of similar calibre and made to taste an equal number of victories and defeats, he learns to take defeats in the stride and deal with them in a balanced manner.

The child's training can stop at this point unless he has the interest to continue training further, or has the talent needed for going to national/international levels of the game.

If not, even then the coach has done his job and apart from teaching the rules of the game and the techniques of how to play it, he has instilled life- skills in the child for how to deal with social / professional settings involving a mix of success and failures.

Leave before sunset

Leave while the sun shines
Before the darkness envelopes in blindness

There is no going back
To hear the chirps of evening birds
Gleeful in the joy of homecoming

There no imagination to match
The imagery of the crimson setting sun
The rays rising from the back of palatial clouds
The glory of nature to be held by all

Warrior life

The brave warriors once
Relied on their kings

Lives though short lived
Spent in battle fatigues

The body and mind endured
Yet found their greatest joy

No longer monotonous life then
Could get back the thrill

Plea for Moksha

Benevolent Guru, accept me
May thy grace be upon me

Mother Sharada, watch over me
May thy Jnana enlighten me

There be no birth after this
Jagannatha please ensure this