Chaitanyam after body's death

There are a lot of documented experiences on those who go through near-death experience on how they seem to have "eyes and ears everywhere". Are able to communicate with the creator. And how Sri Sri Ravishankar explains that this is a 2-3 day phenomenon. After which the body mostly chooses to move "forward" to the heavenly realm away from this world and experiences, than stay on.
The most important lesson for the loved ones left behind is to apart from mourning the loss, also encourage the departed soul to move on, not worry about us, and to express gratitude for all that they gave us during this life. This can be in silence, in thoughts, for the departed are not restricted to feel and know anything during this time.

My interest now is to share my point of view on how, from the Advaitic standpoint of Chaitanyam, does this work:

We know that when the Sthoola Shareera (body) dies, the Sukshma Shareera (prana/life force, mind) moves out, rests and comes back to take up another body unless it has realised its oneness with Brahman. Its next birth in this world will be determined by its karmas stored as vasanas (impressions) in the mind.
If it has realised its oneness with Brahman, then there are no impressions left due to its utter conviction about the nature of life, and so the Sukshma dissolves into Brahman, never to return unless divinely ordained, as the Avataras come back. (What isn't clear to me still is that for me, a Jivamukta state is necessary to reach this. If Videhamukta, it means the Sukshma Shareera after losing the body only realises Brahman, but that's too late in my view and would have impressions before body's death).

This Sukshma, which includes the Prana, and pervaded by Chaitanyam, is the reason why there is life throbbing. Without the Chaitanyam, Life would exist without "Awareness" of its existence. And this role of Chaitanyam convinces me that the tiniest insect, the plants, they all are aware. Of their existence and of those around. And that the only reason humans raced ahead is the added gift/tool of "mind".

And this Chaitanyam that pervades all is also the reason why Sukshma uses its awareness to see and hear those around. To take stock of its new status (as without a body) and settle to that fact. And then Sukshma leaves for an abode which I don't understand much. Apparently also a place where one meets ancestors (pithru), Gods, and then plans for its next birth into a body, to rid itself of its impressions.

The pursuit as always being to dissolve into Brahman..

You are Not Body

I do not get it, how you think
This body is you, and you will die

I know the pain and pleasure, you do feel
But so do you, for your family too

If anything at all, you can mistake as mind
Of where you do, truly reside

Look at this body as garment, or as your car
A tool you use, for your daily life

This One inside me

This one inside me, Is the doer, and I the medium
I the instrument, he the hand at work
I surrender all, that comes out, is created, to Him

I watch in reverence, In silent veneration
He does it all, Pray not look at me

I the ever perfect, He dirties himself
His Maya the playground, he runs/laughs/hurts himself

Why would want I the heavens, where He rests
Those heavens even, when created in Self?

The altar that are dreams

At the great altar of dreams
You surrender your impressions
The karmas that burn you inside
You shed in sacred homa

No control of the happenings
They scare and bring joy at times
The mind made turmoil
Or the pangs of the soul to let go

I bring now only sage advise
To not suffer in oversleep
For the dreams in early morning stupor
Bring no rest only turmoil

I the Witness

What I saw in this sleep, was only a dream
What I saw in my quiet, was the chaos of thoughts
What I saw in my day, is the flow of the way
What "I" saw all this, is only the Witness forthwith

Migraine

As for the rain, and the gloom in day
I do not feel the slightest, chance at bay

Until comes in a throbbing
Behind eyes as peace robbing

That  tenacious migraine pain
To excavate the day's gain

Devi reflection

For put me in my prayers, in your bosom Bliss
I seek not this world, for all it has only fits a fist

My Devi and I, spend the time mother-child
Not wanting anyone else, despite the torment that forbids

I care not for heaven, my Mother please grace me
Keep me in Samadhi, absorbed in your mist

Embrace Darkness

Only right upto embrace does deified light live
It's darkness that guides those spaces bereft of it

Without a reset, has no computer lived on
Or confidence for that matter, to sustain life

It is a hopeless battle, to fear and try escape the shadow
It is a needless cause, for its the other half that completes

How the pendulum swung on religion in Kerala

I'm sure the religious among those at home in Kerala and from other states wonder, why really is the majority irreverent! Why the at best nonchalance to religion, though it's one of the crowd pullers to the state? You only have to go back a 100 years for the answers..

Swami Vivekananda was aghast at what he saw: The land of Adi Sankaracharya seeped in the worst form lower caste exploitation.

Narayana Guru stepped in and brought in social reform. But even he didn't assume or wanted it to go as far as it has now. Social reform has now become the end, and stopped being the means of something higher. Progress has been limited, restricted only to the then culpable Hindu followers. There has been no questioning or meddling with the Muslim or Christian customs. But the Hindu's pendulum definitely swung, and way far the other way...

Economic and Spiritual progress halted, and even declined. Philosophy is replaced by endless attempts to rationalize the Communist way of life, despite the evidence otherwise. The effects have been devastating with those in power being in self-denial: The state lives is a net consumer. Those bringing in revenue are those Malayalees slogging in the Middle East and other parts of Bharat. People are willing to shirk and strike than work! Per capita alcoholism is the highest in the country!! Is any social reform worth all this??

I'm a little surprised the Communists let the moniker "God's own Country" stay, I guess it was a to not hurt the last source of self-revenue, Tourism. With no industrialization and being the first to receive the South-West Monsoons, the greenery has survived. Ayurveda is another attraction, although again the Communists forget conveniently that it's religion-based..

A healthy corollary worth mention is how the Keralite, cutting across religious barriers, celebrates Onam together. I still feel proud to see that! I just hope, that some day, the country with its rich religious and philosophical culture, thrives once more in the field of Spirituality, sans the extremes of orthodoxy that have rightly been clip-winged.

View from a flight

View from flight, Is sheer delight
Crimson sunlight, against graying night
The clouds float below, retaining white
The yellow horizon, puts up a fight

As i fly

In content riseth, leaving all left behind
Come to pass, my creator's phase
In his glory I choose, to be calm inside
And feel his touch, to open my eyes

Beyond all clouds, we all have lived
Forgotten for in memory we believe
These impressions arise, when the creator wills
Yes the one, who witnesses within

Detached soul

Oh silent mind, you need not mind
The words and taunts, of the wordly crew
They just keep sailing, reaching nowhere
They only chide, to gather some pride

Oh gracious presence, you need not bend
For the gifts or stresses, they chose for you
They only did so, for they are jealous
Of your composure, that they never gained

Oh desireless heart, ever stay unattached
Those tugging for things, never stopped yearning
They tell you otherwise, but aren't the wise
And crave the most, the bliss you host

Amme Bless Me

Amme you continue to test me
In various forms you express yourself
In every form I have not received you well

I have cried and complained
I have hurt and restrained
I have not deserved the love you poured
I stay obliged with downcast eyes

Amme please continue to bless me
Do not forsake those downtrodden
May I serve your every form
Please do bathe me, with devotion's nectar

Misconception

You are firstly not, this body and mind
Whatever its nature, is surely not thine
In this deep misconception, is this universe alive
Your freedom from the fathomless, is only to realise

World so balanced

In this world called greedy, ask any parent to trade their child, and you won't get one

In this world called selfish, ask a parent to keep the best for themselves first before giving to child, and you won't find one

In the world called lustful, see if a couple choose it over rearing children, and you'll be surprised

A lot is made about this world, a lot true, a lot false

The only truth lies in the knowing, that Mother Nature runs the world
Woven together with her fine thread of balance

Do your best but claim your rest

See the tiredness your feel within
But also feel it dissolving away
Your very presence is not just today
Meditate, Balance, do rest for the day

I had an inkling that you were there
When I laid down I felt your touch
The God within made up of Bliss
Embracing me in sleep of love

Heavy Rain

The birds and their young shivering in their nests
The leaves shuddering in the gusts of breeze
The cats and dogs, cowering under rocks

While nature plays its games of adventure
You and I sit and miss all the fun
Sipping our coffee, the body decaying
No spirit left in mind, to brave those rains

Leaves us with no mirth, to live this gift of a life

My Son, My Lord

My son he's the best
Can get me going
Carries my life safely within

My Son he's my lord
Watching him I learn
How childhood was
And parenthood is

My Son My Gift
Born into my arms
A bundle of joy

Big shot of some sort

Struts around flaunting money
His status by fake generosity
Has nothing to call of his own
A big shot of some sort

His cars are what attract the girls
And they in turn the paparazzi
His life and style invite envy
Despite the world has the hungry many

Big shot of some sort
Do some good off Daddy's cash
Or the day is not far when you die
Of drug overdose in a costly hotel

None but I

There is none but I
In the rivers and waters leading to the sea
There is none but I
In the car loan vast realms of the sky

All variety is me, all diversity mine
There is none but I
In the creative thoughts of the mind

I was never away, though the mind was at times quiet
I never was awake, though proud of the my intellect's domain

The Great Gurus of the Sikhs

The Gurus who are, bravery exemplified
Both within and in the, world lived out
Pray help and bless me, with true form of bravery

The Gurus who taught, even householder life is spiritual
The Gurus who synthesized, both the physical and spiritual
Pray guide and bless me, to achieve true balance

The Gurus who were, the very face of benevolence
Who gave in charity, their possessions and lives
Pray fill my life-sense too, to give selflessly all

Moving fast towards dullness

The world seems all but praise for speed
Ignoring the never ending need to recede

It's all about giving it, right now and quick,
Whatever happened, to the old times slick

The stress and disease, and the dissatisfaction of doing
Of things when done fast, only brings ruin

Look around to this life, we have come for a reason
And all we are doing, is miss the passing season

A lifetime is gone, with your running around with none
Forgot to sit back,  and speak a little to some

In the race of life, the rabbits we've become
Forgetting it was the steady, tortoises that won

The last good bye

I lay not in wait, for the sun rays to rise
Nor for the call, from the messenger of God

These last breaths my dear, are only in thy name
For a time so we relive, the life we had together

They say you should leave, with no attachments behind
Lo behold do they know, the heart touch of a good-bye

Simplify

Not for him, rimless or half rimmed
Or the colourful, fashionable shades
He just wore the big black glasses
And adjust it when he needed

You wouldn't catch him ever, in cap/hat varieties of those
An umbrella was just fine, for wind, rain and sunshine

And though a shirt whenever, needed to step out of home
This dhoti clad man, had never the need for a pant

Wiping his sweatened brow, with the same towel for bath
Why carry a kerchief in pocket, when a towel perched at shoulder

The long gone simplicity, this man carried for our land
He reminds us why a car, when the walk/cycle suffices

Rest assured are such men,  speak less and touch feet in respect
Will stay few in number, until the dawn of wisdom rises

The foregone point

What use is it, looking back at life
When you don't share, O wise old one

Admitted some don't listen, don't even want to hear
But some seek your words, only shy to ask

History must teach, though the lessons are hard
Each life is a context, those around must learn

Drive home your point, O wise old one
The rather be forgotten, as the forgone point

Scriptures help to a point, as a pole vault does

All this reading can help, but only for you to think
To learn and then apply, else it's all for naught

The scriptures are to imbibe, the teachings of forefathers bygone
They want us to learn and follow, and reach the highest goals

But of what use is all these scriptures, if you read it and sleep
Give not a thought to contemplate, to practice them in life

Irrespective of source, reflects on the same medium..

If one looks above, there are a lot of things to see. The sky, the lights, the birds, the trees.
But if one looks down at a reflecting medium, say a lake or a mirror placed on the ground, all of these get reflected on this single medium.
This is how eyesight functions too. Vice versa, this is why space looks dark despite the sun being there.

Does the source have any meaning without a medium to reflect it?

Optimal management: Track 80%, audit the rest

I was recently watching the documentary "Inside Job" on the 2008 financial crisis. What struck me is that despite all the structures and warning systems in place, crisis cannot be avoided if the intent isn't there. Any number of theories or even proofs can be rubbished under the pretext that "it's too complicated to fire foresee" if there is conflict of interest (read, personal gain).

It made me think that even while the film seemed to suggest due regulation as the medicine, there are merits to the other side of the argument. The very reason socialist countries failed was over-regulation and the resultant systemic corruption. India/Bharat is a classic case study. And there is a movie based on a true story for that too (Ek Doctor Ki Maut). Bharat is learning its lessons and is on the journey of reducing the levels of regulation in order to foster innovation.

The solution, as it usually does in any sphere of life, is in the middle path. It  lies in achieving optimal balance. You can write books and books of regulation but lie stuck unable to achieve pragmatic justice as is shown in Bharat's judicial system. Or you can ignore your duty and leave it to the greedy markets at the peril of humanity as was done by the American financial system.

It's no doubt a tight rope if you get boggled by it. What I think we need instead is an in-principle practice of 80% regulation and 20% audit. Nobody likes to say it this way. People build careers writing regulation or battling and systematically undermining it. What is needed is the acceptance that we need regulation in every sphere, but to come up with the optimal levels for it.

Derivatives should not have been  unregulated (the cause of the financial mess). Nor is there a need for a state owned airline (Bharat's Air India).

In management practice too, have rules along with the purpose/intent and guiding principle be scoped out for each activity. Post that, instead of defining procedural rules to the last dot, keep some room for flexibility and make the audit more accountable and stringent.

Quite often, quality or risk management aspects of management is simply shadowing project teams with pointless meetings, tracking and escalation than focusing or adding any contextual value. Either they should get closer to context and individually contribute, or rather let the project ensure quality/risk management under guiding principles and be audited for those (than say, a specific set of documents existing).

The nature of audit also simultaneously has to change. It can't be the way Arthur Anderson and the credit rating agencies did it (getting away with calling ratings as opinion). Quite often it is seen auditors come with a checklist, have little hands on of the system in question, and rate based on docs submitted. Questionable if the docs amounted to the practices on the ground. Instead they'll have to be on their toes now and cross-check execution outcomes in detail or randomly pick areas to look at in depth, knowing that regulation has left room for flexibility. Again, for the same reason, they should ensure that purpose, not procedure is paramount.

In summary, an 80-20 ratio of regulation-audit balance will reduce cost (of scripting and sticking to regulation beyond the purpose) and increase efficiency (optimal use of talent and time, under the parameters of principles than procedures).

In pursuit of religion we forgot the culture

Let's keep aside the religion, why forget we all are Indians. The most ancient "civilized" nation.

Why in the pursuit of certain religions have we chosen to give up our way of life.

Our food habits, dress code, the way we greet, the languages we speak.
All these did not come from a certain religious aspect. This is us!

The sooner we realise this, the more we will Feel and Be, United!!

JEE

There was not one mind, unkempt, untrained
With concentration ferocious, they all did strain

Yet just hundred, or perhaps a thousand today
Made the cut to top ranks, choice of stream and place

Was mine a dream too, but some best unfulfilled
The important thing being, the dream was that Big!

The revenue country impact on films

The film industry in Bharat no longer makes the big money by focusing on the domestic market alone. Films have to be made by keeping the fan following from international audiences.

Such international appeal money also naturally leads to improvement in the technical aspects of film making: choreography, fights, locations.
It also tends to attract the best talent in music and singing.

This invariably also leads to films being made based out of those locations where the fan (read: the money) is located. This is specifically so for regional audiences who otherwise have just the regional state as their revenue source, versus say the Hindi film industry which can count almost the whole country as their market.

In general, Telugu films thus rely on US, Tamil films on the Singapore, Malaysia markets, Punjabi films in Canada and Malayalam films on the Gulf market. This is just representative to point out the major source of foreign revenue and not to claim that (say) Tamil or Malayalam films don't get released or don't earn much revenue from US.

The risk now in this is that it automatically shows only the glossier, and immediately visible developed side of these countries. The natural effect in 80% of the audiences then is to develop a distaste towards living conditions in Bharat and an aspiration to relocate to those countries.
In some ways this is good because the general population starts pushing their elected representatives asking why conditions can't be better and at least comparable to those shown in the foreign locales. But the downside is losing the talented folks who consider it as a lucky escape once they are able to relocate. Of course which is not the right choice for those reasons, as happiness is subjective and not an objective feeling.

The other point to note is how the revenue source and hence storyline changes when the immigration equations change. For example, Malayalam film industry which traditionally has depended on lower class labour force in the Middle East and was already short on big money, gets further hit when Gulf policies are to send back these laborers.

One more time

One more time, you will play in my lap
One more time, I will give you your bath
One more time, we will play hide and seek
One more time, I will guide what you seek

You are your brother, my one more child
A lifetime's wait has this, life borne fruit

I can't wait your brother, says for all that he wants
I can't wait to love you, One more time all over!

Of Love

For the reason that the rivers moisten the soil
My eyes wet ecstatic for that touch of love

There was never a time when I was not brimming
Oh for the moments I lost, sad and complaining

If there is one feeling we must all touch upon
It is of Love, hopeless, timeless, encompassing!

Our Body, just a Vesham

As a dress that we like to wear
We adorn and wash and throw at will
Thus this body, we carry through life
Why obsess, why crave, the grave is its

I see so many, sweat in gyms
With one sprain of strain, they walk with a limp
Do what's needed, for health of body and prana
Do not overdo, those muscles that you leave back

The impressions are what we carry through lives
Know this, habituate, meditate what's worth
Live life of purpose, this exalted goal
Of truly liberating, both body and soul

Immorality

Immoral is not he, when he sleeps and pays a Veshya
Immoral is the one who, covets his neighbor's wife

Immorality is not when, he burns his life in cigarettes
Immorality is the making, money off the smoke that kills them

Don't lecture others on morality, lessons no one sought for
Just see within and look for, the true intent of mind

Nothing sticks to us

No matter what, the ups and downs
The memories you cherish and even ones regret
Both insults and kisses, and even all you learn
They all will erase, be it in your lives or mine
Nothing oh nothing, sticks to us

So hold back not, this world can laugh
But even they hold back, in secret regret
Go out and live, in this playfield
You got this life, to live simple and full
For you be sure, Nothing sticks to us

Why worry, you are just the witness

When we Realise, there was no one else
Your father, mother, all you loved are You
The one you hate, the one you abhor
Are none else, but only You

This universe, it's creation destruction
Concepts you yourself have created
Why grieve, why fear, when all these too
Emotions you yourself have created

We all are One, My own projection
I stand as witness, and will take you in
Rest assured on creation, as only a dream
And an awakening, a concept of Time

I'm sure it's tasty, but..

The taste of desire is ever lasting
As long as you live on this planet

Engulfed by Maya, there is no escape
The only freedom is to stay apart

It's just like one chooses to keep away
From those that addictively ailing
The cigarettes, the drugs, the alcohol
We know them tempting if you once start

So too stay away from food formed animals
Our bodies were never, built to eat them

So too stay away from stress, anger and lust
Our minds were never, build to bear them

Devi Blessings

Blessings, O Devi, I seek from your feet
My prostrations, My prayers
For your kind eyes to shine upon
This devotee of thee

I am your child, my Mother please see
Caress me as a baby, smiling on thy lap

There be no desires, let me be free
Free me Mahamaye, from this world's retreat

No genius

Come there is no genius
We are all, come here with mental states
Accumulated over lifetimes not years

We come here to exhaust Karma
Not understanding we termed genius
Live and die confused

Think we are special but really not
Only as special as each one is

Recognise and devote in pursuit of the divine
Once you fulfill the grace gifted

Fresh Peace

The grayed out clouds' gloom even while the evening sun shines. The jaundiced shade to the day, while one expects (and prefers) orange.

Just a drip of raindrops enough for the earth to emanate the sweetest scent.

I wonder why we just can't sit together, share and stare..

Why the blood letting and angst, when even sin can be confronted by a stern but happy will!

The One experiencer

Make good the promises
  Of the births gone by
Travails have been various
  Of soul tormented by life
You are the one, just the only one
  Experience and then die
Only to come back once again
   Into that tireless circle called Life

The Fearless Swami

Where there be no tiptoes, but the heart of a lion
Where nothing to hide, blow the winds all they want

Face them all, be there no enmity
I have walked a long way, not to brawl and to die

There were many a reason, to stay back and to laze
There were many a reason, to sustain home and the hearth
But there was just the one inspiration, a Swami from gone by
Who stood up to fear, to weakness and to death!

The Merciless Dry

Dry earth parched by fire spewing winds
There be no respite only reptiles live

Walk in two cowboys in search of their horses
Their throats parched with just whisky to drink

No help them guns in front of desert sprawling
Better beseech the rains, before the jeans start a fire

Vacation

Were there not the mist, the cold
And the icy breeze flowing forth

It was warm and pleasing
Cool breeze fanning the sweat

Coconut trees around, and mangoes to eat
It was a beautiful, memorable day to be

I lay in my silence, witnessing around
I breathed deep into activity, with joy abound

Role models

I had reconciled to a nice, siesta in shade
But realised no trees, will be left for my children

I had started to relax, and read up a book
Only to notice, the next generation's contempt

We have to be teachers, role models and guides
Not less this evening, for such a pursuit divine

A night that got thirsty and lied...

... Thereafter it was never like before alike
Passions had arisen never to surmise
The gift of coolness had now been belied

It had to be Him to restore order
Shiva called he, but nameless in truth
Was he only who drank up the poison
Leaving behind a nectar for aeons of healing

A Pouring Heart

The calming moonlight has now gone to sleep
My dear love sleeps, my children sleep
The dew drops drip, and tip tap sound
Chirping crickets and frogs can't sleep

The cooling breeze from a rain drenched night
There is no heart, that it can't melt
I thought so I will never grow up
My children proved I still have not!

The Fallen

For the fallen society has no respite
They stand condemned for entire life

May they not look upon themselves with shame
The others condescend but they are the same

Rather use this experience to free us
Learn that none cares and turn fearless

So get up, dust it and go move ahead
So far ahead that the world has to forget

Remember Me

I've always had this feeling that
I'm watching, I'm someone else watching

And every act and pursuit practised
Seems only to make me forget That

I pray that I remember Me again
And take My-Self to a liberated place

Pain stays

There were none that standing still
Was a night to dance away the the chill

I forgot what day and for how long
I know had not let hair down since long

Eyes opened when sun shone on sand blown breeze
But heart ached and I found that time stood still

How can this sustain

In a world where 8 people put together earn as much as half of the world

In a world where 1 in 9 go to bed hungry

In a world that exploits its Children and Mother Nature
How can it sustain, this Family and Home Earth

How small our petty wants, why not we go out and rather help
Give for richer is the one who gives, and not the one who earns

The pursuit of desires..

The pursuit of desires means you do not feel lasting joy.

The fulfillment of desires does not give lasting joy

So easy to explain, a little difficult to comprehend

And oh, so very, very difficult to practice

But that's only, if you see yourself as mind

If the mind's the master, senses are its children

And to objects it will drag you, to gratify those senses

An endless cycle you are put through, no hope or end sight

Until the body withers in time, and mind wallows in regret!

Don't Refuse a Bad Idea, Discuss It

In today's world, there is perhaps not a bigger buzzword in Corporate circles that Innovation. And with the influence Corporates have on Nations' economies, it's but natural that Governments wanting to be seen as investment-friendly, have caught on.

It is all very good: necessary to ensure scarce resources are put to good use. Because everything is derived from nature. And the more resources we consume, the more in harm's way we put future generations. Human capital is the one of the costliest resources for companies, and like it or not, means to improve productivity and lower costs will always be attractive so long as they have a positive effect on the balance sheet. 

Few and far-between cries for Compassionate-Capitalism notwithstanding, it's destined for now to on-paper displays of Corporate Citizenship or self-driven attempts by a handful of corporates. This, in a world-culture where individuals and Corporates alike are always on the lookout for loopholes to lessen tax contribution, I don't think it'll amount to much. It is only when the effects of such taxes and benefits of Corporate Citizenship are shown, will there be more such self-driven and client-demanded contributions by Corporates.

Be it reducing waste, improving productivity, or ideas to ensure there is more willful contribution to taxes or acceptance of compassionate-capitalism, it all still boils down to Innovation! And Innovation is not a Eureka moment; that's the biggest misconception. It is a disciplined process, which will be a mix of Brainstorming, Reusing models that has worked at other places, simplifying to just one basic must-have skill - Listening. In order to foster Innovation as a discipline and culture, Managers all-over have to keep reminding themselves to have patience, and listen. Indeed, time is scarce, and it'd augur well for leadership to carve out time for Line-managers to invest in Innovation. Google has led the way here, allowing 20% of voluntary time towards such projects. The problem there being, it's isolated and not process-driven. Innovation has to be process-driven to show results, just as other Quality control systems have had to. Creativity is one aspect and contributor to Innovation, but certainly not the Driver. This has to be recognized by leadership. The biggest mistake corporates are making today is demanding Innovation with no resources provided, be it time or expertise.

There must be SWAT teams created who go about training and mentoring projects and teams on Innovation practices and improvements that can be implemented. Increasing resources in terms of staffing and time is the first help leadership has to provide. Incentivising is also bound to help. Something like how Agile has grown with patterned Best-Practices and Certifications, Innovation also needs to be a study in itself.

But like any growing field, winning over the team is a must. Nurturing and being supportive is most important. Results will come over time, and there is no baseline to measure against, admit it! And quit putting unrealistic pressure. And the Biggest Mistake one can make is to simply reject bad ideas (even if genuinely so). Every idea needs to be discussed. Who knows, our minds have not thought through where the person was going with the idea. Also when discussed as to why and idea won't work, you might get corollaries or options that when used to slightly tweak the original (bad) idea, would make it a masterpiece! Imagine the kick the original ideator and the rest of the contributors feel when this happens!! If handled differently though, it could lead to growing resentment, lack of motivation and esteem, feeling of rejection and disenchantment by the individual and over time the team as a whole to the entire Innovation process!

We have a long way to go..

Why jail as punishment

Society seeks to be humane, while recognizing the need for being stern to avoid chaos. Laws are made, some decent, others open to debate. And punishments defined, for those breaking them. While punishments have varied across the history of mankind, civilization and the gravity of aberration, incarcerating a person has seemed to stand the test of time.

I seek here to challenge, if that's a shortcut approach to be humane. I want to highlight, that in some ways it's not targeting the problem, but just keeping it away, out of sight.

Instead a truly mature society, should rather put the problem to good use, alongwith trying to improve the convicted.
Let's take the example of financial impropriety. If a person is found to be tampering with the stock market, or committing a financial fraud, society currently puts him in jail and takes away all the ill-gotten well, and adds some fines also as icing. What we miss here, is the skill. That person had a vasana, and a skill, which put together combined to make that fraud happen. Why not instead of letting that skill rot in jail, put him to use in foreseeing such financial impropriety by digging out more loopholes in the financial and legal system. In exchange, give him a house-arrest say. Don't pay him; tell him this is penance for his crimes. I assert that this person will do it whole-heartedly. He's anways getting his punishment in that he's lost his name and ill-earned wealth already. But for once, his skill is put for the benefit of others. And not only he, but society benefits as a whole.
Those involved in spying, theft, hacking, all such can be put to good use. These are talents gone wrong; instead of simply putting them away, have a process of giving them a win-win; use their talents for the benefit of society.

While crimes performed by those mentally ill are rightly taken in their true sense, and are punished by putting them in mental hospitals, I doubt if such people are studied to identify patterns and prevent similar situations in future. I'm sure a common theme would be lack of spirituality and social comity. If these be then made a purposeful fabric of social life, such crimes could be prevented. Crimes of passion, and assault or murder that's carried out by people due to psychiatric or emotional reasons, can be prevented by such study.

I want to add that this is not to reward the perpetrator, rather to put it in the correct context, and use the misfortune as an opportunity to prevent in future.
In order to fit into this view, is also the other extreme. There are many who choose to commit crime, especially kill without remorse. Who have willingly chosen crime as their career path for the quick money it offers. The fear of death is the only thing that'll work with these. They have the money otherwise to bribe their way out, further corrupting the law enforcers and the courts. Causing the common man to lose faith in the system. Harsh punishment, like immediate punishment to death by such perpetrators is the only way to reduce such occurrences. Or similar such brutal punishment, an example performed by countries like Saudi Arabia. But here in Bharat, backed by proper legal procedures. A firm will and stern punishment to such perpetrators is in the larger interest of society, than letting them at best enjoy luxuries at jail and mocking our system from the inside out!!

An Advaitin

Beyond the discrepancies, the apparent chaos
Is a commonality, a flowing rhythm

Not all can see, and some observe by science
And all but Advaitins, at pains to explain it

An Advaitin is one, who sees all as One
To whom Harmony, is a suprise like none

God alone is This, projected all in front
God alone the One, projecting all in front

Understanding of Mithya

A talk by Ramakrishna Mission's Swami Sarvapriyananda touched a core philosophical and spiritual aspect, one of Mithya:
- Mithya gets loosely interpreted as Not Existing
- But what it actually should be interpreted as, is Appears as Something Else

Let's delve deeper into that aspect here.

Swamiji uses the analogy of Truth, Lie and Silence:

- When we say something which is factual, it is the Truth. At the reference point in time, the Truth has to be consistent with the fact; else it cannot be called the truth. With the passing of time, the facts of the matter may change, and so too the truth behind it.

- When we stay Silent, it means nothing. But it's still not a Lie. Silence, or Nothingness have their integrity at the reference point in time.

- A Lie is when you say something which is not factual. Where the fact (truth) is something else at the reference point in time, and you coat it with something else, which is not factual.


Such too, is existence, and the nature of the Universe and the World:

- What does not exist, is easy to understand. It cannot be called Mithya. It's like Silence. It is Nothing, but still not a Lie. The (relative) World is not like that. It exists, in front our eyes.

- Atman (the internal consciousness reference term used for Brahman), the constant unchanging sense of Consciousness, the sense of Existence we feel. That is easily analogical to Truth for us. We physically, intellectually, emotionally change. But there is a something in us, that feels has never changed. Just look at ourselves in the mirror, and pull out the memory of looking at the mirror 10 years ago. We look different, but within, we feel the same. This feeling is actually even greater than Truth, and it does not change with time. Which shows it is even beyond time. Even the sense of time if we think about it, exists within our awareness. It lies within Atman

- The World, constantly changing, cyclical, is called Mithya in the sense that Vedanta asserts that it is Brahman coated by something else. It is in this sense that the world should be seen. That it verily is Brahman, and not what it appears to be. Vedanta does not claim that the World is false in the sense that it does not exist. It claims it is false or a lie in the sense that it appears something different from what it actually it!

As a beggar who claims possessions

We come to this world alone and naked
And are clothed and fed by the grace of love

Why we grow up to think, all this is mine
Why can't we give, with equally love-filled

As a beggar who claims the bridge is his
Because he was born, sleeps and earns a living out there

So too are all, in this world of matter
Everything is graced, only we claim to have earned

Beyond the pertinent sound

..A silence that holds thousand secrets

Beyond the apparent self
Lie a million beings unseen

I do not say, our eyes are lying
I just mean that, they cannot fully see

Not everything unexplained by science is false
For there are matters, beyond the labs of matter!

Lessons from the movie Lucy

"A movie that takes lessons from Vedanta!"

A fictional sci-fi thriller, Lucy (IMDB Link) which where the title character (Scarlett Johansson) is shown drugged by a chemical which takes her cerebral capacity increase from the normal 10% levels to 100% by the end of the film.

While the thriller aspects are for the entertainment factor, the interesting portions are:
- When Professor Norman (Morgan Freeman) during a talk tries to introspect with the listeners how the ancient civilizations including Indians were able to gain deep insight into science without the help of technology. He goes on to imply that this was because they were able to extract higher cerebral capacity from the mind
- When Lucy describes to the Professor how she can see and control the subtle (Sukhsma) powers, including metabolism, pain, desire. And even electricity!
- When her powers increase, Lucy is able to control matter. Achieving seemingly supernatural powers.
- When at higher cerebral capacities, Lucy is able to traverse time and space, but still within her own body (an analogy of Jivatman). She explains how if a car moves infinitely fast, it won't even appear to us. And from our point of view, it's existence becomes questionable. This wins a smile from Professor Norman.
- When at 100% cerebal capacity, Lucy apparently disappears. And she communicates with the Police officer that She is now Everywhere (a perfect analogy of Brahman).

I would call this a must-see for Vedantins. If nothing, it gives us a sense of wonder at the comparisons with the teachings of Vedanta, and a sense of awe! I'm sure those unfamiliar with Vedanta and Indian spirituality would not have connected with the film as much!

Lessons from the movie Joker

"The true state of the poor in our nation" is how I'd put it. Manipulated and used as throw-aways, the poor get  a bad deal at every level. And this movie is a perfect reflection of that.

You also get the view of how activism, if made pervasive, can really give the system small but sure jolts of correction. It's my firm belief that those who are retired should tirelessly work towards that. Ideally so should the ones privileged, but they just don't. They've been dealt a good hand and end up pursuing pleasure and running after more money.

This is a must-watch. You will come out shaken..

Stages of Spirituality - 2

Spirituality has various stages of progress:

- Karma Yoga: Nobody can live without action. An attitude of Seva to every action is what is needed to purify our motives. Surrendering action and outcomes (good/bad) to a Guru or God and to go beyond results. Losing the ego sense and getting lost in the work is achievable. This  can achieve excellence and deep satisfaction.

- Raja Yoga: Maintaining health firstly. Through practice of Ashtanga Yoga and Hatha Yoga. Indeed the Yama/Niyama steps are also part of maintaining balance and mental health. Perfect health and glimpses of Samadhi are achievable.

- Bhakti Yoga: Devotion and dedication to God. Practicing Karma Yoga properly helps mature in Bhakti Yoga. Those advanced in this practice have their Ishta Deva/Devi always in mind. They identify with the God and feel one with that God. Becoming the Ishta Devata itself is achievable.

- Jnana Yoga: Knowledge of Self. That which eventually helps one know our own true nature, the truth of creation, the truth of God. Verily, fulfill the true purpose of creation of life. Becoming a Jivamukta is achievable.

Each person gets attracted to a particular path based on his/her spiritual maturity and mindset. Enlightenment is not possible in my view without an appreciation and inculcation of all paths in some measure in one's lifetimes.

There are various spiritual centres in Bharat today that cater to one or more of these paths. These are key centres per my understanding that excel in the paths listed above (there could be more beyond my current awareness).

 I've attempted to list them in order of relevance to achieving enlightenment (in my opinion)

1) Ramakrishna Mission: Jnana Yoga, Seva (Karma Yoga) in that order

2) Mata Amritanandamayi​ Ashram: Seva (Karma Yoga), Jnana Yoga in that order

3) Sringeri Sharadamba Peetam: Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga in that order

4) Art of Living: Primarily Raja Yoga, then Bhakti Yoga (mainly satsanga-bhajans) and Jnana Yoga (surface level) in that order. Seva here is mostly for the organisation's benefit.

5) Isha Foundation: Primarily Raja Yoga, then Jnana Yoga (surface level).

It's a sign of society's current lack of spiritual progress that we see followers dwindling from organisations at the lower level of relevance ( 5/4 - Isha / AOL) through 1 (Ramakrishna mission). 

Well, but it also means there's a lot of spiritual treasure and progress to be gained by all of us.

And the hope that as we make progress, we can truly set Gross Enlightenment Quotient goals as mentioned in the previous article.

The rush and the rework

Of what use the rush, the insatiable deadlines
What has come of thinking, that is not clear and calm

Companies have fallen, with sight on the quarters
Only those will live, where stakeholders at ease

You say today's the deadline, could you go back and ask
To self and the rest, won't they prefer the job done right

Things will take their time, and have humans at work
You give them balance, and leave all with less rework!

The Sunshine

May you shine, as the sun on cobwebs
Lighting up caves, dark for ages

May that warmth, drive out the frost
Numbing and hurting, but refusing to go

May that bliss, be the reason to live
And one that I reflect, all around the mist

Sorrowful Pleasure

Those delved in pleasure, oh they miss bliss
I feel so compassionate, so sorry for them
They know not that, they could stand at the helm

Remember that feeling, when you hold a loved one's hands
What you absorb, when the dawn's rays shine
Is there any pleasure, that can match that bliss

Why then do we, roil in desires
Why then this world, of petty wants and disputes

Engage in what you do, not pursue the result
Find a meaningful activity for purpose, balance your life
And feel that joy, a thousand desires cannot satisfy

A sudden rain

To the drums of thunder, were rain-arrows shot
The shiver of lightning, gusty winds raced from

Umbrellas upturned, still people in mirth
Intoxicating feeling, the water and smell of dirt

The Vedas being chanted, the Homas now fulfilled
Devas Indra and Varuna, these showers having blessed

The visible change with spirituality: the way we respond

All of us who balance worldly and spiritual life I'm sure face these questions:

1) Why do we firstly come into spiritual life. 

2) Is there any practical purpose to this

3) If the spiritual goal isn't reached, is it all naught

Well to answer the first question, I think many attribute various reasons. 

-> Oft attributed is difficulty in wordly life:

• Bereavement
• A sense of failure be it in educational result, office projects, or relationship
• Poor circumstances be it health or financial
• As a stress-buster

This usually wanes off when that particular feeling is assuaged or situation is taken care of. And as it often happens, life moves in waves. So things change, and the commitment to spirituality changes if this was the reason

-> Oft seen though is retirement from active duties. A sense of realization and acceptance that the end of life is appearing.

Typically people who get into spirituality at this stage in life, are there mostly to pass time and socialize with like minded people. Some of those who pursue spirituality during personal time are the more serious ones. But also at this stage, situations in health or family commitments etc means one is slower to grasp the deeper fundamentals and less likely to go further than Bhakti or Karma yoga..

-> The only reason that can sustain spiritual pursuit is an inner need to pursue it, and despite worldly commitments. If you find yourself young and successful personally and financially, with all the joys of worldly life beckoning and meeting you time and again, and yet don't feel attached to them. If you find yourself seeking something more profound. If you find yourself finding and taking time out to do sadhana and serve when you could be doing things that would profit you more in worldly life. Then you are someone who is spiritually advanced. You are one of the few who will hang on to spirituality.

Before getting into the second question, I'll take the third.

It's because the answer I don't have to give for this. The same question was posed by Arjuna to Krishna, and it's recorded in the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna's response was that your progress will show results in the next life. And this something one can logically have Shraddha towards. For if you see, people are born in various cicumstances. And with various tendencies (vasanas) and bent of mind (mental attitudes). This is all attributed to the Karmic outcomes of actions and efforts in the previous lives.

The Second question is the primary concern of this article.

And the answer I'll try to keep simple so that the message is forcefully conveyed.

There is indeed an indirect benefit to how we transact in worldly life, owing to our pursuit of spirituality. It's in the way we Respond to situations. 

We are very much engaged, involved, purposeful in our actions; but yet unattached. To the result, to the response, the reactions. To even the ownership of the action (not the accountability); neither credit nor blame. You firmly know you are just the medium. You have let-go in the mind already. You live and are rooted in the moment. You have no hankering for titles or pay, you love the responsibility, the task at hand. Your focus and concentration is impeccable, even when multitasking! Your mind is relaxed, free of tension. There is no question of needing a stress-buster, because you never feel stressed. This is different from the mind or body feeling exhausted. That you even feel after a good session of exercise or having satisfyingly worked on a mathematics problem. 

In short you are much much more efficient. And if not for lofty purposes as Moksha, for this benefit of being more relaxed and efficient itself, I hope people dedicate time to spirituality!

Stages of spirituality - 1

I feel there is not a place in the world as conducive to pursue spirituality as is Bharat. It has become so due to centuries and aeons of cultural, religious and philosophical heritage around spiritual progress.

Instead of competing with other countries on the same parameters as they do to measure development, those brought up here should appreciate our heritage and introspect our unique USPs. Something like how Bhutan measures itself on Gross Happiness Quotient. My challenge to our nation is: Why can't we measure ourselves on (say) Gross Enlightenment Quotient.

By doing this we'll first be forced to reflect, then introspect, and then come up with a way forward. The reason an entity, be it an individual, or a country looks outside for guidance, is the recognition that we have made mistakes. And the inferiority complex that goes with it. In the context of Bharat, it was the embarrassing fact that although united by religion and philosophy, the rulers never chose to be united. Which is why for centuries we were plundered and enslaved. Even our joint families don't survive because of that, we just refuse to adjust and share with one another and have a selfishness of my inheritance for my progeny alone.

I think the British rule was the last straw and the way nation-states are shaped in this day and age has also kept us together. But you can see from the corruption and the way political parties fleece their vote banks (which is nothing but segregation of the country), the way caste and religion still decides whom we befriend and marry, that we have still not grown above the mentality that led us to servility in the first place. So there is definitely a need to introspect, own up to our shortcomings, and plan corrective and checks-and-balances systems before we adopt a new development measure.

In the next edition, I'll go a level easier with an analogy of how we have the spiritual establishments in place already to help us seek the Gross Enlightenment goals.

I Alone am This, then what to Desire

Oh what's there in this world, that I must desire
When the whole world exists, in my consciousness

This world disappears, when I go to sleep
Time and place happens, when I look for it

What do I desire from it, when I only am This
Nay, not just, but more than any This

Why fear should exist, why see differences around
When everything is only, like waves or bubbles within me

It all comes from Within

It's not in the rain, the dance and the play
That I find joy, don't you realize
It all comes from Within

It's not in the moonlight, or mother's lap or kiss
That I find sleep, don't you realize
It all comes from Within

It's not in the looks, fragrance or voice
That I find love, don't you realize
It all comes from Within

There was never an other, place to settle
There was none for ever, other than myself
This world, this creation, don't you realize
Yes very much, It all comes from Within

Unlearn your Identity

Our problems begin when we begin to have an identity. And an identity is a must, a name and number (Aadhar or SSN) in this much-populated world, to have a semblance of order.

But the problems I refer to are those to do with living our personal life itself. This name and sense of self-identity, so very important during a child's growth, is equally important to be unlearnt, as part of the final phase of educational life.

Because it is after this phase, that one steps out independently to the world outside. And applies whatever he / she's learnt. I wish if this final phase be to  instill in us the feeling that the world, including nature is something that's been handed over to us, by generations and centuries of living beings. It's something to be honored and protected. That our self-identity, which we held so preciously to make ourselves skilled in our chosen vocations for so long, is now to be unlearnt, so we can learn to apply our skills selflessly. 

And most importantly, so that we may consider every our element, living and non-living around us, as brethren, all children of the same Mother Nature.

Our self-identity is the hardest fortress we have created around us,..what to speak of biases, personal, religious and nationalistic ones...If only we accept that the person next to us is a child of the same creator, won't we be more open to accepting his for his personal choices (be it clothes, religion, food, even sexual orientation). For isn't that what true love is: One that pours out, not wants in return. You begin to be more accepting. Inter-religious or inter-race marriages won't matter.

People will be less inclined to be anti-social. When the whole world is your family, whom to hurt, and with what end...

Race and Class are quickly forgotten. Won't you want to distribute your wealth for the benefit of your family. 

Environment is safeguarded: You would try your best to protect and nurture the life around you, be it nature or species of animals and plants. The sense of exploitation will go away. You begin appreciating why our forefathers took permission from the Gods when they had to kill life to consume as food. The sense of greed disappears.

Alas that all this hasn't happened yet. And hope that it someday will!!

Running out of film titles

When "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.." title was announced, I realized that indeed film-makers are running short of movie titles. And who's to blame them! Each year, there are apparently over 400 Hindi films. Sometimes film titles are repeated, but with the advent of social media, this causes confusion. You don't stand out as upon search of your film title, the older one also shows up.

So the film-makers have started "plagiarizing" popular songs. "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" and "Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan" are film titles from the same popular film song from the 1950's (YouTube Link) - albeit Mumbai was known as Bombay back then.

Next I bet they'll go after stand-out dialogues from popular hits of the past.

With these I wonder if royalty is provided to those original creators of these lines..Food for Thought!

The struggle in life and the feeling of being out of place

When you struggle is the time realization dawns, that this isn't just correct. It's not in rhythm; that you do not belong here. Of course, this is as quickly forgotten when times are good.

This is why the wise do not belittle the role of worldly suffering. For those mired in Maya, this is what gives the needed push to take a step back, a step up, and look beyond. It helps them handle the present difficult situation, and an anchor to hold on life to, a new meaning and purpose to life.

What's important is to hold on to what you reflect and determine during these times. I don't really believe that there are lessons to be learnt to avoid similar situations. Those lessons are already known, but still difficult times happen. And even if you implement the "lessons" from a past experience, you will definitely face some predicament of a different nature. Again, this is not to say that one should not takeaway what one can. For, putting your hand in the fire repeatedly despite the knowledge and experience that your hand will burn, is only a sign of insanity.

But at all times if you hold greater meanings and purposes to your life: Sadhana towards achieving Enlightenment; Serving selflessly those around, the society and nature at large. These give something to cherish, and the strength to not be bogged down by any bad situation in life. It also gives a broader perspective, beyond narrow religion/caste/community even nationalistic tendencies. It makes you an even more mature and patient colleague at work too. So there's much to be gained, but don't obsess behind it.

In the end, what you should be left with is the realization that the "struggle" is also a natural event. It has a rhythm and role of its own. And each of these would be a litmus test of your spiritual progress, of whether you are able to hold on to your compassion and bliss despite!

Good is what reduces attachment with Samsara, Evil is what increases it

In the pursuit of Vedanta, you learn to transcend, to accept the Good and the Evil as necessities of the dichotomy in Maya. Birth means Death has to follow. The rise of Day also foretells the fall of Night.

If it's Happily Ever After, you are being cheated to say the least. You are not in the real world.
But you can go beyond, beyond happiness and joy, with dispassion in whatever you do. And be in Bliss no matter what pain you feel at the relatively gross levels.

But there is the risk still of falling into a "so what" non-chalancy. Of accepting things as they were, enjoying the bliss of non-attachment.
There is also the risk of "delusion" which I felt when I watched the film Aks where the serial-killer kept quoting the Gita. Or when I learnt that Hitler and co kept referring to the Gita to justify mass murder.

There is better understanding now, and Swami Sarvapriyanandaji's talks have helped a lot. He defines Good as what reduces our attachment with Samsara, and Evil as what increases it. So when at the level of the Samsara, you refuse to turn a blind eye, you refuse to serve. Or worse, you start causing pain to those around, then you are a form of Evil. It'll tie you down to Samsara. There is nothing called not doing action. So the only way is to do Morally Good action and dedicate it to Lord, or by such means not taking credit to the result..

Pursuit of pleasure means you don't know Joy

Where outside do you seek, this joy within
Why not imbibed still, all your learning

They will only tire you, the pleasures outer
Deny you the bliss, veil it inside

It is said, that you seek pleasure
It is pitiful, that you are hurting

But know that the balm, cannot be the cause
Transcend this world, connect to the bliss within

Let there be Rain

Let there be rain, the one that blooms
Countless trees, and flowers within

Let there be thunder, not the one that scares
But the one that beats the drums of joy

Let there be lightning, like a countless moons
And the mirth of beholding someone greater that self

I look forward to rains, the green and wet earth
To bask in the dry sun, beneath flowing clouds

Deep sleep like maya dissolution

I went to deep sleep, the world disappeared
I woke up only then it's back

There were no people, no objects, no life
Why do you think really this world exists

Yes things have changed, the day has moved
But then this Maya, she even let's you think

How then, within Maya, can you answer
Why not you start, by first accepting Maya

Even Maya dissolves, in sleep or pralaya
Know that you can, you do control Maya

What constitutes Seva

Seva (Selfless Service) is intrinsic to the the culture of Bharat. As much as "lokah samastha sukhino bhavantu" and "Sahana vavatu". There isn't a sense of competition.

Although for those in the corporate structure, Service is used loosely for industries ranging from Hospitality to IT Support. But in the Bharat of old, all these would have been "Dharma". Your duty as per your role in society. So the meaning of Seva had to be specified as "Selfless Service" than just "Service".

But I see "spiritual" NGOs today deploying to their advantage, an army of volunteers, to market and execute their work, earn revenue, and yet be made felt as doing "Seva".

This article is to introspect my point of view of this, which I'm sure is a question that comes in the mind of many.

It's very easy to determine when, on behalf of the NGO, you serve a third-party. Like a village or a charity. That is no-doubt Seva.

It is also easy to understand when you serve free food on behalf of the organization to those seeking food.

But what when you are working on activities that benefit the organization monetarily, would it be Seva? Well, what if you don't want any money. Well, then it definitely is Seva. But if the organization doesn't have a policy or plan to pay you, but will only go seeking other volunteers, it becomes a Business Model in my view, a very profitable one.

I've seen some organizations like the Art of Living channelizing the volunteer movement very effectively. The free follow-ups after you attend their courses, imply that they pay rent of the place they conduct these follow-ups, and the generous time and Seva of the teachers, in turn benefit you. For Rs 1500 Basic course, you get free Annadanam and lifelong follow-ups. And I've seen how, in the Art of Living, the followers themselves volunteer to go further. There is no pressure for me to get involved if I don't want to. There is no money talk, just comity. So definitely they've come up with a unique model of making people feel part of something bigger than themselves, perhaps at minimal cost in terms of teaching, but definitely worthwhile in terms of the follow-ups.

But what has irked me is when their followers use "Seva" for calling out people to market their courses. I've also seen very less "Seva" to outsiders, all seva at the ground level seems to be for internal revenue generation. 

Being an NGO, all their money goes into upkeep or charity. But does it go into funding AOLs subsidiary businesses on FMCG and Ayurvedic hospitals.

End of the day, I'd like to think there are systems where all this is duly audited. And while the Seva model by the AOL has its pros and cons, no question about the fact that they have involved in big money charity in countries they've been involved in. And Guruji's been very assertive in speaking his mind, be in social issues or in defence of our heritage. Given his stature, name and fame gained, there was no push on him too. That has indeed been a great form of Seva.

Attachment to objects: It's within

A strange thing happened recently: My car (and actually my father's) which I use for daily office commute, was being taken away by the pickup guy for regular maintenance.

And I feel a pang: as if a loved one was being separated from me! My mind took a step back to seek to understand this better. How can I feel thus, for something that's clearly a non-living object. Up until now, I would rationalize this feeling when placed for living beings, especially humans. This pang resembled when my son was going to Anantapur for a week in 2014 after we'd just moved back, to give me and wife time to set up home in Bengaluru. And of course, there is no comparing the two for me, in mind and heart. I'm hardly attached (at least I thought so) to what's "material".

I had to now accept it: This pang was irrespective of living or non-living. This was nothing but a feeling of possession, an attachment! And "material" constituted both the living and non-living. For me, for all of us!

And this realization is the first step. This awareness that this attachment is irrespective of the object. It's the feeling of attachment that lies within. It shows, no matter what you think you are, you still have some distance to cover in the practice of detachment.

And why's that detachment important? The further tied down, the lesser the freedom, the experience of true bliss. The less this feeling of pure happiness, the more the desire, the seeking of pleasure, and delusion, the pursuit of objects (aims/ambitions including) in this world.

Analogies of Brahman

On Brahman, the common analogy is that of a "witness". It's difficult to understand because of the problem of deep sleep: If Brahman (Atman) is the witness, why don't I witness/experience my deep sleep. I know I was in deep sleep only because I wake up afresh!

Brahman has two aspects for lack of a better word that comes to mind:
- Aspect 1: It lights up the Prana/Jiva/Individual Self
- Aspect 2: It gets mirrored/reflected/borrowed by the Individual Self to light-up/enliven the embodiment/body-mind

VishishtAdvaita is partly correct, its only problem being that it doesn't go into the next level of depth: We the individual self are not a sparkling image of the Perfected Being (not yet), but once enlightened (and we end up as Jivamukta / Videhamukta), there is no difference.

The Witness analogy is only applicable to Aspect 1 above, and that too only during the individual self's waking and dream-sleep/REM-sleep state.
The Mind (Ego+Intellect+Manas/Memory/Thought) turns off in deep sleep (in dream-state it still is partly active). Without the Mind, the Individual Self cannot be experienced. If the Mind is off, Brahman has nothing to reflect upon.
It is the same analogy as sunlight in space: Space seems dark because there is nothing to reflect light. Come an asteroid or satellite or planet, we see it beaming in sunlight! And this is why the Witness analogy fails in the deep sleep context.
The Witness analogy definitely should be practiced during the Jagrat (waking) state and is easy to reflect upon and understand the Swapna (dream) state.
So a combination of the Sun lighting-up objects and Witness analogies should be used to appreciate Aspect 1 of Brahman.

The Sun reflecting on objects analogy can  be used to understand Aspect 2 of Brahman.
Just as the sun falling upon the mirror in a room, then gets reflected by the mirror to the rest of the room, so too does Brahman enliven the Jiva, which otherwise does not have an existence of its own (the stand taken by Advaita).
Thus the quality of the mirror (Samaras/impressions on the Jiva built up by the collective past births and current birth) determines the quality of the reflection.
Likewise, the sun getting reflected upon a number of buckets of water is an analogy to (apparent) multiplicity of Brahman. Again in this analogy, the quality of reflection depends upon the purity/turbidity of water.
Another way of looking at Aspect 2 is like the relationship of the Ocean and a Wave in the Ocean. Water in the wave is same as in the ocean. But the nature of the wave can be foamy/small/large.
Thus a combination of analogies of wave-in-water and sun's reflection-on-objects is needed to understand Aspect 2 of Brahman.

There we go again

No time to sit in one place for us
There's just the tiring, draining, travel for us

Long train journeys, gusty breeze on face
The peculiar stench that evening baths wash

The dusty bus rides, nauseating roads
Oh to our envy, the carefree cyclist grins

But nothing makes up for, the memories built
Unlike the flight taken, over unfamiliar clouds

Nature is Us

From the core of this Earth, is the lava flowing
Like the anger suppressed, that boils in our hearts

Not one but generations will suffer its wrath
As we do without letting go, through multiple births

There is no way, you can win against nature
It can wreak its revenge, stealing your peace of mind

For you are It, you just refuse to recognize
That we are created, run by the same God that is Us

Adi Sankara and Vivekananda: Social Reforming Vedantins

The greatly revered Advaitins Adi Sankaracharya and Swami Vivekananda have a striking common theme in their lives: Not just were both of them great Communicators, but also tireless Social Reformers.

Both have written Bhashyas that have been held in high regard. While Sankaracharya achieved a vast more number of self written material in a systematic manner, Vivekananda's talks and lectures (published in the Complete Works) makes him seem a walking encyclopaedia.

Both are poets and convincing speakers with the power to influence listeners considerably.

While these are monumental achievements by themselves, these two stalwarts are best known for matching and exceeding their words with their work.

Both Swamiji and Jagadguru Bhagavatpada tried their best to rid the society of the negative effects of pedantic orthodoxy.

They exhorted listeners/readers to look beyond the ritualistic aspects of religion. Both asserted boldly that God resides within us, neigh verily God is nothing but our true realised Self. This is why their message had universal appeal.

While Vivekananda set up the Ramakrishna Mission to channelize the direction of the followers towards the spread of Jnana yoga, Sankaracharya had a much more daunting task of reviving the real Hinduism i.e. Sanatana Dharma itself. For this he set up four Mattas in the four corners of the country, all covered on foot. Vivekananda on the other hand, apart from being the rationalist, nationalist, fire-in-the-belly spiritual giant in Bharat, he crossed the seven seas reaching the shores of America, half the world away. A task no less daunting considering he was out spreading the word amongst a populace that was no doubt open hearted, but still which had never been exposed to such profound philosophy.

And as is seen today, so it will be in the future. While their teachings will continue to light up the minds of listeners, the more relevant change is the seed they've planted in the hearts of humans and humanity.

Analogies of Maya

Every teacher understands that a concept is best taught with analogies. A child would not understand what and why we do 1+1=2, until it's shown the relevance with an example, say mangoes.

This becomes all the more important when explaining profound philosophies of spirituality as Maya and Brahman.

For long if your spiritual reading is from also-ran articles on spirituality as in newspapers and magazines, the oft-referred example is that of the rope appearing as the snake. Well, it's important, but yet just an incomplete analogy, even difficult to grasp in its fullness if used as the first one.

For one, that analogy is used best to explain Maya. I have seen some usage of the snake-on-rope analogy to explain Brahman, but in my current view using it thus only confuses.

There are two powers of Maya: The Projecting power and the Veiling power.

I will elaborate how the snake-on-rope analogy is used to explain Maya:
- The Projecting power is that Maya projects the rope as the snake.
- The Veiling power is that it covers the fact that's it's in reality snake.
The Projecting power in itself is not bad. If I know it's a rope, then even that rope looks like a snake,  it wouldn't bother me.
The Veiling power, the fact that Maya hides the fact that it's a rope until conscious understanding, is the problem behind understanding this life and the world around us. The feeling that it's a snake I'm seeing, freezes me and makes me act in ways I otherwise wouldn't.

This is where the example falters in my opinion. In general, once I understand that it's not a snake, just a rope, my eyes will stop seeing the snake. But this isn't how Maya works in reality. Seekers, due to the dissection of this analogy, expect that after enlightenment they'd stop seeing the world; it's not so.

I'd rather use the analogy of the mirage in a desert. The mirage is projected on the desert; the desert is veiled by the mirage. But significantly, even after you know it's not water, you still see the mirage of water. That's precisely how powerful Maya is.

This is not to downplay the analogy in itself: When the enlightened King Janaka is praised by Sage Yagnavalka, it is by calling him "fearless". The reason why we are trapped in Samsara, is because we are unable to see the Brahman behind Maya and are deluded by fear. The root cause of desire (the need to possess) is fear. The snake-on-rope analogy reassures us to rid ourselves of fear. Which is why my take is that this is an analogy to be used in the advanced phase of transcending Maya, than to understand Maya itself.

Why feel happy that you have limitations

Why desperate to be, one among many
Why embrace the common, the pervasive anonymity

Know you are special, feel it with humility
Seek out and contribute, your skills as if duty

Know that potential, for supreme is infinite
Realize that verily, this is your identity

Eyes

The eyes, your eyes, have dreamt huge dreams
They have expressed wonder, and the desire to live

To cherish and remember, this world so living
To watch in silence, the sun and the shining

Come close have these eyes, to deep meditation
For in sleep there is nowhere, to trust and envision

Jallikattu: The messaging has to be different

Numerous bans, portrays of violence and gore, and years of turmoil. And all through this, the real message was not shared.

As with everything else, traditional practices had a reason behind it. While the case of choosing more civilized practices is something you can't push down, let not the intent be allowed to be swept under the mat.

Once such topic is Jallikattu: the traditional bull sport. One look at the event, and you'd write it off as barbaric. Both for the participants who could lose their lives, and the injury and trauma both the humans and especially the bull would go through.

But what was the reason for this sport being practiced. It was to find the more virile bull, that is then chosen to breed for the next generation. It was to ensure the healthiest variety of protein continues and perhaps the main reason it has passed on for centuries.

And what's being missed behind the calls for banning the sport, is the ulterior motive also. Corporates who want Jersey cows to be imported and used in our country.

As with Allopathy, as with fertilizers, and as with even cultural embrace of the Western world, be it dress codes or nuclear families, why do we choose to ignore of the problems they currently face: guns, sociopaths, divorce, terminal illnesses. And realize we are heading that way. Of course, the practice of corruption since independence has made our soul quite hollow. But still doesn't mean we can't redeem yet.

Why do we ignore our strength in world population being 1/6th. We are a progressing nation. I'm all for everyone learning English, but let Sanskrit be a close second. Wear the western clothes, but wear yours too equally. Choose Allopathy for quick relief, but stick to Ayurveda at all other times.

Viveka: That's the first practice taught in our spiritual disciplines, but what we utilize last.

Yes, choose to ban the sport if needed, but ensure there's an equally capable and sustainable alternative plan first to ensure the Indian breed is accepted by consensus.

Bite the bullet: If it's chewable you made it, if not it's experience!

Why hold back, just go chew it
What prevents you, from being struck by lightning

You know not how much, time you have in hand
You know not the next crippling experience that arrives

You have been blessed, you were born and grew up
Consider yourself, the most special to be here

Just don't go back, on the couch into a shell
Go out there, or the drawing board, make the big plans

There's nothing to lose, we all die to be sure
Just bite the bullet, go for it,
Go find out if, you were chosen for this!

The caught-on people

You see a lot of people from India in the US, some of who really don't fit-in, but just want to. Instead of holding on to who they really are, they want to gel-in. It's like they want to forget who they are, where they come from.  It' like the red-necks in downtown. But while the farmer holds on to identity, these Indians don't want to. I think it's an Inferiority complex, a low self-esteem.

These are people from the villages of India, those who'd even find the Indian city life alien. Typically the city-bred Indians are those who most easily fit in the US. Easily connect with their US compeers as they've both grown up watching the same TV shows and games. There is a cultural connect just right there. They think in English, like their US counterparts. They have a sense of how they carry themselves, very naturally being accustomed to the cosmopolitan life. Much of US is just that, a melting pot of the world's cultures, a nation of immigrants.
It is also these city-bred Indians who don't mind coming back home. But to an Indian city mind you. Because they were just as happy with the city life here, as they were with the life in the US. Given the right choices (career, online services, specialty hospitals, excellent education standard) , they will weigh options of family also being in India and just fly back without regret.

But the Indians from the villages are there first for the money. And there after to rub off who they are. They show that sense of belonging only when they want to show off back in their village. They'll even send pictures of their poor upbringing to their friends in the US, and vice-versa show back to the villagers back home, that they are still the same old village-bumpkin who loves dal-chaawal the most. But deep within they resent it, they are relieved they escaped it, and fear what if they have to come back here. To be fair, even an Indian city is as alien to these folks as a US downtown or suburb.
And so they've decided to just cling on. They are desperate to make, and clutch on to Caucasian friends. Also maybe African-Americans. They keenly observe these friends, and try to adapt their ways of life. But deep within, they are just not comfortable. They don't know why. If only they realized, that even by accepting their true selves, America will equally hold them in embrace.

Sigh, these caught-on people!

Atman just Is: Even Time is Within Atman

O Those of you, Who say Atman is Eternal
Why do you, knowing twist the point

For Atman is from where, the time-concept arose
Atman right now, past or future just don't say

With Atman realized, you go beyond time and space
Verily this whole universe, this very Atman projects

It is to be realized, but It wants Itself to be masked
Say legends that Creation cast
For Atman to forget loneliness

Catching up on email is fine, but don't lose the point

There are a lot of people who tell me at work "Got to catch-up on email". I wish like telling them back "Hope just the relevant ones". For beyond that, it's just plain reading. Not very efficient usage of time. Something that you can catch up on in a single status update meeting.

As the world has caught on to email, and gone beyond to messaging, it's time to realize just that. That now Email is a Saturated Medium.
I, for one, use a combination of Filters to ensure I read the emails from clients and important stakeholders. There could be other methods than filtering by Sender, depends on your context.

It's about Messaging, and the WhatsApp groups and Slack channels are all for this.

And above all, and I think for all time to come, will continue to be conversation between two people. Ideally face-to-face, but if not, over video call or via the phone. No form of text communication will ever be able to replace that.

Realize, and Prioritize for efficiency!

Infosys paintings: the profusion of talent

There were a series of paintings exhibited in the Infosys campus recently. And I was struck by how professional it all seemed like! I also kept an eye on who the painters were, and their employee numbers:

• Some of them must be straight out of college, and what amazed me was the keen eye to detail. 
• While others seemed to be quite senior employee numbers, which means they were devoting a significant part of their personal time towards this pursuit.
• I also noted that the same painter at times had multiple paintings. Each of them wonderful. Meaning this was genuine talent at display.

I wish our country had more avenues for them to prosper, just as painters. It's very obviously their first love, but they can't earn their meal with just it. Well, in another time maybe!

Hats off to each of them!!

The desire to possess, and then boredom

This is so true of anything you want to possess in this world. At the base level, objects. Be it the latest gadget or car or even home. And yet deeper, the desire to possess family: First the anticipation / the thrill of even not knowing what to expect, and then the boredom.
I have felt it for every gadget I looked forward to, whether purchased or gifted to me didn't seem to make a difference. Only the fact that it belonged to me, like the laptop from work or the Android phone I purchased. But in time, I've felt the feeling wane down. So much so, I now recognize and know that this is what will happen!
Likewise it is with family, you start a family and automatically have a series of expectations. Only it's all unfair. You can only, and only, do your duty. To them, your family. It's for yourself you are doing this duty, whether you like to portray as a sacrifice or not. With children, this expectation is even more deep-seated. For you truly change everything about yourself to make their life be good. But still, realize, you are doing it only for yourself.
The possessing or owning of things and being part of community, be it family or society is not incorrect. But the feeling of possessing or owning it is the beginning of the downfall. Have the feeling of serving each of the roles entrusted to you, and let each one fall off when you start with the next role, be it in your day, or your life. And feel that liberated feeling, the load lifting off, the openness in your embrace!!

Unattached

Of all the mud and dust that flies
There is not one that sticks

I am freedom, cannot bind me thus
This body I only desist

I am you, and you are me
There is nothing called duality

If you must, really realize
Then call me just my Self

There were gatherings, and fire blaze struck
There were chimes and dances too

But know that I am unattached
Though appear to enjoy too!

Ekantham movie Review

Plot Outline: Estranged brothers brought together by loneliness. (IMDB Link)

Plot Summary:

Elder brother (played by Thilakan), pained by loneliness, revisits his past. Goes back to meet his brother (played by Murali) who still lives at their ancestral home.

A terminal illness being suffered by Murali brings them closer.

The movie also goes a little into natural healing, and how inner psychology plays a bigger role in the status of a person's illness. 

Supporting cast of Bindu Panicker, Salim Kumar, Manoj K Jayan and Meera Vasudevan are ok.

I wouldn't call it a must-watch. But a nice one for slow / art movie lovers.

I rated it 7 (Good in my view).

Detective Byomkesh Bakshy movie review

This movie was most predictable and a let-down to the Detective Byomkesh Bakshy TV series that starred Rajat Gupta, KK Raina as Detective Bakshy and his assistant Ajit.

The movie also maintained a slow pace of things although attempting to show things moving quickly. The characters seemed to be moving fast, but the story didn't have much of a suspense beyond common sense.

The only saving grace was the climax scene saved by a superb / calculated  performance by Neeraj Kabi as Yang Guang. His last cry-out left us wanting more, and no wonder keeps the sequel wanting.

The movie poster also was to put it politely quite unimaginative. A dhoti-clad Sushant Singh Rajput showing dodging bullets, and that too a view from the shoe/dhoti up. Really silly. Left no attraction to move into the theater.

A cult following could be developed owing to the high IMDB rating of 7.7. But the credit must go to the ending again for that.

I hope they change the writer / director Dibakar Banerjee, ideally keep the writer / director of a movie like Kahaani (Sujay Ghosh).

I rated it 6 on IMDB (Average in my view). Could easily have been a 5 but for the ending.

Baby Dearest

Dear Baby fragile, and most beautiful
Been born you have, at a God graced moment
Nice and fulfilling, your birth has touched us
Giving the family, a sense of completion

Lovely Child, we felt anxious
As you arrived, earlier than expected
But you give the assurance, that it was in time
With your pleasant disposition, and health that picked up

O Jewel of our  home, we felt scared
To pick up in arms, your body so tiny
But you showed us, the comfort you felt
When cuddled and hugged, by all of us

Flower of our hearts, our baby dearest
May you bloom, as the season of Spring
May you soar, as birds in the sky
May you feel ever, peace of the calm

Yawn of a cold day

Have you felt that too
When the dew is lit up
When the mist is like a cloud
And your bed feels like
The warmest place around

It's like an afternoon
On a cold winter day

The body wants nothing more 

Than a cuddly blanket's care

A hot cup of chocolate 

Could well be a respite 

But nothing can be more joyful 

Than the yawn before my nap

Of Where Thy Want to Be

Of the likeness, the leaflets, the gongs of temple bells
With the waves of merriment, the joy of delight yells

I lived my life, in a daze as a witness
Seeking to know, what needn't be sought at

Just dive in, if you, want to win in this world then
Or step back further, to reach your true Self

The stone had the statue hidden, the sculptor only uncovered it

It is imperative in life to get rid of the claim of doership. As a Swamiji from Mata Amritananadamayi Matt put it so well recently: Even in our scriptures it is said that the potential for any outcome is within the raw material provided by nature itself. It's messaged thus that the stone has the statue hidden, the sculptor only uncovers it. In any other culture, it would not be so. The credit would go to the scultpor's creativity, skill and imagination. Or the credit would be "stolen" by the sponsor of the statue. But in the Vedantic thought, we all are just a medium. This understanding gives us an immense sense of freedom, and it takes us closer to Liberation / Moksha.

It is the sense of doership that fuels Ego and Competition. Once we take up the role of being a blessed medium in the Lord's hands, failure will not discourage us, nor would success go into our heads. One must hasten to add that this is not to encourage cessation of all activities. For it is clearly proven that there is no such thing. Even breathing is an activity. The attitude should be to incessantly serve, learn and get closer to the purpose for which is this human life i.e. to achieve Moksha.