Any reason is a good reason to celebrate for celebration is the nature of our Spirit. New year is a time when the spirit of celebration engulfs the whole world. This is also an opportunity to reflect on the year gone by and take stock of what lessons we learnt. In life, things are to be learnt and forgotten - learnt so that you do not repeat the same mistakes and forgotten so that they do not leave you traumatized.
We began the year on a very sad note with the Nirbhaya incident. The whole atmosphere...
Mahatma Gandhi had a significant influence on our family and my childhood. My paternal grandfather stayed at Sabarmati Ashram and served Mahatma Gandhi there for twenty years. My grandmother took her children to her parents’ home and willingly gave away all ten and a half kilos of her gold jewelry saying, “I will take care of the children. You go and serve the country.”
My teacher Pt. Sudhakar Chaturvedi was also a teacher to Mahatma Gandhi whom he taught the Bhagavad Gita. He is still alive...
The beauty in our ancient stories is that they were never made location-specific or time-specific. Ramayana or Mahabharata are not just events that happened a long time ago, they are happening everyday in our lives. The essence of these stories is eternal.
There is a deeper meaning to the story of Krishna’s birth too. Devaki symbolizes the body and Vasudev symbolizes the life force (prana). When prana rises in the body, joy (Krishna) is born. But the ego (Kamsa) tries to eliminate joy. Kamsa...
Once upon a time, a Guru was giving darshan to a congregation. People were coming and bowing down, seeking blessings. Gurudev was silent most of the time and when somebody would come and share their troubles, looking for a response, he would say only one thing - "You are very lucky". One person came to him and said, “I failed in my exam.” Gurudev said, “Well, you are very lucky.” Another came and said,
“My wife has left me.”
“You are very lucky.”
No matter what problems people...
I have been receiving reports of what our volunteers have been doing to bring relief to the tragedy-struck region of Uttarakhand. I wanted to share an overview of the tremendous work being done.
100 trucks of relief material from various parts of the country have been sent to Uttarakhand
A team of about 300 volunteers has been working in different areas of the region.
They have been working with the para-military forces and the Disaster Management Team assisting them in rescue operations.
Apart...
To move towards growth in life, we require faith in three things - in oneself, in the goodness in society and in God. However, looking at the recent incident in Kedarnath, where so many innocent lives were lost, one wonders if God exists. If He does, why would He do such things to His own devotees? It is on these occasions that faith becomes fragile and one tends to lose it. However, it is also on these occasions that faith is most needed too. We must remember that God is impartial; He is present...
Leadership is a manifestation of strong love and compassion for people. It represents a commitment to principles. In that sense, a certain degree of leadership is dormant in every individual. The challenge comes when one has to nurture it.
A true leader—whether political, religious or social—has many challenges to face. The capacity to express one’s commitment varies from individual to individual. It is often clogged by one’s likes and dislikes. Yet, a leader has to view everyone with the...
The spark behind every great discovery that has taken place on this planet has been the spirit of inquiry. When that inquiry is directed outwards – “What is this? How does it happen?” it is science and when it is directed inwards – “Who am I? What am I here for? What do I really want?” it is spirituality.
We have a daily informal gathering every evening and after some group singing, I take questions from those present. Over so many years, I must have been asked hundreds of thousands...
The ancient scriptures say that we are all floating like shells in a vast ocean of life. Even though everybody is born out of the same Consciousness, no two lives are the same. As diverse as our lives are, they are inter-dependent on each other and there is something to learn from everyone.
To get an all-round exposure to life, take out five days – not too many, just five days.
Spend one day – morning to evening, with a farmer. Go with him to the farm early morning and see whatever he does all...
A lot is being said about the controversy over Kamal Haasan’s film Vishwaroopam and its ban in Tamil Nadu.
Interestingly, there was another movie a few months ago, that labeled all Hindu customs and symbols as hoaxes and all spiritual leaders as frauds. There were many Hindu organizations who were ready to protest, but my advice to them was not to give undue publicity and promote the movie by protesting against it. And that’s what happened - it ran for a few weeks and people forgot about it....
Media has always been a significant pillar of society. Media doesn’t just report happenings, they build public opinion. This puts the media in a powerful position in a democracy and wherever there is power there is a chance of misuse of that power. In some countries, powerful media houses are said to have influenced election results by portraying people and events a certain way. In India too, some time back a connection between prominent people in the media and some politicians came to light.
The...
Man without education,
Education without skills,
Skills without character,
Character without action,
Action without direction,
are signs of failed nation.
-- while being conferred an honorary Doctorate from Gujarat Technological University, Ahmedabad on January 19, 2013
There has been a huge uproar about the speech by Akbaruddin Owaisi. The hatred-filled content by itself is shocking enough but what is alarming is the applause that he got from his audience. This shows the danger of isolation of a community in our ever-expanding society. These misinformed and misguided mindsets are there because they remain in their own community. When they live in isolation, they promote only one mindset and there is no open mindedness. They may not have friends from other communities...
It may appear that we are a part of this world, but actually, this world is a part of us. We carry our world within our mind and our mind cannot be at peace when the world around us is in turmoil. When mid-life crisis begins prematurely in teenage years; society is rattled with violence and drug abuse; humanism appears to be utopia; joy, love and compassion remain only in books and on celluloid; corruption and crime appear to be accepted as a way of life, then these are signals for us to rise to...
As the clock ticked in the midnight,
Fireworks flashed through the sky.
Explosions heard everywhere,
Not to wake up but to put people into intoxicants.
Drums fell on deaf ears
For the lame to dance on the darkest hour.
The end relished, the beginning perished
Without a sense of ownership.
The lonely New Year Sun rose quietly
Only empty streets to watch its glory and beauty.
A deadly silence spoke in volumes
Of the time that we are in now.
A ray of hope pierced through the earth
Looked for the...