Petals!

The New Year is just around the corner. As I look back at the year 2013 that had begun with Ganga Darshan in Rishikesh, I feel a flood of mixed emotions surge within me. There has been a lot of good, bad and mixed stuff one would find in the bag. Like you, I have had my shares of tears, smiles, celebrations and heartbreaks. After all, you don't always get a perfectly tailored life no matter how well you plan for it. In my case, I never plan anything because I know that the moment I plan, everything topples. Planning or not, life always has a way of surprising you when you least expect it to. There's always a dash of surprise that is tucked in.   But I have my happy moments too. I began baking to beat stress and I love it! I got my hair colored magenta - it turned everyone a little dizzy in the head to see that burst of color, but so what? I loved it on me! I started wearing my favorite outfit - top & skirt - in October and I am loving that too. And then when I look at ...

Hope that you have read my   introductory post on Raja Yoga   as being one of the   four paths to Divinity    prescribed in Hinduism. In this post, I want to delve briefly into some basic aspects of meditation. [Note: I am not a follower or a devotee of Sri Paramahansa Yogananda but I find his teachings deeply inspiring on the spiritual path and I try to make a sincere attempt to study his teachings.] Meditation: The Importance of Being Receptive This is beautiful saying from Sri Paramahansa Yogananda:   " The man who has the power of receptivity quickly grasps everything. People with no receptivity maybe exposed to the same experiences or information, yet not really see nor fully comprehend what is there. Your experiences bring wisdom according to the cup of your receptivity. "                                              ...

Hinduism prescribes four paths to attain self-realization on the spirit is interesting ual path. These are  Karma Yoga,    Bhakti Yoga,  Jnana Yoga and Raja Yoga . Each path   and presents different challenges to spiritual seekers. In this post, lets understand about Raja Yoga, what it means and who are the spiritual masters in Hinduism who have mastered this form of Yoga.                                 [Source: Paramahansa Yogananda Facebook page] A song by Leonardo Cohen 'Anthem' goes like this, ''There's a crack in everything. That's how the Light gets in." Think about your heart. Way too often, it is a a broken heart with cracks that leads you to ask questions like, 'What is the purpose of my life?'. Ah yes, this is how the Light gets in, my dear friends. Raja Yoga Meaning, Definition and Effect Raja Yoga is generally seen as the path of meditati...

For spiritual seekers, Hinduism prescribes four paths, namely, Karma Yoga,  Bhakti Yoga,  Jnana Yoga and Raja Yoga. If you are curious to know more, do read the works of Sri Paramahansa Yogananda as well as Swami Vivekananda, as they are India's most respected monks who took the wise teachings of the Rishis to the rest of the world.  'Independence or 'Swatantrya' is the soul of Vedantic teachings' You may wonder  "Why can't I simply pray to God and attain God?"  You can reach Mumbai from anyplace but you have to plan your trip according to your unique travel needs, right? You have to also consider your circumstances and the place you are currently at to plan your travel ahead. More importantly, simply wanting to reach Mumbai or booking your tickets isn't enough.  To reach the destination, you have to act with sincere will power and disciplined effort.    In the picture below, my son and I are sitting by the Ganga. We are fille...

A funny thing happened. A friend whom I don't particularly like or get along with shared a link on Facebook that I had intended to share. It irked me. Made me angry. Somewhat jealous. This probably sounds ridiculous to someone as sensible as you. In fact, it sounds downright cheesy to me. I mean, I am not some one who gets jealous over material things. I always consider myself to be at peace from within. And to think that I got jealous over the sharing of a link! Ridiculous!    [READ: What are Tantric Practices? Find out!]   Unforgivable. I feel so bad about this. I have always steered clear of jealousy. Because it blurs clarity and dilutes a person's focus. Then why did I feel jealous? Why do we become jealous?  I thought it over. Seriously. Because I am not the jealous type and i had to understand why I felt jealous for a few fleeting seconds. When I contemplated on this, this is what I could logically come up with: “You can only be jealous of som...