Petals!

The first time I saw Him, I had a letter clutched in my palm. I was eleven or twelve years old. He ignored me and did not accept my letter. He took my heart instead. Loving Him is enough – the ultimate experience in my last sojourn of this life. So many reasons to love Him: He is my best friend, the one whom I share every secret and emotion with. He laughs at my fears and says lovingly, “Why fear when I am here?” He has stood by me and showed me that nothing is lost when one’s life falls apart or when one’s trust in humanity crumbles.  He alone helped me see that God is Love and that in our veins that same love runs like an invisible channel waiting to be channelized into the Universe. He taught me that my pain is nothing but an inevitable awakening from the Universe – an awakening of love, compassion and awareness. Even in the midst of bone chilling pain, His smile appeared to me, He made jokes that I found myself smiling at and I found the ...

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...

In the last few days, I saw many tweets and Facebook updates/jokes & comments on women who celebrate Karva Chauth. While I can understand our need to express ourselves on every festival under the sun especially those we don't observe or celebrate, why do we mock those whose beliefs are valuable to them?  Lack of acceptance - therein lies the crux of the problem. This has nothing to do with religion. It's about our attitude to others around us - the increasing intolerance and sarcasm.  I still don't get it. Why do we force our beliefs or lack of it on others?  Let's take Karva Chauth itself. I don't follow or observe it but I don't mock those who undertake it. That's their choice. As long as they do not pressurize us to follow what they do, what is the problem? Why are we so judgmental about what others do when we don't have the patience to contemplate on our own beliefs or lack of them for that matter? It's also interesting how ...

                  Love without a price tag, conditions attached or the fine print of debt  At the age of five or six years, I told my Dad that I would never ever opt for an arranged marriage, especially the transactional ''bride seeing'' ceremony, where the bride is paraded around like a fancy showpiece before a bunch of curious strangers, who are more interested in how much gold she is wearing than her IQ. Dad, being my ever patient, serene hero, just smiled that calm, soothing smile that some of you are already familiar with and he said, ''Sure, that's fine." I was expecting a full flung family drama, a storm, maybe even being thrown out for the audacity of breaking the much-treasured family tradition. How dare a girl even say such a thing to her parents, right? Nothing happened. Dad was so cool. Then it struck me - maybe I am adopted. That's why it doesn't matter so much to him.  I did manage to summon ...