Petals!

This is a summer of learning new lessons every day, only to remind the ego to not react to everything around but just let it pass. The ego routine is a tough nut to crack. Treat ego with love.  Identify what it triggers, why and then embrace it, like this, "Buddy, I understand your game. But guess what? I'm over this game."  Love is the only weapon that can destroy the ego.  "What is the ego?" or "Why see ego as a bad thing?" are questions that a logical person is bound to ask. More importantly, if it is bad, why love the ego? The ego is what drives you to identify with everything that binds you down in the form of attachment. The ego forces you to ask these questions assuming the guise of curiosity. In that sense, the ego is a good thing for your growth. In most cases, however, ego is a fantastic story teller that deceives you to make the wrong choices but advocates very strongly that you are always right, never wrong. [READ: A Dad...

Does it ever happen to you that you ask a question about something materialistic in your prayer to God and you don't get any response? But you get an immediate response when you ask a query related to spirituality?  It happens all the time with me. This has been the story of my life ever since I was a child, not that I am complaining. Let me share with you a recent example. The other day, the word ''sincerity" kept popping up within me.  And in my prayers to my Guru - Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba - I asked, "What is the point of being sincere in an insincere world? Does it have any value at all? It's not like you get any special brownie points for it in Heaven." Personally, I have always felt that sincerity is a burden than a blessing. When you are sincere, you do everything with sincerity.  Even something as simple as asking ''How are you?" has become a formality. How many people ask it with sincerity? Whenever I do something, I a...

The Upanishads have compared a spiritual aspirant's journey to a razor's edge. From the age of 9, I have been walking on that razor's edge. No matter how hard I try, how sincerely I aspire, the fall is always a gut-wrenching one, filled with mind-numbing pain. In life, there will be difficulties and hardships we have to navigate. There are no shortcuts for honest people. Sadhana elevates our consciousness and gives us the courage to tackle everything with faith. [READ: What is Dark Night of the Soul?] Then I chant the name of Lord Sai in my heart and I start my baby steps all over again, stumbling, sometimes falling but always knowing that my God is there , protectively watching over me.  Being human, sometimes I forget that my nature is essentially divine. And on such days, I turn to Him in despair, wanting to understand the cause of these inner struggles and consequent pain.  I forget that my real Self is untouched by suffering.  Subscribe To Svara's Ne...

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...

                  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 ...

In spirituality, motive is everything . Why you said what you did, why you acted the way you did and why you allowed your mind to think in a particular way. Yes, your motive is the most important thing, that one parameter on which you can judge yourself and be judged when the time is ripe.                                                   (Image: Unsplash) When you do an act of kindness, are you propelled by a need to be admired and respected? Then it's best not to do it at all.  If you are doing good because it makes you feel your heart expand from within, embracing all of humanity, as part of your own Divine consciousness, you are at the right place. Instead of judging others, concentrate on understanding and filtering your motive for every word and action that you undertake. Live in the moment but be aware of every breath you inhal...