Life and its Reflection: through my lens and words

Life and its reflection through my lens and words The Book is out now A heartfelt Thank You to all the valued readers of my blog, who have consistently supported and encouraged me. Your unwavering belief in my work has been a constant source of inspiration. Many of you suggested the idea of compiling my…

Who is responsible for my suffering

Who is responsible for my suffering Short answer is – YOU yourself. For long answer please read on. They tell me that you have to cross 52 stages to get enlightened, to become a Buddha. You are almost a Buddha at stage 51 but its not perfect enlightenment. Its called near perfect enlightenment. You are…

From Attachment to Liberation

From Attachment to Liberation. This post is in continuation to my previous post “Attachment to Liberation” What is the root cause of our suffering? That’s a question, answer to which each one of us is looking for. Instead of words, today I would like to ponder on this question through a couple of slides. Hope…

Who Am I

Who Am I What you can perceive is not who you are. Because what you can perceive is subject to change. What you can not perceive is the unchanging reality. That is the real you. The reality transcends time and space. The real you does not have a form, it cannot be quantified, expressed, felt,…

Language of Pain

Language of Pain Sugar is well, sugary. Salt is salty. But there is a difference when I eat a pie or a doughnut. Both are sweet but both have a different taste. Similarly, there is a difference between two salty treats. To complicate things a little – Say for example, two people share the same…

What drives you!

What drives you! What drives you – desire or suffering. Are you driven by your thoughts or do you drive your thoughts. These are two major driving forces. Our whole lives are spent shuffling between desires and suffering. Our minds get so clouded with desires and suffering that it looses the power to think rationally….

Irony: Why Happiness eludes us

Irony: Why Happiness eludes us We all are in the quest of happiness. The more we struggle for more, farther it goes out from our reach. No matter how much we gather, no matter how much we accomplish, happiness eludes us. All our lives, we are consumed in the thought and struggle of how to…

Why is life eternal – infinitely

Why is life eternal – infinitely As a wave rises in the ocean, a universe rises in the All. As the wave sinks again into the ocean, a universe sinks again into the All. What is Ocean. Ocean is nothing but water. A wave that forms in the ocean is just a form. Water that…

Body vs Mind

Body vs Mind Body and mind are two components which complete a form. Every suffering or joy, that happens in our lives, happens at two level – Physical and mental. Sickness gives rise to physical pain. We experience pain and discomfort in the body. But at the same time, it effects our mind too. The…

What did you bring with you

What did you bring with you We all are same. No difference at all. The process of child birth is the same across the world. The child at birth knows no religion, race, color, social standing….. The mother embracing the child is the same across the world. Tending and feeding the child is the same….

Perspective

Perspective I was traveling in my car with my friend the other day. I always carry lots of big packets of cookies in my car. These cookies are for the homeless people and kids I see on the road. So instead of giving them money, I offer them something to eat. What happened that day,…

Suffering and Pain

Suffering and Pain Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.Pain is the outcome of body. Suffering is the outcome of mind. Pain is Physical. Suffering is psychological. He who is not disturbed by happiness and distress and is steady in both is certainly eligible for liberation. (Bhagwat Gita) A stable mind is one which remains unperturbed amid…

Second Birth

Second Birth Once a disciple asked Buddha. “Are you God. Are you an angel. Are you a messenger of God”. Buddha said “I am awake”. The question is awakened to what or awakened from what and where. From my limited knowledge, I can think of only one living thing which transforms into another life form…

Light in the dark

Light in the dark. We are living in troubled times. Not because human race is facing a threat from a pandemic. But because we are facing a threat which is even more dangerous. As this virus is much bigger and stronger. This threat is not only effecting our bodies. Its reach is deeper. It takes…

Spirituality & the ultimate truth

What is Spirituality What is spirituality? Who is a spiritual person? Are all or any of the below statements correct: Following the rituals. Devoting one’s life to study religions and discourses. Following the paths laid down by wise men and women from the past. Being devoted to god. Following the precepts. Fasting, meditating and following…

Attachment to Liberation

Attachment to Liberation All the great minds in history, philosophers, mystics and religions have time and again talked about de-attaching ourselves from the objects of desire. De-attach from people and things to free ourselves from the bondage to attain liberation. But how practical is this teaching, when there are loans to be paid, children to…

Traps (of suffering)

Traps (of suffering) We are all prisoners in our own bodies. Prisoners to our desires. Money, power and pleasures of the body rule our lives and not the other way round. A trekker needs to carry bare minimum to climb the mountain. If he is carrying anything in excess to what is required, it can…

Where is my happiness

Where is my happiness Where is my happiness – My happiness lies within me. The answer to this question is very simple, very accessible but very difficult to achieve. Its within me. Its so simple and so close. Even though its so very close, are we able to grasp it. The answer is no. Why?…

Life in the times of lock down

Life in the times of lock down. It is the time of reflection. What we humans are doing to nature. From the day one of lock down, birds have returned. I can hear them chirping all day long. The sky is clear with amazing sunsets. The air is as fresh as I breathe in the…

Sound of my heart

Sound of my heart… O my heart take me to the place where I belong.My body is here but my soul is there. My heart is here but its beat is there. Where I smell the pine and sip the spring.Where I breathe the fragrance and touch the sky. Where I rest on the moon…

Irony of life

Irony of life There are a hundred windows in front of my window. I see feasting in one window and fasting in the nextI see a baby born in one window and mourning in the nextI see celebration in one window and sickness in the next All these windows are next to each other. Oblivious…

Pleasures of the senses

Pleasures of the senses This post is not about Yayati. You can Google and read his story. This post is about you and me, living in this defiled age. Yayati finds mention in ancient Hindu scriptures. He was a great king, loved by all and who ruled the whole world earning him the title of…

After that – what

After that – What You wake up in the morning, work all day, go out with friends in the evening and have a good time. Occasionally take a break to rejuvenate and clear your head. And this routine keeps repeating day in and day out. Over and over again, for all your lives. You aspire…

Sea of Suffering

Sea of Suffering You see what you seek. You want to rid the world of suffering and the only thing you see is a sea of suffering. Suffering all around. You want to help but don’t know where to start. I heard a story: Thousands of fishes were pushed by the current on the sea…

Suffering and Joy

Suffering and Joy Negative and Positive. Evil and Good. Yin and Yang. Suffering and Joy. Passive and Active. Hell and Heaven. All negative and positive forces in our lives compliment each other and come together to complete a form. One cannot exist without the other. These are two sides of a coin. Two aspects of…

Past Baggage

Past Baggage I would like to share a story I heard. Two monks were traveling far distances in their quest for answers to life’s suffering. One was the teacher and the other was his young disciple. One day they reached a river which they had to cross to visit the next village. At the shore…

Switching Karma

Switching Karma I would like to share a story I heard. Once there was a village, whose occupants were in real misery. Not even a single person in that village was happy. Everyone was suffering from some problem or the other. They were all in despair and in a state of hopelessness with no solution…

Awakening

Awakening The day that you realize that xyz is just a name given to this particular body and one day this name will perish along with this body. Everything is transitional including death. It will come and go. It will come again and then again. Without any end. In next death you will be bearing…

Suffering vs Solution

Suffering vs Solution I want to share a story I read some where. Once a man was driving home from his office. He had lots of worries on his mind. He had a bad day. Sales were going down and he was anxious, disturbed and in lot of suffering as his boss had fired him….

Emotional Hurt

Emotional Hurt Reward or Punishment, no one can escape. There will always be an equal and reverse reaction to what we think, speak or do. It can be a reward for our good deeds or punishment for our evil acts. In this particular article I wish to ponder on how we act on our inter…