Here for writing

Leaving aside the social, economic, environmental, political and all other aspects of this Covid-19 pandemic, I just want to dwell and delve within for a moment. We can distract ourselves by looking at the screen of our smart phones and computers and other devices for only so long. With all other avenues of distraction out of our reach, there is no choice but to face the monsters within.  The monster that I had to face was guilt. The irony here is, I didn't even know that guilt monster was actually lurking in my sub conscious, waiting to surface up unawares, grab me by my throat and drag me under...choking me in its vicious grip. The reason it caught me unaware was that it has always disguised itself under various names and forms -the urge to be productive, to be constantly engaged in action, to be useful, to be successful, to excel in all that I do, to confirm to expectations of living a certain way, ticking off milestones, earning a certain amount of money, the ...

Stillness captured somewhere in Gudur, AP If I were to choose one word to describe my current state of being, it would be stillness. Complete and absolute stillness at the physical, mental and spiritual level. This stillness is profound and profane at the same time. Profound because it makes me loose all track of time and space. It is all so pure, full and complete, with no sense of division or distinction . Profane because in this stillness, there is nothing left. Absolutely nothing...making everything seem so pointless anyways. All this strife and struggle and stress -what for? There is indeed nothing else to do, no where else to go. What am I trying to do anyways? The beauty in this stillness is beyond explanation. This is indeed bliss absolute, because actually, there is nothing external that is giving raise to this bliss. And in case you are wondering what I am tripping on -well, again it is nothing external. Our own body, mind and breath, when it comes to complete...

Before we start, here are the quick links to Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 & Part 4 .  It has been slightly more than a year since I wrote about oneness. I ended part 4 by saying how to put the theory of oneness into practice. To be honest, I didn't know how to put into practice at that time. Ever since, this unwritten piece has been always in my mind. I became more observant of myself and was constantly seeing how I was putting the theory into practice, so that I can finally finish this series. There were many attempts at finishing this...more than 10 drafts that were ruthlessly discarded over the year. After all, it is so easy to intellectually dissect a topic and give convincing arguments, but applying it practically in our lives is a different ball game all together. However, being completely convinced on an intellectual level helped me put my heart & soul into this journey.  Once, during a Satsang, Guruji Swami Tejomayananda mentioned that being at eas...

A house is a beast by itself. It enslaves and ties one up with an innumerable and inexhaustible array of chores. I rrespective of whether one has a help to assist with domestic work or one does it all by oneself, there is never a dearth of these chores to complete.  And the trap here is, being caught up in a constant whirl of chores lulls you with a false sense of productivity and achievement. The chores may vary slightly from house to house, depending upon what chore falls on your head to what gets done by the help, but the essence is this -KEEP CLEANING TILL YOU DIE. Don't you agree?  The chores come in varying degrees... everyday chores that includes  Cooking -the one major activity that involves a hoard of sub activities around it -starting from grocery shopping, shopping for veggies, breaking your head as to what to cook today / tomorrow/ this whole week-morning & evening, chopping the veggies, cleaning the kitchen after the cook & ...

It so happens that the thoughts circling in my heart gathers a critical mass tumbles out as words. More often than not, the words carry no meaning. Such words are just content to stream out through my fingers into a word document, typed out in a haste, full of spelling mistakes...never to be read again. But at other times, the words twist with another deeper urge within -the urge to share that which is inside me with others. I would be lying if I say that these words are like a window to my soul. They are just a reflection of a temporary state of mind, which may make no sense to me, if I were to revisit it at a later point of time. But right now, these words are my world. The unfiltered expression of all that is going on inside me.  This makes me wonder. Why is it that we feel this need to share a piece of ourselves with others? Why this urge to express oneself?  If we were to just observe for a minute, everyone of us expresses & strives to share our in...

If this was a place to dream, what are my dreams? No filter, no second guessing. Just jotting down all that comes to my mind, without any judgement, without any rational thinking, without logic and without self-criticism. Here it goes To make people kinder. Where all interactions are based on kindness and respect No division in the name of religion. Faith to unite, than divide -where we all bow down with respect to other religions, knowing that it is one God and She is in us, as us. For every tree that is cut- 4 more trees spring up in its place! The earth and its elements are pure again -no plastic, no pollution -the planet pure and pristine Humans no longer feel that they are the superior creations -but understand that they are a part of the ecosystem and treat all creatures with love Where every life is safe and secure -no rapes, no murders, no execution, no prison A society that is devoid of greed!  A world without fear -even fear of death -becau...

A smile a laugh- a flash of joy and a fleeting moment of happiness. The same joy curdles into sorrow, the same laugh morphs into tears. The drama goes on and on –day and night, without a pause. I wake up, brush, bath, eat, work, eat, work, eat and sleep and thus, another day starts. I may fool myself that by taking away the “work” part, my life may become more fun, but who can ever remain, even for a moment, without doing any activity –physical or mental? In this framework, infused are the little twists and turns in life. No matter where I am or what I do, I still follow this rhythm of life. Along comes the friends and lovers, and just as they come, they leave too. Parents, spouse, siblings, relatives, in-laws, together we all tumble along the merciless path of time –now here and now no more. Set goals, they say. Achieve something, they say. Make money, build a house, decorate it with baubles and paint your way into good cheer, travel, have kids, raise them, fill yo...