The Indian Mind Reset

 The world is pivoting on an invisible axis. We are moving from an era of information scarcity to an age of attention collapse, from industrial uniformity to an AI-driven gig economy, and from physical communities to hyper-connected, yet emotionally isolated, digital tribes. In the Indian context, this shift is schizophrenic: we have the world’s third-largest unicorn ecosystem existing alongside agrarian distress, and deep-tech aspirations racing against a decaying civic conscience.

The Churn in Society

Three distinct ruptures define modern Indian society. First, the erosion of the joint family into nuclear units has created an epidemic of loneliness among the elderly and a vacuum of moral scaffolding for the young. Second, rampant consumerism has replaced the old middle-class ethic of restraint with a debt-fuelled aspiration, measuring life’s worth in EMIs and social media validation rather than fulfillment. Third, a crisis of trust looms—we are polarized by algorithmic echo chambers, divided by caste and religion on digital platforms, even as our collective empathy muscle atrophies.

The Need of the Hour

What is desperately needed is not just economic growth, but a restoration of inner order. The need of the hour is a shift from the "Attention Economy" to the "Intention Economy." We must pivot from mindless scrolling to mindful awareness. India requires a revival of the Sanskaar (cultural refinement) that tempers technological progress with civilizational wisdom. The urgent challenge is to rebuild the “social connect” destroyed by the “network connect”—to look up from our screens and see the human standing next to us. 

How Should We Live?

The ancient Indian concept of “Simple Living, High Thinking” holds the key to our future sanity. We must learn to live with less, rediscovering that joy lies in experiences and relationships, not in accumulated possessions. This involves deliberately unplugging from the daily digital noise to reconnect with nature and the self. The guiding principle should be Seva (selfless service)—extending our concern beyond individual success to community well-being. In a time of fractured attention, the most radical act is to live a life of Dharma; not as blind ritual, but as a conscious, ethical compass that prioritizes duty over rights and compassion over consumption. The future belongs not to the most intelligent, but to the most resilient and the most kind.

Bhakti - Love for GOD...

 There is a quiet crisis unfolding in the modern soul. We have mapped the genome, built artificial minds, and placed the sum of human knowledge in our pockets, yet we have never felt a more profound emptiness. We are data-rich but love-poor. In this landscape of cold algorithms and anxious striving, the ancient path of Bhakti—the yoga of love and devotion—is not just a sentimental relic. It is a radical, necessary act of rebellion.

Today, the world tells you that your destiny is a ladder to be climbed with bruised knuckles and clenched teeth. We are taught to be the architects of our fate, gripping the steering wheel of life until our fingers ache. But Bhakti whispers a sweeter, more terrifying truth: you are not the doer. Destiny is not a prison of cause and effect; it is the sacred script written by the Beloved.

This is where Bhakti moves beyond religion and enters the realm of romance. It transforms the cold concept of “divine order” into a warm, intimate conversation. To the Bhakta, God is not a distant judge dispensing predetermined verdicts. He is the mischievous, loving playwright who has written a drama just to watch you eventually run into His arms. When we view destiny through the lens of love, our suffering changes texture. A setback ceases to be a punishment and becomes a tight, protective embrace from the Divine, pulling us back from a path that would lead us away from Him.

Think of the love of the Gopis for Krishna, or the aching, desperate poetry of Mirabai. They didn't love God to get a promotion, to heal a disease, or to manipulate the stars. They loved Him because the heart simply cannot function on logic alone. In our current age, we have pathologized this longing. We have medicated the very instinct that makes us human—the desperate, wild need to love something infinitely. We try to pour this infinite capacity into finite vessels—careers, relationships, approvals—and we shatter when they cannot hold the weight. Bhakti is the permission to let this love flow toward the only shore vast enough to receive it.

Importantly, Bhakti frees us from the tyranny of the “self-made” identity. We are exhausted by the persona we curate for the world. But in the privacy of devotion, we can finally collapse. When you weep at the feet of the Divine, you do not need a resume. You do not need to explain your trauma. You simply offer your broken heart, and for the first time, you are held by a Destiny that knows your name without needing to read it on a screen.

There is a profound emotional rest in surrendering to a love that pre-dates your birth. Bhakti teaches that God is the eternal pursuer of the soul. While we are chasing pennies and accolades, He is chasing us, orchestrating sunsets, arranging chance encounters, and writing “coincidences” just to get our attention.

In a society that worships productivity, sitting down to cry, to sing off-key, or to simply gaze at an image of the Divine with longing is a protest. It is the heart declaring, “I am a human being, not a machine.” Bhakti is the bridge between the life we have and the life we yearn for. It assures us that our destiny is not random. It is a love letter, written in the ink of time, guiding us home to the only embrace that will ever truly satisfy. Let us put down the weight of the world and dare to feel again. The Beloved is waiting.

How much is Enough...

 Materialism will not take you too far…one day you will leave stash of cash in your bank accounts to be enjoyed by your kids , wife and family – who may not know how much pain and sacrifice was done to earn that pieces of paper we call money!

All life we are consciously or unconsciously living through the law of Diminishing marginal Utility – we buy our first phone and go ga-ga over it – an iphone may be our best buy , it surely gives us a thing to boast about – an adrenaline rush and boosts our confidence but next year when Apple launches the next version of if – suddenly yours feels not so important or now that you may treat it as just another phone – nothing wrong with you though – it is a basic human propensity and behavior to let loose old things – that is exactly what life is all about.

We are on the run for “MORE” and that is never ending, as we are oblivious to the fact that we have limited time as humans and that materialism wont always give us joy or be our constant companion in our lives – at many instances, it actually acts as a burden !!!

Your anxiety level raises when you get to know that your 2^nd car has been hit in the parking or for that matter someone has creeped through your bank account and siphoned off all of your money – that should give you goose bumps but at the same time what if you had only one car which you so earnestly needed or had money which you could have enjoyed on your day to day living – I am not vouching that we should not save but how much? ….

We have our wardrobes full of clothes for every purpose and also a beeline of shoes and slippers to choose from – not knowing each will serve the same purpose BUT it surely is an ego boost when we have a choice , which many don’t!

We want to buy multiple properties securing our future for the purpose of living an old age with our near and dear ones – but on the contrary, I have seen many oldies living in seclusion of their homes – alone with no one to talk to – kids have taken their own route for betterment of their careers – wife is no more – they have money in their bank accounts, multiple properties – which have been nominated in names of their kids when they would be no more…What kind of old age we are striving for…???

Whole life we are struggling to make ends meet and save a little for our future and for the betterment of our families… many of us do marvelous things in life – achieve great heights and save much for their families only to be left in oblivion and suffer through their old age….

Life is a beautiful reminder that GOD has given us much to cherish… enjoy nature, travel, have long lasting relationships, friends and treasure nature – stop a little, look around and contemplate, how much is enough…the question is for everyone to ponder and think twice before we are too late and time for deliberation has gone foo far off….

Naam Jaap....

 You are today’s Arjuna  carrying the same anxieties and mind complexities which he had when he was stranded in midst of War where the GOD himself was his Saarthi (charioteer) – as he was saved by the divine nectar of words by Lord himself…True we are living in a world full of uncertainty and chaos – your best of the efforts are turning futile – all of your knowledge and learnings are being turned down as redundant – Job losses , layoffs and business failures have become the norm of the day…

So, what is the panacea of all of this – it is “Naam Jaap" - Internally reciting the name of the lord all the time and doing your everyday efforts – Karma. This technique has multifarious benefits – first one being the stability of the mind, you will find eternal peace and will have a sense of reinvigorating focus towards your aims and achievement and also the dilution of irrelevant thoughts…. Try it, and with practice, you will soon realise this tendency of a major behavior change…

In todays fast changing world, everyone is aiming to achieve higher – one must – but these thoughts have their own perils and that is what if you utterly fail and that you get depressed when you don’t achieve what you had thought…it’s a human thing of course but alternatively, we surely have to be mindful of the fact that whatever we are thinking would not materialize – many of things would vaporize as dreams – of course you have to go through much of hard work and painstakingly burn the candle night and day still you cannot guarantee your success – you must know this everywhere truth!

Believe me, it is not a cliché that I am telling you – start believing in his pervasive power… do Bhakti – believe in HIS true identity and submit yourself to avail his grace… ( Samarpit kardo unko…your body, mind, intellect and ego!) and then you see miracles happening –  You will surely not get what you are aiming for but will consequently feel lighter and things will start moving in the direction HE wants it to be … and what is good for you !

Now a days ‘Suicide’ is the new norm, every now and then you see stories coming up of people ending precious lives… not realizing that you the best form on earth – as per Hinduism – out of 84 lakh species, you have been given the intellect and intelligence to praise GOD and act accordingly to the best possible way – insects, animals and flora and fauna cant match your wisdom – even after knowing this consciously, if humanity is taking this extreme step – then it is worth noting this fact – as I say  - if you are not believing in the existence of almighty – then you have steered your way – and the end would worse...

Our ancient yogis and Saadhaks were aware of these facts and they had got a glimpse of meditation and conscious living – they knew the power of Naam Jaap (Repeating Lord’s name) and mediating on his form – no wonder they had these powers to materialize anything anywhere – they were healthy and consciously left their body at will !!! – and believe me it was not Suicide…they had the sublime powers to exit from their bodies and be omnipresent anywhere….. though it seems stories now a days…. You have to go through such books to find this anecdotal evidence ..but it happened for sure and still it is happening – If you ever had the time , energy and the conscience to visit the upper regions of Himalayas…you can beyond doubt get to meet yogis who are ultra powerful and live in sacred caves with minimal needs but have power to manifest anything - take away your diseases ..just vanish and telepathically connect with anyone...Sounds like a novel ?? :)  ....as I always say experiencing is believing...you have encapsulated yourself in materialism so are paying for its perils... 

Cutting this writeup short – at the very essence…start doing Naam Jaap and meditation on whomsoever power you believe and in whatever religion or faith system you have… do it earnestly and with full conscience and maintain consistency… See the magical World you create around you… All of your negativity and overthinking… your thoughts would radically turn positive. Just Open your heart and with pure devotion and love Talk to HIM believe me He is all ears…. And you will be first one telling me …I did it…. !!!!

Prarabdha – Its Ever Happening!

Humbleness is a strong virtue and we should always be obliged to be humble towards that unknown power that is the sole caretaker of this physical world… : - these golden words from a elderly retired gentleman rang bouts of echo in my mind – this is pure wisdom derived from life and is certainly not bookish.

Travelling to a remote place and engrossed in my thoughts, this gentleman sitting next to me reminded me of a life’s profound lesson – humility! – it so happened that whilst our train stopped at a junction, we stepped down to stretch ourselves – as we got down a dog came from nowhere lagging his tail and expecting something in return, as I was just lovingly glaring at him, my elderly friend popped up a biscuit packed and started to feed him with love – the dog being hungry gasped for each biscuit that was given to him – quickly the whole packed was partaken – not only this, my friend quickly took out his water bottle and poured water into a leftover cup – his assumption was bang on target, the canine started to eagerly drink water as if he was expecting it!

As the train whistle blew, we quickly boarded the train – not before seeing the dog’s gesture of almost saluting this old gentleman in reverence – it was all divine – in 5 minutes, I witnessed something so subtle and unique between to souls in different bodies and Yonis ( life forms) but tied with a common thread – Love and respect and humility for each other!

As the train moved, I questioned him, Sir did you look at the love and respect that canine was showcasing to you – as a silent observer, I could gauge a deep bond between both of you – as if you had some soul stirring Prarabdha from previous lives. The dog came only towards you and not anyone else – as if he was waiting for you to arrive and feed him – my elderly friend had a very straightforward justification for this – according to him, every creature is tied to everyone apart from previous lives and births and it is only when time is certain that divine things happen and you meet to get rid of that karmic debt – people, animals, insects would come to you at appropriate moments and demand things – this would be vice versa too – so always be humble in giving things – as it is being recording in your karmic debt – and at appropriate time it will be given back to you.

I could not have a better and logical understanding beyond this comprehensive explanation – as I could see myself what event had happened….in all probability, uncle and that dog might not ever meet again , it was the karmic debt that he had to offload and he did at the right age and time – which he actually did!

I guess the more we are observant of our surroundings, the more we have deep understanding about what life is – what is expected out of us and how we should behave to the signs and signal of life – for all of us are ever evolving beings and one day would come that we all have to go to that “Suksham” world for our next birth – but we certainly don’t know in which Yoni ?... Taking this wisdom along with, live each day with full awareness and thoughts that you are being tested every moment of your being…having done so, one day you shall be declared a ‘Pass’ to be never born again .Happy Living!

God – Your all Weather friend….

Why a God and Guru is important entity in your daily life? …Since time immemorial our grannies and oldies used to believe in the power of Unknown – call it GOD , they were regular visitors to temples and had an earnest belief in the fact that there is someone out there who is controlling the wires of this world. Our life being ephemeral and time bound, the limitless boundaries of time and consciousness had to be predicated on the belief that someone out there must have created this perfect existence – with right amount of ingredients that can sustain life and its living. 

Coming back to modern era, we all are living a life of uncertainty – anxiety, stress and frustration have become our constant companions in our daily lives – we cannot discuss same and same feelings with our friends, family and acquaintances – by doing so , we can be castigated as a pessimist and always thinking about the negatives – more so, not everything personal can be discussed with all beings – so considering the type of environment we are living there is something / someone you are looking for as a constant companion – whom you can talk to endlessly and take power and energy to refresh yourself for your next bet and struggle – that true companion whom you can always fall back on at the time of crisis and who you can share your deeper feeling which otherwise you are resistant to share within your closet.GOD can be a true friend and always available all the time 24X7 day and night – he doesn’t argue and is receptive to your silliest of the thoughts – he is all absorbent and listening to your cries and inhibitions and of course your grandeur future plans.

Prayer is a medium to talk to HIM and take his grace – one thing you must have observed, post your visit to a temple, Gurudwara of any place of GOD which your sect allows you – you feel a sense of peace, satisfaction – as if you have shared your burden with someone so close and deep inside you – now that you feel light and charming – inside yourself, you get that sense of assurance that All will be well and that I am always there for you to listen to your anxieties and overthinking. That is more than a hint that the entity you have worshipped and prayed too has listened to your cries – he is all there to help you whenever you have fallen back on HIM.

Just remember, all of your plans and efforts will not bore fruit according to your expectations – you will surely fall and will feel dejected many a time, but after some time some energy or zeal will ask you to try again – that inside voice of your conscience and inner being is nothing but the iota of GOD that resides deep inside you – after all you came from the other world and surely are being watched ay and night for all of your acts, good or bad.

Many a time your prayers will not be answered too as you may have prayed out of greed or jealously and that asked for something which you don’t qualify or that it may not prove good for you – the result would be that you may feel angry from our constant companion and may not talk to him, or visit any temple – this is also a phase which will happen in ones life – but what if there is no one who can talk to you now – the only last being , you have stopped talking to as you believe , he hardly listens….

Believe me, you will again fall back on him, may be after some time or if something exceptional good or bad happens to you – that is his Maya and his power to pull the strings…

So finally, come what may, your relationship with almighty is too personal and will go through its ups and downs – but as per my experience, HE would always turn out to be your last resort – and one day you will realize this fact sooner or later – for every relationship you are in – everyone will leave you or vice versa but not GOD and his mercy upon you – that is the beauty of Bhakti and the power of prayer and falling back on HIM…for he knows what is good or bad for you in life….

As Luck would have it...

Success is 80% luck and rest hard work…You being at your rightful place…. Be at the right time where opportunities are waiting to be taken by You only and nobody else…

Even if you are brimming with talent and education and what not if you don’t get any opportunity to showcase it all goes down the drain…. You need an eventful and lucky opportunity to showcase your latent potential and make your mark on the global landscape for you to be recognized and felt like that you have actually arrived …!!!! 

Going by many successful entrepreneurs and other big names in the World…if you would read between the lines and what they have learnt from their life over a span of team…almost everyone will parrot one line “Luck had a Major role in my achievements!” – It remains a holy grail for many, as many of us are not that exceptional ‘Lucky’ to have achieve major success in life…

Many of us remain like ‘Common people’ even if we slog through the day…as that special tinge is missing…. As they say “Tea looks good depending on the amount of sugar and other ingredients it has” the other “Ingredient’ in life is that ‘Divine spirit and touch or Mercy” which is needed for us to achieve that brilliance….

SO is there a ‘Da Vinci Code’ to attract Luck … the Karma theory here suffice – “Do Good and dharmic Karma and you will get the returns” … “do wrong towards someone and you will have to suffer…” this postulate has been the spinal cord of the “Hindu Philosophy” and is eternal to one’s living…

Quite surely “Someone” out there is watching all of our acts and have made the ‘Rulebook’ for our earthly living – else there is no optimum reasoning for many of us living sedentary lifestyle with best of the degrees and effort, while many others with none of this are making merry. Internally they know it very well that they didn’t deserve all the success and adulation and there are much better souls who are sincere and faithful towards achieving their goals but have not been successful…no pragmatic explanation satiates this philosophy….

So if you want to have HIS divine Mercy …do your work with a tinge of conscious thinking – that you don’t overstep someone’s boundary for your personal goals, Parents are living Gods…respect their living and dignity and revere them for they made you come to life when you were literally nobody…Have that cognition that you are NOT the DOER and that someone is there overlooking your acts …. These simplicities when implemented in letter and spirit would make you feel life on a different tangent…believe you me, life is not so complex that what we have made out to be…overburdening us with false expectations and never ending aspirations….Leave thoughtfully and rest will be taken care of…HE is surely There… and will always be…!!!

~ Thought Pollution...~

How to purify your thoughts – as eyes are the intake unit for images that you see and ears are the receptors of sound – they both are notorious to form a homogenous mix of thoughts that gets created in your mind – thoughts that are notorious of your seeing and hearing….

It is not the pollution in the air that affects your health but more so, it is the corrupted thoughts in your mind that makes you feel corrupted or differential in the society – the resultant depression and other mental illnesses on the rise are a clear vortex of these.

When you hear a 10^th class student ending his life due to academic pressure, the gravity of problem gets bigger – mental illness is a problem inflicting not only old or the middle aged, it has very much creeped in society in students and your lads… one wonders what will happen when they face the ‘Real Challenges’ life offers them on a day to day basis – when they leave the cool comforts of school and college life!

Be whatever, the concept of ‘GIGO’ – garbage in garbage out stands good in stead in these fast-changing time – so purifying your ‘Garbage’ of thoughts to be processed by the brain holds strict precedence – in order to live a hale and hearty life , one needs to be constantly self-evolving and nurturing good and positive thoughts.

So what is the answer to all of these anomalies which have started to persist in our decaying society – It is ‘Meditation’ and ‘Bhakti’ – yes, these two words sound quite mundane, but now a days it seems to be real remedy to obtain that absolute ‘Bliss’ for which you came in the human form – though we have tied our happyness and bliss to materialism and our sense of achievements.

Just the other day ,I met a somewhat happy looking soul who was out with his dog and was talking to him as if he was all ears and understanding what his master was saying – to my amazement the dog acted on the same lines what he was asked to do – this seems to be wonder to my eyes and senses – as I had never seen such a sync alignment between the  canine and his master – when asked, the old man said, I am alone and my only happy go lucky companion is my dog – he understands me and my temperament – it is him that keeps me going – my son and daughter are settled outside India and they don’t pay heed to me – my wife is no more – but I have found my ultimate happyness in adopting and befriending this canine!

All of us want that good companion who hears us patiently and is a fun to be with – loneliness is the worst growing ill in this society – the unending chase of materialism is breaking the concept of joint family , thereby shattering the ethos of a family structure societies abide by – the worst is yet to come though – the more lonely one gets, the more instable he / she is – the thought pollution and sense of disregard creeps in over a passage of time – it is then one needs that helping hand for support and tread the boat of life….the pollution of thought is everywhere to banish your existence – if you don’t pay heed to it now, no one will….

~ Being Atheist...Really?? ~

~ Code Name God ~

Sitting sometimes in your own lonely world of wanderings  you start to ponder about the mega happenings in life and its attributes – the first question begets your mind “Who Made this all ?, the Stars, Moon, all these heavenly bodies”, the cosmic intelligence is always performing its task without any hiccup; the sun rises on time, moon has its own orbit, various planets with gigantic masses always moving with phenomenal speeds

Alas! All this does radically intrigue’s one’s mind about a strange coincidence about such major appearances around us; The general question being, who made it so perfect and in perfect symphony with each other? Who actually  programmed it so perfectly? Not even an iota of error one can decipher in the laws of the world.

The best of humanity – Physicist, Biologist and other intellects of highest order as still trying to uncover the greatest mysteries of this universe. Only the insane can be judgmental to the tune of not acknowledging the power and existence of the higher order – what we call GOD or ‘Cosmic Intelligence’ running this universe with so much perfection!

Looking at life’s intelligence around ,you can surely get a strong understanding of the hidden working of greatest order – the growing of a seed into a huge tree, a plant germinating via seeds and sprinkling flowers and its fragrance, the birth and death of living beings – all this seems to be such beautiful in this intransigent world of thoughts and actions. 

Not believing opens a wide range of debates, the answers to which are hard to find and makes situation more complex – the total acceptability of an unknown ‘Cosmic Governance’ satiates one’s intellect and make us stay focus on the tasks we have been assigned to do whilst we live each day.

Many of the biggest thinkers of this world have propounded big theories for the existence of this universe and how this was propounded by just a Big Bang – but as we research more and more into it, many intriguing questions have evolved which challenges this age old theory of evolution – for many the quick and simplest answer is ‘ There is a Supreme and Supernatural Power always at work, It is HIM that he wishes , so does it happen!” – The prudence and enlightenment of this theoretical talk goes well with what you see and feel – It is you who have to be a judge of your own existence, many thoughts of you being born to a particular family and into life situations will ponder you erratically – There is a seeker in everyone of us, for some it is at a dormant level and for many it is live and kicking.

Many of us are working from close comforts of our homes, spending time with families but at the same time living under constant fear of the uncertainties of life, of losing our close ones. Fears of some tragic instances which we all see and hear from various sources – many questions arise in our ever-engaging mind and thoughts – what if…?

All what I have live and experience in this beautiful journey of life led me to think laterally – that many of your life’s situations are pre-existing and defined; we are here only to live upto that script written as according to our own ‘Sanchit Karma’s’ – the only silver-lining being that it is our free will with which we can act with impunity whilst we exist on this planet.

All this has a significance of your living, what you do today will be recorded in ‘Akashic Records’ and shall come back to you with equal fervor – for this to believe; start living with a conscious state of mind – observe the Deja’ vu moments life offers you everyday, the hints it gives you hidden in small moments and situations ; you never know this might lead your to a path of self-enlightenment and you find the source of that ‘Big Cosmic Intelligence’ which is playing around since time immemorial – Happy Searching!

" Nothing is Pending"

 Only until you reach the last day of your life that you may spell these golden lines " Nothing is Pending!" …. 

Was just sitting with an Octogenarian who I know for quite some time now and the best communication one can have with such souls is about Life itself, coz they are a treasure trove of life's ups and downs and full of experiences about their successes and failures.

'Rehman' Saab as we all address him, has been a man of his own stature - he sells seasonal fruits in a local market near my place and is always a talk of the town - as he has a unique communiqué of selling his fruits - for him , he is a 'Free Bird" with NO responsibilities and for him life has been a beautiful ride which bestowed upon him goodies and bad times in equal measure. His two sons and two daughters are well "Settled" in their respective household and that he lost his beloved wife just last year due to age related problems.

As I asked him " What is your age Rehman -Ji"?"

"Babu , 75 saal ka ho gaya hoon is Saal, uski Rehmat Se!" { Sir, I have turned 75 odd years this year, By his Grace!}

As I laughed and popped up another timely question " Aur kitna jeene ke Khwaish hai?" { How much more you long to live?"

"Arre Kal utha lo, kuch nahi raha , sara kaam khatam kar diya life mein, sari zimmedari nibha li!" { If God May call me tommrow, I am better off as I have fulfilled my family Responsibilities!"}

Rehman ji, is living a dream life, he is self sufficient and is still able bodied and is not dependent on his children for his livelihood - he is proud of this fact - As I further conversed with him , he started to talk about the living Wisdom of life.

It was a crowded flea market where people flock to buy Vegetables, fruits and the sundry, Rehman is a keen observer and talks of his wisdom.

"Yeh jo sare log bhaag rahe hain na, ek din thakk ke chup karke baith jayenge….fir sochenge , itne bhagne ki kya zaroorat thi zindagi mein?" { These people which I see are running around and trying to make ends meet, one day they will exert themselves and then will sit down and ponder about life and that was it all the effort to run around in life for frivolous things?}

As I grimaced in affirmative , I was equally reciprocated by Rehman, I surely knew , I had a man standing in front of me who chuckles about people's life and their follies...

This small 2 minute talk made me ponder over this one life which he stated " Nothing is Pending!" - this thought had a deep meaning for me - as I wonder when that time would come for All of us to say this …

The hush - hush and running around will stop one day, even if you want it or no, Our bodies will wither and with each passing day and a click of a second, we are nearing our last time on this planet...but the race is between time and our responsibilities.

Surely , Rehman has beaten time and has made himself available to be taken back to heaven as and when his time comes, for he has 'Nothing Pending or unfulfilled desire or a Wish which is a leftover for him..", In a true sense, he is a Man of Acceptance of life who internally laughs on all of us running around to chase our grandeur dreams and Aspirations...most of which we have to leave , even if we conquer them... for this is the vicissitude of life ….

{N.B.: Rehman-ji , allowed me to click his 1 picture on special request, though he is not very interested to be published on the internet, when I spoke so regarding this fact! :) }

~ You always Want More...~

 So you want more, but don't you have enough ? - these lines made a tinge in my mind as much of it was true ! 

We all are living with a dichotomy of living a grandeur life by wanting more , loosing the streak of what we already have - we hardly recognize these special gifts which are just around. We don't love ourselves, our bodies - we all are able bodied but how many of us revere it? - ask a soul who was born blind or has lost hands or legs due to an unfortunate accident. All of our goodies are taken for granted and we hardly value our able bodied- ness. 

The best state of living is to honour each and every second of your life - we are not living consciously - and for most of the time we are in a rush to achieve the chimera of aspirations - the mind is playing clever games but it is his nature - it will throw vagaries of thoughts which will bombard your conscience every now and then - this makes us oblivious of the 'Haves' we have in our lives and rather start to focus on the 'Have-Nots'!

My sojourn to the hills this time was full of talking with people who were climbing with great difficulty - many of us were part of the middle of age crisis and had started to have age related problems - a common regret we all shared was , " Why we didn't took care of our bodies when we were alright?" , " We ate anything and everything and at anytime of day or night and that now that our bodies have started to wither, our old habits die hard!"

We could  a little envy with our peers who were of our age and were walking with ease, and with a glowing smile , observing their demeanor, we all could decipher that they have had a very meaningful and disciplined life - for their body was a testament to their decree of fitness.

We All have a human tendency of neglecting what we have, once our body was our best friend and we hardly took care of it, now that it has started to age and show signs of weariness, we are complaining!

Similarly, all that we have got in our life - our parents, friends , buddies, brothers, sisters and education, career is ephemeral and for sure internally we all know this hard fact - still the wild chase is on! 

See our living rooms , wardrobes, clutter around us, we are all gathering , be it thoughts, junk info or anything we love and like for a second, we buy it and keep it in our safehouses to be left their to rot or be a part of the junk itinerary - as the famous saying goes " Whatever you have not worn, used for 6 months will never be used!" , Still the hoarding philosophy rules our mind and we don't have enough of it!

We will never have enough in our lives and as times skips away second by second, we will one day realize our follies to have lived live in harmony and with much awareness and not have set realistic targets which would not give us happiness that we so eagerly aspire for....

Still you have time, live consciously and start to part ways with items, thoughts and many such things that have filled your consciousness till the brim, for the burden was your making. And t is you who has to get rid of it....see what you feel post doing so....!

~ Kumbh - The Dip of Life...~

 The silence of the Ganges was making noise Inside me... every second, every minute was changing but Ganges though flowing in front of me looks to be still... there was certainly something inquisitive about the sacred river...

Taking the holy dip was an altogether a different experience, closing your eyes and immersing yourself into the divine river was nothing less than mesmerizing and once in a life time opportunity never to be forgotten through time space. The legend stories are a true basking of parables of the river showering energy and love and cleansing your thoughts and percepts about your living and life.

The stark time of 10:00 P.M made the difference, the shining moon overhead spread its light over the Ganges and gave it different look altogether - the calmness of the flowing water without an iota of gush. KUMBH is truly a DIVINE feeling..You have to feel it to live it!

Let me illustrate here that the experience was exhilarating, the calmness streak of Ganges was intriguing and once when you immerse yourself in the divine flow, you cant stop getting more and more spiritual - your tangent gets hooked up to a different level of thoughts - combined with the people around you seeking for that evasive solace of  life, immersing themselves in the holy waters to find that profound truth! 

Asking them about what made the difference, many spoke in anxiety and with a sense of acceptance, " its amazing, there is something divine here!" - coincidentally, I met a 'foreigner' from Italy as she as all in awe of the flowing waters of 'Triveni Sangam' - my only question for the moment was " How was the experience?"

She was in tears- words were not coming her way, I could see the pure sense of devotion and submission in her, she was without words! - after 20-30 seconds of gap, she spoke with a teary eye 'It is such and amazing experience' - look up , there is moon and the stars! and below the reflection of almost full moon night made the river glow - isn't it such a coincidence!"

Her excitement was evident, as she stood still closing her eyes and still crying, there was nothing else to be asked! - She actually was echoing my experience - It has been a lifetime  experience and for sure nothing to be forgotten - as I looked around, I could see the excitement in souls with long shouts of 'Har Har Gange' and 'Har Har Mahadev!' - the two divine percepts in Hindu Mythology.

Visiting 'Akhadas' was another momentous moment for me, you could see the ultimate faith of yogis towards the 'Unknown' as them looked intriguing to the human mind - their faith spoke for themselves - totally enchant in their daily 'Sadhna' - the yogis or 'Baba's were into their own business of spirituality - it was us or many 'Youtubers' who were trying to indulge themselves with them for their daily 'Likes' truly forgetting the purpose of bathing in the divine land on a particular Mahurat!

Now as an experienced Khumbiete, I would just like to say 'Thanks' for inviting me and showing you divinity to this pious occasion - May Mahadev be kind to all souls - for even those who didn't make it due to any reasons known to them!

~ Find Yourself ~

 If India is land of opportunities, it is equally a land of spiritual awakening – many yogis and Sanyasis have proved their mettle with a disciplined regime with a sole objective of achieving Salvation and to get out of the cycle of Birth and Death.

Puppet’s is the word which defines all of us – yet we are living unaware of this majestic truth whist we keep on living and doing our day-to-day activities.

In my recent spiritual sojourn to one of the greatest city of India ‘Vrindavan’ I could resonate with the feeling of loneliness and belonging – quite oxymoronic as it may sound, the truth is that we all are ‘Seekers’ from inside – whatever materialism you have achieved will fade away with time and you will fall back on seeking the ‘Unknown’ – try this yourself, all you need to do is to sit down and close your eyes and ponder upon this ultimate reality.

To start with, think of the best material passion you were mad about and worked hard to achieve it, almost killing yourself but once you have got it, slowly and steadily, the love for it fades away.

Have you ever though provokingly asked “Why is this change of mind over a period of time, why the best material possession you were so passionate about to own now has no value in life? “ – the answer to this intrigue is simple “ We all want to rise to a pedestal and discover our true self and answer the most important question “ Who are we and what are we here for? – they call  it the ‘Truth’ and finding it is the sole purpose of some.

In the ongoing ‘Maha-KUMBH’ we are witnessing a new wave of soul seekers, yogis and people from diverse backgrounds who are intense in the search for the truth – they have realized that there is something beyond the materialism that that they have achieved – a Aerospace Engineer for prestigious IIT -B turning yogi is not an insane way of life – something has ‘Clicked’ in him and his mind – and he took the path of Sannyas to find the true self. Similarly an Army officer from US had renounced the world after his son’s untimely death which made him turn towards his inner self and thus leading to path of Yoga and Bhakti. 

We all are mortal beings, people, situations, tangible and intangible things, relationships – will all change with time, but the ‘Truth’ will always remain and this is what we all are after – knowingly or unknowingly – we tread this life’s journey with a hope of tomorrow and wisdom that we have gathered with each passing day – remember, our forefathers had much more wisdom and used to live with unanimity with nature and God – no wonder, they aged with grace , less of misfortunes, less diseases and were pleased and satisfied souls – living with harmony with nature , they realized the meaning of their existence and knew very well the limited time they are here – we as young blood have the same opportunities to live the way our primitives lived – with the same methodology and life’s philosophy – else we will have to suffer the wrath of existence as it is powerful as it ever was – so live consciously and be aware of each passing second, with a soulful though ‘ you are not here for eternity’!

~ The 'New' about this Year~

 Finally ‘+1’ has been added to the previous year, and we have gone mad about it – everywhere we are enjoying like anything and feeling happy and elated as something magnificent has changed in this world or in one’s lifestyle – sounds negative , ‘nah’ not at all as this is an yearly feature – we all want to enjoy on moments when history takes a tick ahead – be it change of season – look at tourists who throng through the Himalayas for that year long retreat – or be it a festivity – we want to enjoy at all costs! 

As the clock ticked and we ushered in an era of uncertainty be it financial , political , climatic and otherwise, we hope that world turns out to be a better place when we reach last day of 2025 – considering the situation and the intent of powerful people controlling the situations, it is highly unlikely – so when I say that the New Year is just a change of date and year , the world will remain more or less the same, it is no magnanimity but prudence of a world and times lived here!

Many of us might have made better plans for us to execute – one must, but close your eyes and ponder, you did that exactly last year too – how many of them actually materialized and made you live life which you are doing it – but as a human percept, one does think positive about his/her living and plans good for his/her future – it’s a human percept!

As time ticks, situations and scenarios would unearth and make us live the way it wants us to live, planning is of course important but a certainty beholds otherwise – We would live the way we want to and also do our daily struggle for our own betterment – New Year is a sure shot catalyst, a time stamp which gives us an adrenaline rush down our spine to set new Goals and accomplishment we surely want to achieve before the closure of 365 days.

For me the only plan I have made is to ‘Plan No More and live in the moment!’ as that is the best learning I have taught myself – ‘Let Life Happen’ – At the two critical times of your life, no one took your permission or asked you anything – Be it your Birth or Death – you will not be asked either – in between the time, You have that freewill to explore, do stupid things and rise and fall and further plan – the humans that we are have been programmed the way society wants us to behave and we do exactly the same – so next time you are ‘stuck’ up in the mad rush of enjoying the New Year- sit down and deliberate what is ‘New’ that prefixes the stamp of time you want to live in future – make plans for sure, go for the kill, one must but be wary of something better or worse happing anytime in your life as that is what this Game of life is all about… 

Remember Many of those who made plans for 2024 are not there to see the beginning of 2025 and many of those who didn’t plan to see the end of 2024 were a witness to the 2025 melodrama….

Why Death is important ?

In my recent visit to the hospital, life percept changes when you observe the people visiting their near and dear ones expecting a miracle to happen for the terminally ill or age old patients who have a skimpy chance to get back to life…!

Though death is inevitable but necessary as it brings down curtains to one’s life – by the time death occurs, the body is withered out and is unbearable to various pains – the same body now demands rest and cannot bear more gruesome wrinkles on your skin

Asked by one of the octogenarian, one asks for death as it is just unbearable to live as a burden with the body – as an idiom “the biggest liability of your life in old age would be your health and body and it certainly would be NOT financial.” , the sooner one understands this , the better. 

Though an inevitable truth, you cant help it as it is so natural – This moment will kiss everyone in life, though for most of us it is an unwanted truth but this would be a sure shot certainty!

Just recently, I have had an unceremonious visit to the hospital and could see octogenarians lying as lifeless , being supported by all kinds of machines – be it a ventilator or a pacemaker, some home life is clinging to the body – to the amazement of it, the Doctor so practically described it as a “ an Artificial Life with in a Body!” for the sake of someone’s relative who doesn’t want his / her mother to leave the body and move to the other realm – certainly not knowing the excruciating ‘pain’ the body has to endure to keep the soul intact!

The subject is the body which has lost its capacity to sustain life but our emotions towards our near and dear ones run high and we are just not ready to say a final goodbye to our dying relative!

In this case, the children were quite understanding and they took the final decision to remove the ventilator support for their mother and let the expected happen, which it did!

Aunty was no more in flesh and blood though the first thought which came to our mind was a jest of life she carried when she always said “ Let me go in Peace whenever my time arrives…don’t make me cling to machines for injecting an artificial living… Death is beautiful too …!”

Her words have always resonated in my moment of dullness and melancholy, as an ultimate end everyone has to embrace death and leaving the body would be a cumbersome task which is a painful in itself but cant be skipped!

Certainly death is beautiful in its own way, it relieves the body from pain and gives peace and calmness to the leaving soul…why cling to the body which has obeyed you for ages and now has stopped doing so due to its inability to hold on – surely it has aged and is beyond its limits to cater to your day to day functions…. So why not say a timely and thankful goodbye to it before you say “Adieu” to your soulmate, family and friends, more so, the first relationship of you was your own body which culminates in Death… the proven truth of living…

So next time you see or are in a situation, pray for the departing soul and let go of her with smile and heartful thanks for time she has spent with you in this lifetime, ask the Almighty to guide the departed towards light and prepare the soul for its next sojourn, until your paths again meet in a lifetime in different situation and relations!!!