The Infinite Mind

15 The Unseen World SO BY NOW, YOU KNOW that the power or intensity of the mind is such that if it is focused and gives a command for an action to happen, such actions manifest. The world we live in seems simple: sky above us, human life in the middle and beneath us is the solid mass, the Earth. When a boy prays to God or the Supreme Power or nature to give him a car, what happens? Here, the instruction or the energy is sent out from the boy’s mind with certain intensity; there is a certain likelihood of its manifestation. His ask from nature is for a ‘car’. Here, nature gets confused; which type of car, model, make, features etc. The world we live in has an unseen aspect too. The sky above, the brain and the mind form a continuum, sort of a ‘super sky mind’ – a dynamic entity in which there are lots of floating thoughts, problems and solutions. It is an unseen ocean. This brain is above us. We in the middle, and transact with this brain through the air. The other part of this ‘super’ brain is the Earth. Now, as the boy released his wish for a car, nature take his request, the brain accepts the thought of the car but fails to manifest it in the boy’s life as the specifics are missing from the his request. Most of us don’t know how to ask nature. If you want your thoughts to manifest and make yourself a ‘wish-wizard’ then meditation and syncing with this ‘super sky mind’ is necessary. Let us visualise another scenario: Suppose the boy had been more specific, “I want a red car of this brand and this particular model.” In such a case very specific instructions would have been sent out from the boy’s mind in to the cosmos or this unseen ‘super sky mind’. The request sent by the boy’s mind is accepted and executed perfectly, but this execution follows a process. These processes are executed in real time with dynamic mind decisions taken at millions of thoughts per second. The step by step flow of the process by the cosmos would be something like this; nature would ensure that there is progress at every step • Get the design for that car ready • Material for manufacture of the car is ensured • Money or funds should be there with someone who has an automobile plant and the car must be manufactured • Once the car is ready, the car has to be transported to the boy’s location • Ensuring that the means of transportation- road structure, airways, waterways- is ready • Nature then checks that the boy should have enough money to buy the car • Fuel should be available for the car If any of the steps are missing from the process, the boy’s request gets delayed as nature takes a decision at this point to complete the missing step. Here, there one significant thing to note: we are talking about a timeframe of years or decades. So, if the boy who made this request was 17 years old at that time, and nature’s algorithm is still executing his instruction and the boy happens to make a request for something else, then this request is discarded. All the preparations nature or the cosmos made go waste. As a human’s desires change every 5 minutes, most never get what they ask of this ‘super sky mind.’ This is the unseen world or the floating mind above our body. The human body is a ship, a one of its kind ship. It would seem very strange to many people, but inside this ship is the energy that can travel in space or water or anywhere else in between, through the power of the mind. This energy is capable of travelling at a speed many, many times the faster than the speed of light. It is possible to travel around the world and the Universe keeping our body (the ship) safe and secure at some place; we can travel with our mind to distant places and explore those secrets in time. The mind just needs an address to go, close your eyes and you will be there. Through our mind we access the minds of others beings. The human mind is such a powerful engine that it can generate a magnetic shield around the body and teleport itself or become invisible. Certainly, all this sounds like science fiction, but is entirely true. There are a few people with some special abilities who claim to travel this way and some live in secret silence, with all this knowledge. The power of the mind is amazing, such that the logical mind cannot justify its working.

The Infinite Mind

16 Terraforming the Mind THE NAME OF THE CHAPTER, ‘Terraforming the Mind’ may seem odd. Terraforming is a term used with reference to planets; meaning to make other planets just like the Earth, habitable for humans. So, is this concept really valid? How can one make the mind like the Earth? The question appears peculiar. The Earth and all human life is made up of the same 5 basic elements that exist in nature. This is an established fact. The five elements are: 1. Air (Vayu or Hawa) 2. Water (Jal or Paani) 3. Space (Ether) 4. Fire ( Agni) 5. Earth (Bhoomi) To terraform the mind means to align the mind as per earth’s condition or align the mind as per nature. Nature or Mother Earth gives in abundance to everyone without discrimination. Humans on the other hand are selfish beings, exploiting nature at a rapid pace. This is the paradox; being made of the same basic elements, how are the two so different from each other? As I delve deeper, I realize that people of today definitely need to terraform the mind. Here are some questions that I have often pondered over: Why can’t people become like the Earth? Selfless, with abundance, fair in every aspect, without any discrimination. What stops them from being like nature? Why are people are so selfish? Why do so many negative emotions develop within people? Nature has gifted humans with a mind. But humans have used the mind against nature (most of the times) and are destroying nature by taking it for granted. What humans do not realise is that every small element on the planet has a direct impact on the human mind. Nature is pure, original and always gives 100 percent to everything, be it a flower blossoming or an animal giving birth. Nature is so intelligently designed that it has its very own way to create, protect, teach, nourish and destroy everything. It is a process of complete recycling; from creation to maintenance to transformation. But the sad part is that humans ‘wear’ their mind on their face, on their body. Your body language will reveal what goes on in your mind. A judgemental or an egoistic attitude will always show up no matter how much you try to mask it. They have lost the original being. I am looking for the original human being. A person whom you don’t like comes towards you and there your mind goes towards negative thoughts. You wear a fake smile or extend a fake greeting, but the interaction will be unsatisfactory. The same goes for each human gesture and body language. We are our natural selves when we are born and stay that way until someone teaches us otherwise. Then we end up becoming someone else. This kind of wrong teaching in childhood is crippling society. We are one and the wrong concepts built in the mind have divided people and dissected the human race into various sub sections. The most wonderful aspect of nature is that everything happens on time, with many surprises every second in every part of the world happening simultaneously. The same happens inside of the human body. Innumerable things are going on inside the human body. It’s a complete factory run by an intelligence designed ingeniously by nature. Here is a simple and beautiful example of nature in action: A baby rabbit is born, it’s a celebratory moment. But nature is cruel to many animals upon their birth. The eyes of the rabbit remain closed till a certain number of days. So here my query is: How does the new born rabbit know where the mammary glands of the mother are? What it is like? To my surprise, nature has the answers and the ways to teach them, so they are able suckle with eyes closed. Looking at this is so peaceful. One cannot but help admiring nature – an intelligent, omnipresent force. When nature is always there for everyone, then why do only humans suffer terrible fates? Why don’t people realize that nature is there for them also? Nature is taking care of them and will continue to so. One can terraform the mind by being in knowledge, meditation and yoga. Humans are a small entity in this vast Universe and the blue planet, though an essential part of the planet. A strong mind never gives up. Be like Mother Earth, the blue planet Earth: happy, colourful, full of variety, abundance and fair in all the aspects.

The Infinite Mind

14 What are you good at? I USUALLY GET LOST WHEN people ask me, “What are you good at?” This question makes me think of what I am best at, or what special quality I have. I have spent my childhood studying, college years becoming an engineer and finally adulthood surviving a job in the engineering sector. The only question that vexes me is: What is my purpose on this planet earth? Why I am here? I did my graduation in Electronics and Communication Engineering but I was dragged to the information sector, as jobs in this sector, probably the programming field (Computer Sciences) are assured. I followed the crowd, cracked the national level competitive exams and earned my post graduate diploma in System Software design. This field is well respected and huge but the reality turned out to different. I was unable to break through the interviews as I was from an electronics and communication background, not computer science. So I could not match pace with computer science graduates who could build programs just like that whereas I would take 3 days to write the same program. Out there, there are many friends, who have studied one subject but they work in some other field. Their field of study is not reflected much in their work. I have a friend who is an electronics and communication engineer but she work as an air hostess. There are many people, who have studied a particular subject, but are working at some unrelated job, just surviving. After such jobs and decisions, when one takes a break in life or life itself gives a break to the person by making him jobless, he then wonders what his purpose is. Where should he be? Why can’t God just tell me what I am good at? Then I would do just that from my birth and excel in my field and enjoy working in that field. I would enjoy life rather than surviving, hopping from one department to another. In order to go to yet another department, I have to take classes for those subjects, sit for tests and undergo training; then finally I am on board but still there is no assurance of continuing in this department. Artificial Intelligence and automation are also becoming black holes for peoples’ jobs. If I knew that I am skilled at a particular task or job, I would enhance it and develop it within myself. Where is this information hidden? I tend to read biographies of people which say: ‘A boy at the age of 8 years loved cricket and slept with his cricket bat and so he become the world’s best cricketer as he knew that was his destiny; to become a cricketer. He could only see cricket, day and night. Such was the passion. The child’s education was limited, but he started playing at a young age and made people proud. His only career was playing cricket. He did it passionately, it was what he loved. So he enjoys his life rather than merely surviving.’ There are many such examples of people who at the very young ages of 8 to 12 years know what their talent is and what they are born for. This is very fascinating. But this scenario happens, probably with only 10 in a million; maybe the number is still lesser. For the rest of the mass of population, life becomes survival and their entire life is squandered, without knowing the purpose of their existence. I personally do not want to die like this. A boy is born, studies in childhood, graduates from college, a job follows, raise a family, survey life’s journey and finally one day, die. This is happening with many of us now, right now. I ask you, “What is your purpose in life?” Is this important to know? “Yes, very important!” Why is knowing this important? That is because a human being is incomplete without a purpose. It is the nature of humans to explore and no one can take that away. At some point in my life I have asked: “What am I best at? GOD! Please direct me, help me, and give me signs.” A few observations and practices can unlock the most fundamental question: What am I good at? Below are a few indicators: Observe the child’s behaviour a few years after birth. A natural action, a habit, a pattern to particular moods, a small song, a drawing, solving puzzles; any of these can be subjects which a child’s mind accepts and the child spends most of the time pursuing that as it is in his or her comfort zone. Prepare practical games for kids and try to observe any significant traits or characteristics in the child. This could help to unlock the natural talent the child has and provide a direction where the kid can blossom in life. The possibility of obtaining results using these observations is small, but is workable. Another way out is through meditation. If a child practices meditation in the teenage year s and then there is a drift towards spiritual practices during his childhood. In such a case nature takes control; the mind, body and soul are attuned to nature and many talents emerge and are executed perfectly. Try it. You will have your answer within 6 months. The same goes for any person, no matter at what stage of life. If people try meditation they will have their answer in a few months and creativity explodes in them and miracles happen in their life.

The Infinite Mind

13 How to Access the Mind? ONE CAN ONLY ACCESS the mind through meditation – Deep Meditation. The brain is full of surprises with all its magical energies. It has the capability to run the human body and if necessary, the brain can take the human body into a state of hibernation, keeping all the cells of the body in perfect condition. This kind of life support is attained through a deep connection of with the mind. The brain has the capability to bypass the heart and still continue in hibernation, keeping the human body alive for several years. Once the brain is fully awakened or in use, it can heal the human body and even protect it with its unseen magnetic fields. The human body can cheat the law of gravity, but the compass is in the brain. One has to access that gadget to control the human body in air and keep it afloat against the gravity. The set of chemicals in the brain creates vibrations and frequencies which can sometimes access future thoughts, see glimpses of a parallel Universe, perform multiple tasks in a second. The nerve impulses travel through the neurons at incredible speeds , generating pulses of electricity. They travel at more than the speed of light and so sometimes you see visions of the future even though your eyes are open. The physical eye is not interpreting this image, but this inner vision you see becomes your focus just for few seconds. There is a high possibility to see the past and the future. This appearance of the screen or window due to high activity levels of neurons or electric pulses sometimes opens the door way to other places where the soul or mind can go and come back. This becomes teleportation ; this seems fiction and very few know it is possible and is happening in the mind. We have an amazing mind with unlocked magical powers. Only a few have access to it and most are unaware of it.

The Infinite Mind

12 Mind: A Magical Land I HAPPENED TO BE IN an unidentified realm and I would like to share my experience and talk about the people of that world. One day I woke up and found myself in a huge building, where the roof was miles away from me. There was the network of the pipes all above me. Definitely this was not a man-made place. This was what my sight was showing me. I could hear a liquid flowing in the vicinity. The liquid was red and was flowing with great speed. I touched it. It was not like plastic, though it certainly looked like it. . To my surprise it is made of flexible skin or fibre. Some various other sounds were reaching my ears but they seem like abating tunes or vibrations. This is what my ears were experiencing there. I started to feel the structure; the structure was not man-made. A few structures are thin; others are thick, grey or red in colour. Light seems to come in through a tiny gap. Moving my foot, I took a step further and suddenly my foot was in a trough. The floor also seems to be made of the same fibre and is so delicate. I am lost and in some alien structure. This is what my sense of touch was telling me. I shouted and screamed being in the structure, and I could hear my voice echo. It felt like I was stranded in an unknown place. Everything is hollow and empty here. I started to walk through the caves and after moving some distance I could see some light at the end of the tunnel. I climbed up and it was like a camera with movements from left to right and up and down too. I got a glimpse of the outside of the building. The camera appeared to move automatically and the outside scenery continued to be visible. I climbed down and ran towards another cave, seeking a way outside. I could see the light coming in from one end of the cave. I ran towards it; I could hardly walk forward as my movement seemed to be resisted by the strong vibrations coming from the source of the light; vibrations so strong that I could not take a step further. I then tried to map the area so I named canal the noisy street and the earlier place that I had checked I named as the fast moving camera. I began to run in the opposite direction, again a ray of hope surfacing as I could see light coming in and a way out too. Suddenly I experienced the same vibrations that I had experienced on the noisy street. I turned around and named it second noisy street. So basically I was back where I started. I sat down wondering where I was. No one visible, no sign boards. What is this place? I gathered myself and started my journey in finding a way out, when suddenly I fell into a long pit and miraculously, I was outside! I experienced happiness, freedom. I got up and turned back. I was stunned to see where I had got stuck. It was the large head of a person. I woke up with a shiver. Suddenly the horrific dream broke and I was in my bed. My head was still heavy. I felt I had literally experienced the inside of the mind. I wanted to jot down what had happened. I was in a strange place. Now I can relate my experience to something more concrete. The first noisy street is one ear and the second noisy street is the other ear. The camera was the eyes. The fabric inside was the skin cells and skin membrane, the delicate unmanned structure. I named the characters; Ear 1, Ear 2, Eyes, Nose and Skin. Ear 1 and Ear 2: sound travels to the brain or mind Eyes: Visual scenes travel to eyes and then to brain or mind. Nose: Fragrances or smells reach the brain or mind via this character. Skin: The sense of touch and feel reaches the brain or mind. It is interesting as to how the mind functions. The characters collect the ‘food’ and deliver the data to the brain. The brain then does miracles with this data. The characters are not connected with each other; they are the source of the input of data for brain. The character does not work together . However, the permutations and combination of the data that the characters brought in are many. The brain interprets the raw data and transforms it into useful information. Each character trusts its information. Ears trust the sound sent to the mind. Eyes trust its sight and skin trust its feel. Every character’s information is true. The human mind is an amazing engine, a super computer. A person can feel or touch most of the organs of the human body. • We can touch exterior of the human body • Breath gives us the access to feel the nose, throat, lungs, diaphragm, stomach • Water and blood give us the access to feel the veins and arteries • Eyes we can touch and feel. We can also feel their movement • One can naturally feel heart due to its beating activity The only one organ we are left out is the brain. Here are a few amazing tricks to feel the brain and the mind: The refresh key to the brain: • For few seconds focus on your breath; take 4 breaths, keeping the focus on your breath. This is the refresh key to the brain. The mind travels like a pendulum from past to the future. A few minutes of this exercise will make you forget these thoughts and clear the mind. Like computers have a refresh button, for human body the breath is the refresh button. • Vibrations: If you chant a word so that it resonates within you, the vibrations reach the mind and the brain also vibrates in tune. This technique also refreshes the mind; humans cannot still feel the brain.

The Infinite Mind

11 The Power of Devotion WHEN SOMETHING IS VERY close to your heart and your actions are performed with complete effort, the results can be astounding. Pause for a minute and ponder on certain aspects of devotion; can devotion be positive or negative? The result of any activity will depend greatly upon an important parameter, which is the intensity of your devotion towards the task in hand. How passionate are you towards the particular task? If the intensity of your devotion is low, there is a lesser chance of a positive result manifesting. Everyone has a sense of devotion, check where you have it. • People live in fear – The intensity of fear is deep, hence the devotion to fear is high. This manifests and expands in your life. It takes a lot of positivity to come out of this devotion to fear. • People are lazy – The intensity of laziness is such that such people don’t feel like doing anything. Their devotion to comfort zone is high. Here, dynamism is missing from the picture. Can devotion hurt? • A boy loves a girl and has a crush on her. His love is devoted to her, but somehow the equation becomes altered and he does not find himself with that girl. So here his devotion hurts him. • A few people after losing their job, focus on their loss, their intensity of devotion becomes almost a physical pain, so they continue living in the pain of losing the job. Yes, devotion does hurt sometimes. • A student, an IIT aspirant, studies with devotion, and succeeds in joining the top engineering college in the country. • A terrorist was captured. Once he was identified, he turned out to be the master mind behind many terror strikes in the country and abroad, and was wanted internationally too. Many countries had a bounty over his head. Many people had lost their lives because of him; many lost their brothers, sisters, husbands, sons, daughters. This kind of news is reported everyday in every news paper. When I was younger, I used to ask my mother, “Mom, these terrorists kill people. Then why does God give them success in their activities?” At that time I never got a satisfactory answer to this question, but now I have. The factor which happens to work here is the intensity of devotion. Terrorists prepare for their attacks with a high intensity of devotion towards the planning and its execution. This is one of the reasons that even though they work against humanity and takes the lives of people, God grants them success. What is the common trait between a terrorist and an IIT aspirant? The only common trait is the intensity of their devotion towards their goal. Suffice to say, devotion is neither positive nor negative. It is just the intensity or drive towards the action. That action could be positive or negative, but if combined with intense devotion, will always bear results. Friends, it is in your hands, to which action you want to give your attention, the intensity of your devotion in this life. The power of devotion is such that with increasing intensity, your thoughts manifest in real life. That feeling expands in your life, to all aspects of your life. So next time beware of the action towards which you are directing the intensity of your devotion. .

The Infinite Mind

10 Mind Patterns WE CANNOT ACCEPT failure before our opponents in daily life. That opponent could be a friend to whom we lose an argument, or opponent in any competition, whether in the field of education or games. The irony is we that we are losing every moment and every day to our own mind yet we accept this failure with great ease. When the mind is unsettled then that very day, you would have observed that you had hardly any success with your tasks throughout the day and there was little or no perfection in the tasks that you did do. The power of thinking, power of intention, power of attention, power of expression, power of manifestation of thoughts in life, and intuition, all stem from the mind- the main power house of the body. On this planet earth we are surrounded by so many different types of people. The power of the mind actually defines a person and our behaviour defines us. The people around us are the result of our mind. The power of the mind is truly exceptional. Some are slow at their tasks, some are fast and agile. Some have the best decision making skills and reasoning skills. Some take time to process information. Some make mistakes but some refrain from making mistakes. While one cannot see the mind of a person practically, the image of the mind is reflected in the actions of the person. It is strange indeed that humans have developed such intelligent machines, machines that can send measured data from the moon to the earth, but no instrument to measure the complete mind, i n all its aspects. I would like to share with you how simplistically, and incorrectly, all of us look at the mind and the brain. During childhood, we all would have studied in school and if one student excels in class the teacher would say he is ‘brainy’. The student’s mind is basically measured on the education scale. On the other hand if a student fails to achieve the required grades and needs greater assistance, the teacher then says that his grasping power is less. Or that his understanding power is less. The mind of this student is also measured on the education scale or a test scale too and people immediately stick a label to that mind. People measure others through their mind and become ‘label makers’ in the process. In reality, the human mind cannot be measured. How does a strong mind look? Let us see. A sincere, young boy Amit studies well and clears the toughest engineering test and goes on to join a renowned institution in the country. On the other hand, another boy Ravi began his college education from an institute that is not so prestigious. After few years Amit commits suicide, as he was unable to handle the pressure of studies. Ravi goes on to graduate and starts working in a small firm. So, what happened here? Both got admission into colleges. Amit ought to have less stress regarding his career or job as the best companies would come to his campus. Even if not selected, he will anyway graduate from a top college. Being in a prestigious college, Amit and his parents are happy. On the other hand, from day one, Ravi is under exponential stress as he is sure that the top tier companies won’t be coming to his college. Hence he is conscious that he should be sincere in all his work. Like Amit, he did his projects and tests very well. As he is studying in an average college, he is constantly subjected to comments from his parents about his future prospects. Of course relatives join in too. Why Amit did chose the path to end his life even though looking at his life situation externally, anyone would say there was less stress in his life? Why did Ravi continue even when he knew that in the future stress in his life would increase exponentially? Brooding over these questions is just squandering time. But yes, from the mind perspective let us reflect on the thought below: Whose mind is stronger, Amit or Ravi? Amit cleared a tough engineering exam – his mind is stronger than Ravi’s. Ravi is unable to clear the same engineering exam – his mind is weaker than Amit’s. The above mentioned statements are authentic and correctly said as there is only parameter involved: an academic test. Ravi has weak mind as far as academics go. . I need to complete the equation. There are other parameters here, stress in life, one’s own coping mechanism. One’s life circumstances can be yet another parameter. One way of looking at their lives would be: Amit’s Life Positive External Factors + Negative Internal Mechanism ----> Weak Mind Ravi’s Life Negative External Factors + Positive Internal Mechanism (X factor) ----> Strong Mind Here, Ravi has a stronger mind than Amit. The behaviour of the mind is not linear when it deals with multiple parameters, it changes drastically. This creates many permutations and combinations within those parameters. Those people, who commit suicide, fail in life and have a weak mind. I have classified the mind into two categories: Strong Mind and Weak Mind Do you have a mind like Ashish’s? A small part of the day from Ashish’s life: He wakes up in the morning, smokes a cigarette and walks around the room just to get on with his bowel movement. Without consuming a cigarette he finds it nearly impossible to complete this part of his morning routine. Here, the cigarette is an external stimulus that controls his nervous system, his mind and so becomes his habit. Everyone tells him, that cigarettes are not good for health. He knows it is bad for the lungs, his mind knows it’s bad for him. But the fingers are programmed to hold a cigarette; lips are programmed to hold it and lungs to consume it. Ashish has a weak mind and his body actions are beyond his control. The urge to smoke does not allow him to shun this bad habit. Every day he promises and commits to friends that he will shun the habit, but fails. Ashish’s body is strong which disobeys a weak mind and wants a cigarette every day. The next day he gives a commitment to himself to shun cigarettes but fails. Ashish is carrying a weak mind, he breaks his own commitments and promises, and he breaks promises and commitments given to other people. Do you have a mind like April’s? April is a sweet girl in her teens, has an auto immune disease which was diagnosed at a later stage after her both hands were amputated due to decay of the tissue of her hands. She has a short life span and she is aware of it and so she does what she likes. She is a renowned singer and has a few hit songs to her credit. In her free time, she teaches other girls a foreign language. April has a strong mind but a weak body. I am listing a few categories here, which come to my mind: 1. A weak mind and a weak body 2. A weak mind and a strong (and healthy) body 3. A strong mind and a weak body 4. A strong mind and a strong (and healthy) body Indications of a weak mind: 1. Not fulfilling promises each time. 2. Inability to keep commitments. 3. Leaving work or projects accepted half way through and jumping to another task 4. Accepting unwanted thoughts (garbage for the mind) from people 5. Continuing to live with your addictions 6. Unable to make a change in one’s life by just altering at least one habit. 7. Inability to take risks in life Indications of the strong mind: 1. High degree of commitment 2. Valuing time and other aspects of life 3. Fulfilling promises made 4. Finishing the accepted tasks 5. Developing a ‘Let go’ attitude; an acceptance towards happenings in life 6. Ability to make changes in one’s life 7. Ability to take risks in life Which mind and body are you carrying?

The Infinite Mind

9 How to Make the Mind Strong THERE ARE ONLY TWO ways to make one’s mind strong. One: When life shows you unfortunate times and pushes your mind to accept situation. When a person is bound by a situation, unable get out of it, he struggles. The desire for freedom from the situation or some kind of relief is so strong that the mind becomes innovative. Hence the mind becomes stronger. . Second: Through knowledge Here, I want to clarify, and it may seem contradictory, but an adamant mind is not a strong mind. Famous people get recognized because of their talent; this is one aspect they have, which is recognized by someone. Polishing of that talent starts before the talent is publicly announced. Such talent either gets highlighted through one’s passion or is recognized by others or it is discovered by another person. Creativity and talent are born from a strong mind, keeping the mind balanced in a highly stressed situation, by not being reactive in a situation rather analysing it with awareness. Most famous people on the planet have one common thing in their lives. They have been hit by life hard enough to push them to recognize what they are capable of. There may have been a do or die situations and that becomes their road to fame. First Scenario: A jobless person wants freedom from unemployment and hence he becomes innovative in finding ways to survive and persist. Ansh without a job for many months was under tremendous stress as life was throwing him challenges. But during this stressful period, he began thinking of making money to survive through the shortest path possible. The shortest path to do any work is minimum energy required to do the task with maximum outcome. A jobless person suddenly becomes creative and finds numerous ways to earn money. Second Scenario: Let me explain through an exercise. I am sure there are people who freak out just looking at a cockroach or a lizard. This person who loses control every time is 28 years old. He forgets that his body size is much, much bigger than the size of the cockroach. When asked why he does not like cockroaches, his answer is, ‘They are creepy with their colour and they live in drains.’ Fair enough! Fortunately for him, one incident took place. He had enrolled in a self improvement programme. Unfortunately the instructor asked the group, “How many of us here are afraid of cockroaches?” He raised his hand in reply to the question. To his surprise the next instruction the instructor gave to his assistant was to get a cockroach. The instructor asked the guy to come to the front of the group, sit on the chair and extend his arm with his open palm facing the sky. He did as he was asked to and the assistant promptly dropped a dead cockroach on his hand. The guy dropped the cockroach as soon he felt the tingling sensation of cockroach touching his hand and a shiver ran through him. In this situation, he was asked to keep the cockroach for two minutes and then he could leave. Many times he dropped the cockroach and ran back to his chair but the assistant brought him back. . Finally, to get out of the situation he said he would try one last time. So he closed his eyes to avoid looking at the dead cockroach’s colour. So shutting down one sensory perception was logical. After a few minutes and several attempts, he gathered the courage and finally could keep the cockroach for on his palm for 2 minutes. Here is his testimony about what happened through this exercise: ‘I am 28 years old and was carrying an impression of fear in me. Fear of cockroaches. But today I feel so good that I was able to break that mind barrier. Really, I felt free and it is an amazing feeing.’ How many of us are there, holding such fears and have never been given the chance to break out of that fear. In the above mentioned scenario the driving force or the impetus was an external force. Such a force pushed mind power to such extent so that one achieved that which was thought to be impossible. Third Scenario: Imagine a person is put in to a wooden box as a prisoner with just one hole in the box for air to enter. The mind of the person then scans that box from all possible angles to check which side is weak. He will scan for any cracks which he can widen by kicking from inside the box. Any loose screw he could find and could get out using the screw as a weapon to widen a hole slowly and free himself. All the efforts are to free himself. A lot of innovative ideas are generated under stress. In case he fails, he will take rest. When the mind is resting, it wanders to what he is wearing. Is he wearing something that can be used as a weapon to crack the box, may be the buckle on his belt? So this guy pushes his mind to get himself free out of this wooden box. All world records are created because people are able to push their thought process to a certain level. Pushing the mind to such an extent that you come out of the situation and feel free is an indication of a strong mind. The above scenarios were situational, forced on the mind externally. Now let’s talk about the Second Method – Knowledge If you remain centred in knowledge, combined with awareness, even if your mind tries to trick you and direct you towards unhealthy and unwanted activities, remember the knowledge will help you pull yourself in the opposite direction. Keep yourself busy with productive activities; you will not get time to indulge in unhealthy activities.

The Infinite Mind

8 Half Body or Culture of Inbuilt Talent NOTICE PERIOD IS A TIME where one is on the verge of leaving a company and moving on to the next job role either with the next job proposal in hand or even without it. The stress increases exponentially when a person does not have a job proposal in hand. The very same was the scenario for Ansh, who has survived the dry months just applying and looking for a job role, but has been unsuccessful so far, for more than 5 months now. A situation arose when he wanted to give up and contemplated suicide as he was unable to see any other way out. A loan EMI was staring at him; taken for his sister’s wedding. The loan funded the groom’s demand for a car. Keeping his sister’s happiness in mind, Ansh took the loan. He HAS to pay the EMI. With funds low and savings on the verge of depletion, his worry increases and the need for a job is increasing multifold. Ansh cannot invest any money on himself to update his skills. His parents cannot help him as he comes from a poor background. A person with such background doesn’t usually have a huge circle of friends who can support him financially and of course he cannot think of another loan. What to do now? Every door appears closed; he spends his day sitting on a corner of his bed, waiting for a job, which can help him uplift his mood. Thinking about the next meal has became very his thought process as he has to be thrifty in spending money. He has stopped socialising; he knows if he does, he will end up spending precious money. The only option seemed to be suicide. Fortunately, this option was terminated after sometime. When hard times hit a person, the first instinct is not to give in, to fight out the hard times. The person waits for some time, consoling oneself that times will change and good times will be back, and so waits for the better times; surely the unfruitful phase of life will pass. But the very same person finds the hanging rope more convenient, when this unfruitful phase of life drags longer than expected and consoling oneself is no longer working. I do remember the case of a beautiful young high school girl, admitted to a hospital due to breast cancer. One day the doctor broke the news to her parents and they faced the hardest time of their lives; the doctor told the parents that the only solution for the illness was to carry out a double mastectomy. The mother could not handle the news and became miserable thinking about the future of the girl without breasts. The parents peeped at the girl through the window, wondering what her reaction would be when they told to her what was going to happen next. How would she live her life? The long years ahead. The parents sat near the girl and told her the treatment planned, with tears all over the place. When the news was shared with her, her world nearly ended as she could not imagine her life without her breasts. Thinking about the future, who would marry her and what would her life be? And how would she become a mother? This was like taking away the gift of nature from her and her very identity as a female, which would affect the role she would play later in her life, as a mother in the future. The only option she could see was suicide to end her misery and her parents’ misery too. Suicide appeared to be the perfect escape from the people’s loose talk. People face various adverse situations in life but the train of life for some people seems to stop at this easier station ‘suicide.’ During adverse times, everyone’s attention automatically gets focused on the negative aspects in their life. They forget one very significant aspect: The universal power with humans and the direction of their attention too. If someone pays attention to the negative aspect in life, then this aspect expands in one’s life. If someone directs attention to the positive aspect in life, their life expands with positive energy. A person overlooks the positive aspect he still has in his life and jumps directly to suicide. People see what was lost in a moment and stay with it as their awareness level is low. They don’t see the talents they have and how they can make use of them. We need to inculcate a culture of inbuilt talents among people. So that during the tough phases of life, even without a job, one can earn through his or her skills and lead a happy life rather than thinking of suicide. A person who has lost his legs in a battle when he stepped on a land mine, can still live life to the fullest and contribute to society. He might not walk on the battle ground any more, but with proper training could easily help in the information technology section of the army. As long as the brain is active, you can still earn. You could write a book or a novel and later it could be made into a movie! You could be a consultant in your area of expertise. Alternately you could learn new skills as learning has no age limit. You could learn a new language and teach students and earn your livelihood and even take up translation projects. The list of choices is exhaustive. But it is because of a weak human mind that we give up easily. Unless your brain is dead and there is no breath in your body, you are still the richest person on the earth.

My husband (60) is having an affair with a 28-year-old coworker. What can I do?

My husband (60) is having an affair with a 28-year-old coworker. What can I do? High-five him! ;) Kidding. It is very odd though. I mean, a 60 year old guy high up the working world food chain + great looking for his age, would be able to get an average-looking Jane of 28 who’s not sexually conservative and wants to work her way up the food chain, too. And the older guy being married can increase interest with some, just as it can decrease interest with many. So yeah, even though this is odd and unexpected, it is technically a possible scenario. Basically you tell him you know about this, and we gotta call this marriage off. End it. Even if you doing so shocks him to not want to be in said relationship with the gal anymore, it’s still not going to solve the problem underneath it all. He’s not going to be fulfilled with your marriage down the line after said dust settles away from any current women. It boils down to the reason why he ended up not merely having an isolated incident crossing fidelity lines with a good looking woman when on vacation with some friends — but had an affair with another woman. Much bigger concept. Don’t let your defense mechanisms take you over to downplay it. Ya gotta break it off.

Weekend Thought-(by Rajesh Srivastava, Former CEO Helene Curtis)

Weekend Thought-(by Rajesh Srivastava, Former CEO Helene Curtis) I had just returned from an overseas business trip and, as is my habit (read: to ease my guilt), I brought back an assortment of chocolates for my son, Kautuk. When I got home, I was told his best friend was visiting. Wanting to surprise them, I picked two different chocolates from the pack and walked into his room. “Hey guys!” I said, holding them out. “Pick the one you like.” Kautuk immediately grabbed one. I handed the other to his friend and walked out—feeling slightly disappointed. I thought Kautuk should have let his friend choose first. After his friend left, I said to him, “You should have given your friend the first choice.” Kautuk looked straight at me and replied, “Dad, we both love KitKat. There was only one. I quickly took the other chocolate so he would get the KitKat he loves.” Seeing me speechless, he added, “He would have done the same for me.” I was stunned. That day I learnt an important lesson: Children still instinctively put their friends first. But what about us adults? Over the course of my corporate career, I’ve often seen people prioritize their own interests instead. A question for you: What lesson have you learned from your children? Do share it so the rest of us can learn from it too.

Divine Whispers - Quotes by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

God/Almighty “When you know you own God, you will not be in a hurry to get something out of God.” ***** “When you have infinite patience, you will realiseGod belongs to you.” ***** “God does not test you because he knows you completely –your past, present and future.” ***** “God is calling you every moment.” ***** “God is the Seer himself who sees—that is God.” ***** “God is love. Being in love is sharing that love.” ***** “This entire universe is made up of God. There is nothing outside God.” ***** “God is responsibility, total responsibility.” ***** “If you pray to God with all your heart, (dropping the sorrow which simply means hanging onto the past) then whatever you desire will be given to you.” ***** “God exists in everyone but they are asleep in some people thatis why they exhibit demonic qualities.” ***** “Just like how all raindrops will reach the ocean, same way all prayers will reach the same God.” ***** “God is attribute-less but all attributes belong to him as nothing exists beyond God.” ***** “Love shakes everything. Even the angels and God. That is what happens after Sata Chandi Homa, you dance.” ***** “Nature loves to give you surprises. God loves fun. He always gives you surprises – sometimes pleasant, sometimes unpleasant.” ***** “God is that space in which everything is, was and will be.” ***** “God is beyond the three qualities: Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Yet the qualities exist in him!” ***** “Don’t run after anybody. You are important in your life. Focus on your career, acquiring talents and doing Seva for society. If at all you have to please anybody, please God, please the Divine and please yourself.” ***** “Listening to God is meditation. Asking God is Prayer.” ***** “The experience in you is God.” ***** “Parashuram avatars teach you to see God even in the cruel person!” ***** “God is asleep in every particle of this universe. God is in you in seed form. When he wakes up, neither you nor the world remain.” ***** ****************************  Guru “The Master is a doorway.” ***** “The Master is presence. The world is relativity and relativity has limitations. Presence is unlimited.” ***** “If you are not feeling close to the Master, it is because of you, because of your mind, because of your ego concepts.” ***** “A Master is like an ocean. Ocean is there, readily available. It does not reject anybody.” ***** “If a Master is not hollow and empty; he is no Master at all.” ***** “Guru Purnima is the day of reflection. It is the New Year for a spiritual seeker; for one who is on the path. Just like you have the calendar New Year on 1st January every year, for a spiritual seeker, the New Year is on Guru Purnima.” ***** “Like there is fatherhood and motherhood, there is something called Guruhood as well, and you all have to play the role of Guruhood to someone or the other. Anyways, consciously or unconsciously, you are all a Guru to somebody already because you do give advice, guidance, love and care to people, isn't it? So now do it consciously, giving your hundred per cent without expecting anything in return. This is living the Guru Principle.” ***** “Know that there is no difference between you, the Divine and the Guru Principle. It all culminates into just one thing – the queen bee. And meditation is reposing in the atman.” ***** “On Guru Purnima, ask for what you want and it will be bestowed. Go for the highest desire. The best wish is to desire for knowledge and freedom. Think about everything in your life that you can be grateful for, and ask what you want for the future. And bless others; this is the time to bless people. Just receiving is not enough; we need to also bless those who are in need.” ***** “So feel grateful for all the blessings that you have received. Be grateful for all the knowledge, and see how knowledge has transformed life. Without the knowledge we will be nowhere – realizing this, feel grateful for all that has come our way, and celebrate!Thank all the Masters of the tradition who have preserved this knowledge from ages, and brought it to us. It is very significant.” ***** “Lord Krishna said, ‘Mam ekamsharanamvraja’, meaning, ‘Come to me alone’ He said this to his dearest disciple Arjuna to make his mind totally be there to value the present.” ***** “When you have a Guru; fear, uncertainty, these things simply don’t come.” ***** “The Guru is not the (physical) body. The Guru is the Divine light that resides within the body; the Guru is love.” ***** “Just to toss a ball from one end to another, or to learn how to hit a puck with a stick, we need a coach or a guide. Then how can one not need a guide for spirituality? A Guru is definitely needed.” ***** “You should never say this; God has become a problem for you. If you long for God, or for your Guru, in your heart, then that is good. This takes you on the path of progress. If that longing is not there then there is no juice in life.” ***** “Guru and Shishya parampara is always one on one, but in the crowd!” ***** “Know that it's all one – Shiva Tattva, Guru Tattva, Atma Tattva. The differences are only in the name (flavours).” ***** “Guru doesn’t look for intelligence in a disciple. He creates an opportunity where, the intelligence that is already there blossoms.” ***** “Why or how is it that only a Guru can bring about a change in a person? It is because a Guru never wants anything for himself. A Guru wants transformation in someone only because what the person is doing is harming himself or herself. A Guru looks at people with this compassionate perspective which is why people transform when they come to Him.” ***** “The Guru is the one who leads you to the light of the Divine (Govind). So it is right. The Guru has always held the highest position in our country since the ages. It is a very unique pedestal and we need to preserve and honour the dignity of the Guru.” ***** “A Guru always wants his disciples to make great progress so that they may surpass and defeat the Guru himself one day. Then a Guru’s job is done.” ***** ****************************   Knowledge “Be a friend in knowledge. Uplift each other in knowledge.” ***** “Knowledge is a burden if it does not set you free.” ***** “Knowledge keeps everything fresh.” ***** “In science you have knowledge first, and then faith follows. In spirituality, faith comes first, and then knowledge follows.” ***** “When you follow fun, misery follows you. When you follow knowledge, fun follows you.” ***** “Illusion is error of perception and knowing illusion as illusion is knowledge.” ***** “Suffering is a product of limited knowledge.” ***** “For one who has awakened in knowledge, there is no more suffering.” ***** “If too many desires come in your mind, or too much restlessness and agitation then food, atmosphere and association have been the cause.” ***** “Wise is the one who learns from another´s mistakes. Less wise is the one who learns only from his own mistakes. The fool keeps making the same mistakes again and again and never learns from them. Knowledge is a burden if it robs you of innocence.” ***** “Another wealth is having different skills and talents. Some people write well, some are good in arguing, some are good in debating, some have a knack for music, some have a wonderful voice, some cook well, some are talented in bringing up a child, some are good in administration, and so on. There are people who put their maximum efforts to achieve what they want. Yet, they fail to achieve their goal. So effort alone is not enough to achieve one’s goal, you need the wealth of skill. ***** “The world is full of lessons if only we observe it with full awareness. Be as humble as the grass, then nothing can touch you, nothing. No one can humiliate you. In the eyes of the divine, it is those who serve the creation that are the true kings and queens. Walk like a king and be a perfect servant!” ***** “Our memory is very short. It appears this is the only life. We are not aware of our Source. The moment you become aware of your source and your infinite past, your whole life changes – like somebody suddenly becoming aware of how wealthy he (or she) is. It causes a shift in the awareness. Suddenly, you become aware, Oh! I have several billions of dollars in my bank account! Your style of walking will change immediately! This is the awareness of the Source. You don’t even have to remember all the drama that you went through. It’s enough if you just remember the source. The memory of the source is a great wealth. It makes life one continuous stream – not ‘cut off’ – not in pieces.” ***** ****************************   Karma “When you praise someone, you take on their good karma. When you blame someone, you take on their bad karma.” ***** “Prarabdha karma cannot be changed. Sanchita karma can be changed by spiritual practices.” ***** “Despite being amidst all pleasures and worldly things, one is completely untouched, untainted and unstained by the events and happenings.” ***** “Look at the events come, pass and go. According to their own law of karma, both pleasant and unpleasant events come and pass through you.” ***** “Saying anything good happens through grace and anything bad happens through karma, keeps you grounded. ***** “You deal with the situation. All that you face in life are result of your karma. It could be latent or present karma.” ***** “Every bad karma has a remedy – compassion, meditation, chanting and charity.” ***** “You can rise above the ocean of karma through awareness.” ***** “When you increase your sense of knowingness, your karma gets reduced. For example, you feel like throttling somebody, but because you are aware, you don't do it.” ***** “A Yogi works hundred per cent, without desires or attachments. This is Karma Yoga.” ***** “There are certain karmas which can’t be changed but many of them can be.” ***** “Until the impression of your previously done karma is on your mind, that karma manages to exist. You are freed from karma once the impression is erased.” ***** “Dedicated action, focused action is Karma Yoga. Through Karma Yoga also one can attain me (Krishna).” ***** “It's your desire or attachment that causes tiredness, not the work. Karma Yoga is acting hundred per cent, even though you aren't attached.” ***** “Once you get human body, karma begins because intellect has choice.” ***** “Many things like food, time, company, planetary positions, place and our karmas can affect the quality of your Sadhana.” ***** “Every impression is karma, but there is nothing to worry about because karma is not like an engraving on a rock – it is fluid. And karma is always bound by time because every action has only a limited reaction – it is not infinite.” ***** “Reaction and non-action both create karma, but conscious action transcends karma.” ***** ****************************  Death “Death dwells in the void as well as in celebration. ***** “Death brings you in touch with the reality of life.” ***** “Wake up and see your life is too short. The realization that life is short will bring dynamism to your life ***** “Life works on strange laws of nature (Karma). One never knows when a friend turns enemy and vice-versa. Rely on your Self; self-reliance.” ***** “This temporary world is of death. Here, everything dies and everything changes. Do you recognise that subtle field of energy, that subatomic level of energy that does not change? Objects disintegrate, but atoms remain the same. Atoms and molecules disintegrate, but the sub-atomic particles are the same. All these human bodies are different, but there is one field of energy, the mind, that flows through everybody. Do you realize that there is one thing –your true nature?” ***** “You are free the moment you see it’s not in you. If you have a pain, observe it’s happening in the body. If there is tightness or joy in your mind, observe that it is tight, sad, unhappy or happy. Just observe that you are not enjoying, and it is happening elsewhere, as though it is happening, knows that there is no death to the disciple. Atma never dies. Even after death he continues to get direction on the path.” ***** “Will we remember anything from this life after we die?” ***** “Knowledge of life brings confidence. Knowledge of death makes you fearless.” ***** “What is death? And what is beyond death? Nature has provided a tiny glimpse of death to you in everyday life– your sleep. It's akin to your sleep. When you are awake, you are engaged in all various activities, and the moment you hit the bed, what happens to you, where do you go? However, the day has been, pleasant or unpleasant; sleep provides you the deep rest.” “***** “Life is much larger than birth and death, failure and success. You are the unblemished, pure eternal Self. Knowing this you will walk like a King.” ***** “Those who meditate do not fear death. The one, who is filled with fears, faces death at every step, but for the one steeped in DivineLove, there is no death!” ***** “The spirit or the energy has no birth and no death. There is something deep inside of you that was never born and that never will die.” ***** “Everything you do, do it happily, with contentment; that brings you liberation from the cycle of birth and death.” ***** “You know, at the time of death, only two questions will be before us: How much love have we shared, and how much knowledge have we gained in our lifetime.” ***** “All places of worship in all religions are connected with places of burial or cremation because only the awareness of death can bring dispassion and can ground you in knowledge.” ***** ****************************   Yoga “Yoga is something that makes you happy, something that uplifts your spirit, something which makes you strong, vibrant, and powerful, why would you not do it?” ***** “Like a flower bud, human life has the potential to blossom fully. Blossoming of human potential to fullness is yoga.” ***** “Yoga brings the knowledge, passion and action together.” ***** “Yoga is a study of life, study of your body, breath, mind, intellect, memory, and ego; study of your inner faculties.” ***** “Withdraw your senses from the object to its source, then the union happens, then yoga happens.” ***** “Peace is our very nature, and yoga leads you to inner peace.” ***** “The purpose of yoga is to stop suffering even before it arises.” ***** “Yoga is not just a weight-loss program; it is a science to make you feel lighter. You lose mental stuff of anger, jealousy, hatred, greed, etc.” ***** “One of the rules of yoga is to cultivate the practice of being happy.” ***** “The wisdom of yoga transforms one from arrogance to self-confidence, meekness to humility, from dependence to a realization of interdependence.” ***** “The wisdom of yoga transforms one from craving for freedom to recognition of unboundedness, from limited ownership to oneness with the whole.” ***** “Peace is our very nature, and yoga leads you to inner peace. Yoga is a study of life, study of your body, breath, mind, intellect, memory, and ego. Study of your inner faculties! We do yoga to make life more beautiful, to stop misery from entering our world.” ***** “Yoga is the best app that everyone must download in their life.” ***** “A disease-free body, a violence-free society, a confusion-free mind, an inhibition-free intellect, a trauma-free memory, a sorrow-free soul and a quiver-free breath is the impact that yoga can make on your life.” ***** “If you claim that you are a Yogi, then you should have an undying smile on your face. I would say, that is the sign of a Yogi. Yoga makes your emotions softer and more peaceful, and you blossom in your emotions. It brings freedom in your expression and your thought patterns.” ***** “Many people think of the eight limbs of Yoga as a step-wise process to go level by level. They think that one has to strive to become proficient in one level before ascending to the next. This is not really so. I would say that all these eight limbs or aspects of yoga are woven together and happen simultaneously.” ***** “When a child is conceived in the womb, then all its organs are formed together. It is not that first, the feet are formed and then the arms take shape. No, it is not so. All the limbs and organs develop together. This is why we must take all these eight aspects or limbs of Yoga together at every step. Only then can we experience the fullness and totality of yoga, and can bring about an extraordinary transformation and experience in our life.” ***** “Yoga is not just only postures; it is your state of being.” ***** “Yoga is vast and has many possibilities. This message we must bring to the people. The spiritual aspect of yoga should be highlighted. That alone can bring up the happiness factor in society.” ***** **************************** Love “Usually, when people love something and there is a longing for it, they try to get rid of it because it is painful. The more you try to run away from it; you are destroying not only the longing but also the love.” ***** “Love is incomplete and it will have to remain incomplete. Itmeans that you have marked the boundaries, found its limitations. For love to be infinite, it has to be incomplete. Love is infinite and it finds expression in infinite ways.” ***** “A devotee is like a crazy person in the eyes of ignorant people. They are not bothered about what people think or say about them. A devotee’s world is nothing but God.” ***** “There are three kinds of love. The love that comes out of charm, that which comes out of comfort, and the divine love.” ***** “Seeing the Divine in your valentine and make the Divinity your Valentine (your sweet beloved). Just Be and know that you are Loved, that is beloved.” ***** “There is strength in peace. There is strength in calmness. There is strength in love, but it goes unnoticed. What you cannot win with guns, you can win through love, and this power of love needs to be realised.” ***** “The most powerful thing in the world is love! We can win the hearts of people through love.” ***** “You cannot transform the world when a terrorist is at your door, but is there some way in which can transform the world? Is there any alternative method that can bring sense to people who do not listen to anything, other than force? We can start thinking along these lines only when we realise that there is enormous power in love and inner peace.” ***** “We can all radiate peace, good thoughts, good vibrations; good wishes and that will definitely make an impact on the planet.” ***** “We need to get back pride in being non-violent.” ***** “Love is not an emotion; it is your very existence.” ***** “Here are the signs of love. When you love someone, you see nothing wrong with them.” ***** “When you love someone, you want to see them always happy and you want them to have the best.” ***** “Love is the highest strength, yet it makes you absolutely weak.” ***** “Love cannot tolerate distance, and hatred cannot toleratenearness.” ***** “You can experience love, but you cannot describe it or express it totally.” ***** “Love is beyond sight, touch, smell, taste, and sound.” ***** “When there is love, there is no ego. Ego dissolves like the dew drops with the sun.” ***** “In the company of one who is living love, you also can’t but spring into that Love.” ***** “Love is that phenomenon of dissolving, disappearing, merging, becoming one with the Infinite.” ***** “Love is that phenomenon of total letting go.” ***** “The seers, the scene, and the process of seeing all merge. The knowledge, the knower, and the known, they all merge, become one and that is divine love.” ***** “The path of love is not a tedious path. It's a path of joy. It's a path of singing and dancing.” ***** “Respect for the Self is faith and faith is being open.” ***** “Have respect for the Self and no one can take your self-respect.” ***** “Someone does not need to be great in order to be respected. Respecting life makes you great.” ***** ****************************   Loyalty “Loyalty is commitment to a cause or a person, irrespective of the situation and changes that time brings upon. Loyalty transcends promises and performances.” ***** “It is unjust to demand loyalty from everybody, with the exception being party workers and office bearers who have to be loyal to their party as otherwise it will not function.” ***** “Democracy and loyalty are two diametrically opposite concepts; yet they are compatible when they are in their rightful places.” ***** “In theUS, a common expression is ‘yellow-dog Democrats’ – people loyal to the Democrats would rather vote for a yellow dog than a Republican. Most people label themselves as Republicans or Democrats. In any election, it’s the narrow swing vote, which is really the deciding factor. If you watchclosely, it is only a few who have really chosen.Ideally, it should be the masses thatchoose and the few who should be loyal. Then election has meaning.” ***** “You can do better than a formal post, as did Mahatma Gandhi.” ***** “It is the nature of people with integrity to find an anchor for their loyalty.” ***** “Life needs loyalty, but when it comes todemocracy, one should act like a father who has love for all his sons, yet chooses the right one for the right job. Youhave to be loyal to human values. Instead, if you are loyal to a party how can you exercise your franchise? You cannot be loyal to a party and claim to have a choice. Only the impartial can choose.” ***** “Loyalty disallows impartial competition for if you are loyal to one political party and if the same party continues to rule, what is the point in having elections?” ***** “Loyalty has its place.You need to be loyal to your principles,monarch,country,themilitary, your employer, employees and spouse. You have to be faithful to your country, but you endanger democracy if you are loyal to a single political party.” ***** “Loyalty is the way in which a mature and integrated mind behaves. Loyalty indicates undivided wholeness of consciousness and shows richness of the mind. When the mind is not integrated, it is feverish, disloyal and opportunistic.” ***** “A divided mind will gradually lead to schizophrenia and other physical and mental disorders. Loyalty is a real strength and will have the support of nature in the long run.” ***** “Fear and ambitions are impediments to loyalty. Loyalty is neededin both the material and spiritual plane. Either to destroy, create or maintain any institution, group or society, loyalty is essential.” ***** “Freedom and loyalty should go hand in hand. However, loyalty which is stifling gradually decays and freedom without loyalty leads to anarchy.” ***** “A loyal mind is a 'yes-mind’. The purpose of asking questions is to get an answer. The purpose of all answers is to create a 'yes’. ‘Yes’ is an acknowledgement of knowledge. The ‘yes-mind’ is a quiet, holistic and joyful mind. The ‘no-mind’ is an agitated, doubting and miserable mind.” ***** “Loyalty begins with a ‘yes-mind’ and starts to perish with a ‘no-mind’.” ***** “Disloyalty comes out of opportunism. Opportunism is short sightedness of one’s destiny. Integrity or wholeness is essential to be healthy.” ***** “Loyalty means believing in the continuity of commitment, honouring commitment. It takes you beyond the duality of craving and aversion. Responsibility, dedication and commitment are the limbs of loyalty.” ***** ****************************  

Those were the days

CHAPTER-2 Those were the days “School is such a bore And they are building more Lord Macaulay wanted to make A country full of natives who break” These were the iconic lines of a musical called Kidstuf, A powerful musical which was scripted by the students of the celebrated St. Xavier’s School, Delhi under the guidance of Param Var and Barry John who were both classical performers but the makers faced troubled childhood. Perhaps their emotions resonated with this remarkable production. The play had several Aha! moments, where the scintillating score by Param Vir and the script and direction by the fabled theatre personality Barry John enthralled audiences across Sofia College, Mumbai, Kamani Auditorium Delhi, Doordarshan Delhi and Gaiety Theatre, Shimla. Kidstuf which was sponsored by Max Mueller Bhavan, Delhi and produced by St Xavier’s School were keen to peg this outstanding piece of art at a much higher level for larger audiences to watch and empathise with the pangs of growing up. In the year 1979 this was certainly a brave endeavour. Meanwhile there were two strong rumours while we were rehearsing before performing the musical. One, the production would be staged at Broadway! “Wow,” we thought, “We would visit the US,” the young performers of the musical prayed fervently for the miracle to occur. And second that Param Vir and Barry John (a former English school teacher who settled in India to teach English and theatre) were homosexuals. This information was received by us with mixed reactions; both good, bad and ugly. In fact, we were not aware what was the line of actual control in such cases and what could be a possible surgical strike of truth. We proud Xavierians were stripling youngsters who ogled at members of the fairer sex with gay abandon. The fantasises led to our first experience with puberty, night dreams, night falls, understanding our sexuality and experiencing the thrill of masturbation. However, we were young and innocent, not aware about the politics in these extremely personal matters relating to sexual choices and preferences of humans. Students of public schools like St Xavier’s Delhi, St Columbus, Modern School Delhi, Springdale’s and others we were brought up on a diet of Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, English movies, oh yes, some Hindi films too. Songs like Imagine by the iconic John Lennon, Sounds of Silence by the talismanic Simon and Garfunkel and Pink Floyd’s Brick in the Wall have inspired generations across the globe. There was a revolutionary romance in the lyrics and music of these numbers which lifted the spirits of youngsters who were on the threshold of breaking free from all bondages. The prevailing education system had set in ossified thinking among students. They could not think out-of-the-box. Everything in academics was determined by the marks scored and not the knowledge gained. It was plain ROTE learning. Education was merely acquisition of information and not acquiring knowledge or gaining wisdom. Years later Aamir Khan in his classic movie 3 Idiots and Sushant Singh Rajput’s film Chichore had graphically captured these aspects of our failed pedagogy where premium is placed only on obtaining marks can result in disastrous consequences. The immense pressure on students to “perform” or “perish” stultifies their growth process. Thus, these songs and subsequently participating in Kidstuf once again challenged me to emerge as a revolutionary, an anarchist or fighting for the underdog (so I thought about myself, may be for a cause without much pause). But in my case after stepping out of my teens and entering college my dalliance with spiritual masters continued in some form or the other. While in school, Ganapathi Sachhidananda Swamiji was the lifeboat of our family. Perhaps today with some study I would indeed attribute it to karmic cycle or positive deeds on part of my ancestors and parents that we were associated with various spiritual masters and pristine religious centres at different points of time which suffused us with constructive thoughts and positive energy. Everything is finite in life, but one experiences infinity sitting at the feet of a spiritual master. And this flowers the plant of faith in the life of an ordinary person or a seeker. It was not a case of spiritual shopping, but our family had the unique opportunity of seeking the blessings of Swami Chinmayananda, Jiddu Krishnamurthy, Sathya Sai Baba, Pope John Paul, Mother Teresa, Raghavendra Swamy, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar who was to still attain fame as Gurudev, Sri Sri or Guruji was present with his master, Mahesh Yogi, at that juncture, the ministering angels through their inner voice told me) and the noted environmentalist Sundar Lal Bahuguna. In meantime I was now in the 11th to 12th standard and later went on to join college. It was around this time that I had the unique opportunity to listen to the spellbinding speeches of the eminent philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurthy in person. While as far as my father was concerned the philosopher’s speeches were a voyage into science once again to prove the credentials of thought process, for my mother it was diving into divine faith. In either case, both my sister and I were to be blessed by the exposure. The noted philosopher and scholar spoke for an hour and there was pin drop silence. Once he spoke on “death” which left the audience spellbound, some in tears, others weeping. We were left numbed. His piercing eyes, handsome face and extraordinary persona were exceedingly attractive. But what attracted me and several others was is espousal of non-formal system of education as imparted in the Rishi Valley School. The pedagogy was truly the Gurukul form of imparting education. Many years later, I had the unique opportunity of visiting the Rishi Valley School at Madanapalle and spent several hours at the school and meditated in the polymath’s library. I happened to come across a certificate signed by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar extolling the virtues of educational system imparted by the school. This was a unique testimony of faith and something miraculous which touched us all deeply. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx My schooling began at a nursery located in Delhi University. Subsequently I was schooled at St Michael’s Grammar School. The principal was once a teacher at St Xavier’s School, Delhi who broke ranks with the prestigious school to become a renegade and founded his own school. I was faring reasonably well at the school and participated in athletics and extracurricular activities. My mother encouraged me to participate in these events so that I could overcome the demonic thoughts about my frail health. She was fighting her battles and was desirous I confront mine by chanting the names of Lord Rama and Bajrang Bali. But then, life is never hunky dory. Soon there were a string of events as a result of which my school was relocated to Badli village around 15 kilometres from our house. The long journey to and fro meant there was not adequate time to look after my health. Those days my diet in the morning was a concoction of egg flip which included all proteins, but more than often I threw up. In fact, my mother used to hold my nose and make me drink the concoction. Tiffin to school included sandwiches. One fine day my mother was intrigued by the presence of a large number of mice scurrying in and out of my study room. It almost appeared that there was a Pied Piper lurking in the corner of the room. Upon investigating further, my parents were aghast to witness several pieces of sandwiches, half-eaten by rodents lying below my study table. It was a shocking and terrible sight. I got a sound hiding from my parents who had no other way of expressing their concern. It was more of an anguish of the concerned parents. Meanwhile, on a couple of occasions the rickety school bus by which the students were ferried from Badli village to Kingsway Camp broke down and we were despatched by auto rickshaws to our respective houses. My mother, the perennial Joan of Arc clad in a shining armour could not accept the callous attitude on part of the school administration and confronted the principal. When she found no satisfactory resolution to the problem, she followed the advice of some friends and well-wishers and decided I should change schools. The premier educational institutions at that point in time in Delhi were St Columba’s School, St Xavier’s School, Modern School, Springdale’s School, Delhi Public School and Army Public school. Though my father was agreeable for a change given my predicament and puny health, he closely looked at his pocket and realised that Modern School and Springdale’s were beyond his means. The options then zeroed down to the Jesuit schools – St Xavier’s or St Columba’s. My mother was clear in her mind that I should be shifted to St Xavier’s School located at Rajpur Road, Civil lines. The school was close to our house at Kingsway Camp unlike my present school. Since we were followers of Swamiji at this time, we met him and he blessed me that I would be successful in getting admitted to the St Xavier’s School. As was his wont my agnostic father did not quite share this conviction. But my mother did not budge from her conviction and her faith in Swamiji. As far as she was concerned, His words were cast in stone. Interestingly admissions were closed for 6th standard and to gain admission to St Xavier’s School I would have to literally catapult myself to 7th standard directly from the 5th standard. Little did we realise that there were other factors at play. Doctor’s Colony in Kingsway Camp on the premises of R.B.T.B. Hospital was, as the name suggests, populated by doctors. For a few of these doctors, the presence of my mother a mere medical social worker in the same colony became a bone of contention. Other than this ugly issue raising its head occasionally, there was bonhomie among the neighbours. But if there was one topic that never died down, it was about whose child performed better in school, whose child was better at academics etc through the process of mugging. And this was exactly where our covetous neighbours were certainly not pleased. For some reason, the prospect of the son of the medical social worker joining the prestigious St Xavier’s School was simply not acceptable to them. They found it preposterous that their son, who had been one class senior to me, would now have a St Michael’s product alongside him. This prompted my mother to share the problem with Swamiji, who allayed her fears and instilled confidence in her. My mother’s unflinching faith in Swamiji made her even more determined to go ahead with the project despite all opposition. At the entrance exam, I flunked in the mathematics paper scoring pathetically though I sailed through the other subjects. But this did not deter my mother’s unflinching confidence that I would be able to cross the Rubicon. As a dauntless warrior, my mother armed herself with a letter of recommendation from Father Rego, Secretary General of CARITAS (with whom she had providentially interacted at Agra during a conference of medical social workers), she was to meet Father Puthumanna, the principal of St Xavier’s. She was convinced that Divine Whispers resonate in this gigantic universe of the maker, but our minds and ears are small which are not tuned to be receptors. “Listen to the inner light, it will guide you. Listen to the inner peace; it will feed you. Listen to inner Love; it will transform you. It will divinize you; it will immortalize you,” was an unpretentious post card my mother received from a cousin much senior to me who was serving as a District Collector of Cuddapah and a devotee of Swami Chinmayananda. These were immortal words of Swami Chinmayananda and she was sure everything positive would happen. Meanwhile back in those days the logical mind of my father continued to be disturbed with the jarring development concerning my schooling and as to whether I would be able to attain exclusive membership of this missionary school. Now how did this interaction with Father Rego take place? This was again an intercession by the divine. CARITAS is a prominent Catholic frontline organisation and an administrative wing which funds various establishments of Catholics in the country including educational institutions and charitable projects. One can discern a unique string of connections – her faith in Goddess of Good Health Mother Vellankani, education at Stella Maris, a prestigious college in Chennai and then foray into medical social work and supported by CARITAS and then Father Rego stepping in to the help of my mother who was seeking my admission to St Xavier’s School, Delhi. This was nothing but faith transforming into a miracle. To a lay person these could be pure coincidences; but for my mother these were all blessings of the Universe. Father Rego was to give her a cross which came as a blessing from the Divine and my mother held on it with deep regard. Father Puthumanna, a well-meaning and an affable Jesuit priest mulled over my mother’s request and agreed to do the needful with a strong caveat that I had to reappear for the mathematics paper and emerge successful. Well, numbers and I have never been harmoniously aligned much like a malefic planetary configuration which has to be appeased. So, I was once again put under the scanner and sat to take the maths entrance test. This renewed effort was scoffed at by our neighbours and this in turn taxed my abdomen more than my brains. I continued to soldier on and arrived the hallowed portals of St Xavier’s School on D-day. I had to solve a solitary paper of mathematics, with a fuzzy head and a bruised stomach. The school establishment was stupefied when I performed exceedingly well in the examination and emerged triumphant. I too was shell shocked and rendered speechless with my performance. “It was none other than who Swamiji who appeared in disguise and wrote Munna’s paper,” was my mother’s ecstatic refrain. This was nothing short of a miracle and I was admitted to class 7B while Viresh Chandana a.k.a Bumboo (our green-eyed neighbour’s son) sulked in class 7A. A miracle is an extraordinary and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore attributed to a divine agency. Securing admission to St. Xavier’s was nothing short of a miracle. My father was compelled to grudgingly acknowledge the achievement. Though he was still to accept the miraculous powers of Swamiji quite unlike my mother. It was champagne time for the family. But since we joined Swamiji’s fold, liquor was a taboo and no bottles were uncorked. Instead, celebrations were held in form of chanting the divine name and renditions of soul stirring bhajans during a satsang. The first stumbling block was overcome. However, I was overwhelmed by the colossal environment, humungous number of students, huge buildings, sprawling sports field, a swimming pool, tennis and squash courts, basketball courts, the morning choir, rigorous academic sessions and a plethora of activities. There was romance in the air, a certain mystique about the school which made it so different from St Michael’s. Fines were imposed on students who did not speak in English. One was proud to be a part of the school and to be referred to as a Xavierian. The school had a remarkable pedigree in various fields. There were exclusive schools for girls such as Presentation Convent, Mater Dei School and St Thomas’ School. Students of 11th standard had the opportunity to interact with nubile girls of these schools. These events were referred to as socials and were an important event in the school calendar. The Xavier One Act Play festival, rock concerts, the annual cricket tournament and the prestigious Xavier Fair which drew humungous crowds of Delhi added spice and glamour to the school. With all these momentous events at school and with the reduction of severity of malabsorption I began spending my summer vacations at Mysore Ashram of Swamiji. I was still to enter my teens but have vivid memories of Swamiji. As per our ancient Indian traditions under the Guru’s guidance a disciple learns various skillsets for a period of 12 years. Thereafter, the Guru performs a ceremony called Samvrat and releases his tutee to the world to spread knowledge. The student has two options before him, to be either a shishya or a sakha. Arjuna was the Sakha of Lord Krishna …. and was that nara (human) who was instrumental in revealing Narayana to the universe. I recall with misty eyes and a lump in my throat how I used to breakdown and weep inconsolably whenever I had his darshan. Perhaps I was on the road and the path to be a sakha and not strictly a shishya. These were nascent thoughts germinating in my febrile mind. Mysore Ashram introduced me to yogic exercises. The practice was faithfully followed by all ashram inmates and visitors. Among the popular asanas practised were hands touching the toes, Pavan Mukta asana. But certainly, toe touching and Pavan Mukta asana were help in arresting the bloating feeling and repairing the wounds sustained by the stomach. Oddly, during those peregrinations to the ashram, I would always feel the movements of trains all over the place. Some kind of a model of supply chain management unfolding and I seemed to enjoy it. The ministering angels through the inner voice were to reveal humungous number of trains rattling away and a clear-cut model of business logistics management, which I found to be rather uncanny and freakish. Frankly I could not make any sense of it. But years later these visions were to crystalize into reality as I was to join the Indian Railway Traffic Service. Meanwhile agnostics, rationalists and sceptics debunked the divine manifestations of Swamiji and termed it more of magic and found no solid science or logic to support claims of curing people and materialising objects. To them this was nothing but voodoo. However, my mother was convinced about the manifestations and materialisation as it made me overcome the nagging and troublesome affliction of malabsorption. A high point in this spiritual sojourn was when Swamiji rendered his discourses which were accompanied with heartfelt renditions of bhajans on our terrace under a starlit sky. These sessions teleported us to some kind of a fairy land. This was the high noon of our association with Swamiji. Some called him a miracle man, others God man. But he had certainly arrived and was there to stay. Amidst all these ongoing events in my life, a few of us formed Children Gyan Bodha Sabha, mimicking the parent organisation. We tried to play the role of the seniors. Some of us in turns became Swamiji and other devotees and enacted the scenes we witnessed. The youngster who became Swamiji produced mysterious ash and talismans. He would plunge into an imaginary havan kund and emerge unscathed and slip into a trance. Other children would sing bhajans and sway like gopas and gopikas, while the person enacting the role of Swami would play the flute. But it was all fun as my inner voice transmitted by ministering angels seemed to have experienced all this in some previous birth form and was to disclose to me about the Raas Lila held during the times of Krishna and Radha. “But they were Sattvic in nature and not Rajasic or Tamasic,” they were to tell me. We also did some social work. As a young army of Divine soldiers, we set up a library which was to feature comics of Tintin, Asterix, Phantom, books by Enid Blyton, apart from Amar Chitra Katha and Panchatantra, began conducting yoga classes for youngsters and helped out the seniors in assisting my mother at the T.B. Hospital. My mother was certainly pleased at the evangelical activities in which I participated as it diverted my attention from whenever I faced any unexpected revolt by my stomach. Now some of the doctors raised the cudgels against my mother and spread false charges against our family that voodoo was practised at our house in the presence of a tantrik. To their minds the tantrik was none other than Swamiji who produced ash from thin air, materialized objects from nowhere and was always surrounded by a bevy of female devotees. It was Bumboo who led the army of naysayers and spread this canard. It did not bode well for the overall atmosphere of the colony, but several people seem to buy the argument. Every Thursday and Sunday satsangs were held at our place where bhajans were sung, Guru Puja performed and some knowledge sessions were conducted by Mr A.S. Hebbar, a devotee and an intellectual from Jawahar Lal Nehru University. He also gave discourses on the Bhagvad Gita. This was too esoteric for a bandwagon of evangelic children who disappeared to play various games and explore the innocence of the young world. My mother used to cook a lavish prasadam for around forty devotees on Sundays but astonishingly nearly a hundred followers of Swamiji savoured a hearty meal. “How did this happen, Amma?” I was to enquire from my mother. “It was my faith and Swamiji performed a miracle,” was her confident answer. Our house had become a virtual spiritual and religious energy centre. In addition to the swamis, rishis, followers of Swamiji, there was the enigmatic Jallababa who made the odd appearance, Catholic priests who helped my mother and some RSS and Congress functionaries who gravitated into the fold of Swamiji. It began with murmurs, but reached cacophonous proportions when our neighbours led by the maverick Bumboo complained to the Medical Superintendent that the interlopers were disturbing the quietude and privacy of the doctors of the colony. But when the Vice-President of India, Shri B.D. Jatti, the Municipal Commissioner Mr Tamta and Gautam Kaul a prominent DCP also known for his proximity to the Gandhi family began following Swamiji and visiting our house the naysayers of the colony beat a hasty retreat. All the calumny and canards spread about my mother, Swamiji and so-called tantric acts faded into the background. The inner voice of the ministering angels was to tell me, “Whatever be the situation power always pays and the presence of powerful people is welcomed by a slavish mentality.” Without doubt proximity to administrative and political power more than religious and spiritual power was quite apparent to be seen for any discerning observer. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx It was early January, and the final results of the 7th grade had been announced. For some strange reasons the final result was delivered through the postal service in those days. And there was a post office very near our flat. My performance in the new environment was subpar in general and in mathematics it was pathetic. I was sure, that I would flunk in the examination. “I will not score more than 28 out of 100 in maths,” I told my mother. We were hoping that I would scrape through. She kept her fingers crossed, prayed to Swamiji and Mother Mary and applied sacred ash. She also asked me to hold on to the talisman materialised by Swamiji. Uma, my younger sibling watched my march towards the post office with a great amount of trepidation. A pack of friends had invaded the post office. The group included Viresh Chandna too. The outcome was sealed in medium sized envelopes. “Eureka! I have stood 4th in the class and secured 90%,” screamed Bumboo. My palms were sweaty as my friends pulled out the mark sheet which was populated with several red digits. My heart was pounding thinking about the impending score. Eventually a well-meaning friend scrolled down to the end of the mark sheet where it was mentioned passed in third division. My scores in sciences and mathematics were exceedingly poor and I could barely cross the finishing line. It was no surprise that I secured only 28 marks in mathematics as I anticipated. We headed back to our flat D-19 as the Chandana’s rejoiced the moment of triumph while I was ashen-faced, yet hugely relieved. “Balaji aur jao Swamiji ke pass …. Fail hote hote bach gaya aapka ladka,” was general refrain. “He deserves to be in 6th standard not 8th and that too in St. Michael’s and not in St Xavier’s School,” was the clarion call of the inhabitants of doctor’s quarters. But my mother plugged her mind and ears to shut out all negative comments and soon our house once again resonated with melodious bhajans of Swamiji as there was an impromptu satsang where the spiritual master’s renditions were played with gusto. My redoubtable mother rang up Vasu uncle, my grandparents and other devotees and friends and ordered jalebis to celebrate clearing of the hurdle, much to consternation and annoyance of jealous neighbours. “This is time for you to kick-start the new academic session emboldened and not with timidity. Swamiji and Mother Vellankani are with you and will guide you,” she fortified me. Algebra was replaced by geometry which appeared Greek, Newton’s Laws of physics were orbiting in some apogee, my brain was taxed by formulae like C4H8O2 besides properties of inorganic chemistry continued to confound my mind. Like in the 7th grade, my performance in history, geography and English were my saviours as I stumbled through the sciences and mathematics. The year 1967, had been a significant one for the family, especially in my father’s life. Uma, my younger sister was born and it coincided with my father’s transfer from Delhi School of Economics where he still could not complete his doctoral thesis to Economic and Scientific Research Foundation (ESR Foundation) of FICCI. Over the years he regained his mojo and began fashioning our personalities. “Was it a chance happening or faith in the birth of my daughter?” he smiled and wondered while preparing a policy paper on the state of Indian economy. Faith, beliefs and even superstitions never seem to leave us. He was indeed concerned about my frail health, the problem of malabsorption and academic performance. Like others in his family, he was keen that I join the coveted Civil Services. His elder brother had been selected to the prestigious ICS and others to the IAS and other Central Services. Thus, sound schooling was paramount in realising his dreams which seemed tenuously poised as my academic performance in St Xavier’s kept plummeting and was at best pathetic. I was nowhere the same Munna of St Michael’s School who cracked the periodical tests, mid-term papers and final examinations in a facile manner. The bar of St Xavier’s School was much higher and I was studying in a higher class. It was a daunting task and this had a detrimental impact on my academic performance and confidence. But this did not deter my mother’s confidence or faith. For her the first hurdle of my recovery from the problematic malabsorption was addressed … the rest would follow. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Even the most studious amongst us for whom cracking the papers of mathematics, sciences and social sciences was a walk in the park, apart from the languages of course, relished the break offered in by three subjects. These were Moral Science and SUPW (Socially Useful Productive Work) and library period. SUPW soon became the acronym for Some Useful Period Wasted by the brainy ones. We were taught about God, godliness, religion and ethics in the Moral Science period. But the minds of youngsters meandered away and were under the grip of Satan. In the Library period even, the serious ones also ventured to pore into lascivious literature in some books rather than absorb knowledge from an array of encyclopaedias. These three classes were a welcome break from the claustrophobic atmosphere of rote and soon discussion meandered to the prohibited topics of Adam, Eve and the forbidden Apple and about girls in the neighbourhood and in other schools and eventually leading to the much-maligned conversation of masturbation. The electric feeling and sensation were discussed animatedly by students. I was then more the shy type but did participate in the discussion jostling between the smarter chaps, overbearing ones and those who were intellectually sound. As the secrets tumbled out there were uproarious scenes in the class. Lurid description of a drenched Simi Grewal in Mera Naam Joker and in Siddhartha were the high points of discussions. Like any youngster, I too experienced the electric sensation and secretly admired our neighbour, who had acquired the nickname Satra as she resided in flat D-17. Satra was turning into a very attractive young woman and became an overnight rage in the colony. Some of us became covetous of Bumboo as he was the first to break ice with her by studying mathematics and science with her (group studies!). Satra clearly ignored me and it did pinch my ego or rather self-esteem. “Boss Munna, to win Satra you have to master the bugbears maths and science,” a friend would remark. I could not but help agree to his prescient observation. While growing up not everything bordered on faith and miracles. But on a larger perspective and canvas, life and existence itself is a miracle. To study in a broad-minded school such as St Xavier’s which opened our antennas and apertures to a variety of subjects also was nothing short of a miracle. It was a muggy day. A sharp shower in the morning made weather conditions pretty humid and unbearable. Most of the students of Class 8- B were feeling uncomfortable and were drenched in sweat. I think I was sweating the maximum as we were waiting for Mr Abraham, a Keralite with a pronounced Malayali accent to declare our first term mathematics results. I had hoped to pass the examination, more for my mother’s sake if nothing else so that she would not be subjected to the innuendoes and barbs of the Chandana’s and some other doctors residing in the colony. Sporting a dour face, he distributed the answer sheets, patting the backs of the students who performed well. He sneered at me with a piercing eye while handing over my answer sheet. My jaw fell when I was to see my marks. A mere 7 out 80! It was a shattering moment and I wondered how would I face my parents. I checked and rechecked the marks and finally realised the score was not seven but eight. The floor seemed to cave-in. I somehow mustered the courage and went up to Mr Abraham who looked at me with a stern face. He added one more mark to the abysmal tally and confounded my problems by hurriedly writing Very Poor. How would I get the paper countersigned by my father as a mark it had been seen by him was my worry; not the number of marks secured per se. I was pretty sure that my days at St Xavier’s were now numbered. I had little choice and had to disclose the results to my parents since Bumboo had scored seventy-eight in the subject which made headlines in the colony the previous day. My father wrung his hands in desperation and my mother remained sullen. As if designed by the Gods, my mother received some good tidings from Mysore Ashram. Swamiji was to visit Delhi shortly. I was advised to immediately take up tuitions in my nemesis subject – mathematics. Amma observed Swamiji’s clairvoyance, while Appa had little to say, except to ward-off the barbs of our not-so-friendly neighbours. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Set against the backdrop of the Himalayas and with the pristine Ganga flowing through it, the ancient town of Rishikesh is one of the major tourist and pilgrimage hubs in northern India, where people from across the world arrive in search of peace. The destination is abuzz with visitors, who come here to learn yoga and meditation. Rishikesh has numerous ashrams, some of which are internationally recognized as centers of philosophical studies, yoga and other ancient Indian traditions of wellness. Rishikesh is also known for its connection with the Beatles. In February 1968, members of the legendary English rock band visited Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram (now popularly known as the Beatles Ashram) to learn transcendental meditation. They too dabbled with mystical faith in meditation. The Ganges was tranquil as Swamiji conducted pujas on the banks and sang soulfully. I felt absolutely surcharged away from the humdrum of school and Mr. Abraham and mathematics classes. After spending a few days in solitude and under Swamiji’s divine canopy the group of devotees headed to Haridwar. Haridwar is an ancient city and important Hindu pilgrimage site in North India’s Uttarakhand state, where the river Ganges is at the Himalayan foothills. The largest of several sacred ghats (bathing steps), the Har Ki Pauri hosts a nightly Ganga Aarti in which tiny flickering lamps are floated off the steps. Thousands of devout gathered as Swamiji sang soulfully. We all felt blessed and were tied to deep faith. That night, I was summoned by Swamiji and in my mother’s presence he pressed my bushy eyebrows hard and produced the miraculous sacred ash and applied it on my forehead. “These problems will pass away Bala,” Swamiji assuaged my mother’s worries and demons in her mind if any …. for she had surrendered. “But Swamiji, I have no fear. You have already cured him of malabsorption and I am sure he will do well,” added my mother. Once she was convinced about something or someone, she gave her 100 % without fear or favour. In a matter of few days Swamiji and his entourage left for Mysore Ashram and I was under the tutelage of Mr Abraham to study mathematics for a princely sum of Rs 200/- per month. “Swamiji travelled all the way from Mysore just to take care of his devotee. You people should develop robust faith in him and his powers,” my mother was to tell me and my father. The Chandana’s once again flagged an issue about my taking tuitions, but this time my father silenced them. He had become a more confident person after joining ESR Foundation of FICCI. How does life suddenly metamorphose? A change in planetary configurations, an unexpected divine intercession, faith or science … my father was to ponder on these quintessential questions. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Winter was setting in, there was a nip in the air. Delhi winters are pretty harsh. Several students were wearing the trade mark grey pullover of the school. Silence had gripped the class of 8-B as the students were writing a class test in mathematics. Mr Abraham who was normally the butt of various jokes and pranks by the students for his typical Malayali accent walked up to me and whispered as to why could I not answer a particular question in the mid-term examination. The query left me dumbfounded. My heart fluttered and pounded as Mr Abraham distributed the marksheet. I could not believe my eyes ... the score read 78/80 and I had topped the class. The stunning result made my father extremely joyous while my mother was more Zen like and stoic and gave a look that appeared to say, “I told you so but you never believed me or Swamiji’s predictions.” Among our neighbours, only the Chandana’s were green-eyed and played down the event. Bumboo even called the success a mere flash in the pan. “Papa, we ought to register a protest with the principal. Looks like Mr Abraham had leaked the paper to Munna.” Our family meanwhile was the proud owner of a PIE black and white television set in the age of scarcity. This became yet another source of unpleasantness between the green-eyed Bumboo and our family. He could do nothing to restrain his grandmother from coming over to our place to watch DD news, Chitrahar (a programme where Hindi film songs were telecast) and the weekly Sunday feature film. Other friends and the new found friend Satra (I wondered whether it had something to do with my performance in mathematics) made a grand entry to watch programmes like a German detective series dubbed in English, The Old Fox, the riveting sports programme Telematch and sci-fi programmes like Star Trek and Fireball XL-5. As the clamour for the temple construction for Ram Lala grew across the swathes of land, the iconic mythological serials, Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana and B.R. Chopra’s Mahabharata were televised by the state-run Doordarshan (DD for short). What I find surprising in hindsight is that it was a Congress-led government at the helm of affairs at that time. These serials caught the attention of the of the public and the nation came to a grinding halt at 9a.m. every Sunday, at the appointed hour of the telecast. And we were watching these on our colour television set acquired from Singapore by my mother! Both during the black and white TV period and later when we watched these programmes on a colour TV set, our flat was packed with neighbours much to the dismay of Bumboo. My mother was quite indifferent to the antics of Bumboo and advised me to concentrate on my studies without any encumbrance and remain in good physical shape. Her holy grail was to develop an unflinching faith in the supreme power of the Universe and its intelligence. Friction between the two families continued as Bumboo was consumed with malicious intent. He was irked with the presence of number of devotees and followers of h Sachhidananda Swamiji swarming our complex as also by my improved academic performance.