852 – A daily recognition of Good Friday

How can we remember Good Friday and make the remembrance a part of our regular life. Good Friday is held in commemoration of the crucifixion of Jesus. It is believed that the day Christ died, he carried the sins of the world along with him. The crucifixion and death symbolize his sacrifice and forgiveness for all sins. Continue reading

831 – Namaste International Women’s Day

#InspireInclusion

Live in the presence of the Divine Mother. Close your eyes and visualize nature. Nature with her diamond, dazzling stars, the milky way, the flowers, the birds, clouds, mountains, sky – the countless beauties of creation – is the Divine Mother. In nature you behold the divine aspect of God, which is the mother. It is full of human kindness, beauty, gentleness and kindness. The beauty in the world bespeaks the creative motherly instinct of God, and when we look upon all good in nature, we experience a feeling of tenderness within us – we can see and feel God as Mother in nature. – Swami Yogananda

Dear ones, all of us love nature and it does not matter whether we are females, males or trans. This love that we experience is maternal love and love which is unconditional. We all have it in us and it has nothing to do with what gender we are. And that is the miracle of God. Continue reading

820 – Gita Wisdom on Laughter

The Gita explains that when we laugh, we must laugh with others and not at others. Best to uplift others, while laughing with them. We are all souls who can find lasting love and joy at the spiritual level of reality. Seeing everyone as sentient beings, they understand that everyone shares the same essential joys and sorrows. Continue reading

798 – Why do we not lend an ear to people?

Dear Ones, in the practice of Yoga, we are told to be observers. Observers are persons who observe what is happening within themselves and what is happening with others. An observer is an individual, who recognises his/her negative emotions and develops self-awareness. Self-awareness leads to being empathetic and compassionate to others. Continue reading

640 – A saint is an influencer

Who is a saint? He/She is an influencer. This word influencer has been coined by the internet and we allow the influencers to manipulate us. However, a saint is an individual, who does no such thing. He/She is not a crowd puller, only the actions and deeds speak for themselves. If we are guided by even one virtue and we can emulate even one quality of the Saint Influencer, we connect with the divinity within us. A saint is not an individual who is judged by his/her followers. Continue reading

634 – I wish I knew this when I was 30

My dear ones, understanding comes only when one is ready for it. One can do everything and still find that one is unaware. It is remarkable to observe how one is totally unobservant about oneself and one goes on treading the path, thinking that one is so special, one knows it all.

Yesterday someone said to me that one found pure and innocent people only in India. I was aghast as I have come across such good people everywhere in my travels and they are totally unaware of their humaneness. Continue reading

622 – Gifts from Yoga

The list is unending of the gifts which I have received from the practice of Yoga. They are too many to enumerate. I will start with the first one. Compassion and empathy. These are words freely used by us and how many of us understand the meaning. I also found them difficult to understand. I imagined being sympathetic was enough and then after maybe shedding a tear or saying, ‘you poor thing’ forgetting about the person and the issue. Continue reading

604 – Look for bliss within

Kabir said,

Look for bliss within, not elsewhere.

Kabir invented the word ‘Avadhoo’, which means infinite, vast, expansive, boundary-less, unfathomable as ether. Avadhoo is also his name for the guru, when we pray to him. Avdhoota means one who does not wear any garments but in reality, is an individual who has stripped her/him/self-off all the layers of her/his mind—layers of delusions, ignorance, attachment, aversion and therefore one emerges as her/his true self. Continue reading

526 – Kali’s gift of Atma shakti to all women

Today it’s International Women’s Day. #EmbraceEquity

Fearlessness the greatest gift bestowed to all women by Kali. As females we are told from the time of our birth to take care of ourselves and to look after others. However, what we must try to be is to be brave and fear free. Kali empowers us to develop Atma shakti. Continue reading

509 – The umbrella of self-love

The umbrella of love is the new kind of self-love. What is the significance of the umbrella? God is the ultimate umbrella of protection over all of us. Protection arises from love.

What is self-love? Self-love is a state of appreciation for oneself from having a high regard for one’s own wellbeing. Self-love is not inclusive and therefore to understand a new kind of self-love, which is an umbrella, let us examine this quote by C. S. Lewis. Continue reading

502 – Bolt and Pin

Bolt your doors, remember the pin (code, key) and you will be safe. We have pins and passwords for all our activities. Without the pin we cannot function. There are hackers, who can hack into our accounts. We are afraid that we can have our password broken and it would wreak havoc in our lives. Continue reading

500 – Practice Atmabhava every day – Part 1

The practice of Atmabhava (love for humanity) is like being aware of all the gods 24/7. We have seven days in the week and each day is allocated to a God.

Monday is dedicated to Shiva. Devotees fast for the whole day and can have one meal only. Fasting starts after sunrise. After rising from the bed, one should meditate on Shiva. Then have a bath and offer prayers to Shiva and Parvati. If fasting, wear white clothes. White flowers and white food are offered. Benefit is to receive Shiva’s blessings. Continue reading