Let The Life Flow

I have listened and read many stories about Buddha and his life in my childhood. One of them was about a time when his brother Debadutta wanted Buddha to be killed by a mad/drunken elephant. So the drunken elephant was let loose and it came charging towards Buddha ferociously. But Buddha stood his ground calmly. The elephant came rushing, however as he came near Buddha he suddenly became calm and relaxed and went down on his knees bowing down to Buddha. Buddha just touched his forehead and blessed the animal.   Another time he was given a hut for night halt where there was a poisonous snake inside. But Buddha went and stayed there. He addressed the snake as his friend and requested him to go out into the jungle as the place was not safe for him. He told the snake that humans are afraid of him and hence they will kill him. The snake bowed to Buddha and went out of the hut to the jungle.   I was fascinated by these stories and the power of Buddha to control the mind of others. W...

With most of our lives spent indoors, the space we occupy has major role in our psychological behavior and well being. I stumbled upon this fact through my years of  meditation and healing journey. Any blocked memory that I have come across and healed, not only had emotional charge attached to events or persons but also elements and spatial dimensions.  So when I started learning and practicing  Interior Design, I tried to understand more as to how we are interacting and getting influenced by our built environment. And from the perspective of a practitioner  of meditation and healing,  I was curious to understand if our raised vibration has the potential to transform the energy of any built environment.  My curiosity to learn more on this lead me to a subject called Architectural Psychology or more popular term Environmental Psychology.  This branch of psychology looks into the interaction of people and the spaces they inhabit; both built and natural. ...

My parents are ardent supporters of a political party whose ideology is different from what I and my siblings stand for.   So at times a discussion on political scenario in the family gatherings generates heated exchanges. During one such discussion my mother declared that she hates Muslims. It gave me a punch for thought. I stopped for a moment and then asked my 72 year old mother, “Have you been harmed by any Muslim in your life Ma?” And it was her turn for a pause. She finally said, “No”. But her antipathy towards Muslims decides her political perception and may be some other life aspects. And ‘a realization’ knocked me like a bolt. She has not been harmed nor done any good to her by any Muslim. She in fact has interacted with only one Muslim family in her entire life. And I know that interaction was always cordial till it lasted. They were neighbor to her brother’s family. When her brother’s family shifted out to some other place this interaction ceased.   Where from...

Awareness, in itself, is curative - Fritz Pearls   During my 20 days retreat for Vipassana in 2008, I met the teacher Mr Baburam Yadav. During the 19 days of silence I had thought he would be around 60 to 65. On the 20 th day after the metta when we came out of silence, many of us wanted to express our gratitude to both the conducting teachers. That is when I came to know that he was 82. If that piece of information was startling even more fascinating was his journey of letting go.  While listening to a meditator’s physical problem and how that was making it difficult for him to meditate, he was explaining about equanimity and letting go. In that conversation he talked about his own experience of physical difficulty and meditation and healing.  When he was diagnosed that he was at the last stages of cancer and in doctor’s opinion he had a month to live if he does not go through a surgery. And what was his chance of survival post surgery? It seems the do...