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New Year Happiness

One of the impacts of globalisation is that it transforms every person to a market, having unlimited jurisdiction. The market in a person need not be an external one but it always can be an internal market, which tempts everyone to consume the maximum. The most negative aspect of the internal market is that it conceals the inborn potentiality of every person to make a difference between what is essential and what is non-essential to oneself. The result is the ‘unquenching’ greed of every one to possess and enjoy the maximum, leading to the propagation of consumerism. Consumerism is capable up to believe that a better human being is the one who consumes more. Hence, a consumer who is under the control of internal market becomes a helpless prey of market economy.
The market, both internal and external commands us to compete with the rest to accumulate the maximum goods for the enjoyment of maximum pleasure. Unfortunately, since there is no limit for the maximum, a person who aims at the maximum is driven by the tides of displeasure. A world that is led by the spirit of competition results in the formation of subaltern groups of persons belonging to the weaker sections, who have been mercilessly defeated by the stronger.
A society that generates subaltern groups cannot maintain peace, harmony, growth and development. A society that justifies the formation and sustenance of subaltern groups justify centralisation of wealth, power, positions etc. Whatever be the type of centralisation, it always believes in exploitation and resulting conflicts, crisis and destruction. Therefore, the process of marketisation, both internal and external has to be regulated. Such a regulation can be effected only by revealing the inborn potentiality to apply the power of discrimination to take what is essential for ones’ existence and to give up everything other than that. This process is technically termed, ‘nityaanityavasthuviveka’.
Nitya means eternal; anitya means non-eternal; vasthu means any occurrence in space and time and viveka means the inborn potentiality of every person to make discrimination between nitya and anitya. Therefore, the need of the hour is to nurture the inborn potentiality of every person to make discrimination between the eternal and the non-eternal and to take the eternal by giving up the non-eternal. Otherwise, our new year cannot be happy, because greed never provides happiness to any.

Ultimate Spirituality

Spirituality has often been misunderstood as observance of customs and rituals connected with religion. Customs and rituals are the part of religion but religion is something more than what customary practises can do. As man cannot live without bread, no religion can also be practised without rituals and customs. But as everyman needs, every word come from the mouth of God to surpass the test of time. Religion needs spirituality which need not be acquired by practise of religious rituals alone.
Spirituality has not been meant to be practised by a group of gifted few but is meant for one and all, including the sinner and the saint. A sinner who need not be religious in the ordinary sense of the term can also be elevated to the world of spirituality, even at the eleventh hour of his life, through his actions. Spirituality can precisely be described as an action dedicated to subserve the purposes of God. Any human action that infuses self-confidence among the weakest of the weaker is a Godly action. Therefore, it is sensible to think that God always appears in the form of bread before a hungry man.
The moment you feed a hungry man, you witness God. To feed the hungry means, to share whatever one has with the rest. So dumping the dining table with delicious food items in our dining room is really a crime against man and God, because God means only the essential items to meet the need of all and provides nothing to satisfy the greed of one. Therefore, spirituality can be defined as the human effort to regulate oneself to take the minimum from the Nature. That is, spirituality is the human effort to fix the minimum by oneself.

Liberating Christ

“They gave him a manger for a cradle, a carpenter’s bench for a pulpit, thorns for a crown, and a cross for a throne. He took them and made them the very glory of his career.” W.E. Orchard
Most of the Churches in the world today with their exclusive colonial mindsets constitute a great ‘block’ in the path of the grace and truth of God revealed in, with and through Jesus Christ. There is an urgent need to liberate Christ from the bondage of such Christian churches so that God’s most precious gift to human kind is not denied to the vast majority of human beings in the man-made religions.
The central message of Lord Jesus Christ and His mission on earth is the eternal truth that forgiving, enduring and self-sacrificing love, Sahana yoga, is the path of liberation, unity and peace. Sahana yoga ‘mukthi marga’ (path of liberation), sahanayoga ‘aikya marga’ (path of unity) and sahana Yoga ‘shanti marga’ (path of peace) constitute the three ‘Laws of Christ’. Whoever accepts suffering willingly and consciously, and with no malice towards those who inflict upon him/her such suffering, becomes an agent of liberation, unity and peace in this world. In, with and through such men and women, whatever be their religious or church affiliation the grace and truth of God continue to work in human history. They supplement and compliment ‘What is lacking in the cross of Christ’, as St. Paul of Tarsus, the great disciple of Lord Jesus Christ, puts it. They become co-redeemers of the world, following the footsteps of Lord Jesus Christ, their Divine Master. Through them and their Sahana Yoga, the seeds of grace are sown again and again on earth.
Grace is at work wherever there is suffering love, wherever there is non-violent struggle for justice and peace. Mahatma Gandhi was perhaps the greatest proponent of this ‘Law of Christ’ in the modem world. Martin Luther King is yet another example in our own time. In and through people like them God continues His redemptive work. Saints and Sages are living proofs to show that God still loves the human race. Every opportunity to suffer for a cause contains within it seeds of grace. Once we understand this truth, suffering, even death, will lose its hold on us. We shall become jeevan mukthas (liberated souls). This is our call and divine destiny and this is the power of the cross too.

Words Versus Spirit

“We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.” Stephen R. Covey
Religions are concrete social expressions of human quests after Truth. They help us understand the true goal and meaning of life. Scriptures of religions are divinely inspired. But they are written in human languages by human beings and therefore are subject to human errors and are also subject to linguistic and cultural limitations. There are always contextual and eternal values and teachings embedded in all scriptures. The contextual elements are to be ignored after that particular context is no more prevalent. The eternal is to be preserved and cherished. The eternal unites, the contextual divides.
The eternal values constitute the common meeting ground of religions. Scriptures and sacraments, cults and rituals, codes and creeds are for uniting people and for helping them find peace and happiness. Words often tend to divide. Spirit alone can unite. Hence, more than the words written in Scriptures, the spirit behind them is to be understood and cherished. Much of the conflicts among religions come from the fact that the followers of different religious traditions do not understand and respect the scriptures of other religions. Many think that theirs is the only true scripture and that only they have received revelations from God. As a result, mutual hostility and mistrust grow among religions. Competition to promote the ‘only true religion’ arises.
All religions have their saints and sages who deserve respect and reverence from all seekers of truth, goodness and beauty. Sainthood and holiness are not the monopoly of any one religion. All saints and sages of humankind, irrespective of their religious background need to be revered by all, as all of them are recipients and reservoirs of the grace of God. Sincere adherence to their noble eternal teachings can help others also grow in holiness of life and experience of God the two spiritual attributes common to all true saints and sages of humanity.
India seeks for experience rather than knowledge in the spiritual field. ‘Anubhava’ personal experience, is the goal and core of India’s religious quest. It is to men and women of experience that the seekers of Truth turn for guidance and help. One also has to keep in mind that there is so much goodness in the worst of us and there is so much evil in the best of us. Therefore even saints and sages can have their negative and shadow areas. Their words and deeds sometimes may not be in spiring and exemplary. One’s own life is often the best test of one’s holiness and sanctity. ‘A tree is known by its fruits’.

Cat and cage’ Theology

“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.” Galileo Galilei
A sanyasi lived alone in his Ashram. One day, while returning home after his bath in the nearby river, he saw a small kitten lost and helpless. He brought it home to his Ashram. The kitten was very playful. Whenever the sanyasi sat for his meditation, the kitten would play around with his shawl and long beard. Hence, he made a cage for the kitten under a nearby tree and closed the kitten in it, whenever he sat for meditation.
In course of time a few disciples came to live with him. They watched their Guru putting a white cat in a wooden box under a banyan tree, on the left side of the Ashram. Few years later the Guru died. The disciples were very sad. Soon after the funeral there was a mad race. The disciples ran towards the Ashram. The one who reached first, took possession of the cat and the cage.
As the disciples were non-violent and peace loving, they did not fight over the issue. After all, what was required was only a white cat and a wooden cage; they used their reasoning power. The rest of them went about to acquire similar cats and cages as the one their Guru had. They believed that their Guru’s spiritual powers had something to do with the cat and the cage.
In course of time they developed a science and form of meditation around various types of cats and cages, which blossomed into a theology and religion in later years. Most world religions today promote such ‘cat and cage’ theologies and rituals. They have lost sight of the mystical and transcendent dimensions of their religions that were fruits of the original God experience.
Long ago, there lived a nasty lady who owned the only cock in the village. She threatened the villagers that unless they keep her pleased, she would run away with the cock. The villagers believed that it would put the whole world in total darkness. They thought that the sunrise was because of the cock’s crowing. Today, many religions, especially those religions with priestly classes, are like the nasty old lady. They sell their poojas, sacraments etc. to the followers as means of getting special favours from God. People can also reserve their places in heaven.
Religion is meant to unite people and motivate them to uphold values and lead righteous lives. Religious leaders and priests have only one function that is to help, guide and serve people in their quest after truth and Grace.

Towards a Culture of Peace

“Our school books glorify war and conceal its horrors. They indoctrinate children with hatred. I would teach peace rather than war, love rather than hate.” Albert Einstein
Religion has been the core centre of Indian thought and culture. Without religion, India will die. Hence, any effort to build a ‘secular India’, rejecting religion is bound to fail. The solution for headache is not cutting off the head. We need to build a ‘spiritual India’ in which the truth, goodness and beauty found in our different religions are harmoniously integrated. This process demands deeper understanding of and adherence to one’s own religious faith and values. Without being rooted in the deepest truths of our own religious traditions, we cannot be fully open to and appreciative of the truths in other religious traditions. This is the real challenge facing the seekers of Truth from all religious traditions today.
Peace is the crying need of the hour. Everyone everywhere desires to enjoy peace. Peace is the common goal of religions. I feel that the harmony of religions preached by Sri Ramakrishna and the principle of non-violence promoted by Mahatma Gandhi can together provide the necessary inspiration for inter-religious co-operation for a culture of peace in the world. The following words written by one of the greatest historians of the modern era, Arnold Toynbee, will suffice to prove this point.
“At this supremely dangerous moment in human history, the only way of salvation for mankind is an Indian way. The Emperor Asoka’s and Mahatma Gandhi’s principles of non-violence and Sri Ramakrishna’s testimony to the harmony of religions: here we have the attitude and spirit that can make it possible for the human race to grow together into a single family and, in the atomic age, this is the only alternative to destroying ourselves.”
It is in and through a common mission to promote a culture of peace on earth that religions can rediscover themselves. Each religion has an important and unique contribution to make in this common mission. A culture of peace on earth is the divine mission that can unite our different religions in a common quest. Sri Ramakrishna and Mahatma Gandhi are two best models in this divine mission.

Come Little Children

“The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off.” Abe Lemons.
In the present context of the world and India, more so of Kerala, ‘Forgive ness & Reconciliation’ is a ministry of great importance. Much of the problems in the family and society today are caused because of our inability to forgive and reconcile with God, with one another and with the world of nature. Forgiveness and reconciliation was the first and foremost demand placed in front of His disciples by Lord Jesus Christ. He also commanded them to first ‘go and reconcile’ with the brother before they offer their worship to God (Mt. 5.24). Senior Citizens by virtue of their experience and maturity can play important roles in promoting this much needed ministry of ‘Forgiveness & Reconciliation’ in the present world.
‘Peace & Value Education’ is found to be another urgent and important ministry today. There is no peace within and among people today. Peace can be sustained only when those spiritual, moral and Constitutional values that are conducive for peace and non-violence are respected and upheld by individuals, and protected and promoted by the Government. A one-year P.G. Diploma Course is being offered in ‘Peace & Value Education’ by the Madurai Kamaraj University. This is the only one course of its kind offered by a secular University in India today for the starting of which the author had played a key role. There is no age limit for this P G Diploma which is conducted as a ‘Contact programme’. Senior Citizens can join this course and qualify themselves for the ministry of ‘Peace & Value Education’ in schools and colleges across the country.

Retiring to Active Service

“Relax, refresh, recharge, renew, revive, and rediscover yourself!”
A banana plant bears fruit only in the final stage of its growth. A seed has to decay for a new sprout to emerge. ‘Unless a grain of wheat falls and dies, it remains single’. This is a law of nature that holds good for human life as well.
The best fruits of life in this world are always reserved for the final years of one’s life. Hence, one can also say: ‘the best years of my life are still ahead of me’. Seen from this perspective, ‘retired life’ can become the best years of one’s life. The children are grown up and settled, and one’s family responsibilities are more or less fulfilled. 60 years is the normal age of ‘retirement’ in India. This is in fact the best period of one’s life. One can have many more years of active life ahead. Also, at the age of 60 one is expected to be emotionally mature, more peaceful, and more or less free from the passions of body and mind. The yearnings for success, wealth, luxury and pleasures might be more or less satisfied. Hence, this is the right time for one to reorient one’s life towards higher and greater goals. In fact, ‘retired life’ can be more joyful and fruitful, and also re warding, than one’s ‘working life’ if one uses it properly.
The ‘Senior Citizens’ who are retired have years of experience behind them. A good number of them are well qualified and are of good health. Most of them are also economically self-sufficient. However, it can be seen that many of them today are feeling lonely and unwanted. Recently a ‘day home’ (pakal veedu) for Senior Citizens was inaugurated in Ernakulam. The hall was filled with Senior Citizens wanting to keep their retired life occupied with something meaningful!
Both the Church and the State have nothing much to offer to such Senior Citizens today except some ‘concessions’ which is the last thing they need. What they really require are opportunities and platforms to be useful and fruitful.

Begin Small

True transformation of the society begins with self-transformation of the individual. One must embody the change that one wants to see in the society. Any serious effort to build a better society and better world should begin with and within one’s own self. This is the most effective spiritual approach to healthy, happy and peaceful life in this world. Life is a gift and grace, given to us free by an ever compassionate God; the Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent Supreme Spirit who is the source and ground of existence. Every day is to be accepted and lived with gratitude.
‘Yesterday is like a cancelled cheque. Tomorrow is like a promissory note. But today is like ready cash at hand. We need to learn to live each day to its full potentials, making the best use of every opportunity that comes on our way. This is applied spirituality which is nothing but the art and science of making the best use of one’s time, talents and resources for the good of oneself and others.
God ‘sees’ the sincerity and humility with which we do things, not the magnitude of our work or investment. A poor and humble widow’s mite is dearer to the Divine Heart than the million rupee ‘hundi’ of a rich and corrupt man.
Great Oak trees grow out of small seeds. All great enterprises have small beginnings. The longest of journeys also begins but with a small first step. ‘Small is beautiful’ not only in sustainable development enterprises but also in great spiritual missions. Thus, ‘begin with self, begin today and begin small’ is best methodology one can adopt in one’s spiritual quest. It is also the best methodology to make one’s life on this planet more effective and fruitful.

Pains to Gains

Swami Sachidananda Bharathi (Founder & Acharya-guru of Dharma Bharathi Mission) was talking to a group of Management students at Bangalore, during his All India Peace Pilgrimage, ‘Desh Vandana-2007’. He asked them how much they expected to earn by the time they were 28 years old. He heard figures from Rs. 2 lakhs to Rs. 2 million a month in answer. Then Swamiji asked them the next question.
“How many of you would be prepared to give up a Rs. 2 million a month job to work among the poor?” Not a single hand was raised and not a sound was heard.
Swamiji continued.
“But I know a young Indian who gave up such a job at the age of 28 and decided to work for the upliftment of the poor and down trodden people of his country. He was a successful Barrister in South Africa. He was educated in England. He was earning around 5000 Pound Sterlings a year at the age of 28. One Pound Sterling could buy you about 5 grams of gold then. This is equivalent to Rs. 2 million a month job. He was none other than Barrister M.K. Gandhi, who later became Mahatma Gandhi, who is the father of our nation.”
“Woahh…..” they exclaimed.
They had not heard any such thing about Gandhi before. The budding future Managers were quite surprised and impressed by the sacrifice of his Rs. 2 million a month job made by the Father of the nation.
“Great achievements need great sacrifices. Remember, the best things in life are bought at the cost of great pain. This is the lesson Mahatma Gandhi taught us” was Swamiji’s parting message for the future Managers.

Hearts In, Brains Out

“The Congress has won political freedom, but it has yet to win economic freedom, social and moral freedoms. These freedoms are harder than the political, if only because they are constructive, less exciting and not spectacular”, wrote Mahatma Gandhi on 27th January 1948, just 3 days before his martyrdom. This is the unfinished task entrusted to posterity by those who sacrificed their lives for the political freedom of India. It is the divine mission of the era that is to be fulfilled by the present and coming generations. I have consecrated my ‘second life’ to this much-needed Second Freedom Struggle of India.
Economic freedom for more than 30 % of the 1100 million population of India begins with freedom from the pangs of hunger. Freedom from the clutches of the de-humanising caste system is the basis of India’s social freedom. Moral freedom for India begins with freedom from the all-pervasive corruption in Government. Thus, ‘hunger-free, caste-free and corruption-free India’ has to be and is adopted as the motto and common minimum goal of the Second Freedom Struggle of India initiated on 30th January 2008.
Hunger, caste and corruption together constitute an evil trinity. They form one formidable common enemy of India today. Hence they are to be fought with all our hearts, all our minds, all our strengths and all over souls put together. The real crises facing India today are not political and economic, but moral and spiritual. A moral regeneration and spiritual revitalisation of India has become the crying need of the era. The root causes of hunger, caste and corruption can be found within our own hearts and minds. Hence, lasting solutions to these problems are to be found within us.
The greatest of wars are fought not in the battlefields of the world, but in the hearts and minds of men. It is in the hearts and minds of Indians the ‘Second Freedom Struggle’ must find its first practical expression.

Clean India

I was an Air Force Officer in my purvashrama. ‘Principles of War’ was an important subject that we had to learn in our training Academy. We were taught that conventional warfare was an easier affair compared to gorilla warfare. We had also studied the Vietnam war as a good example of a successful gorilla warfare. In the Vietnam war America, the mightiest ‘super power’ in the world, had to accept defeat in the hands of the Vietnamese gorilla who were insignificant in number and might compared to the well armed combined might of the US Army and Air Force.
In a conventional war the fight is against a well defined and clearly identified external enemy, whereas in gorilla warfare we cannot define or identify the enemy. He is invisible and within. It is much easier to fight an external visible enemy than fighting an invisible internal enemy.
After 17 years of life as an Air Force officer, divine providence has brought me into a new mission through a traumatic experience of seeing death face to face in an air accident. This encounter with death at the least expected moment became a ‘turning point’ in my life. In 2008, twenty six years after that ‘turning point’, I have once again plunged myself into a new battle field. This time around, my mission is to be part of a ‘Second Freedom Struggle’ for economic, social and moral freedoms of India.
The first freedom struggle of India was like a conventional war. It was essentially a political struggle aimed at liberating India from British subjugation. The ‘enemy’ was an outside force, well defined and clearly visible. The Second Freedom Struggle of India that we have initiated on 30th Jan 2008 (the 60th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s martyrdom) from Gandhi Mandapam, Kanyakumari, is aimed at winning economic, social and moral freedoms for India. This ‘Second Freedom Struggle’ is a struggle not against an outside political force, but against the forces of evil within India and within us Indians.

New India

One of the major problems facing India today is lack of national identity and fellowship. Indians prefer to identify themselves as Muslims, Hindus, Congress, Communists, Brahmins etc. Swami Vivekananda dreamt of a great India with an ‘Islamic Body’ and a ‘Vedantic Mind’. According to me, in addition to body and mind, India needs to have a heart, intellect, a will and spirit. All these constitute a whole person.
Islamic body implies prayerfulness, discipline and fellowship, which are three main attributes of this religion of peace. The very word ‘Islam’ means peace; it also means submission. Hindu Bahai mind implies a mind with a sense of the sacred and with a universal vision. Hinduism has been the most tolerant religion in the world, when St. Thomas the Apostle of Jesus Christ reached India in 52 AD. It was a Hindu king who helped him to build the first Church in India. When Malik Ibnudeenar, a close associate of Prophet Mohammed reached Kerala around 650 AD, he was received warmly by the Hindu king of the place. Hinduism had shown such openness and hospitality thousands of years ago and it deserves to be seen as the mother of all religions. It is the most liberal, open and universal religion the world has ever produced. India earned the title ‘Mother India’ because of this openness. Sikh-Buddhist-Jain heart implies a heart of courage, compassion and non-violence. Sikhs have made great sacrifices for noble causes. A sikh family is proud to have at least one member in the Armed Forces. Parsi intellect implies initiative, enterprise and creativity. It was a few Parsis that put India in the Industrial Map of the world. Jewish will implies will to preserve in spite of adversities. The Jewish are best known for their strict adherence to law. India urgently needs a ‘rule of law’ and a strong ‘will’. Christian spirit is the spirit of forgiveness and self-sacrificing love. India can grow to her wholeness and blossom to her destined greatness only when the people of India, especially religions in India, are able to forgive each other’s trespasses of the past and come together in a spirit of reconciliation and mutual respect. Let this be our great vision of a great new India.

Turning Points All Around

A simple question and a wonderful answer
Q: What was the turning point that moved you to spirituality?
A:- I survived a plane crash, which should have almost definitely resulted in my death. The crash happened on July 8, 1982. About 18 of us were on that plane. I was a crew member. When it caught fire, I knew there was no way out. We took the crash position. I saw my whole life unspooling before my eyes, then I saw the vision of a rising sun and I got absorbed into it. However, the plane plunged into the Dharmapuri lake in Salem district, Tamil Nadu, and all of us survived.
This incident made me realise that life is not in our hands. Earlier, I was confident that I was master of my destiny. Now I recognised that there was a force operating from behind. I felt convinced that my life had been spared for a reason and thenceforth I decided to live for peace and not for war, as I had been doing earlier. Eventually, I left the Defence Forces.
Being a Marxist, I did not want to accept the existence of God immediately, so I decided to read and find a solution to this that would suit my rational mind. However, I soon understood that this was beyond the rational mind. I returned to religion, which meant Christianity for I had been born a Syrian Catholic in Kerala. While I was trying to understand more about Christianity, I was revealed my first guru, Justice Vithayathil, in a dream, where I was shown as a little boy sitting on his lap.
I went to him the next day and his very personality gave me the assurance that he could guide me.
I often use concepts like ‘butterfly spirituality’ which I would credit to him. This term refers to the butterfly’s transition from the pupal stage. There is a lot of struggle it has to go through when emerging from the pupa, but if you help the struggling insect it will die. I find that this law holds good for us. One has to wait and allow nature’s processes to unfold. Around then, I had a vision of Jesus Christ and realised that the spirit of Christ went beyond the Jesus of history. Jesus is not the only Christ. Gandhi was also Christ. Anyone who embodies light can be Christ. Jesus can be the standard.
This is an excerpt from Suma varghese’s (Life Positive’) interview with Swami Sachidanandaji. Suma was with ‘Life positive’ since its inception in April 1996, beginning as bureau chief (Mumbai). She took over as editor-in-chief of Life positive in December 2005.
A veteran journalist with more than 25 years of experience in magazine journalism, Suma was editor of the popular lifestyle magazine Society, for six years. Her movement into spirituality arose out of a deep experience in 1991, which enabled her to understand that true happiness arises only when one transcends the ego and focuses on the larger good. Ever since, she has been in pursuit of this absolute form of happiness.

The Substance

Matter, energy, life, mind, intellect and spirit are different stages in the evolutionary growth of the created world towards its’ ultimate destiny. It is in human beings that the world becomes conscious. It is also in human beings that the spirit displays its’ divine potential. Hence, human beings can be considered as catalysts and conduits for the material world to enter into the realm of the spirit. The function of human life can thus be understood as the ‘spiritualisation of the material world’, as the ‘divinisation of creation’. All religions and their moral codes are meant to help human beings in this divine task entrusted to them.
Human beings are body-mind-spirit entities. It is the spirit which is the meeting point between man and God. When the human spirit is enlightened by the Spirit of God, when the human will is surrendered to the Will of God, the human beings become instruments of God on earth in His creative process. In order to come to this state of ‘divine life’ humans need to be liberated from the ‘forces of evil’ that are often very powerfully present in their own being and nature. Man has the capacity to ‘fall’ into the abyss of evil or to ‘rise’ to the heaven of goodness. We often need a Saviour, a Messiah, a Redeemer, a Teacher, a Guru in this constant ongoing struggle against evil.
Suffering is an integral part of life in this world. But suffering leads to despair and depression if it is not accepted and used creatively. In fact, it is in this ability to transform all sufferings into means of creativity and growth that human being is ‘superior’ to all other living beings in the earth-family.

On Value Education

The Hindu vision of life gives four goals, ideals and core values for a better quality of human life. They are artha (economic values of wealth), kama (psychological values of pleasure), dharama (moral values) and moksha (liberation). These four goals embody the formulation of human values. As we have multitude of religions, cultures, castes, languages and races in India, we need to work together on a broad platform based on the principle of unity in diversity. I remember the story of a journalist girl who remembers nothing from her moral science classes except her visit to a slum, sharing biscuits with them and teaching them for one hour. Experiential training is the one pattern that can be successfully adopted to sow the seeds of values through the education system.
The students can be asked to skip a meal before they listen to a lecture or before they are taken for visit to an orphanage. There is no limit to the creativity with which teachers can innovate and improvise. It should all end up in understanding other religions and its’ practices. A vast area of experience, experiments and ideas lie untapped in the minds of teachers. There should be forums to pool and share all these. An idea grows and branches out with immense and unpredictable possibilities when planted in a brain other than the one in which it originated. The purpose of a model political administration is not to make people happy; if so a thief who makes his family happy with stolen money should be equally honoured. Right living is reached only through value education which only stands against cardinal sins as Mahatma Gandhi has cautioned us:
“Pleasure without conscience Politics without principles, Prayer without devotion, Education without character, Wealth without work, Science without humanity And commerce without morality.”

Law of the Spirit

‘Satyameva Jayathe’ (truth alone shall succeed) is our national motto. Truth is eternal. But human understandings of it are different. Creation as a whole is subject to an evolutionary growth. Human beings are also ever growing and outgrowing. Growth means change. Hence Truth needs to be interpreted and re-interpreted from age to age. This is the task before every era. In our Indian tradition, we refer to this as ‘Yuga Dharma’.
If we fail to grow and change, if we fail to respond to the call of our Yuga Dharma, apathy and decay will set in. This is the law of the Spirit. At such times Divine Intervention in human history becomes imperative. A search for the ‘source and roots’ of Truth begins as a preparation for the Advent of the Divine. Prayers and cries of men will rise up. When that happens, the Grace of the Divine will enter into human history. Their confluence will become a new stage in the evolutionary growth of human consciousness. The Light of Truth will shine forth once again and humanity will rediscover the path of Truth. Righteousness will be reestablished. In this process, a person or a nation will be chosen by God to serve as the Divine Instrument. Many seekers of Truth and students of history will come to recognise that divinely ordained person or nation and will speak up for and join hands with that person/nation. This is the methodology and process of His Self-expression in human history often adopted by the Divine.
“At this supremely dangerous moment in human history, the only way of salvation for mankind is an Indian way. The Emperor Asoka’s and Mahatma Gandhi’s principle of non-violence and Sri Ramakrishna’s testimony to the harmony of religions: here we have the attitude and the spirit that can make it possible for the human race to grow together into a single family and, in the atomic age, this is the only alternative to destroying ourselves,” so said Prof. Arnold Toynbee, one of the greatest historians of the 20th century.

Beware of Champions

Attending the second National Seminar on ‘Peace and Value Education as a Creative Response to Communalism & Consumerism, held at Kochi in 2002, I said that the real crisis facing the Indian nation is not economic or political but moral and spiritual.
I remember Dr. A M Khusro (former Indian Ambassador to Germany) to have said during the same occasion, “However, whether it is in Christianity, Judaism, Zorastrianism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism or other great faiths, the more we move away from rituals and come to higher levels of thinking and action and enter the philosophical and the spiritual teachings of these faiths, a tremendous amount of uniformity and likeness is discerned. The ritualistic differences get sidelined and a common approach signifying a unity of thought and action emerges.”
I remember with joy and gratitude my second guru, Fr. Bede Griffths, OSB, who guided me in the process of gaining a mystical understanding of the Church and going deeper into the spiritual treasures of India. It was he who helped me develop the right understanding of other religions. Nobody can deny this unity underlying religions, about which Dr. Khusro referred. India could witness many organisations and individuals rising up in favour of this attitude during the late 20th century.
Sri A K Antony (Union Minister for Defence), who spoke on the same occasion said that those who champion peace and love in the society without having these noble qualities within their own lives create more problems. He also said that the sacred field of politics has become the ‘last refuge of the scoundrels in India’ today.
Politics as seen in the present context of India is devoid of moral and spiritual values that constitute the eternal foundation of this ancient land of religions. Those champions of politics who enter the sacred field of politics without these higher values of life will do more damage to the nation than the so called ordinary ‘scoundrels’.

Challenges Foretold

From my experiments and experiences, I have come to realise that every religion has its’ unique insights into the nature of reality, into Truth. Based on these unique insights religions have developed their world views and the value systems. Hence, general statements like ‘all religions are the same’ or ‘all religions are equal’ etc. do not fully reflect the truth. An orange is not the same as an apple or papaya. This truth holds good for religions too.
Hinduism cannot be equal to or the same as Islam or Christianity. All three are great religions. Each is unique. Each has an important contribution to make towards human welfare and world peace. Each has its own unique insights into and experience of reality. But at the same time we must accept with all humility that each has only a limited and partial understanding of the Truth. This is sometimes difficult for many people to accept, especially for those who believe that they have the whole Truth with them. But true religion, as Swami Vivekananda said, has to lead us to ‘realisation’.
It is like the story of a group of blind men who went to see an elephant. This is the reason why a seeker of Truth needs to learn from all religions. Someone has very correctly said that a truly religious person of the 21st century has to be an inter-religious person. I am fully convinced of this statement. Religions are co-pilgrims on earth. Each has a place and a role. Exclusive claims lead to conflicts. Semitic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) have suffered much because of the exclusiveness they developed. In India the context was different. There was an understanding of the oneness of truth and the diversity of paths leading to it. Of course, today things are different; we have become a religiously intolerant country. This is a challenge seekers face today.

Say It With Flowers

Colonel Ravikumar had a fight with his wife. Being a gentleman to the core, he kept his cool and went to the Officers’ Mess to attend the official farewell party all alone. Usually both the husband and wife are expected to attend such official dinner parties hosted in honour of a retiring senior officer.
Many enquired about ‘madam’. The Colonel only said ‘she is having a slight headache’. Ravikumar and Rita were married for two decades and more. They now took each other for granted. This was the root cause for Rita’s ‘fight’ with her husband.
“You don’t care what happens to me. It is a week since the Orderly turned up. The cook is sick. I have a severe back ache … You have not done anything about it.” She had lamented yesterday.
Today there was an outburst of anger and complaints. But Col. Ravikumar loved his wife. He had loved and married her 22 years ago. He felt really bad about the whole episode.
After the party’, he took home a bunch of roses from the Officers’ Mess garden for Rita. True to his old romantic nature, the Col. presented the flowers to his wife. Rita was pleasantly surprised at this sudden burst of new romance. She remembered the young and handsome Captain who telephoned her at least twice every day and brought her presents every time he went on ‘out station duties’. In a sudden burst of emotion she apologised to Ravikumar and embraced him with great affection.
It is often said that ‘to meet and depart is the way of life; but to depart and then meet again is the hope of life. Something similar can be said of love – ‘to love and fight is the way of life’; but to fight and love again is the joy of life’. In marriage, occasional ‘fights’ between the spouses can add ‘fire’ to their love-life.
‘Flowers have a beautiful way of saying hallo ….. I remember having read somewhere. Flowers can surely light up the face of your lady love. Try it out and see for yourself. Spirituality keeps love afresh and alive. It does not take things for granted. It enjoys occasional ‘surprises’. When there is love and peace at home, there will be love and peace in the society. It is found that children from love-filled happy families display greater moral caliber and display nobler character traits.
Family is the basic social unit. It is in the family that the children learn the basic lessons of life and love. There is an urgent need to rediscover the joy of family life. India with her ‘joint family’ system still intact, is called to show the way.

Let Go of the Old and Be Free to Grow

In some parts of North India people catch a special kind of monkey for making ‘Karingurangu Rasayana’ which is supposed to be an expensive Ayurvedic tonic for health and vitality. They put some ground nuts in a pot with narrow neck and tie the pot to a tree. The monkey will come, put its hand in the pot and grab all the nuts. When it tries to pull out its hand with fist full of nuts, it will not be able to get the hand out. It will scream and jump, but will not let go of the nuts. If it can open the fist and let go of the nuts, it can easily pull out its hand and escape. But the monkey will never do that. Finally it gets caught and is killed to make the ‘Karingurangu Rasayana’!
This adamant attitude of the monkey is termed ‘markada mushti”. “Markadan’ means monkey. ‘Mushti means fist. Markada mushti’ is a term used for a person who is very adamant in nature. Such people will cling on to their old ideas and demands. They will not give up their old prejudices at any cost. They refuse to be corrected. Their lives will be miserable. They will also make others’ lives miserable.
Letting go of things and people constitutes an essential requirement for growth. Life is to be seen as a continuous process of growth and outgrowth. There is a time for everything. Child marriages are forbidden because childhood is not the time to get married. An old man of 85 trying to get married to a young lady of 25 will make himself a fool in front of the society, because at his age he must be preparing himself for his final departure from this world. As the Bible says there is a time to sow, and there is a time to reap; there is a time to mourn, and there is a time to rejoice; there is a time to work, and there is a time to rest …..
There is a time to hold on, and there is a time to let go. If we do not let go when required, collapse will be inevitable. Just as in the case of a rocket, we need to eject the burned out modules. If the burned out module is not ejected, the rocket will collapse.
Much of the problems in life are caused by our refusal to outgrow the thought patterns that created the problems. As Albert Einstein, one of the greatest scientists of the modern era pointed out, the solution for a problem cannot be found at the same level of thinking that created the problem. We need to raise the level of thinking. This can come through meditation and spirituality which will help to expand our consciousness. Letting go of the old is essential to be free to grow and to get hold of the new.

Air Resistance and Holiness

When we walk on the road we do not experience any air resistance. But when we drive a Motor Cycle at 120 KMPH, the air blows very hard on us. Air is compressible when the speed is less. But it behaves more and more incompressible with increasing speed. As we come closer to the speed of sound, the air becomes like a concrete wall. It took many years for scientists and test pilots to break through the ‘sound barrier’. It needed new kinds of aircraft designs – pointed nose, smaller size and with delta wings and jet engines.
It is the air resistance that provides the ‘lift’ for the air craft to rise up in the air and fly. If there is no air resistance, the air craft cannot get off the ground or fly in the air. Air resistance is a necessary requirement for flight. But we need to design the aircraft specially in order to overcome the air resistance and penetrate through the sound barrier.
Something similar also happens in our spiritual life. Evil in the world is necessary for goodness to shine forth. But the good people have to find ways and means to overcome the evil if they are to grow in goodness and holiness. To experience God, the source of all goodness and holiness, is considered to be the ultimate goal of human life on earth by most religions. Religions and their Scriptures provide ways and means of overcoming evil. They also provide spiritual exercises and methods for growing in goodness and holiness. Holiness comes not from the absence of evil, but from the ability to overcome evil. In that sense, the existence of evil in this world is very much necessary for the sanctification and divinisation of the human soul which is the purpose of human life. In other words, the purpose of human life cannot be achieved without the existence of evil in this world.
Hence, we need not lament about the widespread evils in the world today. Instead, we need to discover ways and means of overcoming them. This is the challenge facing every generation in every era. We need to discover new techniques and methods that are effective to overcome the new kinds of evils in the modern world. This is where spiritual genius need to find its ever new creative expressions. Ritualistic and dogmatic religions have outlived their utility. Modern world with its new kinds of evils require deeper and stronger spiritual exercises to overcome them. Silent meditation, satvic (pure) food, regular exercise, and a positive mental attitude are the four ‘basic life disciplines’ necessary to gain the required spiritual strength to overcome the evils of this 21st century.

Lessons from a Frog Tale

A group of frogs were hopping through the woods. Unfortunately, two of them fell in a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit to see what could be done to help their companions. When they saw how deep the pit was, the group agreed that it is hopeless to try saving them and told the two frogs in the pit that they are as good as dead. Unwilling to accept this terrible fate, both the frogs began to jump up with all their might, while the other frogs shouted that it is useless. The two frogs continued jumping as hard as they could and finally they became tired. One of the frogs somehow decided to drop the idea of escaping; lay down at the bottom of the pit and died as the others looked on in grief.
The remaining frog but continued jumping with every ounce of energy it had, although its body was wracked with pain and was completely exhausted. His companions yelled more loudly asking it also to accept its’ fate. The weary frog but was found jumping harder and harder. Quite astonishingly, it finally sprang from the pit. Amazed, the other frogs celebrated its’ miraculous freedom. The other frogs asked it,
“Why did you continue jumping when we all told you that it was impossible?” Reading their lips, the astonished frog explained to them that it don’t hear what they say.
It further said that it thought they were cheering him on. What the deaf frog had perceived as encouragement inspired it to try harder and to succeed against all odds.
This simple story contains two powerful lessons. First, it tells us the impact of your encouraging words that might lift someone up and help him or her make it through the day. The lesson reminds us that any word carelessly pronounced could be as dangerous as a nuclear bomb. The next lesson from the story is that we need to be a little careful when facing discouraging environments.

Every day comes as a gift and grace

“A lily of a day Is fairer far in May,
Although it fall and die that night –
It was the plant and flower of Light.
In small proportions we just beauties see;
And in short measures life may perfect be.”
This short poem of Ben Johnson has been a source of great inspiration for me ever since my rediscovery
of the beauty and wonder that life in itself is. Every day of life comes to us as a gift and grace. This was the truth I discovered through my encounter with death in the air crash in 1982. I was 35 years old, a serving Squadron Leader of the Indian Air Force. It was the prime of life, with great plans and ambitions. But encountering death at the least expected moment and in the least expected manner can be a devastating experience. For me, that encounter was a ‘turning point’ in my life. I came to realise that life is a gift and grace of God given to us free. Learning to accept each day as the best and the last day of one’s life is an exciting yet very rewarding experience. We can get up in the morning with great expectations of things in store for us during the unfolding day, and go to bed in the night with a sense of joy and gratitude for yet another day well lived. This takes away all tensions and worries, and makes life an exciting sojourn and pilgrimage of faith on earth.
Most of us spend a lot of time and energy thinking and worrying about the future which is not in our hands. Some of us also waste a great deal of our life-energies regretting about our past blunders and mistakes. Past is gone forever. We can only learn from the past mistakes, but carrying the burdens of the past is of no use. Believe that the best days of our life are still ahead of us, and they will be.

Way to Holiness

Guruji, you must help me. The pleasures and allurements of flesh and this world are making me their slaves. However hard I try, I am not able to get out of their firm grip. I really want to give up my bad habits and lead a holy life. Please tell me how can I do that. Please Guruji…. The young man sounded earnest and desperate. The holy man thought for few seconds, looked into the young man’s eyes and said softly, ‘don’t struggle to change yourself at this late hour. Enjoy your life as much as you can, and by all means you can. The young man was totally surprised at this answer from the guru. He looked questioningly at the holy man.
“You haven’t got many more days to live, my son. I can see the shadow of death in your eyes. At the most one week more. That’s all. So, don’t worry about changing or becoming good at such a later hour. Go and get as much pleasures and enjoyment from the flesh and the world’ the guru told him and went away to feed his cow.”
The young man was shocked. He stood there stunned, with mouth wide open. Then he ran home, fell at his widowed mother’s feet, and apologised for all that he has said and done to hurt her. He went to everyone, apologised and reconciled. By the end of the week he was seriously sick on the deathbed. The guru visited the young man at his residence.
“Guruji, I am so blessed that you have come to my home, and I am having your darsan. Now I can die peacefully. The young man said with great relief. Guruji said,
“I am sorry, my son, I made a mistake. There was no shadow of death in your eyes. You will not die soon. Get up, and live your life as good as you wish.” The young man was pleasantly surprised.
Within few minutes his sickness left him. He got up and played host to the holy man. Before departing the holy man asked,
“Did the flesh and the world enslave you during this week?”
“No Guruji, the thought of death kept them off” answered the young man.
“Think of your death once in a while, my son. That is the best way to conquer the temptations of the flesh and the world. It is the way to holiness,” told the saintly man and departed.

Back to the senses …

It was during our recent all-Kerala ‘Dharma Rajya Sandesha Yatra’. The drunken man was quite a nuisance. Ever since our artist began her performance in the street corner he was showing all sorts of vulgar signs at her.
A policeman who was standing in the crowd told him to behave himself. But there was no change, he kept on creating nuisance for the lady artist. Finally the policeman gave him a hard slap. The drunkard seemed to have regained his senses. He left the scene. Many of us need a similar ‘shock treatment’ to wake us up from our drunkenness of various kinds. People today are intoxicated with many things ……. Some are addicted to alcohol and drugs. ‘Consumerism’ is an intoxication for the modern world. TV has also become an addiction for many. Cricket is an obsession for most Indians. ‘Novenas’ and ‘devotions’ are becoming religious addictions for many. Over eating is a regular indulgence ….. so goes the woes of modern man.
A tragedy, an accident or sickness, death of a dear one, betrayal by a trusted friend, something shocking is needed to wake us up, and bring us back to our senses. These ‘shock treatments’ often turn out to be blessings in disguise for many of us.
An encounter with death in air accident was needed to wake me up from my addiction to consumerism and materialism at one stage in my life. A family break up was necessary to wake up one of my friends from his eternal laziness. A ‘crash’ in his business enterprise was required to save another friend from an impending health disaster.
Tragedies have a potential either to bring out the best in us or the worst in us. It all depends on how we respond to them. ‘When things get tough, the tough get going. All sufferings have hidden within them great redemptive powers. We only have to discover and use them wisely. It is here that one can come to understand the significance of the ‘cross of Christ’.

’I don’t want to, but…..’

‘Swamiji…..You must save me… I don’t want to drink, but I can’t help it…. The young man fell at my feet. He was fully drunk. It was at Thodupuzha, the business centre of Idukki district. I was on my recent ‘Dharma Rajya Sandesa Yatra’ across Kerala to mobilise public support for our Campaign for ‘Liquor-free family and Panchayati Raj democracy’.
I felt pity on the young man. He was around 30 years of age. From his drunken responses, I could gather that he was married and has two small children. He is a driver and gets hired on a daily wage basis. He makes an average Rs 600/- per day. But he spends more than Rs. 300/ on liquor and Rs. 100/- on lottery tickets. The rest is spent on gambling among the divers during off duty hours. His wife works as a sweeper in a private hospital and supports the family!
This is the case with many families all over Kerala today. The husbands spend their wages on liquor, lottery and gambling. They also beat up their wives and abuse their children. Recently a 13-year old girl delivered a baby at Calicut. It was her own drunken father who did it. Mothers in Kerala are afraid to leave their daughters alone at home, even with their own fathers.
Kerala is facing a grave moral crisis. The major cause for this crisis is the free flow of liquor and the Govt. policies that encourages people to drink as much as they can. The Kerala Govt. runs on the revenue from liquor. It is worse than a ‘banana republic’.
The Kerala state Govt. has the distinction of being the only Govt. in the whole world holding monopoly in distribution and sale of alcoholic drinks. Productivity in Kerala is the least in India. The major source of revenue for the state is sale of liquor and lottery tickets. It is sad and shameful for the most literate society in India to fall into such a state of moral decay.
The predicaments of the young man and Kerala state also reflect of the predicament faced by many of us in our own lives. We do not want to do the evil we often do. We want to be good and do good, but often we fail miserably in our efforts. There seems to be a force that holds us back from doing good and being good. St. Paul had faced a similar predicament in his life about which he deals with in one of his epistles. How do we rate ourselves from this bondage to evil? This has been a moral dilemma facing humanity from the beginning of history. ‘Divine grace’ has been the answer given by saints and sages from all religious traditions. A return to ‘divine grace’ is the crying need of the present world, especially of Kerala today.

Lord Macaulay versus Swami Sachidananda Bharathi

“I have travelled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in the country, such high moral values, people of such caliber, that I do not think we would ever conquer the country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage and therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own. They will lose their self esteem, their native culture and they will become what we want them to, a truly dominated nation. ” (Lord Macaulay’s Address to the British Parliament on 2/2/1835).

“History of humanity is written with three kinds of ink, the ink of blood, the ink of sweat, and the ink of tears. The ink of blood is used in writing the history of wars and violence. The ink of sweat is used in writing the history of human achievements and endeavors. The ink of tears is used in writing the history of human quest for truth and holiness, the quest for the sanctification of human soul. We need to write the history of our Motherland with inks of sweat and tears. This is our divine call and mission. The verdict of history will be passed, and the future of humanity will depend, on the courage with which we the sons and daughters of Mother India respond to this divine call and mission.” Swami Sachidananda Bharathi.

What Happened to God’s Own Country?

Swami Sachidananda Bharathi was on his crusade ‘drug-free family’ in Kerala. It was 1st of June 2010. At the town of Kottyam, he stopped for a reception in front of the District Collectorate. As many people came forward to share their experiences, a Christian boy of ten years shocked Swamiji when he narrated his sad story. He said he celebrated the first holy communion in the church a few days ago. After the church celebration when he reached home, he found his own relatives and family friends joining together to celebrate the event with expensive alcoholic liquor. He asked Swamiji if alcohol becomes an unavoidable part of even such a holy event, how we can ever free the society of this evil.
It was something that made Swamiji reflect further on this evil. Later, the same day evening, in another meeting at Snehavani, Swamiji said drugs and alcohol are the worst curses Kerala is facing, which is nicknamed ‘Gods own country’. He said that he started his crusade with Kerala because according to a BBC survey, Kerala tops the world in the use of drugs. Presenting the statistics he said that the money Keralites spend on drugs each year is enough to feed four poor states in India for four years!
Despite the fact that it is the most literate state in India, and all three religions of Hinduism, Christianity and Islam exist side by side, it tops the nation for incidents of suicide, divorce, road accidents, family problems and crimes. Swamiji reminded that if Islam is noted for truthfulness, Christianity stands for love and Hinduism for Dharma, but these have hardly any effect in the way people live their lives.
Swamiji reminded his listeners: “Religions without God in it are ruling the state. He warned that a nation with citizens who do not know or care little to fulfil their duties, but who always demand and fight for more rights, is in chains because it is slaves who cry for rights. He lamented the fact that even in such literate state as Kerala, basic administrative units like Panchayats have no authority to control the sale of liquor or to implement a moral code of conduct at least in the area under their care. Any takers here?

Towards Dharma

“A man without a dream and a nation without a vision shall perish.” This is a Jewish proverb that has great relevance to India today. Independent India does not have a vision that can include and inspire all her citizens. At the same time, there are many divisive visions and destructive tendencies that are raising their heads in India today. Political parties, religious communities, and caste-based organisations are promoting their own visions and agendas. This tendency is threatening the unity and integrity of our country. As a result, the nation is faced with the grave danger of disintegration.
Divisive visions can be challenged and overcome only by inclusive visions. “He drew a small circle and kept me out’; I drew a large circle and brought him in” is a Chinese saying that has much practical wisdom in it. Also, our inclusive vision f a great new India needs to have its’ roots deep in our own noble cultural traditions and spiritual values. Just as a large tree has to have its roots deep in the soil where it is planted, a great new India also needs to have its roots deep in its own cultural traditions and spiritual values.
The concept of ‘Dharma’ is India’s greatest contribution to human thought. Dharma comes from the Sanskrit word ‘dhr’ which means to hold together, to integrate, to unite. Dharma is that which holds together, that which integrates, that which unites.
Dharma promotes unity and harmony in the world and in our own lives. Love is the basis of this unity, and peace is its fruit. Hence, Dharma is an integral concept meaning love unity-peace. Dharma Bharathi means a Mother India of love, unity and peace. Dharma Bharathi will be an India of inter-religious harmony with an ‘Islamic body’ of prayerfulness and fellowship, with a ‘Hindu-Bhai mind’ of universal vision and unity in diversity, with a Sikh – Buddhist – Jain heart’ of courage, compassion and non-violence, with a ‘Parsi intellect of ingenuity and enterprise, with a Christian spirit’ of forgiveness and self-sacrificing love.”

Survival First

“Humankind is at the threshold of a new era. The materialistic and mechanistic worldview that dominated human thought and activity during the The 3-Q methodology last few centuries is being gradually replaced by an organic ecological worldview in which universe is being understood as a ‘network of relationships. An integral vision of life and reality, and a holistic ‘Earth Family Consciousness’ are emerging at the distant horizons.
The saints and sages of India had foreseen the advent of this holistic ecological worldview centuries ago and proclaimed that the whole earth is but one family bound with a common destiny. The truth of their intuitive vision of Vasudeivakutumbakom’ (Earth is one family) is being proved scientifically today.
Birth of a new era is always associated with a period of crisis. The present crisis facing India and the world can be seen as the travails of the birth of a new era of integral consciousness. They also call for a return to the grace of the Divine, When Everything is Lost and a rediscovery of those eternal values that can give meaning and purpose to human life. This in turn calls for a ‘paradigm shift: Such a ‘paradigm shift’ is an urgent need of the era for human welfare and global peace. This is the spiritual task of the new millennium in which India is called to play an important role.
India has been a land of spirituality that sought after truth incessantly. That is how you should ‘Satyameva Jayathe’ (Truth alone will succeed) has been the national motto of India. The world is looking towards India for a new hope. But India herself is being enslaved by the life negating forces of selfishness, greed, divisiveness and violence. A concerted effort by the responsible citizens of India for national regeneration has become historic necessity for the very survival of this nation as a living force.”

Ejector Collapse

A Rocket carrying a Satellite into space has many ‘modules’. Each module after burning out its fuel and fulfilling its role is ‘ejected’ from the main ‘mother ship’. If it is is the Time Sir? not done, the whole thing will collapse.
In our ancient Indian social system, a similar principle was in force in the Chaturashrama Parampara, a tradition according to which human life in this world was divided into four stages. These stages were: ‘Brahmacharya’ (celibate studentship extending up to around 25 years of age), ‘Grahastha’ (married life of worldly involvement and enjoyment of worldly pleasures covering the next 25 years or so). “Vanaprasta’ (life of reflection, contemplation, integration and instruction extending to the next 25 years or so), and finally ‘Sanyasa’ (life of total surrender to divine grace and preparation for departure from this world, extending to another 25 years).
I have met a number of such ‘ideal’ men and women in my travels across the length and breadth of India. I have also learnt that they have all followed one basic principle in their lives, a principle can refer to as ‘grow and outgrow’. This means one needs to ‘eject’ the ‘burnt out modules’ of one’s life and go forward to rise up to greater heights.
Each stage in life has a specific function to fulfil and a role to play. Having fulfilled and played the role appropriate to that stage, one must move on. Otherwise there will be ‘crashes’ and ‘collapses’ in life. For example, one is not expected to remain a celibate student all his/her life. Having finished the necessary education, one must find a suitable job to earn one’s livelihood and support one’s parents and family. Then he/she should find a suitable life-partner. One has to get married and raise a family of his/her own. Once the children are grown and are able to look after themselves, allow them the freedom to choose their professions and live their lives as per their own talents, convictions and resources. Don’t try to ‘possess’ or ‘control’ the spouse and children, they are not our own.
They are only God’s gifts to us for a particular purpose at a particular stage in life. We have come into this world alone and with nothing in our hands. We shall leave this world alone and empty handed. The purpose of our worldly sojourn is not to cling on to people or things, or to control or possess them, but to love them and live with them in harmony and peace. Through such ‘training and preparation’ in this material world the human soul is sanctified and divinised to be worthy of its divine call and vocation in the spiritual world. The soul is sanctified and divinised only through the problems and difficulties faced by us in this world.
‘Grow & Outgrow is the basic principle of long and healthy life of peace and happiness. Having grown to each stage, we must also outgrow it in course of time. Otherwise there will be crashes that will lead to suffering. Life will be a tragedy if we fail to apply this basic principle.

‘Relax in the State of Excitement’

These were the words written on a board that was displayed in the ‘crew room’ of Elementary Flying School of the Indian Air Force. To relax in the state of excitement was, is and will ever be a tall order, especially for those who are starting their flying training for the first time.
However, the hard work we were made to put in and the thorough preparation that One Cup of Tea and we were made to go through before every sortie’ helped us to handle even emergencies with confidence. Added to this was the ‘deep breathing exercise’ that reduced tension and worry when things went wrong.
Prayer and meditation were not part of the Air Force training process. Religion and spirituality were kept at a safe distance. The Defence Services carefully kept away from everything that could cause divisions in the rank and file. Religion was one such divisive factor. The concept of spirituality beyond religion was not understood by many during those years. This was in the sixties. I had joined the Flying School in 1967.
It was only after the encounter with death in an air crash in 1982 that I turned religion. Through religion in course of time I came to spirituality’ beyond religion. Religion stresses prayer. Spirituality focuses on meditation. The wonders that prayer and Practical Spirituality meditation can do for reducing tensions and worries are now well accepted even by the Corporate sector. I myself have profound experiences of such wonders through prayer and meditation in my life.
Prayer begins at the ‘petition’ level. We pray to God for our needs, to help us overcome problems, to heal us from our sickness, to help our dear and near ones … so on and so forth. From this level we gradually grow to the ‘praise and thanks-giving’ level when we begin to recognise the ever compassionate and loving ‘hand of God’ in our life. From there we grow to an ‘awareness’ level when we become aware of God’s true nature and his eternal presence within, among and around us. It is from such awareness that we begin to experience the need for meditation which enables us to deepen this awareness and connect ourselves to the ‘Source’ – the Omnipresent, Omniscient and Omnipotent Supreme Spirit. With this connectivity to the Supreme Spirit, we become truly ‘spiritual’ people.
Our call today is to go beyond religion, and grow to the level of spirituality through meditation. Spirituality alone can lead humanity to abiding unity, harmony and peace. True spirituality will enable us to experience ananda, the joyful and blissful peace that the world cannot give or take away from us.

Where is the Time, Sir?

Capt. Mohammad Bassine was from Nigeria. He was among the ‘Foreign Officer Trainees’ in the Air Force Academy. In the first ‘Monthly Interview the Course Commander observed:
“Captain Mohammad, your record shows that you have been married for 8 years. But I see no mention about any children in your ‘Family’ column.”
“Where is the time sir? Just after marriage, I had to move into a Field Command …… No family. Then I was sent for Special Officers’ Training …… No family …….. Then a UN deputation…. No family…… Now in India for training ….. No family …. Where is the time for children, sir?. The young Capt. seemed almost desperate.
“No time!” ”Where is the time?” These are common problems of modern man, whether American or African, Indian or Indonesian. Whether in Chennai, or in Mumbai, time is running short for every one.
In his anxiety to earn a better living and to enjoy life, the modem man seems to be he Dream Merchants losing out on life itself! In our efforts to make more money and to provide more comforts Practical Spirituality to our families, we are breaking up our families! We spend a whole life time working hard and trying to earn a lot of money, only to discover in the end that we cannot even eat anything properly due to all kinds of stress related diseases. Life is time. Time gone is something that we cannot recover or get back. At any cost. One day spent, brings one’s life closer to death by one more day. Hence, one should not waste any time, or make others waste any time.
Time and tide waits for no man’ is an old adage with great wisdom contained in it. In the hands of time all are equal ….. Rich and poor, black and white, young and old, men and women, all are treated alike by time. None can get back the lost time. Billionaires cannot buy back even one minute of lost time with their billions.
Every second of our life comes as a ‘free gift of love’ from an ever compassionate Creator God. Time that is given free, cannot be bought with all the wealth in the world. Accept it with loving gratitude and live it with loving gratitude. That is the best way to preserve life and time, and make them fruitful and immortal.
Love transcends time. One day spent in the company of the beloved ‘flies’, whereas a day spent in the company of a boring friend seems like a week!. Love makes life and time eternal.
Love is God. Love is the source of life. Learn to love. That seems to be the only way to ‘save’ life and time.

Better or Best

The two young Fighter Pilots had their first real war-time operational experience. They returned to their base, flying high speed. They were ver
y excited, and did two ‘victory rolls’ over the base before landing. This was the way of telling the world that they had ‘done it. Most ‘dare devil’ Fighter Pilots who returned to the base after a successful ‘operation” did such show off ‘victory rolls’ before landing.
To their great surprise, the Air Traffic Controller asked them to proceed to the southern most corner of the Tarmac where they were received by their Flight Commander and two Air Force Police Sergeants. An Air Force Police Jeep was also waiting. The young Fighter Pilots were told that they were ‘under arrest’ and were asked to get into the vehicle. Station Commander were waiting for them. There was a deadly silence as they were ushered in. The AOC In C was standing in front of the Radar Screen that showed a large convoy moving across a long bridge.
You bloody fools!… Your order was to destroy the bridge… Why the hell did you go to strafe the convoy?” shouted the Station Commander at the top of his voice. Sir, there were 50 enemy ammunition trucks moving towards our border. We went after
them’ told the ‘leader’ among the two. ‘So bloody what ? See, now 100 trucks are moving towards the border. If you had gone for the bridge none would be able to cross the river. The Station Commander told the Poverty and Corruption leader, pointing his finger at the Radar Screen. The young Fighter Pilots understood their blunder. But it was too late… The Army had lost that battle, and had to resort to a strategic withdrawal.
‘Selection and maintenance of an aim’ is the first principle of war taught in Military Academies across the world. The young officers broke this basic principle and deviated from the selected aim and given target. They went after something that they thought was very important, and in the bargain burnt their fingers. If they had only stuck on to the given target of destroying the bridge across the river, the Army could have won the battle easily.
‘Selection and maintenance of an aim’ is an essential principle of success not only in the battle fields of the world, but also in the battle fields of life. We need to stick on to our chosen goal in spite of the difficulties that may arise on the way. Life’s battles are won by those who are able to persevere till the end. ‘He who turns back after putting his hand on the plough is not worthy to be my disciple declared the Divine Master. The opposite of ‘best’ in spiritual life is not ‘worst’ but ‘better’. Hence, the option before us is ‘better’ or ‘best’? If we opt for better’, we will lose the battle.

The Pain of Hunger

A child crying for food in Bihar, and his mother telling him to wait for the next day, when they would be cooking some food, was a painful experience that kept coming back to my mind again and again all through my journey across India, during Desh Vandana 2007. India claims to have many billionaires today. But we also have millions going to bed hungry every day. The pain of hunger is a daily experience for millions of Mother India’s poor children even after sixty years of political freedom!
Liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation, and the much publicised increase in GDP are not helping the poor millions in India. The pathetic condition of rural India wherein most of our people are struggling for one square meal a day continues to proclaim the urgent need for greater focus on rural development and poverty alleviation.
It was while at Varanasi in October 2007 (during Desh Vandana-2007) that I saw on the front pages of all news papers the news that Shri. Mukesh Ambani of India had become the richest man in the world. On the same day in one of those newspapers on the last page right corner I saw the news. That was about the starvation death of a poor man in a village near by Varanasi. I felt greatly pained when I saw the poverty that is being suffered by millions of our fellow Indians all over the country.
Gandhiji’s talisman for the decision makers of our country was to recollect the face of poorest Indian, they ever saw, and to imagine how his life would be affected by the decisions they made. A return to this Gandhian talisman is an urgent need of the hour for liberating India from poverty and Hunger.

The 3-Q Methodology

“Where am I?… Why am I here?… What am I going to do next?…” I shouted at the top of my voice three times at 5: 30 AM from my toilet. But the Sgt. Cadet did not hear it, he said. I had to do 15 minutes of ‘front rolling for that great offence of not shouting the ‘3-Qs’ every 30 minutes.!
It was the year 1967. We had just joined the Elementary Flying School of Indian Air Force. Next week the flying training would start. During the week preceding the flying training we were subjected to this new kind of ragging. One had to shout these 3 questions at the top of one’s voice every 30 minutes during the day, from 5:30 AM to 9:30 PM!!
There was a ‘guardian angel’ given to each of us during the period of training in the Flying School who was one of the senior Cadets. My ‘guardian angel’ was none other than the Sgt. Cadet himself, the toughest and the most dangerous looking guy from the senior lot. He was absolutely in control, and was more of a ‘guardian devil’. He punished me for every silly reason, actual and imaginary. That day I had really shouted the 3-Qs’ at the top of my voice from my toilet where I happened to be at 5:30 AM. But my guardian devil’ was under the shower and did not hear it. He gave me 15 minutes of front rolling as punishment.
Only when we started flying, especially during the initial ‘solo’ flights, did we realise the importance of this ‘3 Q’ methodology! It helped us to orient ourselves while in flight every 30 minutes. These 3 questions came to one automatically from the subconscious mind and made one go through a ‘drill’ of checking the Compass, Altimeter, Speedometer, and many other ‘meters’ to ensure the location and course of the air craft that one was flying.
Over the years, I have developed this ‘3-Q methodology’ to fit into all situations, from marriage to management, ….. from Class room to Board room, …. from politics to religion… The marriage partners should ask themselves once in a while, at least once in a year……. Where are we ?……. Why are we here?… What are we going to do next? The Manager, the Teacher and the Chairman …… all can use this ‘3-Q methodology” and reap its great rewards. I have also termed this 3-Q methodology as ‘Growth-Orientation methodology’ because of its effectiveness in helping one ‘grow in whatever situation one is placed.

Thou Shall Not Steal

Now, there is a desert. There is a caravan going along over the desert. There is a gang of robbers too.
The robbers say: “Look! There is a rich caravan; let us go and rob it, kill the men if necessary, take their goods from them, their camels and horses, and walk off.”
But one of the robbers says: “Oh, no; that is dangerous; besides, that would be stealing! Let us, instead of doing that, go ahead to where there is a spring, the only spring at which this caravan can get water in this desert. Let us put a wall around it and call it ours, and when they come up we won’t let them have any water until they have given us all the goods they have.”
That would be more gentlemanly, more polite, and more respectable; but would it not be theft all the same? And is it not theft of the same kind when people go ahead in advance of population and get land they have no use whatever for, and then, as people come into the world and population increases, will not let this increasing population use the land until they pay an exorbitant prices?
That is the sort of theft on which our first families are founded. Do that under the false code of morality which exists here today and people will praise your forethought and your enterprise, and will say you have made money because you are a very superior person, and that all can make money if they will only work and be industrious! But is it not as clearly a violation of the command: “Thou shalt not steal,” as taking the money out of a person’s pocket?

First Things First

“Mataji… catch her… catch her…. Rajamma was shouting. Mataji went out to look at what was happening. Rajamma was chasing a calf which was running towards the Ashram. Mataji asked Jessy, our cook, to bring some banana peals…. The yellow banana peals made the calf stop near Mataji. The calf ate the banana peals with great relish. By then Rajamma had reached the spot. “Kochu… kalli… “She admonished the calf with motherly tenderness. Caching the calf by the left ear Rajamma dragged it away.
“She is running to her mother to drink all the milk. What will I do if she drinks all the milk at this time?. I have to give milk to two families. They have small children…The mothers have no milk in their breasts… Poor children…. They must be fed first…. Yes….or.. No.?.” Rajamma asked all of us gathered in front of the Ashram.
She did not wait for our answer, and went away dragging the calf by its ear. Rajamma is poor and unlettered. But she has great practical wisdom and a clear sense of priority. She knows what should be her first priority, Rajamma has no children of her own. That was perhaps another reason for her deep concern for the neighbours’ children. She has been supplying absolutely pure milk to her neighbours to ensure that their children get the best milk.
Many of us lack such a sense of priority. We waste prime time on things of no relevance. We spend the best years of our life on matters that do not count in the long run. One of the most important thing in life is to learn to put first things first. If one can set apart some ‘prime time’ every day for oneself and one’s spouse and children, and to nurture relationships, most of one’s problems could be sorted out. But the modern man has no time for himself or his family. He is too busy making more money.
“I am too busy driving… I have no time to stop for refuelling my car…,” says the modern busy man…

Three Patients

Three patients went to see a famous doctor at a faraway place. The doctor was not only well known for his professional competence, but also for his spiritual enlightenment, very affectionate nature, and warm hospitality.
The patients traveled for many days and reached the doctor’s place. The place itself looked so beautiful that they felt that they had arrived in a ‘paradise’. The doctor was looking very handsome and saintly with his thick white hair and long white beard. He welcomed them with great love and warmth. They requested for his autographed photographs. After the check ups they returned to their houses.
The first patient enlarged the doctor’s photograph, framed it, and hung it in his drawing room. Many of his friends and relatives who visited his home saw the handsome old doctor’s photo and requested for copies. Making copies of the photo and selling them turned out to be a profitable business for him!
The second patient studied the prescription very carefully. He could remember every sentence and medicine quite well. He did a little study on medicine too. He began sharing his knowledge. Of course, he was happy with that.
The third patient bought the medicines, took them as prescribed by the doctor, and became well. He went about doing his work and prospered from his own labour. He lived a happy and contented life with his wife and children. He did what little service he could for the needy fellow beings.
In our religious life also we can see these three categories of people. One category is devoted to saints and miracle makers. They are busy with devotions, novenas, pilgrimages, feasts etc. The second category consists of ‘experts’. They conduct Retreats, preach the Gospel, give talks, guide research studies etc. But their own lives are not transformed. The third category consists of those simple people who practice in their religions. They are who lead fulfilling own lives the values taught by the children of God and fruitful lives.

Muslim children will not give bhiksha

During my year-long Desh Vandana-2007 all-India peace pilgrimage, I spent a week in Jammu and Kashmir. Wherever and whenever opportunities were given, I liked to address the High School students. Though my focus was on University and College students, I found the High School students to be more enthusiastic about my message of a ‘Second Freedom Struggle for the social and moral freedoms that are yet to be won for India. They were also very generous with the ‘one rupee bhiksha’ that I sought from my audience at the end of my talk to meet the expenses of our traveling across the country calling for a Second Freedom Struggle to build a great new India free from hunger, caste and corruption.
This particular School in Srinagar was under the management of a Muslim. Principal was a Christian. He warned me that the Muslim children will not give any ‘bhiksha’ to me as I looked like a ‘Hindu Sanyasi: He even had his apprehensions about me addressing the students during their morning Assembly. However, after my 20 minutes talk to the students, I spread my hand towel on the table and requested for ‘one rupee bhiksha’ from them.
There was few minutes of silence. The students were looking at each other. Then the ‘Head-girl’ walked fast with resolute steps towards the table, took out a Ten-Rupee note from her pocket and put it in my hand towel that was spread on the table. After that, she turned and walked towards me, gave me a pranam’ with folded hands and went back to her place. There was a virtual stampede thereafter! From that Muslim School, I received the highest amount of money on that day in terms of ‘one rupee bhiksha’ that I ever received during the whole Desh Vandana-2007 !
Children are not yet prejudiced or judgmental. It is our own prejudiced minds that make us take things for granted and pass wrong judgments about others. There is inherent goodness in all of us, especially in our students and youth. This inherent goodness is the ‘original blessing’ that all of us have received from God in whose image and likeness we are created. Religions that teach people of their ‘original sin’ are often instrumental in making them prejudiced towards others by focusing on the ‘inherent evil’ in human nature.

Add little ‘Pyar’

Everyone who came to the Ashram had something good to say about the Ashram food. I used to introduce Shija to them as the person behind the tasty food. She was responsible for the cooking ‘seva’ in the Ashram. She did it very well. In fact, she did every work well and with utmost devotion. For her, every work she did was like a ‘sadhana.
Sr. Seraphine came to learn the ‘Shanti Yagna Meditation’ which is the core spiritual exercise of the Ashram. She was also eager to learn cooking. from Shija. Seraphine was a good ‘student’ and Shija was eager to teach her all about cooking. Once Sr. Seraphine was preparing a vegetable dish under Shija’s guidance.
“What else to be added?” asked Sheraphine.
“Add little pyar,” told Shija.
Seraphine took an onion and started cutting it into small pieces.
“Why are you cutting the onion?” asked Shija.
“You told me to add little onion”, answered Seraphine. Shija burst out laughing.
“Sisterjee…..I told you to add little ‘pyar’ not ‘pya….” (‘Pyar’ in Hindi means love. ‘Pyaj’ means onion.) Sr. Seraphine heard it wrong!) The secret of the tasty food cooked and served by Shija was contained in that one single word ‘pyar: She did everything with great ‘pyar. The love with which Shija prepared the food made it so tasty.
Most of us prefer to eat at home with our loved ones. The children run back home to their mother to be served and fed with love. You may offer to take a child to a 5-star hotel and serve the best food there is, but the child will always want to go to her mother at home to be fed. It is the love behind the words and deeds that appeals to us and attracts us. Love makes food tasty. Love makes the beloved appear so beautiful. Love makes us creative and dynamic. Love is the source of truth, goodness and beauty. The world desperately needs this ‘love treatment:
Love is the sure solution for most human problems in the present world. As Mother Teresa pointed out,’ the tragedy of modern world is lack of love!

’He is as handsome as I am…’

It was Saturday evening. The local Chapter of Indian Management Association had invited me to address them. The families were also invited for the evening get-together. The children were really enjoying themselves. One of the little boys came to me holding the hand of another little one of his age. Swamiji, he is my best friend… He is very handsome… as handsome as I am.” The little ones were expectantly looking at me, waiting for my affirmation.
“Yes really….. he is very handsome….. as handsome as you are…” I assured the first one with such a positive self-image. The boys ran away happily. That is how you should holding each other’s hands.
I was deeply touched by the little boys. They could teach the Management gurus a very important lesson… ‘A positive self-image alone can lead us to a win-win situation in managing men and material. Many of us try to climb up the ladder by stepping on others’ toes. We often try to ‘put down’ our competitors. We may also try to magnify and multiply their drawbacks and failures. This is the negative way. This is self-destructive. Sincere appreciation, encouragement and praise of others’ good qualities will develop such qualities in us also. ‘Do things with love and everything else will work out well? This is yet another effective principle of management.
An old lady who came to the Ashram asking for financial help went away happy even though only food was given to her. She returned next week with five rupees for me to be used for feeding the poor children in our Ashram! The other members of the Ashram were really surprised. One of them asked her why she was giving money to Swamiji when she herself was very poor. My swamiji…. gave me food and…. he sat and talked with me’, she said.
I had become ‘my swamiji’ for her just because I sat on the bench talking to her when she ate the food that was served to her. She was touched by my concern for her. She felt she should also share my burden in supporting the poor children in the Ashram… Poor people also often look for love and understanding more than money and material support. In fact, most people today are more in need of love than any material help. Positive self-image is developed by love and appreciation. This is also the basic principle of enlightened management.

One Cup of Tea and One Dosa

‘Sir can you give me five rupees? The hungry-looking old man wearing a torn shirt asked me. He was barefooted. He did not look like the usual type of beggars. There was something pathetic yet dignified about him.
I took out my purse. I had just one 50 rupee note. I needed Rs. 20 for the bus fare to the Air Force Academy. The bus would take some more time to arrive, and another 30 minutes to leave. There was enough time. I had just started reading the new book I had bought that day from the road-side book vender selling old books when the old man approached me with his request for rupees five.1 shall bring back the change sir: He assured me. I gave him the 50 rupee note and started reading the book again. Two people sitting next to me were Suffering staring at me in disbelief.
“Do you think that you will ever see him again?” One of them asked me mockingly.
I just smiled at him and returned to my reading. After about 15 minutes the old man came back and returned to me 45 rupees. One cup of tea and one dosa. He told me in Hindi. He bowed to me with folded hands and left!
The two gentlemen next to me were staring at the departing old man as if he was someone from an alien world.
“No. This is the first time I am meeting him.” I told him. He fell silent. To me, this incident only strengthened my faith in the inherent goodness of people. If you really trust someone, even if he is a stranger, very seldom will he ever cheat you or let you down. If at all he cheats you, you will be more than compensated from some unexpected source. This has been my experience. I have also found from my experience that poor people are more trustworthy. It is better to trust and be cheated, than not being able to trust at all. This was what my guru had taught me. I told the two men who were still staring at the old man who was disappearing around the corner after crossing over the bridge.

Youth and Dreams

“Swamiji, if you become the Prime Minister of India, what will you do first?” an eighth standard girl student asked me in Hindi.
I was there to interact with the students of that village school. It was at Ranchi in Jharkhand. I was caught unaware, and was bit confused.
“Well….. I am a Sanyasi…..and I do not wish to be the Prime Minister of India,” I told her in Hindi hesitantly.
“But, suppose you become?” she insisted on getting an answer.
“I will ensure that all children in India will be taken care of very well. No child will ever go to bed hungry again, or suffer from malnutrition. All children will go to school where motherly and loving teachers will take good care of them and teach them with great love?” I answered, sharing my long cherished dream with the class of students who were waiting eagerly to hear my response.
The bare-footed girl in her torn dress ran up to me and hugged me. She was almost in tears. I was surprised, but held her close to me for some time, wiped her tears, gave a kiss on her cheek and sent her back to her seat. Later on, I asked the class teacher about this child. The teacher told me that the child was an orphan being brought up by the watchman of the school. I visited their house and was pained to see the pathetic living condition of the family.
It was many years ago. But the face of that child is still vivid in my mind. Children are good dreamers. They often are not able to differentiate between dreams and the realities of life. Many a time they escape from their painful realities by day-dreaming about good things and better days.
Dreams have great power of transformation if they are accepted and used in the proper manner. In fact, all great achievements have behind them great dreamers who dreamt of great things and went through great suffering to realise their dreams.
When youth and dreams combine, great things are bound to happen. India has the largest youth force in the world. We have to help our youth to dream big. This is what our former President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, is trying to do. He is challenging the Indian youth to dream big. This is what all of must do if we desire to see India great.

The Crying Children

The child was crying loud. The mother told him to be silent.
“Swamiji is giving discourse, be quiet” she told him in Hindi.
But he kept crying. I called him to my side and asked him why he was crying. He said he was very hungry. He also told me that he had not eaten anything for two days!! It was in Bihar, the state which has the largest number of children going to bed hungry today. His mother cooks once in three days!!
During my year-long All India Peace Pilgrimage, termed ‘Desh Vandana 2007′ I saw for myself the pathetic conditions of our rural people. Behind our ‘Shining India’ there is a much larger ‘paining India: Bihar, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are the worst affected states in terms of poverty and hunger. 62 years of political freedom has not made any difference to the poor and hungry millions in India. More than 30% of the 1100 million Indians are still living below poverty line, struggling to eat one square meal a day. 20 million children go to bed hungry every day. Almost 60 million children suffer from malnutrition.
The ‘black money’ deposited in Swiss Bank by the corrupt Indian leaders is estimated to be 13 times the national debt of India!! What these Indian leaders have looted from our country in 60 years after the Independence is much more than what the British had looted during 200 years of their rule over India!! India is rich in all respects, but kept poor because of the selfishness and greed of the rich and the powerful, and the corruption and waste of our bureaucrats and leaders.
Hunger, caste and corruption are the three major evils enslaving India today. The ‘Second Freedom Struggle’ for hunger-free, caste-free and corruption-free India was initiated in the concluding prayer meeting of Desh Vandana-2007 on 30th Jan 2008 at Gandhi Mandapam, Kanyakumari, from this painful realisation.

The Dream Merchants of Divine Grace

There is a grandmother’s story that fits in well with the attitude and approach of many priests/poojaris/mullahs today, who pretend to have direct access to God and claim monopoly over the dispensation of divine grace. There was this nasty old lady living in the village. Eating opium, spreading rumours and finding fault with everything were her main preoccupations. The villagers were afraid to confront her as the only cock in the village belonged to her. Watches and clocks were not in use in the village at that time. People used to get up in the morning by hearing the cocks crow. If the old lady got angry with them and went away, she would also take her cock along, and they would not be able to get up in the morning in time for starting their daily chores. So it was in their own interest that she should continue remaining with them in the village.
The problem was much more serious. The cock crowed, and the sun rose! If the cock did not crow…… well, they could even think of the utter darkness into which they would fall! Hence, they were even ready to pay her a ‘cock tax’ so that she would never leave their village…. The ignorance of the people was the bliss of the nasty old lady. Once the villagers could be awakened to the truth that the sun would rise even if her cock did not crow, they would be liberated from her exploitation…..
The priestly class in every religion tries to keep the gullible members under their control with various poojas and sacraments, feasts and festivals, dogmas and doctrines, claiming that these will get them the grace of God and the final salvation/ moksha/heaven after death. They are the dream merchants of divine grace exploiting the ignorant people with their foolish claims. The people could be liberated from their control and exploitation only when they realise that God and His infinite grace can never be limited to scriptures, poojas, sacraments, rituals, dogmas..etc. of the various religions of humankind.
“Eternal life is knowing the one true God and His Christ, taught Jesus of Nazareth. A correct understanding of the One True God is the basis of enlightenment and liberation. Religions and their scriptures are meant to help us in our quest for the ultimate purpose and meaning of life in this world.

Practical Spirituality

Authentic ‘spirituality’ has to be contextual and experiential. It has to touch and transform life in this world, instead of offering great rewards in an imaginary ‘heaven’ of innumerable pleasures after death. Most religions in the world today are offering to their gullible members such other-worldly rewards for a price paid in this world in terms of money and material. In place of such sickening and life-negating religiosity, we need a life transforming spirituality based on a concrete spiritual sadhana that can be practiced, experimented with and experienced by any one, anytime, anywhere.
‘Sahana Yoga, the yoga of forgiving, enduring and self-sacrificing love as taught and demonstrated to the world by Sadguru Jesus Christ, is such a spiritual sadhana. It was used effectively as a large-scale socio-political sadhana for the first time in the world by Mahatma Gandhi in the freedom struggle of India. ‘Satyagraha’ was a socio-spiritual sadhana of liberation he had developed based on Sahana Yoga.
Constant abuse and misuse of the term ‘Satyagraha’ by all kinds of groups and parties with vested interests have made this sadhana of social transformation lose its spiritual vitality and moral power. It is funny today to see even government servants and trade unions resort to ‘Satyagraha’ to get their salaries and perks increased in a country where the lowest paid government servant draws a salary ten times more than the average per capita income of the citizens of this country!
In 1990 some of us developed a new socio-spiritual methodology for applying Sahana Yoga to bring about non-violent social transformation. We termed it ‘Upavasa Prarthana Yagnam. It was first applied effectively during the Parents’ Movement for De-Party Politicisation of Education (PMDE) in Kerala. It consisted of collective fasting by a group of like-minded people (Upavasa) and prayer (Prarthana) at a public place. It is made as a worshipful offering to God (Yagna) for a specific purpose upon the altar of one’s own life. Today ‘Upavasa Prarthana Yagnam’ has become a popular methodology of expressing public protest.
‘Upavasa Prarthana Yagnam’ is further modified as ‘Tyagarchana’ in the context of the Second Freedom Struggle of India initiated on 30th Jan 2008 from Gandhi Mandapam, Kanyakumari. The objective of Tyagarchana’ is to reduce the life-negating selfishness and greed within each one of us so that we can be set free from the grip of this all-pervasive evil. This is the first step to eliminate poverty and hunger from the world.
‘Tyagarchana’ consists of ‘har din kutch tyag karo – har din ek prarthana karo (make some sacrifice everyday – say a prayer every day) for the success of the Second Freedom Struggle to build a ‘hunger-free, caste-free and corruption-free India.

The Indian Christ

Dreams can be effective means for spiritual growth if understood and applied correctly. They can also be divine guidance from the spiritual world. Great insights are gained and inspirations are drawn from dreams sometimes.
One of the profound insights I gained into the mystery of suffering came to me from a dream I had in 1984. I dreamt of Lord Jesus Christ, taken down from the cross and laid naked in the lap of his mother Mary. Below were the bold words ‘Sahana Yoga Mukti Marga.
I was greatly taken up by the vision of the Divine Master and his mother, and did not think much about the words inscribed below. Sometime later, a Protestant Pastor was referred to me by my guru, Poojya Swami Ranganathanandaji of Ramakrishna Mission. The Pastor was doing a study on Swami Vivekananda. He took an appointment and came to meet me.
He asked me many questions about Swami Vivekananda and his concept of ‘Raja Yoga’. After a prolonged discussion, he asked me,
“What is the yoga you are promoting?”
Straight came from my mouth the answer,
“Sahana Yoga.” I had not even thought of anything like that earlier! The Pastor asked me to explain ‘Sahana Yoga’! I only said it was the ‘yoga of the cross’ taught and demonstrated to the world by Lord Jesus Christ. The Pastor made a note of it and took leave. I sat there wondering about the whole episode.
I started thinking about ‘Sahana Yoga!’ I re-read a number of times the New Testament, especially the Gospel narratives on the suffering death of Christ on the cross. One day while walking down to Secunderabad Railway station from St. Mary’s Basilica after attending a Church service there, suddenly a voice was heard within me repeating the words ‘surrender, service, sacrifice with love!’ I stood there transfixed for a few minutes. It gradually dawned on me that those words explained ‘Sahana Yoga’, about which I was contemplating during those days.
This happened four decades ago during my early practise years. Over the years I have developed ‘Sahana Yoga’ into the core ‘sadhana’ of my spiritual life and the spiritual foundation of non-violent social transformation. I have also discovered a spiritual principle that has enabled me to solve the ‘mystery’ of the cross and find a meaning and purpose for human suffering. ‘Sahana Yoga’ is defined as ‘forgiving, enduring and self-sacrificing love’ as taught and demonstrated by Lord Jesus Christ. It is the ‘mukti marga’ (path of liberation) from evil forces and evil structures. Gandhiji understood this principle very well and applied it effectively to win political freedom for India from the greatest Christian empire of his time. He thus became the ‘Indian Christ’ for me. In course of time, I have come to accept him as my ‘spiritual father’.

”That is how you should pray’

Spiritual life is not a smooth journey. There are often ups and downs, hills and valleys. There can also be ‘dark nights of the soul’ when one feels totally lost and abandoned.
There have been periods in my life too when I had to face greater difficulties in my inner life than any other times. During one such critical period I had a vivid nightmare in which I was shown how to pray.
I saw in a dream that I was walking alone in a forest. Hearing a strange sound, I turned back to see what it was all about. To my great surprise I saw a huge and ferocious looking serpent following me at a distance. It was very big and it moved slow. I was a good runner from the childhood and I did not bother at all about the huge and slow moving thing as I could outrun it at any time.
So I walked on, enjoying the natural beauty of the forest. After some time I looked back at the serpent with curiosity. To my great surprise! found that it was getting closer to me! I started running, looking back now and then. The ferocious serpent was closing on me very fast! Panic gripped me. I started running as fast as l could, turning my head back often to look at the serpent which was now very close. I did not see the big ditch in front and fell into it. I tried my best to climb out of the ditch, but could not. Then I saw the serpent’s head over the ditch. It was slowly climbing down! I knew it was my end. The ferocious serpent with long and sharp teeth would crush my bones and tear me apart to eat me up.
I fell on my knees and closed my eyes tight, and prayed with my whole being, expecting the sharp teeth of the serpent to dig into my flesh at any moment! It was an intensely agonising experience. When nothing happened after few seconds, I dared to open my eyes a little. I looked at the serpent and saw it smiling down on me! The serpent then told me in clear human voice ‘that is how you should pray’ and vanished!. I got up with a start from my nightmare.
This nightmare opened my heart and mind to the power of ‘intensive short prayers! I started to pray in that manner. It had its deep effect on me. I also realised that prayer need not be long and verbal to be effective. It has to be short and intense, coming from the depth of one’s being.

The Guiding Light

My encounter with the living Spirit of Christ led me to a partial self-surrender to Lord Jesus Christ. Later on I came to realise that ‘partial self-surrender’ leads us to a kind of spiritual illusion. We are neither there, nor here! We land up in a ‘no man’s land’. It can also make us fanatically self-righteous about our religions and scriptures. This is dangerous. But I understood this fact quite late. I began to pray more devotedly. It was at this stage that my first guru, Justice Joseph Vithayathil, a retired Judge of the Kerala High Court, came into my life through a dream.
The Upanishads say that a guru is brought into the devotee’s life at the appropriate time by divine grace. As this was my first such experience, I did not know much about this spiritual phenomenon. But at a later stage I happened to read a book, ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ by Paramahamsa Yogananda. It helped me to realise that such experiences can be quite common in our spiritual journey.
‘Respond to the call as you are called’ taught my first guru. I was an India Air Force officer, a husband, a father, a brother, a son, a citizen of India, and a member of the human family at the same time. I exist as a social being. I am part of the whole. The whole is in me and I am in the whole. I have to integrate my spiritual quest with all these dimensions of my total life and being.
Spirituality, I came to realise soon, is not ‘religiosity’. Authentic spirituality has very little to do with one’s religion and its scriptures, doctrines, dogmas and rituals. They can at the most be only ‘pointers’ to help one lead an authentic spiritual life which is the goal of religions.
My experiments with ‘practical spirituality’ led me to the profound realisation that the living Spirit of Christ is the Divine Light that shines over all humankind and enlightens every human soul. ‘Spirituality’ thereafter became for me a life-long process of being led by this ‘Guiding Light that is Christ. This realisation has over the years brought me to a simple and transparent life committed to the loving service of humankind.
‘Spiritualisation of the material world’ guided by the Divine Light of the living Spirit of Christ is the mission to which I have committed by this ‘second life! I have initiated over the years a number of organisations, institutions and movements for this purpose. All my initiatives are now integrated into a ‘Navasrushti International Mission’ and brought under the legal protection and ownership of ‘Navasrushti International Trust’ with Sadguru Jesus Christ as its ‘Guiding Light.

When Everything is Lost and Everyone is Gone

It was on 8th July 1982 that life took a new turn for me. The encounter with death in the air crash on that day made me think deeply about life and its meaning. My search finally led me to a firm faith in the grace and providence of the Divine that guide the destinies of humankind, and of their nations and religions. Life is a gift and grace, given to us free by the Divine! I came to accept and acknowledge divine grace as the source and ground of my very existence. How to experience and grow in this divine grace? A new search began. It took me to religion. I went back to the religion of my birth, Christianity. I started reading the Bible carefully and meditating on the ‘Divine Word’ prayerfully. St. John in his Gospel narrative says:
“Law was given though Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (Jn. 1.17).
My spiritual quest thereafter turned towards Lord Jesus Christ. I wanted to personally experience the grace and truth that came to humanity through Jesus Christ. This has been a very challenging, and at the same time a very exciting, pilgrimage of faith. The inner thirst’ grew deeper as the days, months and years went by. I was being swept off my feet. I felt as if I was losing everything that I had held dear to my heart earlier. Even my wife, whom I had loved and married could not understand my plight. One night, sitting alone in my room in the Air Force Hospital, Bangalore, I had a very deeply soothing experience of the ‘healing touch’ of the Divine Love through Lord Jesus Christ. Great peace and joy filled my heart, my whole being! More than the air crash it was this personal spiritual experience that changed my life so radically.
These initial experiences in my pilgrimage of faith led me to realise three important eternal spiritual truths:
1. When it comes to the deeper things of life, we are quite lonely in this world, and naked in front of a reality which is beyond our comprehension!
2. When everything is lost and everyone is gone, Lord Jesus Christ still remains ever available to anyone who ‘seeks, asks and knocks’ for his help. One’s own religious affiliation or church membership does not matter in this process!
3. Once we are touched by the living Spirit of Christ, we can never be the same again. We become a new creation in Christ, a navasrushti of God!

Principle-centred life

The disciples were back from the city. They had gone to attend the much-awaited talk by a well-known ‘management expert’. The guru had sent them for attending the lecture as the one lecturing was a good friend of his. The speaker was also an expert in ‘SOMA’ (Spirituality of Management’).
During the evening Satsangh the guru asked his disciples about the lecture.
“It was very good. The Professor was stressing the need for principle centred and value-based life in the world today,” said Sunil, a management graduate from the prestigious IIM, Ahmadabad.
“But my question is whether it is really possible to lead a principle-centred and value-based life in the present world?”
Rajesh asked in a reflective mood.
“Surely we can. In fact, that is the only way to live life happily and fruitfully in this world” said the guru.
“Truth, love and goodness alone will survive the trails and tribulations of time. So hold on to them with all your heart, all your mind and all your strength. Victory will be yours at the end. ‘Satyamevajayate’ (Truth alone will succeed) is our national motto.
Evil and falsehood may triumph in the short run. But truth, love and goodness will always win at the end. World is not unprincipled. We make it so. We also have the power to make it principled. Unprincipled life will lead us to disappointment and in the end we will be sorry we missed out on the best things of life. Principled life will give us inner peace and joy” responded the guru.

Poverty and Corruption

The disciples returned after their ‘field experience’ in the village near the Ashram. This was the new batch. Some of them were from the city and one of them was an American. They had not seen or experienced the plight of the rural poor in India. Anita, a young female disciple in her twenties was very upset.
“What is the matter?” asked the guru with concern.
“Why did God create poverty and corruption?” asked the young lady who was very much upset by what she saw in the village. “God did not create poverty and corruption, Anita. We did. As Mahatma Gandhi had pointed out, there is enough to meet every one’s needs, but there is not enough to meet even one man’s greed.
“Greed and selfishness of people are the root causes of poverty and corruption in the world. When the strong and privileged appropriate a major portion of the resources of the world for themselves with no care or concern for others or for the mother earth, there will be violent reactions. Exploitation, injustice, corruption and poverty will flourish in such societies Terrorism, violence and bloodshed will be inevitable.
“And, most of the natural calamities also are caused by man’s indiscriminate destruction of nature. Mother earth retaliates when she cannot suffer the pain of human cruelty any more” explained the guru.

Pain and Suffering

The day was very tiring for the Ashram community. There was a great deal of work that had to be done for the forthcoming annual Satsangh.
“Why does God allow suffering?” asked Dayanand to their guru.
“Creation is God’s Self-expression bound with time and space. God expresses Himself through His creation. God is Love Infinite. Love by its very nature is also creative energy. Hence creativity is an attribute of God. He cannot but be creative at all times. “Pain and suffering are essential parts of creativity that leads to greater joy. The greatest creativity is giving birth to a child. The mother goes through very many difficulties from the time of conception. She also has to go through a great pain and suffering to give birth to the child and to nurture it, and to bring it up. ‘No pain, no gain’ and ‘No resurrection without crucifixion’ are adages with great divine wisdom in them.
“God does not give us pain and suffering. Some of them are part of the reality of life, like the pain associated with child birth. It leads to greater joy. Some are caused by our own ignorance, lust, anger, jealousy, sloth, pride, selfishness, greed etc. Some are reactions to our evil thoughts, words and deeds. Some of them are caused by natural calamities. Once we understand this truth, we can also use our pain and suffering creatively for our individual and collective growth and development. That is what Gandhiji, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela and such other great men and women all over the world demonstrated to us. They suffered willingly and consciously for the good of others. This is what every good mother does. Love motivates us to suffer for the beloved. True love, divine love, is forgiving, enduring and self-sacrificing”, explained the master to his beloved disciple.

Spiritualisation of the Material World

The discussion was on the creation narratives in various religions.
“Why is it said in the Bible that God created human beings in ‘His own image and likeness’ and why are we created at all?” asked one of the disciples.
“The spirit that dwells in each one of us is in the image and likeness of God the Supreme Spirit. Human beings are thus the ‘children of God’. They are divine in essence. We are spiritual beings with physical bodies. It is in the human person that matter becomes conscious and spirit displays its’ divine nature. The human person is a conduit and catalyst for the divinisation of matter.
“Spiritualisation and divinisation of the material world is thus the common goal and mission of every human life on earth. This is done in, with and through love.
“Each one of us can choose an area and field through which we can contribute our shares towards this common mission. Some can be engineers, some can be doctors, some can be managers, some can be politicians, some can be farmers, some can be businessmen and so on. The only thing essential is that one needs to do things with love. That is how we can spiritualise and divinise the world and realise the purpose of life” said the master.

Meeting God

The guru and his disciples were sitting under the big neem tree enjoying its cool breeze. It was a hot summer afternoon. They watched the river flowing by. The eldest of the disciples was throwing stones into the river and watching the ripples they were creating. The dialogue was on ‘God’.
“Can we meet God?” one of the disciples asked the guru.
“Yes, we can” assured the guru.
“Meeting God only means experiencing His Love and Grace. In this way all of us can meet God. I have met Him. I am meeting Him every day. God is Love Infinite. Wherever there is love, there is God. A godly person is a loving person. Mother is the first person to love us selflessly. She is the first God-incarnate for us. Hence we are called to treat her with great respect and reverence. ‘Mathru devo bhava’ (treat mother as divine) is a basic tenet in our Indian culture and religious tradition.
God is the Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient Supreme Spirit Who permeates the whole creation and Who is the source and ground of existence. Seeing God as He really is will be impossible. But we can have glimpses of God’s living and loving presence in our lives and in the world through our parents, our gurus, our religious scriptures, through nature and through creation that are the self-expressions of God.”

God in the Third Millennium

The disciples were gathered around their master for the evening Satsangh. The discussion was on ‘God’.
“The very mention of the term ‘God’ is very confusing to me. Who or what is God after all?” Asked one of the disciples who comes from an IIT back ground.
The master looked into his disciple’s eyes with great love and said:
“We are treading sacred ground when we think or talk about ‘God’ because ‘God’ is the Ultimate Reality who is the Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient Supreme Spirit (Paramatman). For convenient sake we will use ‘He’ for God. But remember that God cannot have any gender. He is beyond all dualities. God is also the source of our being and the ground of our existence. As it is said in the Bible, we live, move and have our being in God’. Everything exists in God. Everything exists for God and because of Him. God is the ‘One in All and All in One’.
“We cannot give God names and forms. He is beyond all names and forms. God reveals Himself in our lives as Divine Love and Creative Energy. We can surely feel the work of Divine Love in our lives, especially the absence of it. There can also be moments in one’s life when one can experience the action of the Divine Love and Grace very profoundly. I have had some such profound experiences of the Divine Love and Grace in my life.
“Have you ever seen love? We speak of love so much, but none of us can see love. We cannot accurately define love. But all of us can feel love, especially the absence of it. God is Love Infinite. The human love we experience has its source in this Divine Love. This is the closest we can come to define, know or experience God.”
The disciple thanked the master for his words of wisdom.

Impartial Like the Sun

When we were children, we fought over the moon. Each of us felt that the moon was walking with him! But mother helped us to understand that the moon does not walk with any one. We only felt that way when we walked looking to the moon!
Same is often the case with religions that claim monopoly of truth and grace. Ignorance and arrogance make us think that we have the whole truth and the only truth.
Some people think that theirs is the only true religion! They try to convert others to their religion so as the ‘save their souls’ from eternal hell! Gandhiji had to face a lot of criticism from the Christian missionaries who sincerely believed that Christianity is the only true religion. They wanted Gandhiji to be converted to Christianity. However, Gandhiji had to point out to them bluntly that their own lives did not bear testimony to the superiority of their religion. God shows no partiality. He is not a Hindu God, Christian God or Muslim God. Like the Sun that shines on all alike, God showers His grace on all human beings.

Mind is Like a Parachute

“Will be replaced free if failed to open,” was the offer made by a Parachute Company!
Who will be there to claim the free parachute, if your parachute did not open after you jumped from a plane flying so high? Human mind is like a parachute. It functions best when fully open. Closed minds like closed parachutes cause sure disasters. The more open one’s mind, the more understanding and helpful one becomes in life.
Most of the problems in the world today are caused by people with narrow minds and limited world views. The broader our minds and world views, the more effective instruments of peace and happiness we become.
It was Swami Ranganathananda of the Ramakrishna Mission who taught me this ‘parachute spirituality’. He was my third guru. I could understand the ‘parachute spirituality’ well and fast because I had been in a flying profession for long. It inspired me to think of an ‘Unbound Christ’ and ‘Open Christianity’ which are central to my mission and message today.

Bigger the Tree, Deeper Its Roots

The rewards would be very attractive – a promotion, higher salary and better perks. Only thing required of him was to close his eyes on what is going on, and pretend that he has seen nothing. He did not have to do anything else.
But Ramesh decided to report the matter and put in his resignation paper as well. And he did both. He lost his well paid job in a prestigious Company and had to struggle to make both ends meet. Ritu stood by him and shared the hard times with him joyfully. Everything worked out well in the end.
Today Ramesh owns a Company much bigger than the one he left 20 years ago.
The taller and bigger a tree grows, the deeper and wider its roots have to grow. Otherwise the tree cannot withstand strong winds and storms. Similar is the case with our lives. If we are to grow to higher levels of achievement and fruitfulness, we need to be deeply rooted in values.
Only value-based lives alone can withstand the trials and tribulations of life. History bears testimony to this truth.

Growing, and Outgrowing

From the interior of the cocoon the future butterfly was struggling to come out. The little boy watched the struggle with great compassion. He opened up the cocoon and helped the insect to come out freely. It fell on the ground. It had no wings. It struggled for some time and died. In his great compassion the little boy has killed it!
There is a natural pace and process for everything. One has to learn to live and work in harmony with that pace and that process. This is the path of peace, so has taught the wise.
Soon after my encounter with death in the air accident, I had thought of giving up my job, my family, and leaving everything behind to take up my new found spiritual mission. I was inspired by the ideal of ‘Sanyasa’ and had wanted to leave home just few months after the air crash to become a Sanyasi.
But a strange inner voice held me back. The first guru also came into my life. He taught me the ‘butterfly spirituality’ and the need to wait on the pace and will of the Divine in the process of ‘growing and outgrowing’ in our spiritual quest.

Time is Money

Since the last one week five year old Deepu has been asking his father the same question,
“Daddy.. daddy… how much you get for one hour in the morning?”
Evening Deepu would be fast asleep by the time his father got back home. He was a senior officer in the Bank and member of the local Gymkhana Club. He often got back home very late.
It was Sunday and the father was watching TV. That was when Deepu went to him and asked again the same silly question, “Daddy.. daddy… how much you get for one hour?”
This time his father got very angry and shouted at him. Little Deepu went away sobbing. After some time the father followed his son. He was lying on his bed, still sobbing. When he saw his father, the child asked the same question,
“Daddy…daddy… how much you get for one hour?”
“Forty rupees,” told the father finally.
Little Deepu got up, went and brought his piggy bank. He counted all the money that he had been saving up for long. It was only 37 rupees.
“Daddy I have only 37 Rupees. Can you please play with me for one hour?” he asked.
The father was surprised.
“Why son, why should you pay me for playing with you?” he asked.
“Daddy you always say ‘time is money’. You never have time to play with me. I want you to play with me daddy… ……..Please….daddy…”
Many of us today are like that father. We have no time for others, even for our spouses and children. We are very busy making more money, working hard to get to the top… In our mad race after the good things of life, we lose out on the best things. This is the tragedy of the modern world.

Live in the Present

“I never knew that you loved me so much.”
Sushma told her husband who has been sitting bedside her in the hospital. She has just recovered from a serious surgery. Her husband had been by her bedside without sleep or food for days together.
Many of us fail to show our love for our dear and near ones. Some of us live our lives either repenting about the past or worrying about the future. Also, some of us are so busy trying to make a better living, that we forget to live our lives! The encounter with death at the least expected moment of my life in that air accident in 1982 taught me a great lesson; we need to learn to live in the present.
Yesterday is like a cancelled cheque, tomorrow is like a promissory note; but today is like ready cash in hand’.
Today is the best day to begin a new life. Today is the best day to tell and show our dear and near ones how much we love them. Today is also the first and best day of our remaining life. Live it at its best.

Gift and Grace

The right engine caught fire; the left engine failed. The two-engine DC-3 aircraft went out of control. There was no way to escape. I took the crash position, and closed my eyes tight. The life was coming to an end, at the least expected moment and in the least expected way!! I cried out and prayed from the depth of my heart…
“Oh God…. Please… Please…Don’t let me die now….. Give me one more chance … and I shall live only for your glory …. Please, Lord… please……”
The entire life flashed back in front of me…… My beloved mother was singing a beautiful lullaby, trying to put me to sleep! My father was carrying me on his shoulders……… From childhood to the present….
Finally there was my little daughter Deepti singing and dancing before me her favourite ‘Baloo dance’ from the ‘Jungle Book’ that she was so fond of seeing again and again……
I was an atheist for many years. But at that critical moment I had a glimpse of a reality beyond death….. I came to realise that there is a force beyond myself that guided my life and destiny…. The plane crash-landed into a large lake…. No one died. I did not have a scratch on my body……. It was a miraculous escape.
I walked out of the lake a totally changed person. Life has never been the same for me ever since.
Today I see life as a beautiful gift and grace of an ever-loving God…
Given to us free……..

Insensitivity

Two little boys and their father got into the train. The children were weeping but the father did not do anything to stop them weeping louder and louder. The gentleman sitting next felt disturbed and asked the father to ask his sons to stop crying. But the father did not say a word. The gentleman was visibly angry. He asked the father why he did not stop his sons being such a nuisance to the fellow passengers.
“Let them cry. That is good for them,” said the father.
“How could you be so insensitive to the comfort of the fellow passengers?” Asked the gentle man.
“We are returning from their mother’s funeral” said the father.
The gentle man felt ashamed of himself for being so insensitive to the pain and agony of the children who lost their mother.
Many of us are like that gentleman. We are often insensitive to the agony of others.