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My Heart is as open as the Sky

  At Isha Coimbatore  I shared my room with this incredible woman who seemed to be so jovial and alive    Underneath lay  years of pain ..she had had a past with a husband who had beaten her to a pulp .. fractured her jaw...who had lied to her about his first wife .. who still was cheating her while cutting her off completely from her inner circle - her family n friends .. . she would run away n sit in her car n sleep in her car at times bcz he would not beat her in open to maintain an outwardly sanity ..   All this while she was a successful professional earning even more than her husband in the USA    After he would beat her at night she would pick up her aching body and soul,  prepare food for him and then drive him to work as he did not even own a driving license in US!    Yet she would not be able to leave him ...she still does not know why she did not leave why she could not leave...she was paralyzed and cant...

Shameem

  One of the women, a doctor from Jamnagar- I met at Bodhigram was so drenched in devotion, with such effluent knowledge and command of folk music and Dohe … she was so absorbed in devotional music throughout that her presence and energy enlivened the whole space.. We later found out her name is Shameem … she was of Muslim origin .. as a young curious woman she found herself gravitating towards her Guru .. of the Adi Shankaracharya clan .. last 22 years she had been immersed in her Guru’s presence … and her surrender to the divine reflected in the gentle wisdom of her words and her simple pleasing nature… bathed in the knowledge of “Advaita Vedanta “ and non-duality … not just as words but as a living reality within her It was obvious she had faced extreme resistance and even been ostracized from her clan .. but now circumstances had softened her family members so that they even accompanied her to her Guru’s ashram … Her story was so beautiful and heart warming and spoke of i...

Aekansh Diaries : 8 years old

  Aekansh at 8 1.Me  - Why don’t you like Arjun n only Karn Aekansh  - Arjun, wo Adharmi, wo Pakhandi ! Jisne Chhal kapat se Karn ko maara Wo mujhe zaraa bhi pasand nahi ! 2. Aekansh watched Spirit recently and BECAME a horse…  as usual... so now he snorts and ruffles his head every time to show his annoyance ... just like a horse It’s so adorable ..a sudden snort and ruffle when he’s exasperated 3.Aekansh asked out of the blue - Mumma Kiran Didi (our house helper) -bahaar soti hai to unhe thand lagti hogi ..unhe andar sone bol do Me - abhi kaise yaad aaya ekdum se tumhe Aekansh - Main "Dayalu" hun na Mumma - beaming ! 4.Walking in a temple, some intricately semi clad deities ...Aekansh points at them n says - Mumma dekho erotic art ...straightfaced and walks away ...while i sputter in mirth ,!. He had heard me speak about erotic art at Khajuraho with great admiration Later I asked him - what is meaning of "erotic" and he says matter of fact-'beautiful stone c...

Vindhyavasini Ma

  At the Vindhyavasini temple , just gazing at the Devis image was a jolt to the senses .. a deep imprint.. a mix of fascination and fear ... Despite the shoving and the jostling and the hankering, there was something quite unsettling about the energy there in and around the temple .. I sat outside with the rest of the Isha group to do my Shambhavi .. and I had this sensation of strange buzz and vibration in my whole being , now I had exited the outside world .. and then the surreal experience of experiencing Her very close to me .. almost within me .. she in her cruelest fiercest forms .. literally biting and lashing at me and stripping me off my skin bit by bit ,.. yes my skin.. until my raw flesh was exposed .. but it seemed like I needed this ..some sort of punishment ..a reminder .. a release of some sort ? . all the anguish I imagined in that moment .. Her doing this to me was an honour and reverence and pleasure ..I was addressing her as Ma as I groaned internally with all t...

Aekansh's wisdom at 8

  Nature always takes revenge  Death is just a break in your endless lives through generations   It is not my country's duty to push me forward it is my duty to push my country forward Dont leave your problems to god , solve them yor self. If we keep liking other countries our country will never be beautiful.  God does not do our work he motivates us Do not put your interest in fashion . Alexander is nothing in comparison of bhagat singh. You must know how to hide , but hiding does not mean cowardness   We will never be successful if we keep mourning Always use something special at the right time right place and the right situation Be strong and firm not arrogant  

Surya Arghya

  I had the most incredible experience at the beach at Mandvi, Kutchh We were alone on the vast private beach early morning, waiting for the sun to make an appearance. Aekansh was frolicking and Ajeet was walking with me and we clicked pictures taking advantage of the brilliant dawn. We offered our prayers to the rising sun and then Ajeet said we should go back to our room to get ready, but I found myself rooted to the spot, as both of them moved away. I had fallen into a trance as the sun came up and the sea shimmered with its golden blaze, and there was a strange churning inside of me .. I was dissolving and was surrendering to the moment. My eyes were transfixed on the shimmering light, could not tear my eyes away, hardy blinking , All I could hear was the crashing of the waves... My mind was devoid of thoughts and it was a moment of pure awareness. It just brought me to my knees, tears streaming down my cheeks. What I felt was one of those rare moments when life touches you dir...

Nag Tibba

 *Nag Tibba*  We reached Patwari from where we had to take a tempo upto the campsite along quite a rickety road ..so in we got into the back ( trying to emulate Bpllywood movies :p) and Bjorn,- Irams golden retriver clambered in behind us drooling all over the place .. The kids ran close on our heels until we took them in as well ... so we took the bone-rattling ride upto the campsite along the winding hill roads with the breath taking views .. and Bjorn's strong hairy tail literally wagging in our faces ...and we all felt quite adventurous .. kids were also quite thrilled by the ride The colourful tents pitched on the hill top cheered us up greatly n then we sat around sipping tea chatting and watching the beautiful sunset ...the kids playing fetch with Bjorn and he entertaining them tirelessly ..he was so adorable and energetic  and a remarkably well behaved dog !  As night fell and the dark skies came alive with the shimmering stars - the stat gazing sessions star...