Reiki and the miracle of healing from within

Reiki healing is a very popular therapy these days. Even in some hospitals, it is given to patients for quick recovery. Over 30 years ago, when Reiki was not widely practiced, I got an opportunity to learn it. Cosmic energy has demonstrable healing properties and while we might not understand how it works we know that it works. When energy points in our body get depleted, we become susceptible to infections and fall to ailments easily. A Reiki healer cleanses all energy points {chakras} of the body and directs the flow of universal energy through the channels and to the ailing points. The patient feels a sense of relaxation but far more powerful things are happening at the energetic level. As Paramhansa Yogananda said, "whatever mode of treatment one adopts, the mind in large measure may still determine the outcome, positive or negative." When I was initiated to reiki by a lady healer, I experienced something special. When she was cleaning my chakras from back side, I could feel some sensations on my spine. After continuous practice of reiki for 21 days, whenever I invoked receiving cosmic energy, my palms became hot, and that was the surest sign of the beginning of the energy flow. After that I worked pro bono for many healing centers and helped patients in many ways. Here I would like to share two of my experiences. Once I was invited by my friend to her daughter's wedding ceremony - a stressful affair as it turned out. After reaching there I found my friend was totally inactive and was lying still with closed eyes unable to talk even. Every one including her scientist husband {who was aprofessor of physics at Delhi University} was puzzled and did not know what to do. She seemed to be in some kind of a nervous break down due to stress. I sat near her head and started giving Reiki on her head with full concentration. To my and everyone's surprise, after 45 minutes she opened her eyes and asked her sister to help her dress up and said she should be ready to do all the rituals for the marriage ceremony. Her husband, wide eyed with disbelief, "what did you do?" I did nothing, just channeled the life force all around us through the magic of Reiki. In another case, I heard a dear friend who lost her husband of many years was in a desperate situation not being able to sleep after her loss. She was an accomplished person who had served as India's ambassador to many foreign countries but this life event had totally unnerved her. With a nervous voice she requested me to come to her immediately and asked if I could give her Reiki. She had remembered that long back when I gave her Reiki, she had deep sleep. I asked her to lay down and started giving Reiki. Her body convulsed every few minutes but I continued. After more than an hour, she started to drift into deep sleep and I quietly came out. In the evening, she called, and said that it was the first time in 7 days since her husband's passing that she'd been able to sleep deeply and feel rested. I mentally bowed to the power of Reike, all the grand masters who have taught it down the lineage and prayed for their blessings to make me capable of helping people in distress. My own experience is that Reiki makes my mind calm and fearless. It gives inner strength to face life With a smile. Often I remember a`beautiful saying of our beloved guru, Shri Paramhansa Yogananda, which empowers me and gives me inner strength to face all odds. He said, " Meet everybody and every circumstances of the battlefield of life with the courage of a hero, and the smile of a conqueror."

A flower and human life have the same purpose

Santiniketan means abode of peace. It is a small place in West Bengal where I grew up. Though it is surrounded with rural areas and small towns, it was different from them. Tagore established it with a vision of making it a cultural Centre. Scholars from different countries came, shared their knowledge, and also became familiar with Indian culture in its many different forms.Back when the caste system was quite predominant in many parts of India, Tagore expressed Buddha's universal brotherhood and unconditional love and compassions through many of his plays and poems that touched my young mind very deeply. Buddha said we all have Buddhahood in us, so without searching it outside, we must search for it inside and be free. Similar to that, in Santiniketan no traditional idol worship was practiced, and only Upanishadic sayings of self realization were taught through weekly sermons. I experienced the true flavor of Buddhist culture first when I visited the Buddhist country of Sri Lanka with my husband for an international conference and stayed with a very cultured Ceylonese couple in 1981. Even before landing there I could feel closeness with that island. It looked like a perfect picture painted in blue and green. I could see only tall coconut trees surrounded by the blue ocean.People looked friendly, happy and healthy. It was totally a different picture from what I'm reading of today's Sri Lanka. One morning my kind hostess invited me to accompany her to a very famous Buddhist temple in Colombo, the capital city. It was her daughter's birthday. While the daughter lived far from her in a different country, she wanted to celebrate the auspicious occasion with me. She loaded her car with home cooked delicious food and we drove to our destination, a temple. That morning I was surprised to hear a Bengali song on the local Colombo radio station but more surprises were waiting for me. After reaching there we were received by an elderly head monk. Knowing that I was from Bengal, with a smile in his face he recited few lines in Bengali, which said, long back prince Vijoy Singha from Bengal came and conquered Sri Lanka. Later I checked, and found it in history book. Our next move was to going to an alter made of shining black stone (but no idol), where we offered flowers. While offering flowers, the lady instructed me to pray mentally, "Lord, as these flowers will wither away at your feet, I am also offering my life at your feet, to do your service through love and compassion, and when time comes, let it wither away at your feet. That was a great message which stayed in my heart like a precious jewel all through life. I realized life gets full by giving, not by taking. She also asked me to offer a plate of food to Lord Buddha, and to serve food to all monks with her. Many years have past. The solemn fire which she ignited and touched my heart is still alive and helping me keep going in life.

To serve the needy is to serve God

Our own mind can be our greatest friend or the greatest enemy, says the Bhagavad Gita. It depends on how it guides our intention and thus our destiny. Last month I read a news paper report. It said one young girl and her younger brother were abandoned by their parents, and they were lucky to be taken by some kind passerby to an orphanage. The girl went to a government school, passed all exams and finally cleared the medical entrance test. I am sure, soon she will blossom as a competent and a compassionate doctor. Success stories of orphan children bring immense joy to my mind. For last twenty years I was associated with an orphanage as a voluntary worker. It was a very pleasant experience. By telling them stories, or teaching them music or yoga, when I could bring beaming smile in their faces, it made me immensely happy and brought inner satisfaction in my life. The orphanage where I used to go was near my house but later shifted to a distance. But distance could not dampen my spirit. Our loyal driver Rajbir Singh used to take me to my dear children on a regular basis. During lock down period and even now, many migrant laborers, cab drivers, and hotel workers are facing a lot of financial problems. Our Rajbir driver who now drives his own taxi under uber and Ola App, is also facing a lot of problem due to frequent price hikes in petrol, diesel and CNG. Keeping his calm profile, he works hard to maintain his family. He parks his car in our drive way so he comes every day, has some tea or cold drink, and narrates his day's adventure to me. Today he came with a bright face and told me a thrilling story. When he passed through the market close to where we live, he noticed a young boy of nine years old begging by the side of the road. So he stopped and talked to the boy and came to know that the boy's father died, mother remarried and abandoned him on the street. He has no siblings and he picks up empty bottles from the marketplace and sells them to buy some food. The boy's tragic story touched Rajbir's heart. So he took that boy to his home, tried to contact boy's distant relations, but did not get any positive response. He finally took him to the same orphanage he used to drive me to. Before going there he got the boy's covid test done with Rs.500, and paid the money from his own pocket. I was overjoyed to hear that story. As only a hungry man knows what hunger is, our Rajbir also felt the pain of that boy in his heart, because he also had gone through a traumatic childhood. I blessed Rajbir from my heart, for providing home to a homeless child. The orphanage authorities allow Rajbir to visit that boy once in a month as his guardian. Now the little boy will grow up with other children, will go to school, and who knows, in future he may also clear entrance test of medical or engineering and will be ready to serve society with compassion and competence. True compassion is a live wire of inspiration. it can motivate people to touch the stars. The idea of helping the needy is deeply ingrained in Indian thought. As Swami Vivekananda said, " If you want to find God, serve the needy"

Colors of our lives

Indian festivals are generally based on mythological stories. Holi and Diwali are no exception. These two festivals are also very special, because they indicate a change of seasons. After Diwali, suddenly the winter breeze starts blowing, and Holi is the gateway to welcome spring. Like a magical change, flowers start blooming everywhere, birds start singing, and butterflies fly from flower to flower, collect honey and pollinate plants. In the early morning hours, I love to spend my time sitting in my little garden. I see the splash of colors everywhere and find small birds sitting on a bottle brush tree, singing so joyfully. Old leaves fall off to welcome tender leaves and adorn the old branches with new leaves. I find everywhere in nature, change comes smoothly, without any resistance or clinging. This is a wonderful lesson we may learn that can make each life beautiful. The lesson is one of grace and harmony towards a peaceful co-existence. We can make ours and each other’s life so joyful if we’re at peace. Instead of cultivating tolerance, we choose to be intolerant. Instead of playing with colors of love our great civilizations play with hatred and blood. Unless we learn to wipe out hatred, anger, and greed from the core of our hearts, there can never be any solutions. In realizing the impermanent nature of life, we may break out from our delusions. Paramhansa Yogananda said, "The Lord has arranged for us this visit to the earth. Forgetting the temporary nature of our stay, we form various attachments. But when our earth visa expires, we are forced to leave behind all we had thought we possessed. Realize now that you are a soul and not the body. Why wait for death rudely to instruct you," As we connect with harmony in nature, we immediately experience the benefit of being in nature. Even spending a few hours in my garden, I feel immensely relaxed. I was reading about a Japanese therapy - Shinrin-Yoku . Shinrin means forest and yoku means bath. One feels de-stressed by being in nature and experiencing the environment through our senses in a slow and mindful way. So being born as a superior creature on this earth, human beings must realize that a harmonious way of living is the only way by which we can live and let others live.

Our Teacher, Captain Rex

In the short span of 8 years, our brave Captain sailed through many difficulties without fear and reached his heavenly abode peacefully on 13th February,2022. He had a beautiful coat of orange and white fur and was rescued three times in three different situations before he landed into the safe and loving home of Prodeep and Louisa in the Hamptons. This brave heart flew from California to New York all alone, sitting calmly in a cage like a sadhu. He was lovingly welcomed by Mr. Miyabi, an independent, starry eyed black and tan puppy and two great animal lovers. In my first encounter with Captain I was most attracted to his eyes which were full of compassion and had depth of an ocean. I was inspired to name him Karuna Nanda, an Indian name which means joy of compassion. Captain and Mr. Miyabi became great friends. Captain was obedient, compassionate, and friendly while Mister Was starry eyed, independent minded, playful. They loved to run on the beaches, chase wild birds and finally jump in to the ocean to have a good swim. Captain always wanted to make friendship with rabbits, deer, birds and chased them with the intention of making friends with them. We know because he caught up to ducks, swans and loons more than once and instead of attacking them went and sniffed them and sat down. But seeing athletic dog running at them, these creatures ran away and in that process, often our friendly Captain lost his way back home, and created sleepless nights for all. During the pandemic time, when Prodeep was working from home, Captain was his constant companion and followed him like a shadow. The flow of life is very strange - when and how it takes an unexpected turn, nobody knows. Captain was not keeping well for some time. Finally after many tests, he was detected with stomach cancer at a late stage. It was a great blow for us all but like a small child, being totally unaware of his health problem, he loved revisiting his favorite beaches, played with Tiger, his horse friend on the last day, and loved to lay on the deck quietly to watch the flocks of birds flying overhead. At the very end, lying on the chest of his master, and surrounded by all his dear ones, he left his mortal body peacefully. He was a blessed soul to pass away peacefully, loved and remembered by all . We mourn when we cannot see our dear ones physically. But the soul never dies. Like waves break down into the ocean to be one with it, souls, discarding it's limitations dissolve into infinity into universal consciousness. We can feel his loving presence every where when we step out on the dewy grass, lovingly care for helpless animals,or look at the dark sky, glittering with twinkling stars. We may find his loving assurance, "Do not cry, I am with you always". As the poet Tagore wrote - "Brightly shining is the pole star in the dark. Oh mind, do not lose your focus. Do not stop your song, when subjected to sorrow." May we all channel Captain's joyfulness, enthusiasm and kindness in our own lives in his loving memory.

Surya yoga and the possibilities of our relationship with the sun

India is the land of Mystics and yogis. Their wisdom has flowed through the ages from teacher to disciple. Long back I got a rare chance to meet a surya yogi who knew how to draw energy from the rising and setting sun. Just as our digestive system converts food to energy measured in calories, surya yogis know how to convert sunlight into the same. This is not so far fetched given that modern technology is trying to capture solar energy and trying to apply it in convert it into electricity and use it in many ways. We are at the core, electromagnetic beings after all. So when I got an invitation from an well known organization of Delhi(India International Centre), to attended a class of a surya yogi, I was overjoyed. I have great faith and interest in acquiring such rare knowledge, so I did not want to miss that opportunity. On the scheduled date I reached there early morning when and found almost fifty people (mostly foreigners), sitting on a lawn facing towards the eastern sky. And the Surya yogi, a bare bodied lean and thin middle aged man was sitting on a platform facing us. In a short time, when the first rays of the rising sun began to touch our eyes, the Surya yogi instructed us to look at the soft rising sun calmly with even breath, and then gradually shift our attention to our Ajna chakra,(middle point of two eyebrows). He asked us to sense if there was a little vibration and warmth of morning sun at that point. When our breath became even, he instructed us to imagine drawing energy from the sun with inhalation and sending that to every part of the body through exhalation. The method seems to be simple. But to acquire that skill regular practice and deep concentration is needed. I found it extremely beneficial and increasingly so over the years of practice. Today's urban housing in multi storied buildings limits round the clock access to direct sun light which as never the case in traditional housing. It is established fact that the sun is the main source of vitamin D just as it is the life giving energy source of the planet. It also boosts up our moods and reduces stress reactions and helps us fight many diseases. In India , we are very lucky to have sun rays almost all through the year, and so we have fabulous plant diversity. As Charles Dickens noted, "Our life can be richer, if we know how to use sun rays wisely." The bright sun brings back not light alone, but new light and hope, and freshness to man."

The mind's horizon

Recently my son took a beautiful photo of the ocean at the break of dawn. It was a thin line of bright light was coming out piercing through the darkness above and below - the horizon, a crack between the sky and the ocean. It inspired in me a sense of being joyful and courageous. As if in a whisper, it said - the mind is that window of bright light in the vast dark expanse of the universe and its secrets. Life starts like a sparkling and dancing river. We embrace it with our aspirations and with many hopes. We want to remain happy and connected with others and imagine it flowing forever. Little do we realize that life is but a moment of light piercing the dark, and we are all dancers in the interplay of matter and energy, ready to transform when the moment passes. Passing through many phases and encountering many challenges, when finally we enter the golden period of old age our views become more balanced and matured. Though like an old car, our physical faculties start shaking, when we learn to manage one part, other parts start creaking and groaning. At that point many of us feel powerless and lost. The only remedy is to maintain a positive outlook, and stay focused on the power of the mind that can penetrating the universe with the bright light of the dawn and show us what we truly are. When we slow down at the tail end of this journey, we all need rest and loving care from dear ones. In that, some are fortunate, some and some are not. But whatever the situation we may face, we cannot afford to lose control of the only tool of courage and positivity - the mind. When life seems to be a struggle, we should try to draw strength from that cosmic spart that lives within us, stay calm and do our duty as appropriate to what life asks of us.Decaying physical health can be managed by maintaining a simple and disciplined life which includes yoga, meditation, proper food, and appropriate rest. We are all parts of a whole. Individuals lit by the universal source of energy - the source of our life force and consciousness. The manifestations of energy may by heat or light, star systems or life forms. But each state is transient and when the moment passes, all must become the same. Life gives an opportunity to realize our cosmic connection through transformations - both challenging and joyful. But our mind can frame our state of being into one that is ever loving, carefree, peaceful and courageous. I end with a few inspiring lines from Tagore, "I know your presence, when I bow to you in my days of prosperity, in my darkest nights, when the whole world turns against me. Let me not ever doubt you".