Wisdom grows in silence

Loud is the language of power, and quiet is the language of wisdom. I remember joining a 10 day course on silent meditation organized by Swami Rama's international organization. Swami Rama was a great yogi who traveled to the US in early 1950s where he set up a training center that still flourishes in Pennsylvania. When he visited, nobody knew much about the power of yoga on the human body and mind. He proved clinically that you could control your autonomic system such as heart rate, blood pressure and so on and at the request of doctors, demonstrated this under a lab setting. They were convinced, became his followers, and started a now renowned organization in Swami Rama's name, which has training centers all over the world. I trained at the center in Rishikesh, India where we stayed in separate cottages on a beautiful campus. It was set in the mountains and surrounded with greenery and deep silence - broken only by the chirping of birds. The beautiful sights of sunrise and sunset opened the horizon of our mind to eternity. From early morning to 9pm at night we had a packed schedule of yoga and meditation classes (3 times a day). We had our breakfast and meals together in a common dinning hall that was silent. We greeted each other with a warm smile, and with folded hands - the Indian gesture of namaste but without uttering a word. On the eleventh day in the morning, we all came to the main meditation hall and were asked by our teachers to express our individual experiences. These experience, when verbalized, were deep and life changing. We all know that the verbal language is the vehicle through which we express our inner experiences and thoughts. When one learns to be calm, peaceful and compassionate, then their verbal expressions becomes pleasant, meaningful, and effective. Keeping silent, one gets ample time to think deeply, can utter right words without hurting others' sentiments. Words are like arrows - once released from the bow, they cannot be taken back and stay in lodged in the memory all through life. Through silence, we learnt to communicate wisely. We also learn to find our hidden talents and be happy within our inner self. It is said, where the heart is full, silence is the best expression. Words are like rain - much sound and many ripples. Silence is like a body of water. It can have the depth of an ocean and hold many worlds within. A beautiful blessing comes to mind - "May the stars carry your sadness away. May the flowers fill your heart with beauty. May hope wipe away your tears. And above all, may silence make you strong." The power of silence is unshakeable because there is nothing left to shake.

Simple is the path to the sublime

As a morning marks the day, childhood creates a glimpse of the life to come. Today, in my ripe old age, I look back at my childhood days and I feel amused. Devoid of modern facilities, then life was simple, joyful and stress free. We did not have fancy toys, smart phones or even television. We were happy to be drenched by the monsoon rains, enjoyed swinging atop a tree branch, or occasionally a walk down to a nearby village with our teachers to enjoy a picnic day. A walk on the moist green grass strewn with morning dew was so thrilling it is still a vivid memory. We had our classes in the shade of big trees except sfor cience classes, which needed equipment and classromms. Life was full of trust, love and sharing. I remember once as a young child, I was thrilled to discover a huge bottle gourd growing in our garden. As there was nobody around to share this amazing discover, I ran out of the compound of the house to find an old man was passing by - he became the unsuspecting candidate for sharing my exuberant discovery. I ran out to him, and dragged him by the arm into our garden to share my joyous discovery - "dadu (grandpa), come and see how beautiful this bottle gourd is, hanging from this creeper in our garden." Being a very kind man, he played the part of a willing and amazed audience quite well, much to my delight. With changing times our lifestyle has changed completely. Telephones, computers, televisions and ipads have taken over our life. Life lived within the closed in walls of apartment homes, and the constant drum beat of competitive exams for kids have made children's life more stressful. Even having fun has become work. Moreover, after the isolation of two years with covid, we all have become uncommunicative and our social senses have been somewhat dulled. We have almost lost the ease of friendly chatter, or a hearty laugh. The time has come to bring a meaningful changes in our lives - the essentials of a life well lives are simple. In forgetting ourselves we find ourselves. In serving all around us we create value in our own lives. And that is possible only by shifting our conciousness and surrendering to a greater cause than our own entrapment - one defined by constant distraction. It isn't entertainment that we must seek but stability and centeredness as a prerequisite to joyfulness. The simple act of breathing consciousless can bring us to our better selves. One that finds joy in just being. Children are unique in their power to create their own reality - much like the morning defines the day, the consciousness of a child if nurtured well will define a life well lived. We must remember the inspiring message of The Gita, which says, "meditation can bring correction and improvement to our inner personality, making the mind peaceful, poised and vibrant." No simpler nor truer words have been said.

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.