Finding Balance in Purpose

In my childhood days, I always looked forward for our annual sports day. The event I liked most was a balance race. Balancing a boiled egg on a spoon held between the teeth, we had to run. Of course if you used your hands to adjust it, you’d be disqualified. It was good fun but required perfect balance, alertness and focused mind, steady steps and confidence. Later in life, I realized those qualities which were required to succeed at the balance race were also required to bring success in life. A focused mind with steady steps and confidence are required to reach any goal. The Indian Gurukul system of education imparted knowledge in much the same way. Children grew up in close proximity to the teachers, learnt to love and care for nature, developed ethical values to respect elders, extended helping hands towards families and others in need, learnt to bring peace and harmony all around. Great Gurukul institutions, like Nalanda, Taxila gave world famous scholars. The aim of education was to bring harmony, peace and well-being to all, and never aimed to attain personal fame or fortune. Pleasant or unpleasant things which came in life were accepted as blessings of God, and to clear karmic accounts. Today information is universal, and easily available through technology. Information alone does not teach us to be a better human being. Though we can send our thoughts to any part of the world in a second, we have forgotten the art of establishing loving communication even with our near and dear ones. Tender minds are receptive - if seeds of good values are planted in young minds through right education, then they can bring heaven on earth – otherwise, as an intellectual giant C.S.Lewis said, “ education without values can make a man a clever devil.” The truth of his predictions are coming true and are seen all around us in the world today. The time has come to bring a change in our approach to education – perhaps a better balance between gaining information and learning through play. Life is well lived if we learn to walk our path as if we were balancing an egg on a spoon clenched between our teeth. Balance and purpose.

The Power of Simplicity

Last September, when my son Prodeep visited me for a few days, Delhi was hot and sultry. So without wasting any time, he made a quick plan for us all, and that was to visit Ramgarh, a hilly area in Uttarakhand. He booked an Innova taxi, and we left Delhi early next morning. Driving through forests, hills, and crossing the small rivers was a thrilling experience for us all. When we reached Ramgarh, it was past noon, the sun was ready to set on the western horizon, and our rest house that stood on the edge of a mountain glowed in the rays of the setting sun like a temple of gold. We rested peacefully at night, but my adventurous son quietly slipped out early morning to the jungle to have a feel of the forest. He returned safe, and was lucky to hear a tiger’s roar from a nearby hill amidst the chirping of scared birds. We did not have any fixed plan for the day, so when our young tourists guide suggested we visit Kainchi dham, a temple of saint Neem Karoli baba, we all got ready. Soon we started our journey through a jungle road and reached there much before noon. After having Darshana and Prasad, I settled down in a quiet corner to hear the whole story of that great saint from a local guide. Neem Karoli baba was not much known, and once, when he was travelling by a local train without a ticket (being a renunciate), the ticket collector came and asked for the ticket, which he could not show. So he was forced to get down at the next station named Neem Karoli. After that a strange thing happened. The train could not start, and with all the efforts of mechanics and engineers, they couldn’t fathom what the issue was. Finally, it dawned on one of the railway authorities that something wasn’t quite right. He went and apologised to the (then) unknown saint, and brought him back to the train, upon which, the train promptly started. Later that place became famous, because that saint made his Ashram there and he became famous as NeemKaroli Baba (named after the train station). Famous people from all over the world visited that place, met him and had his blessings. Steve Jobs, many writers and musicians were much influenced by his teachings. In 1970, when the hippie movement was strong and westerners were much confused with materialistic culture, they came to him, got guidance, and many of them went on to do great things. Ram Dass is one of his students who is famous in spiritual circles in the west. Many have been influenced by his teachings – Mark Zuckerberg, Julia Roberts, Larry Page (Google), Jeffrey Skoll (eBay) among them. Neem Karoli baba’s message was simple and profound. He said “ Love every one, feed every one and remember God always.” This message is the gist of Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga. Here “feeding“ has a bigger meaning. It may mean to take care of elderly, or to write a book, or make a movie with a spiritual message, which can feed people with positive thoughts. In whatever way if we can help a needy soul, that can be our true prayer to God. This simple and sacred message was conveyed to us all through the ages by all great saints. As Swami Vivekananda said “He who serves the poor, serves God”

“Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky"

Yesterday I received an unusual message from my Chinese friend Lee, which inspired me to write this article. It said, “ Be like a tree, stay grounded, connect with your roots, turn over a new leaf, keep growing.” This message is simple and profound, and instantly it brought many thoughts of past, present and future. I grew up in a small place in Bengal, named Santiniketan, which was established by the Nobel prize winning poet Rabindra Nath Tagore. It was a centre of learning where children grew up in the lap of nature, learnt to take care of nature and cherish it. Tagore introduced annual tree plantation ceremonies during the rainy season where five children dressed as the five elements of the nature (earth, air, water, fire and space) and planted five saplings, while appropriate songs were sung and poems were recited in praise of the nature. It was a beautiful ceremony and is still now vivid in my memory. In ancient India, knowledge was imparted to students by teachers sitting under the trees. In the scriptures trees play a central role =- from a place where saints are born as as a place of meditations and enlightenment, to references to mythical trees where all our wishes come true. Trees have long been considered the wisest and most tolerant of all beings, being the oldest. To learn to live well one must learn from the oldest among us. Modern education systems doesn’t incorporate the wisdom of nature. Information oriented education has made children more tech savvy, but could not knowledgeable about what life is and what it means to develop a loving bond between humans and nature, from where we arrive and unto where we dissolve. As a result of this disconnection, people are now more self-centred, and are forgetting the art to establish a loving communication with nature, animals, trees and even with fellow beings. We live in an imaginary bubble called modernity that is nothing but systemically enforced ignorance. Realising the obvious degradation of nature, these days many organisations and even spiritual masters are coming forward and trying their best to bring awareness and develop a sense of responsibility of human beings towards nature. Long back, a great scientist Jagdish Chandra Bose proved at the World Science Congress that plants have feelings and emotions, and silently they respond to the act of love or hatred of people towards them. Now the time has come to change our insensitive attitude towards nature. We must be ready to come out from the concrete jungle and return our awareness to learn from and connect with nature, from which we have been and always will be inalienable. To try to be a silent giver, humble, and caring for other lives on earth - and not just the humans we call our own. Trees give shelter to all, and by bowing down with it’s fruit laden branches, they teach us to be humble and wise. The life giving oxygen that is provided by trees is for all. And all while the insensitive modern mind caged in concrete does not hesitate to chop it off for his selfish motives. We must try to be more flexible, and intelligent, to change our attitude and make this world a better place for future generations to live in. After all, as Kahlil Gibran says, “Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky" .

Finding God through respect

These days, it is quite common to celebrate and express our love and gratitude to our dear ones by sending them cards or gifts on special days. Father’s Day, Mother’s Day or Teacher’s Day cards are always appreciated by the receiver and by the sender too. As life is too busy these days, so even these loving gestures have a lot of value to all. Though in India and many other Asian countries, this particular way of celebration is not very common. Yet showing respect to elders and extending a helping hand to the needy is a common practice in daily life. In India, even an unknown elderly people on the street or in buses will be addressed with reverence and will be helped by others. I was surprised to hear that, in many western countries, parents and elders are often addressed by their names by their children. This is a functional matter in the west, but would be culturally shocking for many from Asian countries and seen as a sign of disrespect. I remember one incident, which I experienced in U.S.A . I was not keeping well and my son, Prodeep was escorting me back to New York from the west coast. When we reached New York, he quickly got a taxi, helped me to sit inside comfortably and then got busy in arranging things and doing other formalities. It was a new experience for our cab driver. He was surprised to see the loving concern of my son for his mother, and asked me,” originally from which country you come?”. When I said "we are from India", he just uttered two words “that explains". I was feeling happy and sad both. His two words were enough to explain the situation of elderly in the richest country of the world. I was silent, but started thinking how we can make life liveable and loveable for all. In today’s Global world, we are all connected, and can make life better by learning from each other. Inner richness which is expressed through respect, unconditional love and service, which is definitely not less important than outer material gains. Rich countries can be happier by integrating some values from some other parts of the world that are not so rich, but have deep cultural values that have kept these societies stable for hundreds if not thousands of years. Cultures where the individual is not supreme and the divine spirit is part of the collective consciousness. Where, from early childhood, love to respect for elders and a desire to learn from their wisdom are values passed on from generation to generation. Our ancient Vedic Scripture says, “Honour thy mother as God, honour thy father as God, honour thy teacher as God, and honour thy guest as God “

The world is one family

Jennifer, my young American friend came to see me the other day. She was narrating her experiences of rural Bengal and about its village women's life. Recently she went to Midnapur - one of the poorest districts in India and interacted with rural women of different age groups who were economically depressed and also socially and emotionally struggling. To know the reality of villages of Bengal and the misery and suffering across many-women from many parts of India, where they spend life as silent sufferers. It is true that such a deep rooted problem can not be solved by charity alone. And only by equipping women with education and skill formation can one can take the first step towards reaching the goal of self-sufficiency and empowerment. I admire Jennifer, who with her medical background is always ready to help such people and also runs an organisation to empower women from economically weaker sections of the society. Women are taught leather work, block printing and other skills. Products produced by them are sold in America, bringing good money to them and a sense of purpose if not comfort in their lives. In rich countries, things are mostly machine made and hand-made items are greatly appreciated. And so it is a natural fit between the handicraft of India and the desire for hand-made products in western countries. This is a great formula for uplifting woman’s lives. Vivekananda,s saying is so true. He said - those who serve poor, serve the Lord. A self centered life always tends to become boring, stagnant and joyless. Recently I heard a podcast by a famous doctor, where he discussed the problems of unhappiness among the educated and wealthy urban population. Though they have got everything, but something is missing in their lives , for which they do not experience inner satisfaction or “ santushti.” Comfort and status can be achieved by money, education, family support etc. But to have inner satisfaction, one must know how to give wings to the inner self, and like a butterfly, break out of a self-centred cocoon and be free, experience inner joy, and extend a helping hand to needy people. The butterfly cross-pollinates all around. And by cross-pollinating the needs of India's village women with the desires of hand-made items in developed industrialized economies, the effects of Jennifer's butterflies are fluttering all around the world. The Upanishad says, “ vasudhaiva Kutumbaka” , which means the world is one family. The task now is to share the joys and limit the sorrows of this family.

Life intelligence

Recently, I got a good message on Whatsapp from one of our Chinese friends, that shared a subtle yet sobering thought. It said, an unborn child’s required nourishment is always provided by its mother, but as soon as he is born, it becomes his responsibility to draw life’s energy through various ways, to sustain life. We all are product of nature, and are sustained by its five elements, which are earth, water, air, fire and space. So we must realise that to sustain life, we must take proper care of Mother Earth, and the elements and find ways to stay connected. Too often modern technology is used in ways that satisfies our greed but brings a lot of harm to nature. Cultivation of genetically modified crops, injecting animals to harvest more flesh, or drawing out excess water and resources from Mother Earth are sad examples of human exploitation. Though now in my ripe old age of 84, I still enjoy learning more about computer science and artificial intelligence etc. from my11 year old grandson Adrian, who also enjoys flying airplanes as his hobby. Recently he came from U.S.A with his little sister Emma, and his parents to visit me. I thought of introducing him to a playful fun game with nature. Every morning sitting in the garden, in cool breeze, surrounded with flowers and chirping birds, I taught him one of my favourite childhood games – how to play a call and response game with a songbird and sing at a higher pitch than the bird till she responds! Just by mimicking it’s chirp, we were able to ‘play’ with the bird – a game which he enjoyed and practiced every day. Life flows like a river, with waves high and low, ready to fall back , and to be one. Every era brings something new to enrich life, but the whole of life has intelligence embedded within it and there’s nothing artificial about it.

New year's resolutions

Every year people love to make new year resolutions, which generally get broken soon. The variety of these resolutions is interesting. Someone promises to uplift health of body and mind, by avoiding junk food, or promises to go jogging every morning. Someone may think of strengthening relations by being more tolerant, while other may think of trying to do something just for one month, like not drinking alcohol in January! Life becomes interesting by the simultaneous flow of attraction and aversion of what drives us towards or away from ideas, people and obsessions. I remember one of the funnier new year resolutions made by a neighborhood group, which included the age group of sixteen to seventy two. Every morning they gathered near our adjacent park, and laughed very loudly together for thirty minutes. It was a laughing club, and members wanted to strengthen their lungs to fight back the heavy pollution of Delhi. It was indeed a very noble thought, but our Dog did not think so. Every morning, standing near the gate he barked loudly at them to show his protest. Their joint symphony, (Jugal bandi) forced us to be early risers. This year, at the age of eighty four, when I was trying to find a meaningful new year resolution, some thoughts popped up in my mind and brought a smile. Recently we were travelling from Madras to Pondicherry by car. On our way we stopped at a roadside Dhaba (small eating place), to have a cup of coffee. Chairs were arranged under the green canopy of a big banian tree. While we were settling down, we all noticed a few malnourished hungry dogs nearby. Some of them gave birth to puppies and were more fragile. They looked at us, with mixed feelings of both fear and expectations. My son Prodeep is not only a great animal lover, but also is a man of action. He immediately ordered six plates of rice, curd etc. for them, and when Dhaba people objected to serve dogs on their steel plates, he bought all those plates from them. The dogs were very happy, came near us and polished off all food in no time. After that, while wagging their tails with happiness, came to us and looked at us with loving gratitude. Their silent loving gesture was our best new year gift, which touched our hearts, and we preserved that tender feeling in mind like a precious treasure. True we cannot bring permanent solutions of many problems in this impermanent world. But by practicing the simple act of sharing and caring for all life on this earth, one can bring divine joy to others as well as to one’s own self. On the famous saying “Life is to give, not to take“ we may form new resolutions for this new year. That noble resolution stands on three pillars. First is to shower unconditional loving kindness to others, especially to deprived ones, secondly to develop attitude of sharing and caring for others and also to nurture sincere gratitude towards almighty, who has blessed us with a privileged life.