Offbeat Spirituality

It is time to stop making plans. Let’s get into action now. Let’s make time for time. Last week of December is like any other holiday season. There’s less inflow of work. The clients seem to be too busy with their own vacation arrangements to send any work to me. So I have enough time to reflect on my plans and start doing the things I’ve procrastinated since long. Here is my five-chartered. Feel free to create yours I’ll buy “that” book on advertising. I’ll invest in Ogilvy’s treasured writings. I’ll visit two new places this holiday season. Since I am in Mumbai, Pune and Masjes Ghat are the ones on agenda. I’ll create a new web page on translation services. Will sleep for two days at a stretch – last few months have been crazy with construction and work. And lastly, I’ll not feel bad for anything. Things happen, they will happen. I will not waste any moment frowning upon what, why, who and where. I’ll stay happy.

Smile at whatever happens.  Even if something has gone wrong, find something to learn from it or something positive and be happy for it.  Even if you can't find it right away, at least take the thought that this has happened for a reason. Start believing whatever happens, happens for the best. When people see someone with positive qualities, even during negative situations, they really admire their positivity.  It could be patience, wisdom or any other positive quality that comes across.But much more than that, it is the happiness or contentment that is visible in the form of a cheerful face. This is the true personality of royalty, that each one of us too needs to make an attempt to imbibe. Life is short. People are dying. There's too much unhappiness around. Why waste time in sulking when you can make it BETTER? Stay cheerful. There's no other way of living. 

Diwali in India Let the spirit of love gently fill our hearts & homes. In this loveliest of seasons May your heart gets filled of all the hopes. Let's observe "Thamasomaa jyotirgamaya" this Diwali (even after it...!) and make these post Diwali days special. Literal meaning of this Sanskrit phase is "lead me from darkness to light". So where there is darkness light Is needed? What is this darkness?  Sorrow   No Peace    Loss    Disappointment    Misery   Lack of enthusiasm    Anger   Lust Greed     Hatred       Jealousy    Become your judge and find out which ones of these painful elements "YOU" possess. You know how to get rid of them? Do it by using meditation . Trust me - it's just the matter of  belief that " I can do it" . Rest - as they say - will become history.  Lets not wait anymore to burn our inner dark...

Managing self is overrated. Knowing what you are going to do and how to do it — approach — is everything. But many mull over too much doing and do not spend enough time on thinking. That’s what I am doing right now. I know what is right; just don’t have the courage to do it. May be writing it aloud will help me staying on the morally correct path. The only challenge is to stop the excessive thinking and focus on the big picture. Though managing self-attention is not as simple as blocking out time and turning off your devices, but mind can be shifted. I can do it.

Anna Hazare and the Indian Government   The vision of "Let’s change India" by Anna Hazare are not three words anymore. It represents the power of people, the intoxication of patriotism and the future after tomorrow. There is much more to learn from Anna’s actions. The second Gandhi, who lived on nothing more than water for a week, delivered a performance that shook everyone from the Prime minister’s office to farmers of the tribal village of Orissa from where someone in our family is from. His stint at Ramlila Maidan attracted record-breaking supporters in their quest of forwarding a bill aimed at bringing people who favor dishonesty to books. It provided impetus for passage of greater rights and the dismantling of dubious ways of some people. There’s so much to learn from this. This is what I am taking, pick your choose: Indian government as I see it! Inclusive change Better coalitions Beliefs worth the risk United we stand Live to serve 

My generation has grown-up watching Madonna. The Madonna. Her face reminds me that nearly every great creative mankind has ever known was/is a perfectionist. Yes, I agree perfectionism is not considered a healthy attribute in the world ‘coz it drives people crazy, but what is the fun of living a life that’s not near to it? If you ever read the superstars of creativity and imagination, you’ll find that none of them stood for anything less than ideal work. Watch Madonna’s documentary “I’m Going to Tell You a Secret.” It will inspire you. At every point, Madonna sweats and demands that every moment of her performance is perfect. Really makes me think - why work on something if it wouldn’t get close to as perfect as possible?

When I quit my regular job seven years back, there was no economic crisis in sight – well, at least not in India. Life was good and since I was relatively younger, never even once I had to repent my decision.   Though the carefree attitude has not changed over these years, I have started the experiments to keep myself more secure financially. The world all over, there are simply too many varieties of crisis looming. The sheer populace on the planet practically guarantees new challenges. A common reaction by most people has been to ignore the tough times we live in today as these can be depressing to contemplate. Social graces, light humor, and genuine curiosity always play a big part in reducing people's discomfort with difficult subjects. A lot of them like to invest in bullion and gold bullion to make sure that in case of eventualities – they’ll be ready to fight them over. Once people buy bullion and buy gold bullion, a sense of relief comes over them. Buying gold must al...

Being a spiritual seeker is a blissful experience. It lets you stay energetic the whole day and no matter what you do, the liveliness doesn’t drain out from your nervous system. Everyone faces deadlocks, crisis - whether they last a day or a number of years, it is in your hands to decide what you take from the experience. Rather than shedding our fears, we get engrossed in our tough times and let our weakness of not being able to see beyond the clouds dominate our thoughts.  Were we given life to live in despair? If no is your answer, so where are your adjustments to it? Help yourself. Here are some tips for practical meditation. Use them and see the difference. Take one minute break every hour and observe your thoughts. Do a SOS – Stand, Observe and Steer for them. It will help you in managing your inner resources better and become a better manager of the self. Steering them in the right direction helps because our thoughts are very accustomed to wander off on different tracks....

Mumbai attacks, The Burning Taj and Kasab Our national guest - Ajmal Amir Kasab has turned 2 in our custody. People celebrate birthdays but we will celebrate this anniversary by opening our borders, by applauding our enemies and by sending a lists of wanted terrorists to our dear neighbour, most of whom are already with us.  Well folks, that's India. We'll keep Ajmal Amir Kasab as our guest. Who cares if he killed people. They get killed everyday. India loves you darling. Our slogan is - "Atithi Devo Bhava". Your stay expenses are on us. Please eat, sleep and live a relaxed life. After all, how many of your brothers get a chance to shed innocent blood? Kasab ji and his wishes  India is a rich state. We have given you lawyer for free. We will give you all the comforts till you live. We don't have money to feed our own people but don't worry. You are our nation's priority so we give you security which is more than what 99% of Indians & forei...

Royal Wedding On the day of this gala event, how could I sleep without putting my thoughts into words? Dunno for others but I love being married. It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life. Although they say a man in love is incomplete until he has married...then he's finished, I still think there's lot to be said about this delicate subject.  Wedding My idea of a royal marriage is of a book of which the first chapter is written in poetry and the remaining chapters written in prose. Looks like Kate and Will have come up with a perfect understanding. He won't try to run her life, and he won't try to run his, either because an amiable arrangement has already been agreed on whereby she'll be allowed to have her own way, every time and what we'll see is a happy royal marriage.

Earthquake in Japa Last one month has been phenomenal – there have been quakes, fights, eruption of anger, and the mother of all crises – nuclear catastrophe. Surrounding all this are we – The People.  What is my part in saving Japan and the rest of the world from something that big? Situations like these bring the best out of people. Oneness, ingenuity springs up when the times are tough, making the power of community remarkable. Bravo to those courageous folks who have contributed in easing the pain of suffering.  Nuclear Reactor, Russia What am I doing? That’s a question I have asked myself time and again? I want to do my bit too and that I do by sitting in peace few minutes every one hour and sending the vibrations of pure love, good wishes and positivity. There’s a lot needs to be done and I haven’t become strong enough to remain glued to one thought for more than few minutes but the process of learning is on. Care to join?

Some say Facebook is worth much more than $67 billion. Facebook is no longer just a social networking site; it is steadily becoming a better way to search the internet. Last night, I was desperately trying to find a phone number for an art gallery. I checked Google, Yahoo, Ask, Bing, Delhi Buzz and couple of other websites but nowhere I could find the right info. Also, the art gallery's own website was down. Finding myself out of options, I tried out Facebook. The art gallery did have its own Facebook page, and not only they had listed the correct phone number, but it also had the information I was looking for. I did not even have to call the gallery. Basically, the old www. internet is broken and outdated. There was a gigantic need for a more organized/easy way to access the right information on the internet and Facebook was the answer.

I met a group of entrepreneurs last week, all gathered to talk about building a more civilized work place. During the course of our conversation, almost all of them emphasized that much more important than building teams is to retain them.  Skill sells like hot cake in today’s job market and even though it is nonsense, the war of talent has become time-consuming. For someone eager to win the “war of skills”, two lessons can define the whole strategy: Do not believe in single superstars – because all of them can perform – seriously. Just give them time, space and confidence. Create systems that are greater than people - because even the most talented person can fail in a bad system, and seemingly mediocre individuals can become shining stars in a great system.

Almost a year ago, on a flight from Maldives to New Delhi, I surprisingly found myself sitting next to my ex-colleague who looked seemingly pleasant carrying her two year old son. We had an exciting exchange of ‘who is where and doing what’, shared a few details of what we have been doing over the past five years and how life has changed for both of us. After an hour of conversation, I reached for my book signaling the 'let’s take a break from talking and do something productive with time' kind of look. But she failed to take the hint. Instead of winding down gracefully, she went on telling me how her life is evolving around her baby, how she has been managing everything on her own and remains so busy that she can’t even answer phone calls. The monologue lasted for the entire journey and gave the co-passengers headache for a day. So strong was her wave of ‘I should tell everything’ that she cleared her mind with a pressure. There were times when I tried to stop her but she kep...

Wise men say that honesty makes you stronger. With honesty comes enthusiasm and zeal. It lets you stay away from competition and unnecessary comparison. By criticising others, we become impure and spread the vibes of negativity. We need to learn how to work on creating good atmosphere. Sometimes only a single thought can take us down. The key is to never get disturbed and stay in sync with your inner feelings. There is always uniqueness in unity...and unity comes with honesty. So this lorhi, promise yourself to stay honest – not only with others but with yourself. Stay honest to your feelings and spread positivity.