Festival patterns

 Festival season has begun for those who follow the path of Sanatana Dharma (also commonly referred to as Hinduism).

Patterns that repeat every year:

Certain businesses - “I will ridicule your beliefs and traditions, but hey, I do need a share of your wallet allocated for festival spends. Here are my attractive festival deals!”

Certain political parties - “An opportune moment to appease people of other faiths. Let’s come up with some announcements and see if they create any effect among the majority. If at all a few make noise, we will use our tried-and-tested playbook and convert a devotion-based, religious festival into a cultural event”.

Certain cinema actors - “Do I really need to post wishes for this festival? Will that have any leverage or increase my fan base (or voter base for the future)?”

Fake environmental activists - “I need to put on my savior hat and raise my voice now on air pollution, water wastage, noise pollution, animal welfare, and protecting nature....this is the right time to speak about climate change”

Fake minimalists - “Why do people spend so much during festivals? Too much consumerism at play, buying flowers and fruits.”

Certain health influencers - “Modaks are so carb-heavy. Try avoiding it or eat only 1/4th of a piece if your mother insists. Or else your weight might go up by 1 kg the next day!”

Pseudo feminists - “Women are slogging so much during these festival days, waking up early, cooking an elaborate meal for the family, cleaning the house, doing Pooja, etc....Men do nothing...It’s sheer patriarchy.”

Certain IT employees in their 20s - “Ah finally, a mid-week break...I can wake up late and just chill.”

Certain parents in their 30s - “If we take the Mon and Tue off, we will get a 5-day long weekend. A drive to Coorg is sure to be relaxing. Kids will also have a lot of fun.”

70s and 80s kids - “That festive vibe is missing these days. Visiting grandparents, playing with siblings and cousins, eating a lavish spread followed by a nice afternoon siesta.....Sigh!”

Not a post to judge or crib...I have been that “certain” IT employee and parent in the past. I have also fallen prey to the narratives of the “-ists”.  However, since the last 10 years, I am making a conscious effort to return to my roots and I look forward to every festival.

Festival days break the monotony of mundane routines.

Festivals help nurture the relationship between us and God, to surrender and connect with God.

Festivals are also a way to understand and reflect on the tatparya (significance) using our scriptures.

As a parent, it is my responsibility to pass on the traditions and their importance to my child.

As we celebrate Ganesh Chaturti, let us make it a priority to celebrate with family with loads of happiness, good food and the company of loved ones, keeping in mind, devotion towards God as the foundation.

Book Review: To the beginning of the end of Karma by Meetu Bisht

 

Karma and its workings are intriguing topics, not just for exploration and analysis, but for bringing about fundamental shifts in our behaviors. A deeper understanding of Karma is crucial, so that we don't dismiss it as pre-ordained.

I read the book "Karma" by Sadhguru in 2021, which brought a lot of beginner-friendly clarity. Since then, I have been exploring various other sources to go deeper into this subject. The latest book that I devoured on this topic is Meetu Bisht's "To the beginning of the end of Karma". 

I loved her earlier books - "Living spirituality" and "Why we are who we are". They were filled with powerful insights and nuggets of wisdom. Her nuanced approach to writing keeps the reader engaged.

In her new book, she has unpeeled various layers of Karma in simple language. It is quite voluminous (300+ pages), as compared to her earlier works.

This book is divided into 3 sections. The first section focuses on the nature of Karma, the cause or reasons behind this law, and its principles. The author reiterates throughout the book that Karma is not a force to fear, but a call to action. She defines Karma as the energy of the deeds from the past that manifest as either rewards or challenges in the present. The roots of karma can be traced back to our tendencies (samskaras or vasanas mentioned in our scriptures).  The path elaborated is very much relatable - Tendencies -> Conditioning -> Habits -> Character -> Deeds -> Karma.

In the second section, she elaborates on the method and manifestation of karmas. The purpose of Prarabdha, its intensity, the transformation needed in our responses, and the ensuing closure give more clarity on how one should approach Karma, not through a self-defeating or victimhood mindset, but through graceful acceptance and raising the frequency of response. Someone facing a heavy Prarabdha is offered greater opportunities for self-realization and awakening.

In the third section, more specifics related to the handling of Karma are explained in the context of money, relationships, health, and multiple challenges in life. The chapters on how our ego is the cause of Karma were truly eye-opening. The author has given examples of 19 ways by which our actions and perceptions are shaped by the ego, influencing how we see ourselves and interact with the world. It is a neat check-list to go over and understand how ego influences us on our personality level.

We often wonder how some people are blessed with popularity, wealth, and power, while others are not. The explanation given made so much sense.

"A life of fame, affluence and power is not a perk but a massive responsibility and duty, forming part of a substantial karmic payback.....this is because their soul has undertaken the task of clearing a significant portion of karmic debts......results from multiple debts and rewards of past karma maturing simultaneously".

It is just not possible to pick a few lines as my favorite, as I had highlighted so many lines throughout the entire book :-) But to give a glimpse of the writing, here are a few:

"Opinions are just concepts that feed the ego".

"Personal karma builds when one resists reality, i.e. when thoughts and feelings reflect a rejection of what is".

"The energy associated with money comes from how it is earned and how it is used".

"Our suffering must end with the karmic experience itself, rather than continuing in our thoughts, feelings and emotions long after".

"The more we invest emotionally in what we are going through, the more we remain prisoners of our own ignorant past".

Though the style of writing is simple, each paragraph requires deeper reflection. It is not something that one could just brush through in a glance. When I came back to certain chapters after a few weeks, I realized there were more insights that I had missed in the first read.

If you have read this far, I'm sure you would love this book :-)

The only point of confusion I faced in the initial chapters was that the three aspects - action (karma), visible result (phala), and invisible consequence (punya/papa) are all called as "karma" (which is quite normal, as we use that way in our day-to-day parlance). As I kept reading, I was able to understand the distinction depending on the context.

I will certainly revisit this book multiple times as my understanding evolves.

P.S. This book was sent to me by the author. This review is my honest and unbiased feedback of the book.

Extreme violence in movies

 "People who watch a lot of violent action movies tend to have anger and revenge-seeking tendencies"- I recently heard this statement in a discourse. What we feed our minds triggers our attitudes and behaviors. The impressions get stored in our subconscious minds and influences our actions in very many ways.

In the past 3-4 years, there have been so many gory, violent movies that are being released. The censor board giving U/A certificate (13+ rated) to such extreme gore and violent movies is a big concern! I had written a detailed post on this topic when the movie "Jailer" got released.

Now as the next superstar's movie is about to release, the trailer looks even worse with so much bloodshed. Though the movie is "A" rated, the impact it will create on our psyche is just not worth it, even if the viewer is 18+.

Gone are the days when I used to look forward to Superstar's movies.

It is so unfortunate that a person who claims to be spiritual in his real life, chooses to act in movies that propagate such gore and violence. One can argue that the reel life and real life are different. But for a person of his stature and reach, for someone who claims to practice spiritual practices like Kriya Yoga, such a person has a moral and ethical responsibility on his choices and the impact it would create in the society.

Practice of shama and dama

 In Viveka Chudamani, Adi Shankaracharya talks about six-fold wealth (shat-sampatti), in reference to qualifications of a spiritual aspirant. These six treasures are equally relevant in leading a meaningful life in the material world.

The first two of these six treasures are:
- shama - control of the mind
- dama - control of the sensory organs

Shama - withdrawal of the mind from external objects and steadily fixing it on a goal. Requires perfect discipline.

Dama - self-control relating to the sensory system, comprising of 10 Indriyas. These include 5 Jnanendriyas (organs of perception) and 5 Karmendriyas (organs of action). Turning away from sense objects and placing them in their respective centers when they are not meant to be used.

Swami Ranganathananda in his commentary talks about how a turbulent mind and an uncontrolled sensory system make for an unstable inner environment.

Inner stability or psychic homeostasis can be achieved through the practice of shama and dama.

In the modern world, many businesses thrive because of our lack of shama and dama. Many ideologies promote that we let go of these two treasures under the pretext of "YOLO".

If one leads a life with discipline and self-restraint, the merits accrued, impact various aspects at the individual level - good health, character, strong relationships, purpose, meaning, peace and most importantly, freedom.

As long as we don't practice shama and dama, we will continue to be enslaved by the fleeting pleasures, while businesses profit out of our compulsive behaviors.

Consistency in Yoga asana practice

 As a practitioner and a Yoga teacher, I believe that there are three factors that are important to stay consistent at Yoga asana practice:

1. Be comfortable with repetitive movements
Our minds seek novelty and people who are new to Asana practice tend to get bored after a few days. When someone goes for jogging or gymming, though the physical movement seems repetitive, novelty is brought in either by listening to new podcasts, audiobooks, music or other forms of entertainment to keep the restless mind occupied. Yoga is all about awareness and staying mindful during the practice. Similar movements done consistently and slowly yield amazing results in terms of strength and flexibility.

2. Stay there for the long run
Because of initial enthusiasm, we tend to push ourselves more and strive to do challenging asanas earlier without giving enough time for the body to open up. This increases chances of injury and strain. It is better to take it slow and continue our practice in the long run. I'd rather prefer to do 12-rounds Suryanamaskar comfortably in my 70s rather than push myself to hit the 108-rounds in my 40s and end up straining my lower back.

3. Adopt an attitude of "I'm grateful that I can...."
If your body is relatively stable without any major ailments, approaching Yoga asanas with an attitude that "I'm grateful that I can do Trikonasana or Sarvangasana or Padahastasana...." helps you to stay consistent with your practice. We take our flexibility and mobility for granted, but when diagnosed with certain ailments, the same poses which we could have comfortably performed earlier, now become contraindicative. For someone with high blood pressure or lower back related issues, forward fold poses are to be avoided.