Trains...

I recently heard the news of a friend's separation and was going through how I felt about it. Initially there was a pang. We all want happy endings - not our own version of happy ending but what we see in movies, read in fairy tales and come to believe. After I sorted out the pang, I sat down to think about them, which is when I came up with the analogy of trains.

Like trains, or train tracks, we all have a single line - our life. If you have ever travelled in a train, and have seen how the tracks run in and out of each other, you will soon realise how our lives are no different. We all have our main line, we meet several lines that come into ours, and we also part from several lines. The continuous dance of railway lines joining and parting from our track is rather fascinating. You can watch it all day long..

There is nothing unusual about meeting or parting with lines. It is just the way it is. And for the train to run smoothly, the right line has to meet at the right point and also part at the right point. any mistake, we get derailed. There is nothing sad about letting go of lines. They arrived, served a purpose, took us that far in our journey, and now it is time for it to leave, so we may journey forward.

Everyone has their our lines that meet ours at some point and part at other. In the end we all have our our source and our own destination. We simply cross paths. Some of us may share the same source and destination, but we start and end at different times and follow different paths. For example, there are three trains connecting Chennai to Hyderabad. All three start and arrive at different times and completely different tracks. But they all reach the same place.

At the end of the day, all we have is the journey to savour. The joy of travelling and excitement with which we look forward to the destination, while enjoying the journey. So.. Happy Journey! :-)

Experience God..Fall in Love

Stop. Before you laugh over the title and decide to leave this page, just pause. My teacher once said that we can either trash the gyan she gives or just pause for a minute, consider it and then choose to keep it or trash it. So, I ask the same of you. Pause. Consider. Choose.

Many have talked endlessly about the experience of the infinite. We even discussed in class what Peak Experiences mean. According to definition, it is a term used to describe a transpersonal state of immense joy, euphoria and harmony with all. And then, my teacher (Wise One she is), said something. That got me thinking.. how do I get one of those? Have I experienced one of those states that connect me with God?

And then I wrote this..

I see God..

When..
I share a light joke with my dad and see him laugh,
I sit near my mom's feet and hug her legs,
My head in her palm resting on her lap..cheeks against her toiled hands,

When..
My dog cuddles up near me when I least expect,
A friend remembers to bring back a souvenir from his travels,
A cousin calls to say 'Thanks for being there',

When..
I spring out of the couch to open the door for him,
Our noses rub and eyes lock,
And share a smile that conveys what no word can,

When..
The window screens rain drops trickling off mango leaves,
Silent peace that connects a car ride,
Genuine bonds that says 'I'm here for you',

When..
I experience 'ah-ha' moments discovering my Truth,
Feel words are just never enough to share what I feel,
And Gratitude that causes misty eyes.


Love and immense Gratitude.. these are the only two things that I can think of when I look back at my life. Love for those who have nurtured me, smiled and walked with me, loved me and accepted me. Gratitude to them and also those who hurt me for they have, in some twisted way, shaped me. Thank you.

I am no great saint, no great philosopher. But I do know love and can say thanks from the bottom of my heart. So, this is the path that I carve for myself. I believe it has helped me to not just say 'Hello' to God but also hug Him. And I hope someday it will help me become One.

Everything Is Love

It amazes me how it is so easy for people to judge and to classify people. Like books in a library - fiction, non-fiction, spiritual, romance, thriller and so on. Punch the card, give a colour code, place them in a rack and forget all about them. Forget that no book can be entirely thriller or romantic. Forget the traces of a different genre that flavours it, that makes it whole. 

When it is hardly any justice to classify books like this, how is it fair to classify people? The most complex of beings created - who have a spectrum of personalities in them. Yes, not one or two, but a spectrum. And the condition called multiple personality disorder.. Humbug! It is the natural order, not an academic disorder. We are happy, we are sad, we are emotional and hard, we are soft at times but harsh mostly, we are good we are bad. We are what we are. 

But then, it is hard to name a spectrum. A spectrum has no beginning or end. The colours in a rainbow seem to have boundaries from a distance. But when you look close, where exactly does blue end and indigo begin? No one can say. They merge, become one and this is the natural state of being. You can not draw lines in a rainbow. You can not create boxes and place people there.

I have been thinking a lot lately about stereotypes and buckets. One of the most annoying one that I have come across is the stereotype of a spiritual person. Spirituality - what does that mean?  White clothes or saffron robes? A cap or a turban? Books in your hand or rosaries? When I ask people their idea of a spiritual person, they tell me different things, moulded by their perception and religion. A common image is that of someone who has given up wordly pleasures in search of Truth. Someone who dresses up plain, chants the name of God and is 'moral'.

Rubbish! That is probably religious but is it truly spiritual? Religion lies, it again places people in buckets. You are this or that depending on who you follow, what you believe and what book you read. There is empasis in classification, not unification. But aren't we all truly one? We - you, me, the trees outside, the birds that sing, the dog on the streets, this table, the laptop and the tiny little electrons that jump with each stroke of the keyboard are all One - Divine. True spirituality seeks the Truth from within for that is where it lies. Look inside and you will find heaven and hell. Look inside and you will see the Divine - whatever name you may want to call it. 

True spirituality is One, it sees one. When you realise that you are no different from your neighbor, you are no different from a rock or a tree or a piece of entwined wire you realise that all is actually One. Then you fall in love. You fall in love with yourself, with the rock and the tree and the wire that you saw as yourself. How can spirituality be abstinence? When everything is you and everything is divine, how can you call something or someone holy and the other unholy? Spirituality arises not out of abstinence but out of embracing everything. Everything is holy and pure..everything is spiritual and worthy of love. 

Everything Is Love. 

Every form of love is pure and divine. When you see divinity in yourself, in your dog, in your education, in your mother, in your lover - every form of love is pure. The very fact that you are capable of love is a step towards divinity. When you can love without judgement, when you can love everything and everyone without conditions, when there is a general feeling of Love all around to, there is peace within you - Inner Peace and immense joy and bliss. After all this is the bliss that Buddha talks about - a general feeling of oneness and of love. Of Universal Love. 

One - Richard Bach

I just read this book yesterday and wanted to share my thoughts here.

The experience of One was a mixture of relief and restlessness within me. Relief because, I have always wondered if it is possible that we are all the same. I have read in several texts and I do truly believe that we are all from the same source and essentially One. The whole concept of time and place is just an illusion. So, I could be Hitler's reincarnated soul, or Gandhi. I can also be you and you can be me. Basically, there is no clear border as to where I end and you begin, if at all we do. I was relieved that someone has also thought about it and written about it. So, I'm not insane after all!

Then the skeptical part of my brain asked - what about the actual boundaries that we do see. Like, I know where by body ends and where the chair begins. What about that. Then I thought of conditioning. When we are born, we come into this world with different levels of sensations and the ability to feel, see, hear and experience many things. Slowly, our parents, teachers and society conditions us to only feel, see, hear or experience certain things which they approve and accept. Hearing voices from people other than those present in the room is disapproved and so on. So, due to conditioning, the human brain loses the ability to experience all that which was experienced before.

Just because an adult brain can not process the information, the adult eye can not see it, we can not deny its existence. What about all the microbs and bacteria that are only visible using a microscope. Parallel universe and the existence of a parallel self is hence acceptable. We can not deny just because we can not see it with the naked eye.

This whole experience of reading the book was like walking in a storm. So many questions and so many answers unfolding. Restlessness within me and all around me. I felt like I knew the answers to those, but I could not frame it into words in my head. It was the exact same feeling you have when you have the name of a movie at the tip of your tongue, but you don't remember it clearly. The nagging feeling in your chest.

Then I had this another weird thought. What if all this is an illusion? A dream. Could it be possible that what we think we dream is actually the reality and what we think is the reality just the dream? Also, could it be possible that all this is an imagination? Of someone? Is it possible that Earth does not exist at all? Nor does the universe or anything for that matter? Could it be possible that everything is nothing? P.S. I have tried to verbalize my questions here. But I still feel that I have not captured my feelings. Oh! the limitation of human language!

I rescued a human today.

(Taken from the internet. If it is copyrighted, please let me know so I can take it down.)

Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively into the kennels. I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her. I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she 
wouldn't be afraid. As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage. I didn't want her to know that I hadn't been walked today. Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy and I didn't want her to think poorly of them. As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn't feel sad about my past. I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone's life. She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me. I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her. Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship. A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well. Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms. I would promise to keep her safe. I would promise to always be by her side. I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes. I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor. So many more are out there who haven't walked the corridors. 

So many more to be saved. At least I could save one. 

I rescued a human today.

Quite interesting and fo fun :)

You are The High Priestess

Science, Wisdom, Knowledge, Education.

The High Priestess is the card of knowledge, instinctual, supernatural, secret knowledge. She holds scrolls of arcane information that she might, or might not reveal to you. The moon crown on her head as well as the crescent by her foot indicates her willingness to illuminate what you otherwise might not see, reveal the secrets you need to know. The High Priestess is also associated with the moon however and can also indicate change or fluxuation, particularily when it comes to your moods.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

To Dogs & Cats

This is taken from the internet, author unknown.

Dear Dogs and Cats:

The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize your space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, and try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years -- canine or feline attendance is not required.

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat. I cannot stress this enough.

To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:

To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets:

1 They live here. You don't.
2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture.

(That's why they call it 'fur'niture.)

3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.

4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly.

Remember: In many ways, dogs and cats are better than kids because they:

1. Eat less

2. Don't ask for money all the time

3. Are easier to train

4. Normally come when called

5. Never ask to drive the car

6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends

7. Don't smoke or drink

8. Don't have to buy the latest fashions

9. Don't want to wear your clothes

10. Don't need a 'gazillion' dollars for college

And finally,

11. If they get pregnant by mistake, you can sell their children.