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On Feb 25, 2014 Rekha Garg wrote on The Dalai Lama: Why I Laugh, by The Dalai Lama:
I think, it necessary to let go of one's ego, in order to laugh authentically. When you can laugh at yourself as others would, there seems no difference who the subject is. The other aspect of laughing authentically comes up when one learns to let go of control in life, or one figures out that you really don't have control on most anything. You might think you are holding the reigns really tight but you fail to see if the reigns are attached to anything on the other end. Once the realization dawns that its someone else holding the reigns and its okay by me, that's when you can laugh about anything from the bottom of your heart.
On Jul 29, 2013 Rekha wrote on Emotions for Liberation, by Sally Kempton:
The point of any spiritual practice is to not to teach you to suppress your emotions. That kind of practice would be tedious and temporary. A true practice is one which teaches you the true reality of this material world and which thus helps you let go of attachments. At that point, you are able to express any emotion outwardly but don't get attached to them, so you can move away from them easily. It gives you a capability to witness your emotions objectively and not get carried away by them. This kind of discernment in turn will help your practice get stronger.
On Jun 11, 2013 Rekha Garg wrote on We Move in Infinite Space, by Rainer Maria Rilke:
हम अनंत आकाश में घूम रहे हैं
- रेनिअर मारिया रिलà¥à¤•à¥‡ दà¥à¤µà¤¾à¤°à¤¾ लिखित (१० जून, 2013)
मà¥à¤à¥‡ लगता है कि लगà¤à¤— हमारे सारे दà¥à¤ƒà¤– तना... [View Full Comment]
On Apr 30, 2013 Rekha wrote on The Endless Fertility of Walking, by Rebecca Solnit:
पैदल चलने के अनंत फायदे
- रेबेका सोनित (१जून, २०१३)
देखा जाठतो पैदल चलना कà¥à¤› à¤à¤¸à¥€ अवसà¥à¤¥à¤¾ है जिसमें हमारा मन, शरीर और सà¤... [View Full Comment]
On Apr 16, 2013 Rekha wrote on Why Not Be Ready?, by Tenzin Palmo:
If one can at least pose the question - who am I? - the rest of the life along with the answers you pursue will become clearer. Am I this body, senses, sensory organs, mind, or intellect? Or something more subtle and beyond all the outer layers? The next question to ask would be - why am I here? Even if the answers are not clear right now precisely, there is a general direction. The purpose of every Jeevatma or soul is to understand the reality of that One Supreme Being, there are various sadhnas to get there and our whole life has to become a Sadhna to reach that goal; it is never too soon to embark upon that journey because even though our time on this earth is determined the moment we are born but we don't know how long we have. It is said that human life is granted once after going through millions of life forms and it is only in this form that one can attain God. We cannot vile away this precious human life on mundane thoughts, relationships and actions. Higher we get his lifetime, closer we are to attaining oneness with God and exactly where we get to start next time.
On Apr 16, 2013 Rekha wrote on Why Not Be Ready?, by Tenzin Palmo:
हम तैयार कà¥à¤¯à¥‹à¤‚ न रहें?
-तेनजिन पामो (१ ॠअपà¥à¤°à¥‡à¤² , २ ० १ ३)
हमारी रोजमरà¥à¤°à¤¾ की जिंदगी ही हमारा आधà¥à¤¯à¤¾à¤¤à¥à¤®à¤¿à¤• जीवन है। अगर हममे&... [View Full Comment]
On Apr 9, 2013 Rekha wrote on The Only Power of the Mystic, by Hazrat Inayat Khan:
योगी की à¤à¤•à¤®à¤¾à¤¤à¥à¤° शकà¥à¤¤à¤¿
- हजरत इनायत खान (ॠअपà¥à¤°à¥ˆà¤², २०१३ )
योगी के पास केवल à¤à¤•à¤®à¤¾à¤¤à¥à¤° शकà¥à¤¤à¤¿ है - पà¥à¤°à¥‡à¤® शकà¥à¤¤à¤¿à¥¤
उस à¤à¤• चीज़ में&nb... [View Full Comment]
On Mar 7, 2013 Rekha wrote on The Most Subversive Invitation, by John O'Donohue:
The Hindu scriptures say that one gets the human birth so we can perform Karma Yoga and find our way to connect our soul with the Supreme. Humans are the only creatures who have been endowed with the body and mind to reach that ultimate goal. Every action we do, every though we think, counts as our Karma and also is being watched by Someone all the time. There is no hiding from Him.. Our soul is divine but it is being directed by our material intellect. We need to make time for contemplation as to the reason for this birth which couldn't have been to eat, drink and be merry! God created this universe as Maya for our bodies to have their basic needs met. Universe was created for our Upyog -necessary use, and not Upbhog-not for exploitation. The unknown lies outside our vision because our senses and mind are material and the Unknown is divine. We have to seek the Unknown's grace by Bhakti and contemplation so He graces us with divine mind and senses so we can perceive and experience Him. In Kalyug the only way to achieve this goal is through Bhakti, and surrender, which to out modern, intellectual mind will sound orthodox. It has been said that in science, you have to take certain facts and experiments for granted or just accept them whether we have seen them and experienced them ourselves or not. And we don't question Science. Existence of God and Spirituality also require just having faith on some basic premise and building upon that faith. We need to to at least give God a chance! Human life is not about its capability to domesticate or control its surroundings, but to let go, surrender to the one who created our universe and marvel at its creation.
On Feb 12, 2013 Rekha wrote on Fearlessness, by Thich Nhat Hanh:
Most things we fear are inventions of our own mind. So you have a choice to act the way you want to. The biggest fear in a human life is to losing a source of happiness. That fear will go away or slowly mitigate if we define what is happiness. Is it the worldly pleasures which are transient in nature or is it your soul's connection with the Ultimate Soul, the God. If we are mindful of the cause or effect of the current source of distress and how is our reaction to it going to affect our goals of meditation, then some of our fears will surely start to melt away. We need to also stop feeling so powerful that any unforeseen event makes you feel powerless. Not everything which is happening around us, is the direct effect or cause of what we or others are doing right now. There are some past Karmas as well, and if we start recognizing and acknowledging the past Karmas as well, then we might be able to break away from the cycle.
On Feb 12, 2013 Rekha wrote on Fearlessness, by Thich Nhat Hanh:
Fearlessness
--by Thich Nhat Hanh (Feb 11, 2013)
Most of us experience a life full of wonderful moments and difficult moments. But for many of us, even when we are most joyful, there is fear behind our joy. We fear that this moment will end, that we won’t get what we need, that we will lose what we love, or that we will not be safe. Often, our biggest fear is the knowledge that one day our bodies will cease functioning. So even when we are surrounded by all the conditions for happiness, our joy is not complete.
We may think that if we ignore our fears, they’ll go away. But if we bury worries and anxieties in our consciousness, they continue to affect us and bring us more sorrow. We are very afraid of being powerless. But we have the power to look deeply at our fears, and then fear cannot control us. We can transform our fear. Fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realize that right now we are okay. Right now, today, we are still alive, and our bodies are working marvelously. Our eyes can still see the beautiful sky. Our ears can still hear the voices of our loved ones.
The first part of looking at our fear is just inviting it into our awareness without judgment. We just acknowledge gently that it is there. This brings a lot of relief already. Then, once our fear has calmed down, we can embrace it tenderly and look deeply into its roots, its sources. Understanding the origins of our anxieties and fears will help us let go of them. Is our fear coming from something that is happening right now or is it an old fear, a fear from when we were small that we’ve kept inside? When we practice inviting all our fears up, we become aware that we are still alive, that we still have many things to treasure and enjoy. If we are not pushing down and managing our fear, we can enjoy the sunshine, the fog, the air, and the water. If you can look deep into your fear and have ... [View Full Comment]
On Feb 5, 2013 Rekha Garg wrote on Beyond The Conflict Of Inner Forces, by Author Unknown:
Beyond the Conflict of Inner Forces
--by Cherokee Story (Feb.6, 2013)
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life:
“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.”It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf will win?”
You might heard the story ends like this: The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
In the Cherokee world, however, the story ends this way:
The old Cherokee simply replied, “If you feed them right, they both win.” and the story goes on:
“You see, if I only choose to feed the white wolf, the black one will be hiding around every corner waiting for me to become distracted or weak and jump to get the attention he craves. He will always be angry and always fighting the white wolf. But if I acknowledge him, he is happy and the white wolf is happy and we all win. For the black wolf has many qualities – tenacity, courage, fearlessness, strong-willed and great strategic thinking – that I have need of at times and that the white wolf lacks. But the white wolf has compassion, caring, strength and the ability to recognize what is in the best interest of all.
"You see, son, the white wolf needs the black wolf at his side. To feed only one would starve the other and they will become uncontrollable. To feed and care for both means they will serve you well and do nothing that is not a part of someth... [View Full Comment]
On Jan 8, 2013 Rekha Garg wrote on Gift from the Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindberg:
I think the idea here is in conformity with the law of karma - its the ocean of karma from which we get gifts of all kinds and we have no choice now. In the current state we just have no way of knowing our past accumulated karma and what is coming our way next. We just have to have faith in the system. All we can do is wait and see while staying on our path. Staying calm and still will make accepting what comes forth, easy! Also this state will probably lead us into the intricacies of our eternal memory and bring peace. Fighting or digging for treasures may not bring what our heart desires right now. It is more important to enjoy and focus on the journey than waste our time waiting for the destination.
We do not choose most anything in life. Its just that when things turn our the way we wanted, we have more faith in God and when they don't, that's not the God you want to believe in. What you believe currently or not does not change the fact that there is a universal power who runs this world. When you look at nature and the rules with which it operates, you have to have faith in an entity who is responsible for all this. The real Me has to reconnect with that God and that's all there is to it.
We do not choose most anything in life. Its just that when things turn our the way we wanted, we have more faith in God and when they don't, that's not the God you want to believe in. What you believe currently or not does not change the fact that there is a universal power who runs this world. When you look at nature and the rules with which it operates, you have to have faith in an entity who is responsible for all this. The real Me has to reconnect with that God and that's all there is to it.
On Dec 11, 2012 Rekha wrote on The Power of Myth, by Joseph Campbell:
Mythology is powerful literature, and sometimes seems to provide very contradictory messages and difficult to understand and appreciate by using just the intellect. I feel the power of these stories have to be learnt from at an inner level, level of the pure heart from a Guru - a God realized soul, who can help us navigate the path of these stories and provide their relevance to our current lives. Once understood to a certain extent, they can provide a solid anchor for our lives and help us figure out the meaningfulness of any actions and effects of previous actions, taking place now. For example, the concept of Karma, originating from Hindu mythology, gives me a perspective about loosening my control over effects of my efforts in my day to day life. Things don't always turn out in direct proportion to my effort. But I have to consciously keep moving in a positive direction in order to create new Karma and also to mitigate any effects of past Karma. At the same time understanding, that positive effects were not all my current effort as well as the negative effects we also not all my lack of attention.
On Nov 28, 2012 Rekha Garg wrote on The Challenge of Gift-Giving, by Nitin Paranjape:
I believe being able to receive graciously is also an art and a big practice. People in general and mostly people who are givers from the heart ( me included) have very hard time receiving gifts without feeling undeserving or embarrassed and even less powerful. It is important for both the giver and the receiver to go thorough the process in a way where there is a comfort level on both ends to an extent that both feel at peace, happy, deserving of the moment and attention given and received and acceptance. This applies not only to material gift-giving whether store-bought or hand-made, but also to other acts of kindness someone does for you. Personally, in this context, I love doing things for others, cooking being one of my ways to show love for others. And there are days when I'm physically too exhausted to carry on even the basic cooking, but when my husband asks me to sit down so he can cook and feed me, I find it very hard to receive his gift. Mostly, the reason being it makes me feel less in control and the weaker link. I think the kind of happiness you would like to feel in your heart as a giver , you have to allow others the same by receiving beautifully and without feeling awkward. Without a receiver, there is no giver!
On Nov 13, 2012 Rekha Garg wrote on Frying the Seeds of Anger, by Swami Vivekananda:
I think anger is an emotion where one feels that my own emotions, feelings and needs are more that anyone else's, where one's ego is at its prime. You only get angry at situations and people who are not functioning according to my own made up values or ideas. But the bottom line is: I'm not supreme and so my ideas are not the only way to think and act in the world. When one begins to understand that everyone is at a different stage of evolutionary process and acting accordingly and if you conceivably happen to be at a better place than others in being able to say and do the right thing at the right time,then the best you can do is show compassion for the ones who have not quite reached your level. Such a thought process will help nip the anger in the bud because we have transformed our energy from anger to compassion and done both of us a favor.
On Oct 9, 2012 Rekha Garg wrote on The Way of the Farmer, by Masanobu Fukuoka:
Thoughtlessly ruining nature in the name of progress and scientific development is an extremely narrow and near-sighted approach. We need to take only as much as we need and not as much as we desire. Especially dissecting each part of our food into scientific labels is the end of the nourishment, nutritious value and wholesomeness of our food. After all what we are ingesting is not a potion of vitamins and minerals, but its a combination of so many elements of human and natural endeavor from farm to table and then with what gratitude we are accepting this amazing offering called food is what is going to provide us proper nourishment. Closer we are to nature, the more appreciation we would have of the amount of labor involved in the production of food what a crime it is to waste food. Anyone who has done any edible gardening can truly appreciate that fact.
On Mar 4, 2014 Rekha wrote on To Be On A Spiritual Path, by Jan Phillips:
I feel that to be able to see what's special in every experience, one needs to remove oneself as the doer and see the event as an amazing synchrony of cause and effect, as well as the Act of the Spirit which animates and sustains us. Every time I am able to detach myself, neither feeling proud of myself for good things or cursing myself for the bad, I feel like an unnecessary burden has been lifted off my system. I feel liberated in the moment. I also feel that to see a clutter free path in the rear view mirror, we can start acting today, because the past is gone and all you can do about it is forget and forgive as well learn the required lessons and apply them to today's actions.A sangha, such as this, is surely a helpful place to deepen any spiritual practice.