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 Reading this writing is like  listening to my inner voice with no noise disrupting this deep listening. It feels like being in the infinite sky with no clouds obstructing the clear space. It is indescribable by words. IT IS.

I have had glimpses of such REALITY when I was in a state of doing nothing, a state of just being. That happens to me when I am mentally absent and fully present, when I am not looking for something, being it or being in and with it. I had such blissful moments when I was in the presence of Anandimaiya radiating blissful joy by her joyful loving presence. In her presence, my wife and I, merged and flowed in the river of ONENESS. I experience it when I relate to others from my heart and feel that ONENESS.

By meditating, self-examining, contemplating, living mindfully and not "sleeping", the extent of such blissful state is expanding and I am grateful to those beings who have showed me a path of living fully. Blessed we are to have such awakened beings who have been our teachers of life.

Namaste to all who are the pilgrims of light and love.

Jagdish P Dave

 Soul is to me as like light that gets dim by my own unmindful and unwise thoughts and actions. It is hard to see light when we are  in sound sleep of ignorance, Of course such unawakened state causes suffering. I create and sustain my own suffering and effect the lives on people who care about me and love me. I have had such self-and-other suffering actions and experiences, at times small and at times big. during my long life span.What really helped me to reduce and end my suffering is souls searching, self examination-self awareness and regular mindfulness practice. Doing such self work with like minded people and getting support and feed back from them has been very helpful to me. 

I  fell down, got hurt and got up, saw the light and followed the path. It is a journey, a pilgrimage.My inner being bonds  with interbeing and transcends  the boundaries and bonds with transbeing  

I often remember the song my father used to sing as I was growing up. It is in Hindi. I translate it into English. Oh traveler! Wake up from your slumber. Behold, the dawn is rising. Wake up. One who wakes up, begets blessings, one  who sleeps, loses.

I see the value of creating and being a part of the Sangha- a spiritual community.

I feel blessed to be connected with all of you. may we all walk on the right path! Namaste.


Jagdish P Dave

 My life is mostly simple. I learned simplicity by living with families and  friends who lived a simple life.One thing that sands out in our simple living is what we eat. Our food is very basic, cooked at home and not costly.We do not waste any food because we do not cook more than necessary. We grow vegetables in our back yard. We eat more nutritional organic food which is good for our health. We have all the basic things we need in enough quantity. We turn water off and lights off when we do not need to  use them.We never had any garage sell because we do not have more things than we need. We visit department and other stores only if we need to buy things. We make the full use of things.We do not compare our possessions with others who often go for new things even though they may not need them.

Living this way we have more time to spend with each other as we do not have to stretch ourselves for getting things we do not need. Simple living does not mean living poorly or superficially. In fact simple living has created more quality time for us to relate to each other more compassionately and deeply.In simple living, there is no mad rush for buying more and more and having more and more. Simplicity has its own beauty, grace, inner strength and inner richness. The belief system -big the better and more the merrier -leads us to hanker after getting fulfillment from outer world at the cost of inner peace and contentment.

Different people have different ideas about simplicity. Ultimately it boils down to making wise choices of living in tune with nature and cultivating connectedness. It is the art of learning to live from within.

Namaste-bow to simple living.

Jagdish P Dave
 

 During my long term as a learner, more than 30 years as a school learner- and the rest 60 years of out of school informal and life learner and as an educator, I have come to realize that formal school learning was primarily training combined with educating. I learned theories of learning and healing, principles of designing and creating curriculum, methods of instruction and counseling, testing and evaluating and doing research in the field of teaching and counseling. Yes. I gained knowledge, mostly information, learned skills required to learn and practice.During these years of schooling, I did have some inner growth promoting and reaching out transpersonal experiences. So it was not all just training. I had wholesome educational experiences from teachers who were not only interested in dolling out information like from mug to jug, but were teaching from their heart with passion, compassion and dedication. I also was blessed to have friends and families who inculcated values of compassion, kindness, and serving others. I believe in creating harmony between head, heart and hands in working as an educator, counselor and a consultant. I wish our educational institutions including our well known ivy schools have a balance between head and heart, taking care of oneself and others, serving oneself and others,cooperation and collaboration, passion and compassion.

Jagdish P Dave

 The contradictory way of perceiving the reality is bothersome to me. The either -or mind set- instead of this and that is closer to perceiving the reality. In Jainism, it is called syadvada-the reality, the existence , is multifaceted like many colors of the rainbow. We hear this contradictory way of  relating to each other by sayings like either you are with me or against me. This polarized way of seeing everything is an indication of our fragmented way relating to ourselves and others. We are familiar with the value we put on the left brain dominance, the head brain, the thinking brain at the cost of the right brain, the heart brain, the feeling brain. Our educational system is designed and developed for the cultivation of the left brain. Think about the damage done to the right brained children in a country in which we believe and claim to be equal and to be treated equally. I was born and raised in India in an extended family with a large number of family members. We express our love for parents, brothers, sisters, younger and older and even for Gods and Goddesses  by using different words for love. The different words convey different shades of love, different meanings of love. Words are very powerful. The brain research shows how positive words and negative words  differently affect the brain circuits. There is a great wisdom in the saying, " How you think and how you say and behave have a tremendous impact on us and others." I am living my life in a balanced way. I value both sides of my brain, head and heart, and relate to me and others mindfully and compassionately. My life has been enriched by embracing and practicing the wise saying that I leaned as a child: Truth is one, perceived and expressed differently by different truth seekers. I value this weekly thoughtful and thought provoking gift and the comments of all to the weekly reading. Namaste. Jagdish P Dave ... [View Full Comment]

 The contradictory way of perceiving the reality is bothersome to me. The either -or mind set- instead of this and that is closer to perceiving the reality. In Jainism, it is called syadvada-the reality, the existence , is multifaceted like many colors of the rainbow. We hear this contradictory way of  relating to each other by sayings like either you are with me or against me. This polarized way of seeing everything is an indication of our fragmented way relating to ourselves and others. We are familiar with the value we put on the left brain dominance, the head brain, the thinking brain at the cost of the right brain, the heart brain, the feeling brain. Our educational system is designed and developed for the cultivation of the left brain. Think about the damage done to the right brained children in a country in which we believe and claim to be equal and to be treated equally.

I was born and raised in India in an extended family with a large number of family members. We express our love for parents, brothers, sisters, younger and older and even for Gods and Goddesses  by using different words for love. The different words convey different shades of love, different meanings of love. Words are very powerful. The brain research shows how positive words and negative words  differently affect the brain circuits. There is a great wisdom in the saying, " How you think and how you say and behave have a tremendous impact on us and others."

I am living my life in a balanced way. I value both sides of my brain, head and heart, and relate to me and others mindfully and compassionately. My life has been enriched by embracing and practicing the wise saying that I leaned as a child: Truth is one, perceived and expressed differently by different truth seekers.

I value this weekly thoughtful and thought provoking gift and the comments of all to the weekly reading. Namaste.

Jagdish P Dave

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 The source of sound is within me and I am in vain searching for the source of the sound outside of me. We look for happiness by wishing and acquiring name, fame, power and position coming from outer sources. Feeling, sensing and believing that happiness is coming from out side sources is a sure way of getting disappointed and unhappy. Our  outer dependent acquisitions come and go leaving traces of unhappiness. It is an illusion like chasing the shadow to find myself. I am reminded of Saint Kabir's poem in Hindi: kasturi kundal base' mruga dhoondhe' van mahi. The musk deer is looking for fragrance outside of him without realizing that it is coming from his naval center, from within.

I felt passionate about teaching when I was 18 years old. At that time, some 70 years ago, teachers were poorly paid in India. I followed my bliss and teaching has always filled the cup of my life with lots of joyful and fulfilling blesses. At the age of 89, I am still enjoying teaching as my way of serving others. And I am sure I will continue feeling deep joy and fulfillment following the path I had started walking when I was 18 years old.

When I am quiet within myself I let different voices arise in me. I let them come and go without resisting if I do not like the voice, without chasing it if I like it a lot and running away from it if it causes uneasiness and anxiety in me.Eventually, all the voices go away and a voice whispers in the stillness.I listen to it, embrace it and sing my song.
We all need to find our original voice by remaining still, by letting other voices come and go and discover our authentic voice.

Jagdish P Dave

Sharing good things in life opens up door of connections within, between and beyond. This is my experience and it has worked for me. How do I cultivate and sustain this noble quality in me? I have learned lessons of sharing as I was growing up. It was and is a tradition in our family to share a meal with anyone who would drop in at times unannounced. We call them an  atithi-a guest who may drop in without checking. When we took our grandchildren to visit India, they were delightfully surprised to be welcome and feel at home even though the neighbor did not have an advance announcement or notice of their arrival. Such simple day to day experiences lay the foundation of sharing and getting connected. They plant the seeds of expanding our consciousness.Such childhood experiences have created spiritual roots in me.

Sharing my gifts unconditionally brings deep joy in me and deep feelings of gratitude in the receiver. And the same feelings arise in me when some one offers a gift from the heart. Such gifts are small yet big.The heart is not measured by external yardsticks.Sharing becomes service when we go beyond ourselves.When I serve a child or my client and or a friend, I feel full inside myself. I feel abundant and fulfilled. To me, they are spiritual experiences and they build bridges of peace, good will and well-being.

I am always grateful and happy to receive this weekly gift of awakening. Namaste.

Jagdish P Dave

 As I was growing up in a poor Hindu family, i knew the difference between money and wealth. Every morning, my mother used to chant in Sanskrit in her melodious voice. I loved sitting beside her chanting with her and deeply feeling the peaceful and joyful presence of my mother. The meaning of the chant has stayed in my heart. It means: When you wake up, hold your hand in front of your face and always remember: Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth, resides on on the top of your hand. At the bottom, resides Saraswati,  the Goddess of learning and wisdom and Govinda, Krishna, the incarnation of God, is in the middle. This chant has had a deep impact on me. In order to be happy, one needs to have the wisdom to earn and use the money and resources wisely. We did not have  a lot of money and luxurious things like our neighbors had but we were happy with what we had. We felt deeply connected with each other, cared for each other, were contented with what we had, and related to our neighbors like they were a part of our extended family. We were wealthy but not rich materially. When we came to the USA, we kept the art of living the same way we were living in India. Living from within in accord with the core values of life has been a guiding light for us. How to relate to the human and natural resources wisely, unselfishly, lovingly, compassionately and gratefully is a challenge for all of us.Money driven life does not create the inner affluence and wealth, the joy of living and sharing our gifts with others and living a fulfilling life. It is my observation that we value achievement more than fulfillment. Achievement is outer directed, fulfillment is inner directed. Achievement is other dependent, fulfillment is inner dependent. I am striking a balance between these two orientations. The two do not need to be opposing each other.  Every morning as I wake up wake up, I hear my mom's loving voice. The voice that has gui... [View Full Comment]

 As I was growing up in a poor Hindu family, i knew the difference between money and wealth. Every morning, my mother used to chant in Sanskrit in her melodious voice. I loved sitting beside her chanting with her and deeply feeling the peaceful and joyful presence of my mother. The meaning of the chant has stayed in my heart. It means: When you wake up, hold your hand in front of your face and always remember: Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth, resides on on the top of your hand. At the bottom, resides Saraswati,  the Goddess of learning and wisdom and Govinda, Krishna, the incarnation of God, is in the middle. This chant has had a deep impact on me. In order to be happy, one needs to have the wisdom to earn and use the money and resources wisely. We did not have  a lot of money and luxurious things like our neighbors had but we were happy with what we had. We felt deeply connected with each other, cared for each other, were contented with what we had, and related to our neighbors like they were a part of our extended family. We were wealthy but not rich materially.

When we came to the USA, we kept the art of living the same way we were living in India. Living from within in accord with the core values of life has been a guiding light for us. How to relate to the human and natural resources wisely, unselfishly, lovingly, compassionately and gratefully is a challenge for all of us.Money driven life does not create the inner affluence and wealth, the joy of living and sharing our gifts with others and living a fulfilling life. It is my observation that we value achievement more than fulfillment. Achievement is outer directed, fulfillment is inner directed. Achievement is other dependent, fulfillment is inner dependent. I am striking a balance between these two orientations. The two do not need to be opposing each other.  Every morning as I wake up wake up, I hear my mom's loving voice. The voice that has guided me to be  contented, peaceful and joyful-happy. To me, this is an ongoing journey and I am happy to go through it. How wonderful it is to feel the presence of some one who gave birth to me, nourished me and is still lovingly guiding me! I bow to you, my dear mom!
 
Namaste to all.

Jagdish P Dave

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 Being human and 89 years old, I have gone through painful losses of friends, brothers, sisters, parents, in-laws, brother-in-laws and sister-in-laws, nephews and nieces, wife and a few highly evolved human beings. I do not need to convince anyone how much pain is created in our heart by such big losses. I have grieved, endured and accepted their immortality. I am also sensing the shadow of the inevitable life- taker death. I feel sad knowing very well that I will depart from my beloved families and friends and will cause pain in their hearts. When such thoughts come to my mind, I mindfully process them and let them go on their own. Living each day this way, makes me appreciate every act of kindness and love that others do for me and what comes out from my heart. I see  glimpses of light and experience  the fullness of living lovingly. I feel bliss, deep contentment and deep sense of gratitude. Loving, serving being kind and laughing and dancing  effortlessly with others and even by myself with none with  me or around me is very uplifting.

I am getting a little wiser as I am growing realizing the transitory nature of all living beings, Recognizing, accepting and letting go of losses liberates me from my self-created human suffering and lets me relate to  life fully as it is unfolding.

With love and gratitude,

Jagdish P Dave

 This writing reminds me of a poem sung by Saint Kabir-Kasturi kundal base'-musk fragrance lies within us. The musk deer  senses the fragrance and he is looking for it outside of him. Poor deer! He does not know that the source of fragrance is within him.The fragrance is arising from his navel center. The poet, Rabindranath Tagore, is searching for beauty far away in the Himalayas. A little flower right in front of his eyes quietly whispers: O great Poet! What you are looking for is right in front of you ! In my experience, poetry expresses this wisdom more poignantly than prose.

Being with people who are awakened to know and realize this Truth has helped me to relate to this way of being whole, wholesome and happy in my everyday living. I regularly practice Mindfulness Meditation and relate to happenings in life mindfully. I feel wholeness when I remain connected with this wise way of living.When I deviate from this wise way of living, I feel separated from my self and from others, I miss the sense of oneness in manyness. The good news is that such experiences make me realize that I am a human being. By accepting them mindfully, I move into the being zone. I transcend. I am journeying at times feeling isolated and disconnected and returning home, feeling whole. I am grateful to many who have helped me remain awake and centered.

Namaste to all.

Jagdish P Dave 

 Hi Chitra:

What you wrote is not like a pie in the sky. We all need to learn to enter into the extensive and non-judging, judge- suspending quiet place to taste the power and effect of the now consciousness. There is no fixed way to the the now. The now is the way. We all need to cultivate  mindfulness skills to rest effortlessly. As the mental noise and the mental cluttering subside, we gain a deeper understanding of our self created suffering and become free from the stuck and reactive mental place. I practice mindfulness meditation everyday. I feel deeply contented and happy. I do my work joyfully and act responsibly. It does not look and feel like task. There is wisdom in the saying," How we perceive is what we perceive." Mindfulness meditation creates that wholesome shift in our perception. And such a shift helps me not to be stressed out and enjoy life.

Thanks for your response this  thought provoking article.

Jagdish P Dave

Well said. When I was in India, i had similar experience with wonderful American peace core volunteers.

Thanks.

Jagdish P Dave
 

 This story deeply resonates with me. If I look at and focus on the bent and rotting branch of a tree, I miss the beauty  and health of the whole tree. It is like paying and focusing   my attention only on what I have not completed  and blaming myself  rather than seeing  what I have  completed.  In my counseling experience I often hear one person complaining about what the other did not do or say right thing rather than recognizing and exoressing so many right and good things the other has done. It is important to recognize where I went wrong so that I learn from my mistake. When I dwell on my wrong doing and get obsessed with it, I am missing what I have  done right and feel good about it. In relationship, this perspective applies to both persons. Pointing a fault finding and critical finger towards me and or towards the other is a sure way of making oneself and the other miserable. I see this limited and narrow way of seeing in economics, politics,  and seeing people coming from different cultures creating separateness and ill feelings. We as human beings are not perfect and we all have our shortcomings. No country is perfect and no culture is perfect. When we look at ourselves and others, our culture and other's culture with this fault finding  and narrow perspective, we miss the goodness and beauty of the whole and big picture.  Last year I went to my native country India with  two couples from America.It was interesting to see how each saw the same country, people and culture from different lenses and had different kinds of  perceptions, experiences, opinions. and reactions. Those who looked with a comparative and critical mind set, missed the positive aspects of the culture. Two of them decided to leave earlier and let us know they would never come back to India. The other couple enjoyed and appreciated the positive aspe... [View Full Comment]

 This story deeply resonates with me. If I look at and focus on the bent and rotting branch of a tree, I miss the beauty  and health of the whole tree. It is like paying and focusing   my attention only on what I have not completed  and blaming myself  rather than seeing  what I have  completed.  In my counseling experience I often hear one person complaining about what the other did not do or say right thing rather than recognizing and exoressing so many right and good things the other has done.

It is important to recognize where I went wrong so that I learn from my mistake. When I dwell on my wrong doing and get obsessed with it, I am missing what I have  done right and feel good about it. In relationship, this perspective applies to both persons. Pointing a fault finding and critical finger towards me and or towards the other is a sure way of making oneself and the other miserable.

I see this limited and narrow way of seeing in economics, politics,  and seeing people coming from different cultures creating separateness and ill feelings. We as human beings are not perfect and we all have our shortcomings. No country is perfect and no culture is perfect. When we look at ourselves and others, our culture and other's culture with this fault finding  and narrow perspective, we miss the goodness and beauty of the whole and big picture. 

Last year I went to my native country India with  two couples from America.It was interesting to see how each saw the same country, people and culture from different lenses and had different kinds of  perceptions, experiences, opinions. and reactions. Those who looked with a comparative and critical mind set, missed the positive aspects of the culture. Two of them decided to leave earlier and let us know they would never come back to India. The other couple enjoyed and appreciated the positive aspects of the culture and extended their stay in the country. By focusing only on the shortcomings of the country, they missed the opportunity of enriching their lives.

I always appreciate and value receiving this once a week gift  and remaining connected with many without even hearing their voices and seeing them.

With gratitude,

Jagdish P Dave

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I deeply value authenticity and compassion as the two basic attributes of an evolving being. I have observed and experienced these two essential qualities in many people whom I love, admire and emulate. In my life Mahatma Gandhi and Dalai Lama have been such highly evolved human beings.

I was blessed to  experience the presence of both of them. Both had gone through very difficult times  in their lives which made them internally strong and grow spiritually. Their authenticity was expressed in what they said and how they lived.

I was four years old. My dad used to take us to attend evening prayers held on the bank of the river Sabarmati. I was too little to understand what Gandhiji said but I will never forget his Presence exuberating his compassion, total presence and effortless smile. I felt deeply connected with him though we were age wise widely different.

When Dalai Lama migrated to India from Tibet I felt very excited and happy to have his presence in Dharamashala. When I saw him  at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago I felt his inspiring and uplifting presence and joyful energy. When I listened to him I felt the depth of his wisdom and the heart-felt compassion.

Both have taught me how to go through hardships, struggles and the inevitable pain without breaking down and how to cultivate authenticity and compassion, how to serve and live a fulfilling life.

I value the once-a-week satsanga, the gathering, we have without seeing our faces and without hearing a word. I feel connected without sight and sound.

With love and gratitude. Namaste.

Jagdish P Dave

Radhika's reflective writing deeply resonates with me. The beauty of such writings is like walking to the mountain taking   different paths realizing that there is no absolute way for everybody. I learn and grow by remaining open to the diversity and feeling grounded at the same time, like a tree rooted with its branches open to receive gifts coming from various sources. Thanks to all for expressing their reflections and contributions.

Jagdish P Dave