Nature in my backyard...

Laughter had tinkled across our classroom when in class 6 when we were taught about JC Bose and his experiments with plants. I laughed too yet, from that very evening I stealthily crept into the balcony and sang to my rose bush every day. Voila! It grew better than all the other plants in my sunny little balcony. This was amongst my best kept secrets until of course my brother caught me singing a lullaby and ridiculed me for being such a baby. It’s a vivid image- that healthy plant which I believed swayed to my cacophony. Sensing my interest in gardening, my mother and I slowly began our small kitchen garden- beans, mint, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots- you name it, we grew them. I noticed again, that if we spoke to our dear plants they grew better- healthier, yielded better produce. Not to discount the absolute necessity of good soil and great manure.

Today, many years later, I have my own small kitchen garden and am proud to say that I use no fertilizer. Just lots of good soil, plenty of sunshine, water and tons of love and great vibes- I have a rich harvest of curry leaves, mint leaves, tomatoes and many more in the pipeline… It’s a small step, but I believe it makes a difference. No fertilizers, means that the soil doesn’t get rancid and barren. It also means that I can replant and still yield a good produce (even if in a small pot). Plants in my balcony mean I am green. I am ecofriendly and in sync with the times. It’s a fashion statement in its own right and surely works to beautify my home’s interiors. Herbs that I grow mean I can garnish my cooking with well, garden fresh herbs! It also means that in case of a cold or a sore throat, I can pluck a few leaves of tulsi or holy basil, brew it in steaming water and ward away the illness. Plants in my home mean a dash of music every day, a smattering of love and lungs full of fresh air. It also means a smile on my face as I tend to nature- flourishing right in my backyard.

India's Diadem

She is exuberant to her youth, a companion to those with many a silver hair, a task mistress to the unrelenting, charming to the poet, inspiring to the artist and a goddess to the believer. She is every color in the rainbow. She is extraordinary in her ability to be a shade of everything and everyone that she houses. She is India: incredible and glorious in every aspect. She is a country of love and acceptance. She is a nation of diversity. She is a country of abundance. In that India, we live.

India! Everything from population to languages, from cuisine to costumes - is in plenty here. A country that is home to so much variety and color cannot but be a melting pot of cultures, traditions and humanity. With such vivaciousness about her, it is no mean task to identify the tiara but I believe I’ve found the biggest and brightest shining diamond - the diadem of Incredible India.

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A quest...

It’s a desire… may be a little more than that, may be a little lesser. But it’s a desire all the same. To be loved. To be sought after. To be craved for. To be the mistress. To be the slave. To be the best. To be looked up to.

A desire yes! On the face of it.

And to fulfill that desire… there are the wants… a diamond ring to outshine the rest. A curvy look to be the temptress. A table over loaded with the much sought after feast not to forget the huge pile of gifts. Wanting to please others. Wanting to be wanted. Wanting to be cared for…

Wait! Is that confusing!!! That I said was a desire… a desire to be cared for. A desire to be wanted… and also a want to be craved for… a want… a desire… a desire… a want… want... Desire. Desire Want. Want. Desire. Desire. Want…

But look beyond… actually look through it… pierce the want, look at desire. Bare its soul to you and you’ll see the truth… no desire. No want. No complimenting. No fulfilling.

Just a quest. A thirst. To feed your soul on love in its various glorious forms…

You don’t desire. You don’t want. You simply seek fulfillment and that; you look for outside of you… instead of where it really lies... buried deep within the depth of your own eyes. Like water droplets that seep into the ground and you can never separate them again… so also, our thirst for unconditional love, for bliss is part of our deepest longing… the only true desire or want that we’ve ever had is that of love- unconditional, free of all entanglements.

Abundance...

Over the last few days, the most predominant thought or rather feeling has been of plentitude. Life has a strange way of giving soooo much... plenty of everything. So much work; so much spare time; so much activity; so much rest; so much of longing; so much of dispassion; so much of everything; so much of nothing...

In fact as I realized, even the feeling of neglect and lack is in plenty. Most people really feel the lack or dearth in life. And that feeling is so strong and so deep; it doesn’t come superficially- it comes like a gushing wave and sweeps over us. That’s life, giving its fullest to us always. All that matters is what use we put it to.

With a power so profound working all the time, it is a little wonder that we haven’t mastered the art of making it work for us. If we look at it rather closely, life only gives us what we are thinking/ wishing/ dreaming deep down. So, for instance, if you are wishing that the cup doesn’t break, your deepest sentiment is fear of the cup breaking… So, life does just that, goes ahead and smashes the cup!

For those of you who have read The Secret, you know that this is true. I am not just quoting from the book. I have been lucky in many aspects of life. One of them being that I received this profound knowledge very early in life when Gurudev His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji spoke about Intention, Attention, Manifestation. Being the brat that I was, I never really implemented it. But then, like many other important things, this one also got tucked away, safely in a corner of my over active brain.

Some years ago, suddenly people were talking about movies and books that drew inspiration from ancient knowledge. Indian Spirituality they called it. What that means I’ve never understood, given that spirituality can’t be divided least of all geographically. That besides, with all the talk of spirituality and dreams, secrets and matrixes going on, that’s when unbidden, this knowledge raised its hood and ruffled its feathers inside me. Like a fad that comes and gets a grip of everyone, I brought this knowledge into my practical life and reaped a rather rich harvest. Not only was I growing materially, but something inside me seemed calmer, happier and content. But a fad is just that, as impactful and rushed is its entry, so is its exit. With the talk dying down and me getting all that I had wanted anyway… the knowledge was put to sleep again, down in the depth of my mind.

Then, recently came Inception, and with it, once again Intention, Attention and Manifestation came to the forefront. Thankfully, this time it isn’t only about fulfilling some desires and growth etc. This time, when the wisdom resurfaced for me, it opened new doors of understanding. An understanding that might help me tap into the infinite power of the universe. A step towards the realization that the seed contains in itself the tree, the fruit, the leaves, the branches, the buds and the flowers. The awareness about my thoughts manifesting as a reality in my life…

The result of that awareness has been a spontaneous recognition of the abundance in life, in nature, within me and every single thing and person that comprises my existence. Abundance, plentitude… the lavishness of it all stare’s in my face and leaves me with a million dollar smile…

Beyond the darkest dot...

I desired to make it happen

So, for long hours I thought

I worked and saw and analyzed

Beyond the darkest dot.

Then one day before spring came

I formed the sheltered plot

With the fresh new leaves and the spots of green

I actualized my deepest thought.

As the green grew deep and the swings did sweep

I built on all my want

When the first drops fell and the stream did swell

I drew the larger font.

Then came the fall, all harsh and small

In wilderness I did wander

The trees went barren, the wind howled like a distressed heron

The dry leaves took along with them, the thoughts that I did ponder.

In the testing cold and bitter times

No footprints did I see

Time went by lost and forlorn… I almost breathed my last

At that very breath, in the deepest frost, I saw the golden sea…

I basked in its beauty

A new life it gave, a new vision for me to see

And somewhere deep down in life

I felt innate tranquility.

As the sea grew deep and prettier indeed

I reflected on all that I squandered

I knew now what I forgot

I knew now that I was peace… I was what I always sought

And so I desired, and so I thought

And analyzed beyond the darkest dot

Coz now I knew what I forgot…

That spring would come after the frost.