Sunday, July 24, 2011

15 laws for Being Human


When you were born, you didn't come with an owner's manual; these guidelines make life work better. 
  1. You will receive a body. 
  2. You may like it or hate it, but it's the only thing you are sure to keep for the rest of your life.
  3. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called "Life on Planet Earth". Every person or incident is the Universal Teacher. 
  4. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of experimentation. "Failures" are as much a part of the process as "success." 
  5. A lesson is repeated until learned. It is presented to you in various forms until you learn it -- then you can go on to the next lesson. 
  6. If you don't learn easy lessons, they get harder. External problems are a precise reflection of your internal state. When you clear inner obstructions, your outside world changes. Pain is how the universe gets your attention. 
  7. You will know you've learned a lesson when your actions change. 
  8. "There" is no better than "here". When your "there" becomes a "here" you will simply obtain another "there" that again looks better than "here." 
  9. Others are only mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another unless it reflects something you love or hate in yourself. 
  10. Your life is up to you. Life provides the canvas; you do the painting. Take charge of your life -- or someone else will. 
  11. You always get what you want. Your unconscious rightfully determines what energies, experiences, and events you attract -- therefore, the only foolproof way to know what you want is to see what you have. There are no victims, only students. 
  12. There is no right or wrong, but there are consequences. Moralizing doesn't help. Judgments only hold the patterns in place. Just do your best. 
  13. Your answers lie inside you. Children need guidance from others; as we mature, we trust our hearts, where the Laws of Spirit are written. You know more than you have heard or read or been told. All you need to do is to look, listen, and live. 
  14. You will forget all this. 
  15. You can remember any time you wish.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

A thousand lamps lighting a million lives.



Over the years we have witnessed an alarming increase in the population of self-proclaimed, appointed and anointed teachers and masters. To fortify their existence, they have not only beguiled others to follow them and tom-tom their goodness, they have also gone ahead to acquire inadequate certifications predominantly from the West. It is as if they now have a license to kill. 

Notwithstanding the realm and dimensions of their reach, these individuals have come to entrap gullible human beings and make them subservient to their power, which is often manipulative, sometimes coercive and rarely influencing. Far from being enablers, their nature predominantly is predatory.

These parasitic creatures infest all institutions. While it is easy to find them in academic and religious institutions, you will be amazed to see so many self-proclaimed Krishna-s in the business world too, who have taken it upon themselves to mentor the Arjuna-s to ‘perform’ – where performance is decided by these mentors in terms of furthering their own agendas, motives and design. 

While at the intent level these self-proclaimed teachers and masters seem to be committing themselves to a noble act, in reality they are far far away from nobility. They project upon the unsuspecting students / proteges the unresolved authority issues lying dormant on their unconscious. This is leading to the latter being engaged in toxic control games, their energies getting sucked and often being left emotionally crippled, beyond repairs.

In response to my calling to enable human transformation and awakening, I have decided to launch a movement whereby those who are passionate about touching lives of others and making a difference, will be enrolled, enabled and engaged, in numbers, to enable others to transform and awaken as human beings. This is a movement of sorts and over a period of time, I hope this will lead to outnumbering the fake parasitic enablers to bring a healthy learning climate in all walks of life.

If you are a teacher, trainer, instructor, administrator or even a manager-mentor by choice, come, be a part of my mission.

THERE IS NO FEE THOUGH WE HOPE TO COVER THE COSTS THROUGH CONTRIBUTIONS, DONATIONS AND SPONSORSHIP.

We are fortunate to have been born in the land of legendary masters like Dronacharya and Chanakya. Drawing from the 5000 year old ancient wisdom and heritage of this country, I have designed the program in three levels of enablement:

Level 1: SADHYA (completion, fulfillment
The objective of which would be to enable every learning individual to attain a state of inner integration and fulfillment by freeing them from fragmented personas of their becoming. Duration of this sub-program would be 40 hours over five-days, followed by 40 hours of action learning over three weeks. One has to clear a pre-assessment to join this program.

Level 2 : SIDDHA (accomplished, perfected)
The objective of which would be to enable every learning individual to transcended the ahamkara (ego or I-maker), awakening and becoming aware and transforming from being governed by dense tama gunas to being dominated by rajo-sattva and sattva guna.  Duration of this sub-program would be 24 hours over three days, followed by 76 hours of action learning over six weeks. Being certified as a Sadhya is a pre-requisite to get into this level



Level 3 :SIDDHRATHA (having found meaning of existence)
The objective of which would be to enable every learning individual to become on with the Brahman and live in its grace (kripa) having attained boundless compassion (karuna) towards others and contentment (santosh) towards oneself. Duration of this sub-program would be 16 hours over two day, followed by 84 hours of action learning over 12 weeks. Being certified as a Sadhya and a Siddha is a pre-requisite to get into this level.

Never mind where the areas of subject matter expertise or the area of operation, once an aspiring enabler goes through one or more levels of this program, his / her very presence would be enabling. You could be a technical instructor, a school or a college teacher, a soft skills / behavioral trainers, a business or life coach or for that matter a coach in any other disciple – this program is meant to make your practice impactful and transformational beyond measures. You will stand apart amidst the self-proclaimed ones, be respected and valued phenomenally, even in tangible terms.    

I can see this happening, with or without any support. However the joy of co-creation and co-transformation is making me reach out to you with an invitation to come and participate as volunteer coordinators (in different cities), donors/contributors, and learners.

To me, this is about kindling a thousand lamps which will light a million lives. 

Will you be one of the lamps?                                                                  

Friday, April 29, 2011

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE


Myths & Mis-beliefs

The key to human transformation is to get a failry accurate sense of purpose and be able to live it, consciously.

However, it is ironical that though your life’s purpose, consciously or unconsciously, is at work every moment of your existence, you rarely have an accurate sensing what it really is.

It is not you who is entirely responsible for this ignorance. It is primarily some of the social constructs built around the meaning of life’s purpose – the myths and mis-beliefs - that is somewhere leading you astray.


What are some of these distracters?

1.   Purpose of life is a vocation, an occupation or an engagement that you are engineered to take up in life to be successful.

Your life’s purpose has nothing to do with WHAT you are doing or meant to be doing. It’s more about who you uniquely are and therefore HOW you are meant do whatever you choose to do in life.

My childhood dream was to be a musician. I saw myself performing with an unusual instrument to build rapport with and inspire audiences across all walks of life and am valued for my contribution. Somewhere inherent in dream was hiding the purpose of my life. It wasn’t the dream itself. The spontaneity of expression, the drive of influences and inspire others and being recognized were themes that were underlying this passion of mine. Today, when I look deeply at HOW I am doing whatever I am doing as an enabler, I see these themes conspicuously present.

2.  Purpose defines a state of life to be attained in future. It is the destiny.

Your life’s purpose is like your breath. A companion that lives with you and tries to guide you every moment of your existence. Across incarnations. Those magical moments of co-creation which seemed so right, were absolutely effortless and drew support from even the most unexpected quarters were moments of intense purposefulness. Times when your life-context was in perfect harmony with your life’s purpose.

3.   Purpose of life can be understood cognitively and defined.
This is the most ridiculous of all the myths and mis-beliefs. It’s like saying you can understand the source of creation cognitively and define it. Your purpose of life is as awesome as the source and process of creation of life. It is the primordial personal law that is meant to govern your life’s journey. Your logical thinking and the language you use is too limited and linear to un-fathom and define this phenomenal, rather complex, guiding force. You can only have a ‘sense’ of your purpose, assign symbols to represent its essence and subject yourself to be guided by it, with reverence. 

4.   Purpose of life has something to do with doing well to the others and the society.

I have very often heard some of my friends and acquaintances announcing with élan that their purpose of life is to make a difference to others’ life, to uplift the down trodden, to liberate the captive souls and such similar nonsense.  At best these are personal brand statements that feel and sound right and are meant to create an aura amongst others.

Your life’s purpose is about you and your existence. It’s the very seed of your existence lying dormant in which is the energy to make you realize the highest levels of self-directed participation and performance in the universal process. It is incidental that, due to the inter-connectedness of realities, when you attain the highest, the immediate realities around you are also impacted.

5.   Purpose of life is a mystical concept and has nothing to do with the mundane.

Why do you think, the mundane being mundane, there are so many different flavors of living it? Why is one trader doing business differently from the other? Why are some employees happy and engaged in a certain workplace while some others are not? Why are some businesses more alive, more evolving than the other?

Your life’s purpose determines the nature of your relationship with the mundane as much as the mystical. Living your life’s purpose at your workplace, with family and friends is essential for sustaining harmony as much with your external environment as it is for the inner environment. Disregarding this truth is a sure shot formula for debacle, both in individual as well as institutional lives as has been proven by the economical and ecological catastrophes that keep appearing once in while as wake-up calls.

Most of your attempts to figure out the purpose of your life has gone a begging, despite your best intent, because of the above myths and mis-beliefs clouding your context. Many of you, who insist to have stumbled upon it and to be in the knowing of it, are leading a life which is precariously working at counter purposes. Dissipating, draining and sometimes even depriving you of your life-force.

My explorations with my own sense of purpose as well as hundred others who have had the humility to seek help and guidance has led me to believe that it’s best not to mess around with trying to understand and define your life’s purpose all by yourself but seek professional guidance. You can’t just afford to go wrong there just like you can’t afford to go wrong with figuring out your blood group.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Confessions of a Transformational Coach


When I speak of transformation, I speak of death.
My death.
Intense experience of peeling, dying every day
The ego dies. Familiar comfortable forms die.
I have been dying for years now. And every time I die I leave behind all that I illusorily believe I have.
I leave behind my respect, position and patronage in the name of religion (dharma).
I leave behind all that I acquire (artha).
The desires, the lust, the craving and raving (kama) I leave.
And I even leave behind the possibility of liberation (moksha).
Not that they go away. They are where they were.
I leave behind my association with them.
I leave behind the begging and with it the sense of ownership of the begging bowl.
As I die every moment, every breath, every day
I leave behind a part of the ‘me’, that which is not who I Am..

The Eternal Beggar

For the sake of your fun
You made a destitute out of him
And witnessed it all
Laughing, to the brim
He wanders
Begging for love
Door to door
Gathering alms
Filling the bowl
Not asking for more
Till you come in the way
To snatch away
The beggar’s treasure -
To your great pleasure -
For him to stray
All the way
An eternal beggar
He thought he was
In life and death
In effect and cause
Till one day -
Having lost every farthing
He comes
Fretting and sweating
To your ring
You give him space to sit
On your own throne
Garlanding him
With your Love -
The Eternal Light
That always shone
And anoint him The King!!!

(A poem from my collection, The Drop, written by me, inspired by Tagore’s immortal melody – Ere bhikari shajaye.)
As I write this confession for you to read and hope fully relate I resonate deeply with The Prophet –the confessions he made just before his departure:
Brief were my days among you, and briefer still the words I have spoken.

But should my voice fade in your ears, and my love vanish in your memory, then I will come again,

And with a richer heart and lips more yielding to the spirit will I speak.

Yea, I shall return with the tide,

And though death may hide me, and the greater silence enfold me, yet again will I seek your understanding.

And not in vain will I seek.

If aught I have said is truth, that truth shall reveal itself in a clearer voice and in words more kin to your thoughts.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Transcend forms to transform ... are you ready?

 (Mirabai Ceiba, Live in Madrid at Espacio Ronda, October 2010)
 
Ajai Alai
Invincible.
Indestructible
...
Abhai Abai
Fearless. Everywhere.

Abhoo Ajoo
Unborn. Forever

Anaas Akaas
Indestructible. Within
everything.

Agunj Abhunj
Invincible.
Indivisible.

Alukh Abhukh
Invisible. Free from wants.

Akaal Dyaal
Immortal. Kind.

Alayk Abhayhke
Unimaginable. Formless.

Anaam Akaam
Unnameable. Free from desires.

Agaahaa Adhaahaa Unfathomable.
Undamageable.

Anaatay Parmaatay
Without a master. Destroyer
of all.

Ajonee Amonee
Beyond birth & death.
Beyond silence.

Na Raagay Na Rungay
More than love itself. Beyond
all colors.

Na Roopay Na Raykay
Formless. Beyond chakras.

Akaramung Abharamung
Beyond karma. Beyond doubt.

Aganjay Alaykhay
Beyond battles. Unimaginable.

(Language: Gurmukhi - Source: Jaap Sahib - Author: Guru Gobind Singh)