July 21, 2023 Authenticity vs SpiritualityI feel a rush of energy and vitality these days. It comes from my self. It's the self with a small 's'. The me that seeks creative expression, fulfilment from work, joy from meaningful relationships and integrity from saying "no, not acceptable", where I need to say that. This self is...In Spirituality
November 27, 2022 From Judgements To AcceptanceI was recently trying to collaborate with someone for a workshop. All was going well. Then suddenly the relationship took a downturn. She was seeking a rent for her space, far more than seemed reasonable. Add to that she said a few things that seemed as though she was doing...In Relationship
November 20, 2022 Healing Emotional PainI have struggled with the feeling “I am not wanted” most of my life.Perhaps it has something to do with my childhood. Given away by my mother to grandparents when I was one year old. Sent back to my parents when I was three years old. Admitted to boarding school...In Emotion
November 13, 2022 What Is Spiritual Growth?Let me start by saying that I don’t prefer using the word ‘Spiritual’. It has too many connotations. Each person has their own idea of what spirituality is. The word ‘Growth’ is not appealing either. For it presumes there is a person who becomes better over time.Nevertheless for the purpose...In Growth
October 23, 2022 The Journey To Self-RealizationWe are all on a journey. The journey to realize who we are.Most personal journeys are about finding ourself. This journey is about losing all ideas about ourself. It’s an uncommon journey. Few people undertake this journey.The other thing unusual about this journey is that people undertaking this journey are...In Spirituality
October 8, 2022 Do We Have Free Will?The cause of our anxiety is just this“I am a person. I am doing. I am doing something wrong. I am not doing enough. I am being judged. I am judging myself for what I am doing.”Imagine a character in a virtual reality video game. Everything in the game is...In Spirituality
October 1, 2022 Coming HomeRecently during the middle of a session, I requested participants“Take a moment, close your eyes, and ask yourself what am I truly seeking?” There was silence. I waited, while they checked in to check what they truly wanted. After some time they opened their eyes. I was curious to hear...In Growth
September 24, 2022 Letting GoMost of us have grown up on a diet of working hard.“I must study hard to get good grades.”“I must work hard to achieve success.”“I must work hard to make relationships work.”“I must work hard to become a better person.”There is hardly a time we are not working hard on...In Growth
September 17, 2022 “Hello, I Am The Ego”Hello,I am the Ego. The voice in your head that keeps talking all the time.“The dishes need to be cleaned.”“When will I ever learn!”“What does he think of himself.”“I am better off being on my own.”“I need to heal myself.”“I am working on myself”Yes, all these voices are me. Not...In Mind
September 11, 2022 “Which Life Do You Want?”I often joke, before I was born God sat me down in his heavenly drawing room and said to me:“Look son, I have two designs for your next life. The first one will be easy and smooth. Loving family, easy career progression, traditional values, devoted wife, caring children and a...In Growth
August 28, 2022 What Is Awareness?“I understand, but I am not living the Knowledge.”“If I was Pure Awareness, I would not behave in that manner.”“I have experienced Emptiness, but the feeling of Emptiness does not last.”“I need to work on myself, before I can still the mind, to become Awareness.”“Self-realisation is a deep mental inquiry...In Mind
August 14, 2022 3 Stages of Self EvolutionWe are all on a journey.The journey to find love.Every character undertaking a journey becomes the Heroine of her story. And every story has a beginning, a middle and an end.1. The Beginning: The Loss Of LoveNo matter what our background, we all begin our journey in the same place....In Growth
July 23, 2022 From Doing To BeingI recently met someone doing a marketing course. She happened to attend my class and found value in the teachings. Over a meal she shared some interesting ideas of how I could advertise to reach more people. Some of the ideas were engaging.“Let’s see what happens.” I said“You have to...In Growth
July 9, 2022 3 Reasons To Avoid Using ‘Should’“You should study!”“You should respect elders!”“You should be kind to others!”Most of us would have heard some of these statements in our childhood. Whenever I heard a ‘should’ it would make me cringe. It made me feel that there was something wrong with me. If I wanted the approval of...In Growth
July 2, 2022 Am I One Or Many?It’s raining outside. Misty and cold. I sit here in the studio of a friend, wondering what to write. Should I write? Or should I just sit quietly? Listen to the gentle music. Experience the warmth of the shawl wrapped around my legs.As I close my eyes, I notice my...In Mind
June 24, 2022 How To Act Without Desire?All our actions stem from desire. Even the desire to be desireless is a desire. It is almost impossible to practice Krishna’s advice to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, ‘nishkama karma’, desireless action.“The cause for human suffering is desire.” says BuddhaYet, desire and action is fused together.Is it possible to...In Spirituality
June 19, 2022 Joy Of Missing OutSitting here in a mountain village in Dharamshala, I wonder what must be happening back in Mumbai, the city I have lived most of my life. People rushing to offices, trains running one after the other, street vendors shouting to sell their wares, corporate executives grabbing a quick bite between...In Growth
June 11, 2022 How To Deal With People We Don’t Like?There was a time when I used to try to like everybody.If someone made me uncomfortable and I disliked that person, I would feel equally uncomfortable for not liking that person. I had this ideal “I must like and love all.” Perhaps my interest in spirituality had something to do...In Relationship
June 4, 2022 What Does A Thought Do?We spend our entire life thinking. What to do? What not to do? What to say? What not to say? Figuring ourselves and our life with thoughts. But have we ever thought about thought?What is a thought? Where does it come from? What does it do? What is it made...In Mind
May 28, 2022 The Effort To Be Effortless“Let Go”“Be Natural”“Do Nothing”“Be As You Are”“Be Spontaneous”These dictums are the essence of most spiritual teachings. Deep. Profound. Valid. The only problem is, how does one do it? As soon as you "try" to be natural, it becomes unnatural. When we make an attempt to be spontaneous, it becomes rehearsed. And...In Spirituality
May 21, 2022 Do Self-Help Techniques Really Work?In my quest for self-discovery I have dabbled with a number of self-help techniques. Psychoanalysis, past life regression, psychodrama, inner child healing, body wisdom, family constellations, landmark forum, process work, group relation conference, interplay, gestalt, emotional freedom technique, cathartic writing, transactional analysis, dream interpretation, narrative therapy. No wonder someone once...In Growth
April 30, 2022 What is Success?I. ConditioningMost of us have grown up on a diet of achievement, ambition and success. We were rewarded for coming first. Recognised for getting the highest marks. Celebrated for outdoing others. The conditioning ‘our worth is based on the trophy in our hands and what others think of us’ has...In Growth
April 23, 2022 The Myth of Reaction Vs Response“Don’t react, respond.”Most of us would have heard this. And most of us would have made a mental note, to make a conscious choice whenever we are faced with a difficult situation in the future. But how can we assess whether our behaviour is a reaction or a response?The common...
April 16, 2022 Silence: Language of the SoulIt's been a while since I have written. My Heart needed Silence. But then Silence cannot be written. It can only be experienced. Or shared through Presence.Being alone, not lonely. Being one, not conflicted. Just being, not doing.We live in a culture that celebrates doing, achieving and becoming. If one...In Spirituality
January 1, 2022 2021: The Year My Calling Found Me“Until you find your core, you will be lost.” said a counsellor to me once. “It is that one thing that you do, and only you can do it, in the way you do.” she continued. I heard her patiently. It made me wonder, what was my core? My unique...In Personal
December 25, 2021 Suffering, Surrender & Grace: Part 2All suffering stems from our mistaken belief that we are a person. An individual with a past and future. This identity seeks to fulfil itself through ambition, status, power, fame and acquisition. It wants to be loved, respected and wanted. When it gets what it wants, it is satisfied momentarily....In Growth
December 18, 2021 Suffering, Surrender & Grace: Part 1“I am feeling choked, abandoned, sad and lonely. Uncared, unloved and unvalued. Been crying and finding it difficult to breathe.” read a whatsapp message to me on a Sunday afternoon. “What should I do?” It was from someone I knew. A recent relationship that seemed to have a promising start,...In Growth
December 11, 2021 The Art of RelatingMany years ago I was initiated into spirituality through an Art Of Living program. There I got my first taste of ananda. Sitting still, meditating, chanting, singing devotional songs I was soaked in the Bliss of Being. A mind free from thoughts, desires and fears, reflected the radiance of True Self....In Relationship
December 5, 2021 The Pursuit Of LoveWe all want to be loved. And love. The longing for warmth, touch and care that only love can provide. When we come across someone who loves us, it feels as though a deep yearning in our soul is fulfilled. From the barren desolate terrain of being by ourself, we...In Personal
November 27, 2021 The Head, Heart & Soul Of Decision Making“Should I follow my head or heart?” is a common question. We are always looking at ways to make the right decisions. Whether at work or relationships. Whether small day to day decisions — what to eat, what to wear — or big life altering decisions — what to do,...
November 21, 2021 The Virtue Of Love & Freedom“Study hard.”“Do not lie.”“Be kind to others.”“Be grateful for what you have.”These are some statements I heard as a child. They were spoken by well-meaning adults trying to make me virtuous. Helping my little self, develop a moral compass of right and wrong.Often I did not know why I must...In Growth
November 13, 2021 Miss Panero & The Fountain PenI remember the first time I was given a pen for writing. I was excited. It was a fountain pen and one had to fill ink in it by pulling the small knob attached at the end of the plastic tube. The ink flowed into the tube using the suction...In Personal
November 6, 2021 What Makes Us Fall In Love…And Remain In LoveI am not the best person to talk about love. Particularly the romantic sort of love. I have blundered all along when it comes to receiving and giving love. But perhaps for that very reason I am qualified to talk about it. So here we go, 3 insights into what...In Relationship
October 30, 2021 What is Spirituality, Mindfulness and Mental Health?Recently I was part of a panel discussion on Spirituality and Mental Health on the occasion of World Mental Health Day. It was a good discussion. Before the discussion, I was given a list of questions that were likely to be asked. However since we were five panelists and had...In Spirituality
October 9, 2021 What Women Want“Can you write an article on the male perspective on women? It should be spicy, enjoyable, funny…not serious stuff.”That was the brief that I got for this article from the editor. My first thought was, is it possible to offer a male perspective on women. After all, there are all...In Humour
October 2, 2021 135 /6 Usha Sadan: Memories of YesterdayI am just back from 135 / 6 Usha Sadan. It is the place where I grew up. Where most of my past memories reside. There is no one there now. Bare, empty, freshly painted; the house is in the market looking for its next owner.As I moved around the...In Personal
September 25, 2021 What Is Yoga?Over the years I have come to be known as a Yoga teacher, even though I do not teach asanas and pranayama. So I thought it would be a good idea to write an article on my understanding of Yoga, what I do and how the two are related to...In Spirituality
September 18, 2021 The Problem Of Being SpiritualImagine you were looking for something.Something of great value. You looked in different places. You spoke to different people. You read many books. Hoping you will find what you are looking for in some place, person or thing.But what if, what you are looking for is You.Then your very act...In Spirituality
September 11, 2021 That Was My WifeHe was tall, well-built and had a habit of saying “Tension nahi leney ka, araam sey karo!”I was at the taxi stand near Pune Railway station. I needed to reach Mumbai as early as possible. Luckily for me I found a taxi that was already filled with passengers. Only one...In Personal
August 28, 2021 Lets Talk About SexWhen I thought of writing this article, it wasn’t about sex. It was about self-judgment. But when I delved deeper into my motivation for writing it, I realized it was self-judgment of my past sexual behaviour. It also occurred to me that most people shy away from talking about sex....In Relationship
August 21, 2021 Does God Exist?Recently someone reached out to me for counselling. He had lost a family member during the Covid wave. It was an untimely death as the person was in her thirties. The entire family had been praying for her recovery. After a prolonged stay at the hospital she died. The family...In Spirituality
August 14, 2021 I Am Not The Body. I Have A Body.“I hated myself for not being a few inches taller. It’s difficult for me to accept how guys and their mothers rejected me on the basis of my height during all those matrimonial meets.”“I lived a fairy tale life until for the first time I was called fat. People said...In Personal
August 7, 2021 Expressing The Unexpressed: Stream Of Consciousness WritingThere are two worlds.The outer world of actions and events. And the inner world of thoughts and feelings. Most of us are focused on how to make our life better by doing something in the outer world. Rarely do we pay attention to our inner world. Even if we do,...In Emotion
July 31, 2021 156 Days Of Surrender: Living By GraceOn 3rd August, 2020 I began the Mindful Living classes. I had no idea what I would be teaching. There was just an intense desire to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others. The only thing I had in mind was the topic for the first month. Know...In Personal
July 24, 2021 A Letter Of Gratitude To Life, My GuruDear Life,Today is Guru Purnima. It is the day when the disciple pays homage to his Guru. Since my Guru is none other than you, I would like to express my gratitude to you on this auspicious occasion.First and foremost I am grateful for giving me life itself. All my...In Personal
July 17, 2021 Relating Without Labels: Why Labels Kill Relationships“Look at other brother’s, how much they love their sisters.” said my mother to me, when my relationship with my sister was strained. It made me feel guilty. My inner critic said “You are not a good brother!”. This was not the first time my mother highlighted my inadequacy as...In Relationship
July 10, 2021 Setting Boundaries: Reclaiming Our Power In Relationships“Be a man and take a stand!”Someone said to me many years back. “If I take a stand everything will be destroyed.” I responded to that person. As I said it, I could feel the cold grip of fear in my heart. Without getting into the details of this story,...In Relationship
July 3, 2021 Ask & Share: The Building Blocks Of Relationship“What to do?”One of my biggest confusion has been, what to do when something disturbs me in a relationship. Should I keep quiet and resolve the disturbance on my own? Should I tell the other person what is bothering me? Should I catch a plane to the Himalayas and live in...In Relationship
June 26, 2021 Doing Nothing: Spring Comes Grass GrowsHave you ever tried to do nothing?Just existing, without any outcome in mind. A rare individual would say “yes”. Most of us are constantly doing something, with the intent of achieving something. If we are not doing something, we are either depressed or have rich parents willing to indulge our...In Spirituality
June 19, 2021 The SensationI can feel it right now. A dark hole in the pit of my stomach. An empty void that makes me feel I am Unloved. Unwanted. Unworthy. Alone. That something is terribly wrong with me. This emotion is not new to me. It has accompanied me since childhood. Writing about...In Personal
June 12, 2021 God Loves Fun: Divine Hide and SeekGod was bored one day. There was no one to talk, play or get angry with. She was the only One. As she gazed at her divinely manicured fingernails, she wondered what could she do to have some fun. Suddenly an idea struck her! Her face lit up to match...In Spirituality
May 29, 2021 Our Search For Meaning: My Journey From Accountancy To YogaI recently updated my Linkedin profile after a gap of many years. As I was going through my career trajectory of two decades, from my first job as a financial auditor to now, I reflected on what this journey meant for me. As soon as I thought of this, the...In Personal
May 22, 2021 Finding Your True Self: Identity to Awareness“I love myself”When you say that, are you one person or are you two? Because it implies two. One is the lover and the other is the loved. So are you “I”, the subject that loves. Or are you “myself”, the object that is loved.The purpose of asking you this...In Spirituality
May 15, 2021 Why Things Happen The Way They Do?Our suffering in life is not because of what happened. It is our inability to accept what happened.We did not expect our loved ones to betray us. We did not expect to be humiliated by people in power. We did not expect to lose our job. We did not expect...In Growth
May 9, 2021 MotherSome years back I attended a creative writing workshop. As an assignment, all the participants were asked to write on “Mother”. This is what I wrote.Happy Mother’s Day! It was sunny that day. Or so I imagine. Perhaps it was raining.What was significant about that day was, that it was the...In Personal
May 1, 2021 Four Motivations: Why We Do What We Do?Pause. Take a moment. Ask yourself “Why am I reading this article?” The purpose of making you do this is not to make you realise that you can make better use of your time elsewhere, but to make you aware of your motivation. We are constantly doing things but rarely...In Purpose
April 24, 2021 Mental Codes: We are what we believe“Doing well in life decides my self-worth.”“Live in the present moment.”“Follow your feelings.”“Do not postpone.”These are some of the beliefs that have had a profound impact on my life. Each of these beliefs was operational at different times in my life. Like a software program they influenced my thinking and...In Spirituality
April 17, 2021 Selfishness: Why it is healthy to acknowledge and express our needs“Don’t be selfish!” we would have heard this statement at some point of time in our life. We are taught since a young age to share, be kind and considerate to others. It’s part of our education to live in a society. Sometimes this conditioning to be selfless can prove...
April 10, 2021 Attention: The most valuable thing you haveWhat is the most valuable thing you have? Is it your wealth? Is it your talent? Is it your relationship? Is it your self-confidence? What is it?I have to come to realize the most valuable thing I have is my attention. Where I put my attention becomes the experience of...In Spirituality
April 3, 2021 Will Power & Surrender: Are not different from each otherThere is something that I have been struggling with lately. What is the role of Will Power in spiritual growth? And how does one reconcile it to Surrender?The purpose of spirituality is to transcend our identification with the body and mind. This identification is called the ego. It makes us...In Spirituality
March 23, 2021 Love & Respect: Why love cannot last without respectWe all long for love. But there is another need which is equally strong. Respect. What if someone loved you but did not respect you. Would that be acceptable? Most people would ask why would someone who loves me not respect me? And isn’t love and respect part of each...In Relationship
March 13, 2021 Swabhava & Swadharma: Why Self-Knowledge is necessary for Self-Expression“Know Thyself” is an ancient Greek maxim. There is nothing more powerful than self-knowledge. Yet there is nothing more lacking in the world. Humans have conquered the moon, deciphered the speed of light and connected the globe with the internet. But ask any person who they are, they will most...In Purpose
March 7, 2021 Why & What IfI had two friends in the past, Why & What If I had two friends in the past One was Why And the other was What If Whenever I experienced pain I would ask Why He would always give me a reasonable reason And sometimes when he couldn’t It was...In Poetry
March 1, 2021 Inner Authority: Why we cannot grow under the protection of othersAll my life I have struggled with authority. Parents, grandparents, teachers, seniors, bosses, self-help teachers, and Gurus. I sought their acceptance and security. And then, after some time I found their authority unfair and oppressive. I have seen this pattern repeat innumerable times. This time I decided to write about...In Growth
February 14, 2021 Sentimental Love: Why romantic love does not last…and what doesWho can forget the feeling when we first fall in love. We feel special. We feel the other person is special. We felt our future together is special. When we think of that special someone our face lights up. We feel cared, understood and wanted. A warmth envelops our heart...In Relationship
February 13, 2021 Forgiveness: Why I don’t know how to forgiveI have never understood how to forgive others. Don’t get me wrong. I see the value of forgiveness. I just do not understand how it is done. Let me explain. Just like most human beings, I have been hurt a number of times. Not that I have kept a count but...In Growth
February 5, 2021 Yin & Yang: How to balance your masculine and feminine energiesMy experiences with self-discipline and self-care. We all have feminine and masculine energies in us. It does not matter whether we are male or female. In Chinese philosophy, Yin refers to the female energy and Yang refers to the male energy. Masculine Energy This is the energy of conquest, power,...In Growth
