What is this thing called love?

This is one of the really meaningful email forwards I have received in years …. And I don’t remember when did I last cry ….

“How long will you be with that newspaper? Will you come here right away and make your darling daughter eat her food?” My wife screamed. I tossed the paper away and rushed to the scene. My only daughter Sindu looked frightened. Tears were welling up in her eyes. In front of her was a bowl filled to its brim with curd Rice. Sindu is a nice child, quite intelligent for her age. She has just turned eight. She particularly detested Curd Rice. My mother and my wife are orthodox, and believe firmly in the ‘cooling effects’ of Curd Rice.

I cleared my throat, picked up the bowl and said, “Sindu, darling, why don’t you take a few mouthfuls of this Curd Rice? Just for Dad’s sake, dear. And, if you don’t, your Mom will shout at me”. I could sense my wife’s scowl behind my back. Sindu softened a bit, and wiped her tears with the back of her hands. “Ok, Dad. I will eat – not just a few mouthfuls, but the whole lot of this. But, you should…” Sindu hesitated, “Dad, if I eat this entire Curd Rice, will you give me whatever I ask for?” “Oh Sure, darling,” I promised.

Slowly and painfully, she finished eating the whole quantity. I was silently angry with my wife and my mother for forcing my child to eat something that she detested. After the ordeal was through, Sindu came to me with her eyes wide with expectation. All our attention was on her. “Dad, I want to have my head shaved off, this Sunday!” was her demand.

“Atrocious!” shouted my wife “A girl child getting her head shaved off? Impossible! “Never in our family!” my mother rasped, “She has been watching too much of TV. Our culture is getting totally spoiled with these TV programs!”

It was time for me to call the shots. “Our promise must be kept. If we go back on our promises, she will never learn to honour her own. Sindu , your wish will be fulfilled”.

With her head clean-shaven, Sindu had a round-face, and her eyes looked big and beautiful. On Monday morning, I dropped her at her school. It was a sight to watch my hairless Sindu walking towards her classroom. She turned around and waved. I waved hack with a smile. Just then, a boy alighted from a car, and shouted, “Sinduja, please wait for me!” What struck me was the hairless head of that boy. “May be, that is the in-stuff,” I thought.

“Sir, your daughter Sinduja is great indeed!” Without introducing herself, a lady got out of the car and continued, “That boy who is walking along with your daughter is my son Harish. He is suffering from Leukamia. Harish lost all his hair due to the side effects of the chemotherapy. He has been suffering the unintentional, but cruel teasing of the schoolmates. Sinduja promised him that she will take care of the teasing issue. But I never imagined she would sacrifice her lovely hair for the sake of my son!”

I stood transfixed. And then, I wept. “My little Angel, will you grant me a boon? Should there be another birth for me, will you be my mother, and teach me what love is.

It is not what we feel within but it is the expression of this feeling that makes a difference in relationships

A beautiful poem

Came across this beautiful poem on Intentblog posted by D.K. Matai ….

Conscience is instinct bred in the house,
Feeling and Thinking propagate the sin
By an unnatural breeding in and in…

I say, Turn it out doors,
Into the moors.

I love a life whose plot is simple,
And does not thicken with every pimple,
A soul so sound no sickly conscience binds it,
That makes the universe no worse than ‘t finds it.

I love an earnest soul,
Whose mighty joy and sorrow
Are not drowned in a bowl,
And brought to life to-morrow;

That lives one tragedy,
And not seventy;
A conscience worth keeping;
Laughing not weeping;

……

You can read it in full here

Life in the Ashram

When we did our first program with Isha, we did not really know what we were entering into. There was a lot of mystery as to what is going on with people who have been associated with Isha. Their energy levels, their presence, everything was out of world. And above all, the presence of a Live Guru could not keep us back. We had to do all the advanced programs to be able to do one program with Sadguru. This program is an yearly event and we did not want to wait for another year. So, it all started in January. A 3 day program at Mumbai, then in February, two more programs at Ashram and now we were ready for the Samyama program with Sadhguru.

Mahashivaratri was also in February, just before the Samyama program, which is celebrated in a very grand manner at Isha. And Sadhguru is there all through the celebration. The whole night celebration, with performances by various musicians and singers made it a truly memorable experience. Sadhguru’ discourse on that night was the highlight of the celebrations. The whole night program was telecast live on one of the spiritual channels on the TV, with Hindi translations. I came to know that people really enjoyed watching it from their homes. We were right at the venue, so it was an altogether different experience; we did not blink an eye the whole night, till 6 in the morning.

Samyama is a Silence program, 8 day program where you are not supposed to communicate with the external world at all. Everything at the Ashram is done perfectly to make it possible for all the participants to be able to follow this rather difficult regime. Done by thousand people together, sitting in one big hall, it is an experience of lifetime. It is very beautiful experience. Though it is not really easy, Sadhguru makes it really simple to do it. With no track of time and day, I actually lost track of which day of the program it was. And on the last day, I was under the impression that there is one more day to go. I do not remember many occasions in life where I have lost track of time . I wish every day is like that.

I do not want to write about the content of the program, because experiencing it without knowing much about it is the best way to do it. I also went without any idea as to how it is going to be. I wish to be able to do more programs with Sadhguru in the coming years.

Talk by His Holiness Master Kirpal

Came across this post by DK Matai on IntentBlog on a Talk by His Holiness Master Kirpal in 1974. Using very simple language to convey the deep truth, I found it to be very beautiful talk.

DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS — The world is a panorama before us; and we, on the sense-level from the day of our birth, are absorbing impressions from it, perpetually increasing our subconscious reservoir. Approximately 80 percent of these impressions come in through the eyes, and through the ears about 14 percent. The rest enter via the other senses; by taste when eating rich foods and getting engrossed in their enjoyment, by the smell of various fragrances and odors, etc. The life we live, therefore, is a superficial one; and we have become the superficial image of it. Forgotten is the existence of an inner life; forgotten is the Inner Way to it. ….