Diseases are actually the calls of the soul

Suffering or dis-eases are like points mapping the incredibly complex journey of our souls. Biological and psychological beeps forcing our attention to the spirit. In fact, if it weren’t for these very loud and clear indicators, we would be quite clueless about which direction we are taking and what remains to be learnt.

However, our natural reaction to a disease is fear, anger and/or irritation or a feeling of helplessness. What is our dis-ease telling us? Are we able to decipher the message our spirit is sending through our body? That is what we need to think about whenever we notice an ailment rearing its head. And once we begin the inner exploration, what begins to get revealed is startling. Very often, what we see as our weaknesses turn out be our real strengths. And vice versa!

What is even more fascinating are the layers and layers of thought processes, perceptions and beliefs that we keep filing away within us. Right from our childhood, we keep creating a colossal baggage of mostly rubbish! During my self-healing, I discovered some extremely old issues – with their accompanying images – which were so outrageously irrelevant to the present. All they were doing now was sapping my energy. And the moment I released them, I felt incredibly light.

This inner journey is difficult. One has to live through that pain and this time, without judging or labeling it or rationalizing it. And while you are rummaging through the inner garbage, there are sharp things that poke you, leaving you with a few cuts and bruises. There are hard things which cause you immense pain as you bang into them.

That is where flower essences, Reiki and mantras help. They protect you from getting badly injured once again. And you clean up without getting hurt and taking up much time. And when you succeed in cleaning up your inner attic smoothly, the first feeling is of a deep satisfaction and a lightness of being. Thus, the journey continues. What a trip it is!

Bollywood, then and now

Yesterday, I chanced upon some of Bollywood’s golden melodies on TV. What a truly refreshing treat! There were those immortal songs, mainly those of Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh. And there were the breathtaking visuals of a serene Kashmir and Darjeeling. The richness of music combined with visuals of the opulence of nature. Can anything be more riveting?

Added to this were the endearingly charming mannerisms of our legendary actors and actresses of yore. The stunning beauty of Waheeda Rehman; the innocence of Sadhana; the demure charm of Sharmila Tagore and large, dreamy eyes of Mala Sinha; And the bewitching smile of Nanda.

Rajinder Kumar, with his hands trying to explain every word in the song; Shammi Kapoor, with every muscle in his great body pulsating to the rhythm; Dilip Kumar, with his deep, intense eyes making the lyrics redundant; the great Raaj Kumar, with his hands always caressing his throat; Dharmendra, with his Greek-Godlike looks and completely confused dance steps – if they can be called that; Guru Dutt, with the unforgettable creases on his forehead; What a period that was for Bollywood!

Every actor, actress and singer of that time had their unique style, a clear identifiable trait. It may have been natural or cultivated. But it did make them distinct. The TV program was interspersed with several breaks, which showed songs from forthcoming films. Some of these were very good indeed. But many of them, amazingly, had almost similar sounding beats, similar dance steps, similar bodies and similar expressions! Things have changed. And how!

Awareness

 

The earth blushes red when kissed by a setting sun

 

Then the evening shades fall for a night of silent communion

 

The moon looks prettier when clad in dark clouds

 

As the stars twinkle brighter beneath the night’s shroud

 

But lovelier than this Nature’s riveting, alluring guile

 

Is that beautiful, radiant face, and those eyes eager to smile. 

 

P.S. This is my attempt at what I believe is poetry. Your feedback, as always, will be highly appreciated.

The spiritual significance of commuting in a Mumbai local train

Ancient and new age gurus have discovered and invented hundreds of techniques for our spiritual evolution. But if you want a short, clear-cut lesson on how to do it, boarding a Mumbai local train during peak hours is a must. You think I am kidding? Read on and you’ll see the truth in this.

Let’s assume that, thanks to some good karma, you have entered the train when you have enough space to stand and move. Be eternally grateful to God for this great gift. If you get this opportunity everyday, you are truly a blessed soul. Then comes the next station. A human wave crashes into the coach. You are swarmed by arms, legs, beards, moustaches of every conceivable shape and size – not to mention the various odors.

By the time all this registers in your mind, the train lurches to a halt. It is the next station. You are pushed with an almighty force. But guess what? You realize you have hardly moved. You notice another thing. The arms are gone. They are far above you. Now, in front of you are the armpits. In place of beards and moustaches, you have your nose against torsos. (Stop imagining silly things!) As for your legs, there is only one way to find them. When someone else steps on them, thinking that they are his!

By the next few stations, you have lost the sense of time and space. Your nose has decided to stop receiving any more signals. Your body has overcome the sense of pain and discomfort. Your eyes are closed. And your mind has already flown away to faraway, blissful frontiers, leaving the mortal world far behind.

Suddenly you sense some movement around you. They are your arms. Elated that you can actually move them, you open your eyes. To your pleasant surprise, a few people have alighted from the train by now. The arms, legs, moustaches, beards have all come back to their good old positions. You can now shift your legs and feel them. Oh beautiful, precious space! How grateful you are to get it, finally! Gradually, it is time for you to leave the train behind. And when it slows down, you jump on to the platform, feeling so light, you think you could fly. What a joy it is, to be free once again!

Now, if this experience is not spiritually uplifting, what is?

The connection between corruption and physical diseases

Yesterday, I met with a client, a woman who currently suffers from several ailments and is already taking conventional medicines. She wanted to know if flower remedies could help her heal faster. On questioning, it turned out that she had a history of unexpressed feelings, desires and ambitions, which she was rigidly holding on to. She said she avoided confronting people because she “didn’t want to quarrel with them.”

Unfortunately, while the ‘quarrels’ were definitely avoided, all that volatile energy within had played havoc with her body. That set me wondering about a seemingly unrelated thing. India is set to become the heart-disease and diabetes capital of the world. Is it because we have not been able to express our anger and frustration with our lethargic, corrupt and inefficient administrative system?

Whether we have to start a business, get a ration card or do anything remotely connected to a public agency, there is always this constant, irritating struggle with the ‘powers that be’. In a place like Mumbai, the incredibly torturous commute only adds to this overall misery. Besides, of course, our own little personal issues!

Is it possible that we, unable to do much about all this – so far – have bottled up our anger, cynicism, bitterness and frustration within us, leading to diseases? From an energy healer’s point of view, it not only seems plausible, but actually quite true.

So, in a way, the huge outpouring of emotions – first, the joy over the World Cup victory and then the massive protests against corruption; could have been a healing experience for most of us. One believes that frequent expressions of this public unity and venting of the frustration – in a non-violent way, of course! – can go a long way in healing a lot of people. Now that we have fought, and won, the first big battle against corruption, why not pick on small but important local issues and show the same zeal to solve them? The effects of such exercises on health statistics will be really interesting to observe, won’t they?

After India v/s Sri Lanka, it is India v/s Corruption!

Come to think of it, we have never prayed as fervently, and never focused as sharply on the thought of erasing corruption as we have on India’s victory in cricket! And people, young and old, seem to have now decided to rectify this anomaly.

It was an uncanny co-incidence. Even as the earlier post about the power of passion was being written, thousands of people across India were spontaneously joining the fight against corruption! It is such a thrilling process! Shared experiences lead to common perceptions and thought processes within a society. Gradually, a powerful thought, a great idea gets planted within the minds of several people almost at the same time. It keeps sprouting and evolving over a period. And then a leader comes along to help people express it together, generating a mass movement!

It is like a glass filled to the brim. All it then needs is a single drop and the water starts flowing out instantly. The fight for the people’s version of the Lokpal Bill is gaining greater momentum by the hour. And at the center of it all is the diminutive man with colossal strength, Anna Hazare. Astonishingly, he not only thinks and acts like his guru Mahatma Gandhi, but now even looks almost like him!

Fortunately for India, people seem to have instinctively sensed that this could become the greatest revolution in India since the struggle for Independence. They seem to have realized that one of the biggest dreams of every Indian – erasing, or at least decimating corruption in the country – just might become a reality.

As usual, Aamir Khan has been the first Bollywood actor to openly declare his support for the people, while many other so-called ‘heroes’ have decided to keep mum and watch from the fences. Not surprisingly, many prominent ‘leaders of the downtrodden’ and the ‘messiahs of the local people’ have become even more ‘prominent’ because of their deathly silence.

Well, the people certainly don’t mind that! Just as it was on the night of the World Cup win, it is once again the hour of the common man. And this time, the people seem poised to prove that they can celebrate and also fight with the same fervor!

The Miracles Of Shared Passion

Passion, shared equally by a large community, creates an electrifying and almost palpable energy. You can not only feel it and get goose-bumps, but you can even taste it, if you get what I mean. The mind-numbing euphoria witnessed after India’s victory in the World Cup created precisely that kind of energy. The sheer force of this power had even the most sedate souls get swept away in the deluge of emotions that night.

This energy made people blow kisses at the security personnel who admonished them. It made them wait happily for the traffic blocks to clear. It also made cab drivers ferry people for free. And this same energy made people warmly hug even complete strangers.

Now, imagine, what would happen if this same intense, insane energy were to be directed consciously towards some concrete objective. What if we decide, with the same passion, to feed millions of hungry children? Or keep our neighborhood clean? Or bring down the levels of pollution or make the authorities solve our local and national problems? And most importantly, what if this force is used to remove corruption in the country? There is not a single problem which energy of such colossal levels cannot solve. One can easily visualize negative forces simply melting away under the onslaught of such stupendous power.

What is needed to generate this power is passion, to make our lives better, to ease suffering wherever we can and generally brighten up everything around us. Yes, it sounds very clichéd. But so does patriotism. And standing atop every imaginable form of transport, didn’t we feel utterly proud to declare it at the top of our voices that unforgettable night?

Mumbai falls silent, once again!!

Just 45 minutes left for the cricket World Cup finals to begin. And the hyper-active streets of Mumbai have once again fallen silent, just like they did last Wednesday. To be sure, the passions are not running as high as during the India-Pakistan game. But cricket here is a religion. And it’s now time for the devotees to go deep within themselves. It is now time to breathe slowly, connect with the higher power and pray that their idols – in light blue, not the darker shade (!) – can bring the Cup home, so that their own cup of joy floweth to the brim!

Sri Lanka has won the toss and chosen to bat. Which means India will be chasing. That in turn, means that Sachin Tendulkar will have a clear target before him. And the legendary Muralitharan will do all he can to stop him from getting there. Can it get any better? No! Happy viewing!!

Hello My Dear Ones!!

Piping down the valleys wild,
Piping songs of pleasant glee,
On a cloud I saw a child,
And he laughing said to me:

“Pipe a song about a Lamb!”
So I piped with merry cheer.
“Piper, pipe that song again;”
So I piped: he wept to hear.

“Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe;
Sing thy songs of happy cheer!”
So I sung the same again,
While he wept with joy to hear.

“Piper, sit thee down and write
In a book, that all may read.”
So he vanished from my sight,
And I plucked a hollow reed,

And I made a rural pen,
And I stained the water clear,
And I wrote my happy songs
Every child may joy to hear.

William Blake