Tillitonse - A Transformational Journey Together

I meant my ancestors, I will call into the past, far back to the beginning of time and beg them to come and help me at the judgment. I will reach back and draw them into me, and they must come, for at this moment I am the whole reason they have existed at all ….from the movie “Amistad.’ I watched this movie about 15 years ago and for some reason the sentiment attached to this line stuck with me. Over this weekend, I found myself searching for this line. Finally after 30-45 minutes of searching on the internet, I found it. Why now? Over the past 36 hours, since I watched Gokul’s ‘Aaha Kalyanam’ many thoughts have been crisscrossing my mind. Let me just dive in and try and put these in the written word. Important note here – I am writing this piece purely for myself and hence don’t expect you to read this really. But just sharing all the same. First, the powerful sentiment that we are just an extension of the ancestors is increasingly starting to sink into me. This though...

I grew up in an environment where rituals related to anything smelling remotely religious were scoffed at as ‘Mumbo Jumbo’. In fact, we kind off ridiculed those who practiced them!   Further, I am still uncomfortable with rituals in public places which have a Hindu slant as I am uncomfortable with the tag (both self imposed as well as from an external perspective) of being insensitive to those who follow other faiths. So, when I found myself energized after the ‘havan’ (‘homum’) at 136 (my yoga studio), I started wondering why and how this transformation happened. This note captures why the havans at 136 resonate so strongly with me. As a prelude to the chanting of the Maha Mrityunjaya mantra, Shantanu (who led the havan) asked us to do two things. First, to think of someone who needs positive energies (being ill, etc) and second to cast off all our negative energies one at a time each time we chanted ‘Om’ between the repititions of the mantra. I found myself following...

The 3 M Karmic Konnections (Mumbai, Madras and the Maldives - Jan 2014) So, there he sat alone. Waiting patiently. As soon as he saw us, his face lit up in a smile that combined joy and relief. He was a kid and looked even younger. “Welcome to Bombay” was the first words he uttered. This was way back in June 2001 at the Lobby of the Taj President Hotel. Lata and I had just landed from Delhi into what was going to be our city for the next five years. Waiting for us was the tall, thin, V boy! He too like us had just got to Bombay to begin a new journey – life at Xaviers and living away from his twin homes – Colombo and Chennai. While I had interacted with V boy many many times before that, it was really in Bombay that I got to spend real time with him. So, over the next five years, it was great to see his metamorphosis. He took to Bombay like a fish to water and was immediately at ease with the buses, trains, traffic and the sounds that are quintessential Bombay! I...

Managing the Mind : How can one actively defeat one’s own lower nature, and train the mind to be even and balanced? The point is very simple. Always maintain a  positive attitude. As long as one maintains a positive attitude, and is happy and clear in one’s mind as far as one’s own aspirations and participation are concerned, one can easily manage the mind. It goes without saying that the nature of mind is to create problems all the time. Problems are created by the mind because of two things only: firstly, one’s expectations and needs, and secondly, mismanagement of the mental behavior. A person’s expectations and needs become their personal areas of involvement, and then managing of the reactive mind in normal situations has to be the focus On the one hand people say that life is tamasic, restrictive, painful and confusing, yet on the other hand we all expect so much from our own life. There is a contradiction in life. There is no intellectual reasoning, logi...

Manage the Mind Swami Niranjan You tend to forget that whatever happens in life is only temporary. In one situation you experience happiness, and then something happens and you feel sad. When you find happiness, you cling on to it. You do not want the situation to change. However, when you are filled with adversity, you want to run away from it; you do not want to have any association with it. Who is responsible for this attitude? It is the mind. If you can keep the mind in check, if you are able to deal with it firmly, it will remain healthy. After all who did Lord Krishna manage? Did he manage Arjuna or Arjuna’s mind? While on the battlefield, Lord Krishna repeatedly told Arjuna, “Do not let your mind be disturbed! It is your mind that is the cause of all your troubles.” He advised him to perform his duty, to follow his dharma, and not to allow his mind to waver. He showed him ways to regain his balance and keep his mind in control. In fact, the entire message of the ...

Swami Sivananda’s 18 Yamas (excerpts from Development of Satyananda Yoga by Sw. Nirajan) Swami Sivananda gave certain guidelines, in the form of 18 yamas or disciplines to be followed to overcome the lower, tamasic tendencies in life and to cultivate spiritual awareness. Sage Patanjali prescribed five yamas. There are only related to the mind and applicable for altering the states of the mind. I am referring here to the yamas that are capable of altering the nature of the ego. Do not confuse the two. Swami Sivananda’s eighteen yamas which we call ‘ites’, are: serenity, regularity, absence of vanity, sincerity, simplicity, veracity, equanimity, fixing, non irritability, adaptability, humility, tenacity, integrity, nobility, magnanimity, charity, generosity, and purity. You should make the attempt and effort to cultivate these qualities in life. If you are able to grow these wonderful flowers in your life, then the thorns will not bother you. The bush of roses is ...

So, there I was at a lovely party night at the Park Sheraton hotel (once called ‘Adyar Park’). Found myself dancing on the floor to the music of the 80s, surrounded by Aarti, Mani, Anil, Preeta and Lata, of course. A few feet away were Babbu, Priya and Bharathi. Suddenly, felt the warm embrace of nostalgia as an image of spending time with same people twenty five years ago at the ‘Gatsby,’(the discotheque at the same hotel!) I let this wave engulf me and it seemed like I was watching a familiar old movie that I had loved! While years have rolled by, it felt comforting to be surrounded by the familiar! Yup, it was lovely to be back home to Madras! Although it has been five years since we came back, I still don’t take it for granted.   This moment was indeed special!