Tillitonse - A Transformational Journey Together

A few days ago, a post by Puja Gupta on the touchy subject of death got my attention. Today, this came out….Not a fun topic, so please read on with that caveat.  I was talking to my wife’s cousin yesterday about the concept of death and how most of us are scared to discuss it. Yudhistra in the Mahabharatha is asked about the greatest miracle he has seen. His reply ‘death is certain for all of us,  but humans go around thinking it won’t happen to them.’ Yup, quite amazing how we have been socialized to disassociate with the topic of death. Some of you have heard me tell the story of the princess and the four boyfriends Well, today, I had yet another exposure to the main thesis of that story. I spent an hour at the crematorium this morning sitting quietly next to my friend who had lost his father. We did not talk for more than 30 minutes. Just sat next to each other. Words are so inadequate at times like these. This is my second trip this year to this place and for more reasons...

Three Treks So, earlier this month, went for three treks

29 Signs You’re Doing Just Fine (Even If It Doesn’t Feel Like It) By:  Marc Chernoff Happiness is not the absence of problems, but the ability to keep things in perspective and deal with them. We all have days, weeks, months and – for some – even years of feeling anxious and uncertain. It’s a vague feeling you can’t quite put your finger on. From the outside, people think you have it all together, but they can’t see what’s going on in your head. Emptiness fills your thoughts and emotions all too often, nagging at you throughout the day. You set goals but they never satisfy your ego. You always feel a day late and a buck short. The search can seem almost endless. And a question continues to spin in your mind: “Why can’t I just be happy?” The good news is you don’t have to live like this. There is a better way to view the world that will lead to what you seek. The first step, though, is to stop searching. You will never find happiness by continually looking fo...

Sometime in 2011, I came across a book that had a huge impact on my life. "The only way out is within" written by Rohini Singh resonated strongly. I came across this book at a critical juncture of my life - when the past was inadequate and the future unclear. Oh, the classic cross roads (a.k.a the mid-life crisis).  The book helped me to understand my thoughts and emotions better and most importantly played a big role in setting me on a path of rejuvenation. I liked it so much that I probably have bought over 20 copies and have passed it on to others. Flipkart owes me big time!   A year or so ago, an idea occurred - maybe I can convert this book into a workshop. I tracked down the email address of the author and wrote to her. But, alas there was no response. Earlier this year, I decided to pursue this again and found another email address and wrote to her. This time a warm note came back! Hurrah!  So, last week, when I was in Delhi, I decided to track down Rohi...

They say that to get over your fear of falling when learning to cycle, one has to quickly get back on and try again. This note aims to capture my experience in relation to my visits to a bastion of Yoga in Bihar, India. In Dec 2011 and then almost two years later in Oct 2013, I spent some time at the Munger Ashram of the Bihar School of Yoga (BSY). In both the trips we had come during large events that were attended by many from across the world. Our small group from Chennai was lost in the sea of humanity at the Ashram – And I did not like the feeling…. The experiences in Munger were in stark contrast to the coziness in BSY’s other ashram in Rikhia. At Rikhia, particularly during my first trip, we were made to feel extra special and being the only guests at the Ashram gave us tremendous access to the wonderful people there who went the extra yard to make our visit very comfortable and memorable. Very quickly, most of us passed the judgment – We like Rikhia be...

An important part of my journey to become a better human being is to look inwards and identify negative traits that have shaped my life. Earlier today, I read a section from Louis Hay's book ('You can Heal Yourself) that intuitively resonated with me. As I read this piece again and subsequently had a discussion this morning with my 11 year daughter and her friend about being competitive, I found a connection that forced me to look inward. This piece is about looking at three key negative traits which have shaped me. I hope by acknowledging them, I can let them go (or at least begin the process). Like most of us, the spirit of competition was inculcated very early on in life. I guess growing up in a upper middle class family, the way to 'progress' in life was to compete with one's peers. Actually, not just compete, but actually be ahead of them. As I shifted to a very academic oriented high school, I could not compete with my class mates on any of the subjects ...

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...