Life Light Legacy

                      With H.H. The Dalai Lama, Dharamshala Note : Post contributed by Akila Janardhanan     When your intentions are pure and strong, dreams come true. One of the most important places to see in McLeod Ganj is the Buddhist temple and residence of His Holiness The Dalai Lama. I knew on the first day that I must and will try with all heart to get an audience with him. A happy blessed crowd of people walked out on Wednesday morning after the darshan, while I was requesting the person at the reception. That’s when a middle aged lady walked by, held my shoulders and said " Beta darshan milega " which means you will get it. There was something very profound in that moment. Thursday went by with no reply to our mail requesting audience. Yet we decided that we shall try one last time on Friday morning. I woke up with a dream, a dream so real. I dreamt of sitting out...

                      Four levels of speech There are 4 levels of speech mentioned in yogic texts (ex. Lalita Sahasranama). Para, Pashyanti, Madhyama and Vaikhari. Para means beyond. Simply put its the source field of all knowledge but is itself unknowable. It's beyond reach. When some knowledge from this infinite field descends to a level that is knowable or perceivable it's called Pashyanti. This level is accessible in deep state of meditation or focus. Someone in such a state may be able to descend it to the level of thought. In this state it's called Madhyama - between state. When this thought is expressed as spoken words it's called - Vaikhari. It's the grossest level of ex...

                      Image downloaded via Google search Note : I'm writing this primarily as a reminder/advice to myself. Posting in public is just in case anyone else finds it helpful. Myth 1: You focus on your work and you will be taken care of. I have been in situations where this was a truth and also in situations where it was not. Instead of assuming it to be some gospel truth, it is better to check frequently who (if anyone) is looking out for you. Myth 2: Setup for failure + pep talk = Setup for success Since when did icing on cow dung make it a cake? But people will sell you such cakes. Ignore the icing, pay attention to the cake. Stop being in denial. Myth 3: Everythin...

                      Krishna & Arjuna at Kurukshetra battlefield About a year back, I got a random Facebook post in my feed in which the speaker made the point that books like #BhagvadGita are not books you read once and leave it. You need to keep reading and reflecting. It resonated deeply and I resolved to read Gita often. A few weeks later, I saw a post in another context where the story of Dr. E. Sreedharan was shared. Dr. Sreedharan aka 'The Metro Man' is a greatly accomplished and appreciated person who has many crowning achievements to his credit. He reads the Gita daily . This inspired me all the more in my practice of reading Gita more often. Beginning of this year (when the office was still functioning), I shared about the practice of Dr. Sreedharan with some colleagues over lunch. One of them said, she had the opportunity of meeting some of the close colleagues of Dr. Sreedharan and asked them what is the ...

                           Krishna teaching Gita to Arjuna The Bhagavad Gita contains wisdom of infinity and it can be looked at through various lenses. In this brief post, I want to share few perspectives. I hope that it helps more people connect to this wisdom and benefit from it in their day to day life. 1. Gita is a coaching conversation between Krishna and Arjuna Gita starts with Arjuna being in a confused and dis-empowered state. कार्पण्यदोषोपहतस्वभाव: पृच्छामि त्वां धर्मसम्मूढचेता: | 2.7 "I am confused about my duty, and am besieged with anxiety and faintheartedness." Through a dialogue between the two spanning...

             Art of Living International Center, Bangalore   I did my first Art of Living program in 2008 and it was the beginning of a journey of inner transformation. There was an (unintended) gap between 2011 - 2014 when I didn't participate in any programs. I came back to active participation in 2015 and there is no looking back since then. The only reason I keep continuing on the journey is because of the value I get. I have experienced the caterpillar become a butterfly not once but many times. I have felt the power of the path and Guru support me through very difficult circumstances not once but many times. The reason I love Art of Living is because it delivers. I make it a point to share my experience and story with others so that they can make use of it. ...

Image credit: Shogo Narita@Unsplash.com A friend recently fell prey to a scam and ended up transferring a huge amount of money. When it happens to others or you look at it in retrospect, it may seem avoidable. But it may be harder to detect while it's happening. The only protection we have is raising awareness and having as many safety checks in place as we can. I'm writing this post to share whatever I think can help. Please share in comments if you have more ideas. 1. All these scams tend to exploit the human emotions of fear and greed.  => Learn to recognize these emotions coming up and don't do any financial transaction under the grip of these emotions. Have an agreement with yourself that before doing any financial transaction under fear or greed, you will consult XYZ (any trusted adviser and well-wisher). In most cases they will be able to see through it and bring in sanity. If nothing, it will buy you time and in that additional time you may end up seeing things ...