Defense Academy Education

 Our younger one recently joined the Prabhav Defense Military Academy training at their school. The training is held every Sunday from 9 am to 1 pm. They make kids run, move, and exercise hard. Children have to bring three chapatis and sabji, and finish the tiffin compulsorily. Do you think your kid also needs this kind of discipline?

These are just a few things that are visible and might interest you. But the main things lie in what they teach, and how they conduct the classes. 

She told me a few things that are really very impressive and probably required to be taught to our kids. Two of them being:

• No man left behind:

In an excessively competitive world, it’s usually taught to go AHEAD of your peers. It’s ingrained in them so much, that it kind of becomes addictive. To go ahead of everyone around, to always win. This is an awesome way to teach children how to go WITH your peers. No marks oriented team-building exercise can have this kind of effect. 

• Ek ki galti sabki galti:

In cut throat competitive world with extremely inflated egoes, going ahead is usually at the cost of other’s mistakes. One becomes habitual to this kind of behavior of fault finding. When you make the whole team responsible for a mistake committed by one person, there is no other punishment more severe than this one. 

• Love for the country:

You cannot train your children in serving your country and your people till you yourself are not doing it. The main aim of Defense academies is to serve country only by building a stronger future generation. Today, their Kargil Diwas performance was not very professional, but it did invoke feelings for the country and people who serve it. 

Many countries have already made Military education compulsory for a few years in their countries. You can Google to check which countries! Do you think it’s required in our nation? 

A nation full of cultural and philosophical diversity needs to accept the changes of digital world and make children and systems stronger to incorporate the same. Why should Defense education be limited to only those who join the academy? What do you think? Do share your opinion!

Achievement vs Affiliation

This article was long overdue. Have you ever thought, what do you value more, achievement or affiliation? Do not consider this as a matrimony ad, giving you clarity for what you are looking for in your future spouse. 

Think of the very thought process that drives your actions, day in and day out. You may also consider it the famous dualities of all time: masculine vs. feminine, head vs. heart, visible vs. invisible. They are not all the same, but similar.

It’s very important to think, from the moment you get up till you sleep, what motivates your actions, speech, and thoughts. We all have some aspirations that keep us going. But there are some whose aspirations are to see others flourish. Like our mothers, mothers-in-law, grandmothers! The invisible force behind all our visible achievements. Who would you call greater? 

To get a clearer picture, let us first understand that everything you achieve is a part of the physical world, which is not permanent (as per most of the schools of Indian philosophy). When we talk about achievement, it is purely a part of the physical world. The physical world and existence have their limitations. You cannot experience them beyond a certain limit. (Read about the concept of Karma: Sanchita and Prarabhdha Karma.).

But affiliation is the invisible heart and desires behind your thoughts and actions. You can always raise it to experience life in a complete way. The more you fulfill each desire, the more complete you will feel, and the higher you will go for fulfilling deeper and subtle desires. 

We might carry our affiliations to the next life, but achievements are all to be left on this earth for the people of this earth. So, why not aim for affiliated achievement? At least, the intention of such an achievement will not be only to grow your “me and mine”, but to go a step ahead of it. 

Why not let the mighty head bow down to the pure heart to cleanse it of intentions and thoughts? Why not let the invisible true self shine brightly through the visible body? 

Think about it, everything that conducts your day-to-day life, relationships, parenthood, and even your achievements might reach their peak, if you give a chance to your affiliations.

For those who are wondering why I chose the words “achievement and affiliation”, wait till you read about Abraham Maslow soon. Till then, you'd rather clear this mess of achievement vs affiliation!

The Power of The Bhagvad Gita

 

After reading the Bhagavad Gita for the first time, I told my husband, “I have fallen in love with Krishna”. Lord’s combination of words, depth of explanation, and love for His devotees are unmatched! After that, I generally tried reading many self-help books, but could not finish any. The Gita is a true winner!

In today’s overloaded (with information and unnecessary knowledge) and impermanent (because everything changes and evolves continuously) world, it’s easy to feel lost or overwhelmed. 

That’s where the Bhagavad Gita comes in—it’s like a steady light that helps us find our way, even when everything feels uncertain. Let’s take a quick recap on what makes this scripture great.

• It changes the entire way of our thinking, because it shifts our focus from the effect of achievement to the cause of action. In the world of excessive competition, people are obsessed with worldly achievements. But is achievement not a natural by-product? Is it not an effect? Please do not make it a cause and ruin your near and dear ones!

• Though it was written over 5,000 years ago as part of the Mahabharata, the Gita is like a timeless book. It's words have withstood the test of time- they were valid yesterday, are valid today, and will be valid even tomorrow!

• It’s a powerful conversation as if the Lord is speaking directly to you, and the entire Gita has been told only for you.

• The book invokes tremendous faith in the reader and listener- faith in himself, the Lord, the people around, and in life in general. This faith blesses you with immeasurable patience. Isn’t it the need of the hour? Faith and Patience, Shraddha and Saburi! Do you know which saint used these two words always?

• Do you know the real magic of this book? It rightly amuses children. It rightly empowers the youth. It rightly removes the aggressiveness of elders. It rightly detaches the oldies. Why break them into different compartments? They are all His children and need the same knowledge!

• It’s truly said that “Gita padhane wale ki kabhi haar nahi hoti!” The reader of the Bhagvad Gita can never be defeated! Don't you want to win? Or experience bliss even if you loose?

• Every yoga ultimately boils down to Abhyasa (Study) and Vairagya (Detachment). This detachment from every minute issue is impossible till you attach yourself to something bigger and permanent. 

• In the times of aggressive and active media role in society, when people are constantly blaming each other, the Gita shows you the real doer of it all! The blame game, which is creating havoc in the world, from families to countries, can be minimized only through the wisdom of His words. 

• Compassion and respect for every living being, starting from your family members to the entire stage of the world, is the need of the hour. You cannot get this until you understand that everything is beautifully interwoven on the Supreme Personality of the Lord Himself!

• Everybody wants to OWN everything possible! But in reality, you cannot own anything and everything! The only thing that you can own is the devotion to the Lord and actions surrendered to Him, who owns the entire universe. 

• This scripture does not promote or mention any religion or religious practices. In fact, it neatly discriminates between religious practices performed as a duty or performed for the selfish purposes. It is beyond the religion you follow. The Gita is for the upliftment of the entire human race!

Are you ready for this timeless wisdom from Lord Krishna? If you are searching for love, peace of mind, knowledge, and everything that restores balance in your life, just read the Bhagvad Gita. You will never look at the things in the same way again. Don’t forget to share your experiences here!

A ChatGPT Lesson for the Social Media

Whoever has used ChatGPT knows, its amazing, and more than that its addictive and makes you extremely lazy! Whatever its pros and cons, am loving it for some reason you never thought of!

When you use this great content writing tool, you have to send appropriate “prompts” to get the right kind of content you desire. The clearer and better the prompts, the better the result. As you use the tool more often, you simply learn to refine your prompts to get the desired content.

Awesome right! Seems really very easy!

Even if you use ChatGPT some people may deliver better content than you. Do you know why? Because they have clarity about what they want. Their vision and intention about the final result is clear.

Isn’t this something worth pondering about? Posting meaningless messages, irrelevant comments, and constantly giving opinions about what you think on the social media could be dangerous. It is valid only if your intention, vision, or the effects of your communication are clear.

Every word you say, write, and read has energy and emotions attached to it. So why not utilize it properly. Why not have better intentions before posting anything?

So, next time you have an urge to post or comment, first be sure about your intention. Is the communication your urge to vent out feelings or does it really have some social purpose? It’s a social media, so its better if its purposeful rather that wishful and profiteering.

You are the kings and queens of social media, so why not rule it well. For everybody who needs better understanding of how to rule, I suggest one beautiful dialogue from the movie “Jodha Akhbar” “Raj karne aur fateh karne mein farak hota hai”. There is a difference between ruling and winning over.

If you think you are the owner of whatever you post, you will always want to win over. But if you think you are just a pawn, a medium to post something, the intention and the message itself would change.

So, with AI tools and technology gaining over fast in every sphere of life, what matters is simply the intention with which you use it.

Ultimately, you have to work on your desires, intentions, and emotions more than what people think and like. Nothing works better at cleaning your intentions than the word of the Lord. Read Bhagvad Gita, Namaz, Bible, Guru Granth Sahib, or whatever religious scripture possible!

Whatever your age or stage of life, the power of Lord’s words in cleaning or brainwashing to improve your thoughts cannot be replaced.

Media is stronger than ever. Our emotions are also stronger than ever. Especially in the troubled times, lets stick together with clear intentions of simply being together!

Why Naamsmaran is Better than Meditation?

This post stands tall as the world meditates tomorrow. Meditation does give a temporary relief, but it might not be the ultimate solution in the digital age. As we struggle to fight digital addictions across age groups, staying closer to the Ultimate reality might work faster. Here's an explanation to the claim. 

Yoga is chitta vrutti nirodha, as per Patanjal Yoga Sutra. The ultimate aim of Yoga is also said to be Nirbeeja Samadhi- total cessation of the modifications of the chitta- absolute thoughtlessness.

This kind of state is impossible to be attained by a mortal human being. Because his entire life is bound by something called Karma which inturn is the cause of desires.

Everything we do, in every role we play, we fulfill some of our own desire. Even if we talk of a selfless lady working tirelessly day and night for the family, has her own desire that the family will remain fine. A devotee going to the pilgrimage also has desire to be fulfilled by the God.

Whatever your stage and state of life, only Naishkaam Karma, or actions without the expectation of fruits of action (as stated in Bhagavad Geeta) frees us of that ever-growing baggage of desire.

 

Meditation takes us away from chitta vruttis temporarily. Therefore, seems very relieving and in fact intoxicating. The illusion of meditation seems more relieving than the real life illusion. In the end, as Shakespear says, “All the word’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players”.

Then follows a continuous desire to meditate in turn affecting our daily karmas. In the baggage of desires we got into this world, our aim must be to set ourselves free as far as possible. But meditation seems to increase the weight of that baggage.

 

All aim of meditation and yoga is to gain knowledge. But this knowledge like the siddhis of Patanjal Yoga Sutras, is the biggest obstacle to Nishkaam Karma. Instead of following the ideal path of duty without expectations, knowledge brings the intellect in between. 

As per Sankhya Darshan, the complementary darshan of the Yoga Darshan, intellect is also bound by Trigunas and is not mula prakriti or the balanced state of trigunas. The ultimate aim is lost in that sense. 

More meditation leads to more knowledge which in turn leads to more accumulation of Mahat or the intellect. It increases the sense of me and mine beyond imagination. Because of this, acceptance of people and situations becomes difficult and Nishkaam Karma becomes a far reality.

 

In Bhagvad Geeta, Chapter 3, shloka 43, Lord gives a timeless solution to overcome vasanas. He says- “Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental to the material senses, mind, and intelligence, O mighty-armed Arjuna, one should steady the mind by deliberate spiritual intelligence and thus – by spiritual strength- conquer this insatiable enemy known as lust.”

Naamsmaran is the easiest and the fastest way to invoke that spiritual intelligence. Naamsmaran directly gets us to the source of the entire universe (including our own selves and our desires). It lessens the burden of me and mine. It shifts the onus from your own self and karmas to Him.

Even Patanjal Yoga Sutra, which is written in Sutra form (where minimum words are used) has mention Ishvar Pranidhan (Surrender to the Lord) thrice. Because whatever knowledge you gain in meditation has to be surrendered to the source of the knowledge and not kept with you to increase your burden.

Naamsmaran  doesn’t need extra time. You can do it on and off the mat, anywhere, everywhere, in any state. Like meditation, Naamsmaran also detaches you from the current situation and gives temporary relief. But it also attaches you to the ultimate source of this existence, the only truth and reality of this universe.

When you are attached to the Ultimate, the sense of me and mine lessens. You will have just the right sense so that you can fulfill the duties bestowed by Him upon you, gracefully!

 

 

 

Intoxicated

किसीपे हुस्न का गुरूर जवानी का नशा

किसीके दिल पे मोहब्बत की रवानी का नशा 

किसीको देखे साँसों से उभरता है नशा 

बिना पिये भी कहीं हद से गुज़रता है नशा 

नशे मैं कौन नहीं हैं मुझे बताओ ज़रा 

किसे है होश मेरे सामने तो लाओ ज़रा 

नशा है सब पे मगर रंग नशे का है जुदा 

खिली खिली हुई सुबह पे है शबनम का नशा 

हवा पे खुशबू का बादल पे है रिमझिम का नशा 

कहीं सुरूर है खुशियों का कहीं ग़म का नशा 

Phenomenal lyrics by Anjaan and Prakash Mehra. Let us point out who is not intoxicated. You might say I do not drink or smoke. These intoxications are visible. You may have some other type of intoxication which is subtle in its nature but easily visible to your near and dear ones. 

 Let us try to figure out few intoxicated people we daily see around us. A home maker who is obsessed about keeping things in a particular way without accepting others suggestions. A working man or woman who is obsessed about his work knowing the temporariness of it all. A youth who is obsessed about his love which might not last lifelong. A middle aged man obsessed about hoarding money. An aged grandfather who is bent upon enforcing his laws in his kingdom. A child who is obsessed about a toy which might eventually break some day or the child might out grow it. There is a new obsession around, across the generations now- YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat. 

The list is endless. Whenever outside environment does not give you love and support, you try to seek the need of identification somewhere else. Intoxications often start with this need to identify yourself with something more permanent. And when you fail to search your permanent position in the game of life, you enforce permanency in specific ways. Ways become habits. Habits become obsessions. And obsessions become intoxications- without which it is difficult to survive. 

By nature human mind is very clingy and restless. It sticks to its own nature of being Satva, Raja, and Tama in its own way. You cannot avoid a clingy mind. The more you try to rule it, the more it drifts away. Then come the mindfulness techniques, types of meditations and other wholistic solutions to increase awareness and consciousness. 

But we have to understand, instead of enforcing. This profound and deeper understanding can be given by the best book on counselling ever written which is true even today- The Bhagvad Geeta. 

The Shloka 2.59 says, Though the embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness. 

 We have to give a higher taste to our minds instead of controlling them. 

In 3.42, the Lord says, The working senses are superior to dull matter; mind is higher than the senses; intelligence is still higher than the mind; and He is even higher than the intelligence. 

So ultimately, one has to identify with something greater and more permanent. 

Not all intoxications are bad. Art is intoxicating. If I start crocheting, I would loose sense of time and duty. God intoxication is the greatest intoxication. Because it is the fruit of all your endeavors. God intoxication of our sages has showed the correct path to the millions. 

 We cannot force ourself or our loved ones to totally withdraw from the sense pleasure. That denies the order of change and acceptance and His rule in the world. We can simply offer the intoxications of our mind to Him- with Shradhdha and Saburi (faith and patience). One day His love and Grace would remain and other intoxications would gradually go. 

So- next time you observe any kind of intoxication, turn to Him and His words through the Bhagvad Geeta. And always have Faith and Patience.

Changing Definitions of Womanhood

My husband’s post-Diwali leave ended by watching Jhimma 2, a Marathi movie with my in-laws. In-laws, technically yes, but have spent more of my time and energy with them than with my own parents! My relationship with them is also a part of today’s article. Changing definitions of womanhood!

 

An easy yet happening movie, Jhimaa 2 is a perfect sequel to its first part. It's about a tour arranged by a young man called Kabir, who takes a group of ladies to London in the first part and Lake District in the second part. The story is about those women and their lives. How each one has her own struggles and wants to enjoy despite them. 

The coolest character was shown of Indu who turns 75 years in the second part. She has experienced the major struggles of her life and now simply wants to enjoy herself despite her Parkinsons. She is happy with a glass of wine, a smile on her face and encouraging all young women to aspire for something better. There was a middle-aged character called Meeta who was trying to gain confidence and live an independent life encouraged by her sister and daughter post her husband’s sudden demise. There was one lady who used to run away from all the enjoyment and over-exercise to forget the fact about the removal of her uterus and no marriage proposals because of that. Krutika is shown as the younger version of Indu- modern and practical. She meets Steve in the first part and runs a Bed and Breakfast service with Steve’s brother in the second part. The movie was stolen by Nirmitee Sawant who played the character of Nirmala, a perfectly depicted wife of a politician from a hardcore traditional family. She tastes alcohol for the first time in the first part and then craves for it in the second one. In the second part, she is also joined by her daughter-in-law, Tanya, a modern homemaker with an independent identity. 

There were a few very thoughtful situations, scenes and dialogues to strike a chord with our hearts and minds. 

The attitude of the new entrant Tanya was exceptionally remarkable. She was shown to be perfectly comfortable with her salwar kameez outfit, making teas and cooking whenever time demanded. Totally at ease and confident about her identity as a homemaker, without comparison to other ladies of her own generation. She tells the practical Krutika, I take care of people and cook for my own self. Having a job is not the only identity a woman can have. She swims to save the life of Indu and tells the lady with the uterus problem not to take tension, she can always adopt a kid. A lesson to be learnt by all of us is to be comfortable with our own selves without pleasing others and comparing ourselves with others. 

Meeta’s story also teaches a beautiful lesson on independence. Her sister and daughter are constantly trying to pair her with some man. Her teenage daughter finally tells her, Mother we are not looking for a father for myself, we are looking for a friend for yourself. An evolving take on companionship and marriage.

The hardcore traditional and not very educated character of Nirmala also finally accepts that her daughter-in-law is good. Initially, she is shown to be jealous of her as she gets the attention of all her friends due to her simple and caring nature, but in the end, they both make it up. A unique changing relation is shown between a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law. Tanya is shown serving a tablet with water to remove her mother-in-law’s hangover. Nirmala is shown acknowledging Tanya’s modern, outspoken and simplistic views. 

All in all a good take on womanhood. The changing identity of a lady in the changing times! Though I do not personally find women consuming alcohol cool, there are a few lessons for us in this one. What is important is the identity of a woman which arises from her strong sense of self reflected in her decisions. It is not related to the external world of job, family or clothes. But it's her comfort in being herself. It is definitely difficult in today’s world of social media where we polish ourselves to project a better self. But think about it, life is actually easier when we truly accept ourselves and others around us. Only when a woman is strong with a sense of self, the future generation can aspire to be the same. 

So times are always changing, and definitions evolving, but the winner is always a lady with a thoughtful head on shoulders and a loving heart in her bosom!