Articles

Guest Article by Solange Suri

I had a paradigm shift yesterday. I realised that we go through life asking the wrong questions. We look outside for answers to what constitutes right and wrong.

We read books, watch films, observe people we admire and take their word as the gospel truth. Always conforming, never questioning. And in the bargain, never exercising our own intellect, our own reasoning power. That one gift that each of us has.

The chariot of my life, was driven by my mind

Slumbering lay my intellect, making me internally blind

An easy way to live, letting everything go to the heart

Highs were high, lows were low, Living, a forgotten art

Till I called to that dormant force, that wisdom that lay within,

A power to discriminate, judge, my own internal formula to win.

Now the rules of the kingdom have changed, I haven't dethroned the mind

Guest Article by Robin Pupneja, New Delhi

Feature written by Rama Tandon

Celebrated on the full moon day in the Hindu calendar month of Sharavan, Raksha Bandhan is one of the most widely celebrated festivals of India.

It is a day that symbolises the sacred relationship between a brother and sister. Literally translated, raksha means protection while bandhan means bond. Raksha Bandhan, therefore, signifies the bond of love out which comes a sense of security and protection.

As Indians, we are often asked how we worship an elephant-headed, pot-bellied, broken-tusked god who travels on a mouse. But as strange as it seems, every little peculiarity of Lord Ganesha's has a deep spiritual significance. As we go along in this article, we will look at the meaning of this symbolic representation of Lord Ganesha. Before we do, however, let's take a look at Lord Ganesha's mythological origin.

One of the cornerstones of a spiritual seeker's journey is seva , service. Seva goes much beyond actual service. It is an attitude. When we work in a spirit of seva , we think about what we can give in any interaction rather than what we can gain from it.

You've met her for the first time at your friend's party. She's a bit quiet and not as well-dressed as you. She seems to lack the ‘finesse' that most of your friends usually have and, here's the clincher, she speaks when her mouth is full of food! Meanwhile, in the back of your head you're thinking, ‘Maybe this isn't the kind of person I want to be around too much.'

Guest Article by Vibha Kagzi

And then it hit me, with the softness of a thousand rose petals. The plain, simple truth stared me in the face. It shook up my premise of existence, attacking, questioning its very foundation. A foundation built of complexities and confusion. It disentangled my thoughts, as I resisted, relentlessly relinquishing my past convictions.