Reflections

WHAT IS CLEANLINESS? What is cleanliness? This seems like a simple, even silly question; it is anything but. What does being clean really mean – does it mean being personally clean, bathed, spotless; living in a clean spicknspan home and a clean city / surroundings? That is all there is to it, from one point of view. But take a step back – and think. Are you really clean? Think of your actions, your thoughts, your feelings. How can it be true cleanliness if these are also not clean? Think about it. This is a rather short article – I will not belabour point too much. You are physically clean; but what about the way you earn your keep? Your daily behaviour? Your feelings? Your thoughts? Unless these are clean – it isn’t cleanliness at all. In fact, cleanliness, from a spiritual aspect actually refers to these aspects, rather than the overt aspect of physical cleanliness. It is worth going into this highly demanding level of personal cleanliness as described in one scripture, and underst…

CORONA EXPERIENCE FOR A COMORBIDITY PATIENTA lot has been said and written on Corona – but very little has been brought to my attention at least as to the experience of a real patient of Corona who has other chronic illnesses. This writeup is intended as a small contribution in that line – I hope that others can read this and avoid the mistakes I made. My medical history is that of Diastolic Hypertension, Asthma and Diabetes. All three are in full control, with not one episode of a major attack or problematic reading in any disease for at least 1-2 years.

BOOK REVIEW : AKBAR THE GREAT MUGHALTHE DEFINITIVE BIOGRAPHY, by Ira Mukhoty
THE BOOK This is a book with a remarkably expansive scope, depth and breadth of coverage – it states itself as a biography, which it is; but is far more than that. This is a book on one of the greatest emperors India has ever had – Akbar The Great, and is a fully detailed exhaustive account of his entire life, covering a detailed perspective on every possible imaginable aspect of his life. It includes his conquests and the way he built his empire in full detail, including the political strategies employed as well as battle tactics and strategies. In these, as in everything else, it goes into stunning detail, giving a deep look at the entire scenario.
What is special, or rather extra special about this book is it gives a deep understanding of both the times in which he lived, as well as remarkable details of the Mughal and Rajput etc societal structure, clans, relationships between clans, the reasons – politics …

DUTY & STRESSUSING DETACHMENT, {SPIRITUALITY} AND A SIMPLE TOOL TO DESTRESS
UNDERSTANDING DUTYWhat exactly is Duty? What are its parameters? And, from a spiritual perspective, what is the link – if any, between Duty and Detachment? How do we gain from the combination of these? And what is the practical real world application of this concept if any? Before we can understand these questions, we need to appreciate the concept of duty in depth.

Duty : This word does not just refer to your current job at a professional level, and self/family at a personal level. Neither are these independent of each other. There are several levels of duties enjoined on an individual; these are : Duty towards Self, Duty towards Family, Duty towards Employment Place / Organisation {Not towards person - key difference}, Duty towards Community & Society, Duty towards Nation, Duty towards Humanity, Duty towards Environment

This is the full concept of a Human Being's Duty - and all these operate simulta…

ॐ : A Magical Experience

This article is about the Divine Word,  ॐ, and my small experiences with it, alongwith a small introductory background based in our Vedant Shastra. This is a road I am trying to walk, and what follows is a true chronicle of my path, in the hope that I can encourage other students like myself to walk on this wondrous path. It starts from my first actual exposure to the Symbol, this Word, and goes on to detail my experiences in full truthful words, culminating in my first small / tiny personal experience of the immense calm, quietitude and impact this one Word has on the human mind.
THE FIRST EXPOSURE As befits this Word’s importance and primacy,  my first real exposure to this, beyond the daily hymns we used to sing at home and in temples, was through my Guru, my Management Professor, Dr Hemant Indurkar from Indore.  {May God Bless his Soul}! What could be more fitting – this letter being revealed to me by my teacher? Earlier, the word had only a rough meaning fo…