Spiritual Learning

When you help anyone in need, do it without expecting a return, and even less, wishing you had not helped at all.

Our spiritual learning is based on how connected everything is. And at such times, when you wish you had not helped, understand that God has been kind to you and given you the blessing of helping someone in dire need, where survival was the issue. It COULD have been you, but instead, the power to HELP was given to you. A karmic blessing. 

Helping someone in need is greatly rewarded by the universe. Though we may not have faith in this, when you give with a pure heart, you get in abundance.

But we don’t believe it! We need reciprocity in everything. And we are ignorant about the fact that rewards come from a higher place, not necessarily from the one we helped, if only we can have faith in the process of life.

Surekha Kothari

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

www.instagram.com/author_surekhakothari/

 

Self-Oriented

Ever since digi yatra started functioning, airport authorities at the Chennai gates block you and try to tell you how to operate it.

Funny! Because if I have downloaded it, I have also learnt to use it, right? AND, some of us HAVE travelled enough to be used to it.

If i was that person, I would wait to be asked to help. Instead of assuming that digi yatra is a mere fad and that most people are ignorant.

In fact, travel is not that easy anymore and many passengers tend to be unaware still. In many ways.

I only wish they were more aware that they are tearing down the ears of those sitting next to them, with their cell phones blaring songs and dialogues loudly and ABSOLUTELY NO AWARENESS here. Or, talking loudly to their families, a dialogue no one really wants to be a part of.

Cell phone addiction? Or sheer loneliness due to deprivation of that human touch we took for granted? That voice which is now converted to messages.

Is the average Indian today becoming more inconsiderate, more self-oriented and louder than before? Even a normal conversation sounds like a fight!

Maybe, the deeper psychology is that we shout because no one listens to anyone.

But let me tell you, raising your voice is no reason you will be listened to. In fact, people may even walk away.

So, find yourself. Listen to yourself. Look at yourself. Analyze yourself. Love yourself.

And Know that you are your best friend. You will always listen compassionately to yourself. So, be calm. Be peaceful. For, in this condition, you will get your answers whispered from within.

No need to shout. If you do, your voice will only echo back to you.

Surekha Kothari

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

www.instagram.com/author_surekhakothari/

Self-Image

Everyone has a self-image. And no one likes to be marginalized. And it is also not a positive act. It is tantamount to marginalizing yourself. For, we are all mirrors of each other. That shows that you have been marginalizing an aspect of yourself.

These are wonderful triggers for you to assess yourself. This is the method to understand yourself. And why you mete out negativity to others. It is already prevalent in you and spills out on another. It is as simple as that, really.

So, no blame. No rancor. We correct ourselves as we go along. And when we illuminate those marginalized sides of ourselves, miraculously, we lose the tendency, the desire to marginalize others. And relationships improve by leaps and bounds. 

A win outcome possible with just a little self-assessment and correction.

Surekha Kothari

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

www.instagram.com/author_surekhakothari/

 

Spiritual Ignorance

Life is a flow, they say. You just need to find new pathways around obstacles, they say. Lot if “gyan”. So much wisdom!

And yet, do we really know the right way to find the right path, the path of least resistance and most benefits?

I ask this at a spiritual level, keeping your moral standards and principles high.

There is the catch. Our inner world is in a turmoil. The pushes and pulls of life create a new “us” based on our reactions verses our responses. The flow eludes us.

That one emotion called fear dominates. Fear of losing our ego, our place in the world in family, in community, at the work place. Everywhere. That’s where we exhibit total ignorance. Our spiritual ignorance.

Every day, there are fountains of knowledge available to us but you can only drink the water if there is a desire to quench the thirst for knowledge. Otherwise, we just may walk past. And very often, we do.

It is a steep climb and many have returned from exhaustion. But the few who persisted, gained their freedom.

Surekha Kothari

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

www.instagram.com/author_surekhakothari/

 

Truth and Honesty

Team work implies that you have to carry people you are connected to, along with you. Not by controlling them but as willing to be connected.

But today, some obvious ways of subtle controls exist, like heaping obligations, financial help, meeting people’s needs with a motive and then making them a part of your grand plan.

“Willing” partnerships promise gain. Until sometimes, they are broken.

The same applies in relationships.

Freedom, real freedom, is possible only if we live on our own terms with the courage to uphold truth and honesty. Because these are soul requirements. This will connect you to yourself first. And those who respect you for who you are will connect with you.

We forget that we are only temporary in this world.

Surekha Kothari

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

www.instagram.com/author_surekhakothari/

The THREE C’S

Think about this. The THREE C’S.

Caring

Compassion

Communication

Caring, because the intrinsic quality in humans is love. Caring is an offshoot of love.

Compassion, because we are all connected to each other. And understanding each other’s’ stories and journeys makes us human.

Communication, because it is the best tool to salvage relationships. And to repair / build bridges.

Whenever we have been resentful, conflicting and withdrawn, have we felt good? Negativity never feels good. It is not our intrinsic nature. 

But, just as clouds camouflage the sky, negativity clouds the clean space within us. It is merely temporarily superimposed, waiting to be cleared by human effort. And we owe ourselves a happy life. The problem is, we don’t let go. We give ourselves more importance than we should. In the whole of Creation, we are less than a minuscule dot. And changing continuously.

Why are we trying to capture the flow of life and reverse it? It can only give grief!

Surekha Kothari

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

www.instagram.com/author_surekhakothari/

Joy of Living

Sometimes, we feel a sense of foreboding, as if something untoward is going to happen. And it does.

How?

A few people definitely have that sense of foretelling. But with the majority, it is fear. And overthinking and over imagining the worst.

The fact is, our persistent thoughts laced with fear can manifest, bringing our fears into reality.

Meditation done regularly, gradually brings the mind into a state of thoughtlessness so much so that every passing thought becomes benign instead of laced with damaging emotions.

You start observing your thoughts and are able to let go of the undesirable ones. Next, they stop bothering you and the more the mind is cleared, the less you think the undesirable ones. Happily, you keep letting them go.

Imagine the volume of clean space your mind develops for the beautiful thoughts to enter, stay and create the joy of living!

Surekha Kothari

surekhakothari.wordpress.com

www.instagram.com/author_surekhakothari/