Monday 30 December 2019
Sunday 29 December 2019
Acceptance
Sometimes,
one should sit down and face the various facets of oneself. You will at first,
not be able to pinpoint very many and will draw a blank. But as you keep at it,
you will be surprised at what you can find out about yourself. That is if we
can accept each one of them and embrace them as a part of us. Yes, embrace them
after acknowledging them. Because shunning them would mean shunning we and we
wouldn’t want to do that. If you shun these, you will find a mirror effect in
people. They will shun you. That’s the way life works. So, accept yourself and
be accepted by others.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Thursday 26 December 2019
Justice
Justice has always intrigued me. In many
cases, there are layers and layers of human emotions that compound the process
of justice.
At the end of the day, any injustice done
to anyone else has to be a mental aberration of some kind or an unmanageable emotion,
like anger, jealousy, frustration ....or simply an innocent act gone wrong.
Everything ultimately boils down to the
fact that we have little option but to understand the people around us. How
they think. What they feel. And why they do what they do. A deed is done and
cannot be undone. The justice tag is in the eyes of the beholder, like beauty.
Because the wrong, the injustice, is only a perception which need not be
perceived as such by the person on whose action the judgment is being made.
This way of thinking is a most liberating
one. Unless you see a matter of life and death happening. Justice holds an
important place in such eventualities. No question of sitting back and smelling
the coffee here because we have a sense of duty and responsibility towards us
and society.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Wednesday 25 December 2019
Monday 23 December 2019
Sunday 22 December 2019
The importance of communication
The importance of communication! Very close
bonds have been broken, only due to a lack of communication, usually more by one
person. Sometimes, by both the warmth of communicating have not many substitutes.
Communication is that warm energy that keeps even the love flowing in
relationships.
Isn’t it true that when we keep in touch
regularly, it demonstrates a certain caring that says, “I am thinking of you”.
It is different in case of people who have
lost touch with each other. But a distance does tend to develop if you don’t
hear from someone for months and they don’t think it is a big issue. Sometimes,
it just boils down to a one sided relationship where the efforts made are
unequal, Of course having said that, the needs of people differ in this matter.
This is where the role of understanding comes in. And this is where one must
see the reasons for a particular status in bonds being close or being diluted or
even severed.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Thursday 19 December 2019
Nature of happiness
What is the nature of happiness? Someone
called it an idea the other day and I was intrigued. It was quite a thought. Is
it merely an idea then? So, does one make a difference between being happy and
feeling happy? Are they the same thing or not?
If happiness is an idea, then it disappears
if and when the idea disappears. If I feel happy, feelings can be transient and
that status can therefore, change anytime.
Being happy seems to be a longer lasting
concept. The “being” happy is a state of being that is not dependent on
external factors. You just ARE happy. No one and nothing was responsible for
that state of happiness. Evidently then, it comes from within. And that is the
coveted state which all humans search for but in the wrong way.
If happiness were on sale, people would buy
it in a heartbeat. But if they were offered just being happy, for no reason,
the price would be too heavy to pay because it requires some difficult measures
that might spill over to many lives.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Wednesday 18 December 2019
Tuesday 17 December 2019
Fear and Insecurities
Have you noticed that our thoughts, our
actions are mostly based on the expected responses? Have we thought or acted
for the sake of thinking and acting? That anticipated response or the
expectation of a certain kind of response is vital to our basic health. Because
the result is either a “feel good” one or one that brings out our fear and
insecurities.
We are so dependent on other people! Their
opinions, their good will, their liking (or not) shape and even create us.
Quite scary, actually, because we all believe we are independent, thinking
individuals pretty much in control of our life.
Yes, we have to live amongst people, but
what percentage of the self can we salvage after succumbing to all the influences?
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Monday 16 December 2019
Spiritual energy
The faith in Shirdi Sai Baba escalates by
the day. Youngsters are being drawn into Sai baba temples and bhajan groups. He
is a Mahatma in Kalyug who is a spiritual energy like other elevated souls.
Then how come he has become so popular? People claim to have even seen him.
What comes to mind is that there are no
heavy rituals around him. No dress codes in his temples, no discrimination of
gender, caste, creed and religion. No old baggage of politicization of
spirituality.
He is a healer and a saint, a recent one.
The new generation understands him in the context of equality of human and
devotional rights.
When monopolistic sects try to retain their
hold over and attempt to force old, discriminatory belief systems, they don’t
realize that it is a matter of time before they will be forced to step aside to
allow for a new human order . The agitation for equality in every way can’t be
stopped nor its tide stemmed.
Sai baba has been projected as a saint who
helps people without any vested interest and in today’s commercial world, this
comes as a breath of fresh air. Youngsters want to believe in the path of love
and goodness. And they don’t understand the older religions which should have
give peace but are steeped in conflict and human destruction.
Sai Baba comes as an anchor and a faith
that humans desperately want to peg their spirituality on.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari
Sunday 15 December 2019
Thursday 12 December 2019
Mind and happiness
To wash away the impact of karma, one must
necessarily dwell on the plausible reasons for the state of the mind. We don’t realize
that we have many people inside us, not only our own energies from other lives
but our memories of every age we have crossed in this life and many of them
needing healing.
Healing is not such a complicated task if
we can even just give rational thought to why things are the way they are.
“Could be” has many vital possibilities that can relieve us a great deal when
memories are relived and re scripted.
That we could have thought, spoken or acted
differently is always a later realization. But we need not kill ourselves over
such thoughts. Even if we had done things differently, who knows the final outcome?
It is therefore wise to lighten our burdens
everyday and treat ourselves with kindness and compassion, because we can give
genuine caring to ourselves and put our arms around ourselves instead of
waiting for someone else to influence the condition of our mind and happiness.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Wednesday 11 December 2019
Tuesday 10 December 2019
The light of day
Routine gives us that anchor, that
steadiness of mind that actually makes creativity easier. Imagine if we were in
a frenzy to create something all the time! Our minds would be nothing short of
yo-yos. Ideas germinate and take time to manifest.
Have you seen a write scribble, then bunch
up the papers in frustration and relegate them to the garbage bin, again and again?
The mind can become that garbage bin if we don’t watch out. Ideas, thoughts,
millions of them might emerge and nothing might come of them.
But when the mind is steady, at least some
ideas would see the light of day. Everything needs a steady base to create the
required movement.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Sunday 8 December 2019
Consistency
That prayers bring results is really to be
experienced because it is a fact. Genuine and pure intention is a brownie point
in our favour. What we call genuine surrender just seems to bring a new hope, a
new kind of calm and peace. These are not permanent though, and one requires a
daily cleansing through prayer.
We are all past masters at desiring instant
success in everything. But that’s not how it works. Consistency of purity and
prayer cannot fail. What fails or falters is our faith.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari
Thursday 5 December 2019
Truth
There was a time when truth prevailed more
often than not. Today, the rumourmongers and mischief makers, inspired and
encouraged by vested interests have spread such a wide net of falsehoods ,
misinterpretations and misrepresentation of facts and reality that people are
in a state of utter confusion. What to believe and what not.
Money exchanges hands and “ facts” are born
/ created. We have all become storytellers. There are many twists in every tale
, reality being a huge casualty. But who cares !! People want to believe what
appeals to them, not what is the truth. So, everyone watches the “Tamasha”
while reality quietly sits in a corner , ignored and rejected.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari
Monday 2 December 2019
Knowledge
I don't believe that anyone can really
teach anyone anything as per their own convictions. Unless the mind is open.
And the mind opens to listen to another if there is respect for the person
teaching . However much the teacher tries, the response has still to come from
within each individual.
Learning comes only when and from where it
is supposed to come. Did we necessarily learn from the wisdom of our elders ?
No. We were busy defying them at that point. Years later, when we arrived at
the same point, we realised that our elders HAD told us this but we never
listened.
This is the story of most people's lives.
If pure knowledge is sought, it really doesn't matter if it comes from someone
we consider our worst enemy. But we probably will shun anything that comes from
that source because we perceive the "enemy", not the
"knowledge". And thus, out of our prejudice , we tend to remain on
the same level as before. We forgo that source of knowledge which was a god
given opportunity that came with a test which we did not pass. And this becomes
such a habit that we don't think about it twice. It becomes a normal pattern.
How much we stand to lose we cannot even imagine !
As it is said , don't ask a sage what caste
he belongs to. Just take the knowledge he has to impart. By implication, the
rest is really none of your business. Is it ?
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari
Sunday 1 December 2019
Strength and Courage
The world is going haywire in search of
happiness. Yes, the most elusive goal anyone can have. I am wondering now, is
it a realistic goal ? We know that we live in a black and white world. A world
therefore, of dualities. The most practical way to live then is to build up a
strong coping mechanism for what life unfolds before us. The moral strength and
courage to assimilate all experiences . And if this ends up in the feeling of
happiness, that would be super and a definite bonus. Can only happiness be a
goal then ? In our Puranik tales, we have seen even sages and kings getting
angry . Who is considered " happy" ? The tic, the famous, the
educated, the lazy, the restless, the businessman, the home makers, movie stars
, professionals, the married, the unmarried ????
In pursuit of happiness, we have to deal
with day to day challenges and that is our reality. So, actually, " don't
worry, be happy" seems to be a bit of a mindless saying. Are we actually
forgetting to live in the quest for happiness ?
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Thursday 28 November 2019
Diversity
When your consciousness expands and extends
beyond the self, it is a wonderful feeling. You see what you didn’t see before.
You hear what you couldn’t before. The same environment seems different. What
used to bother you earlier you only smile at now.
This happens when you focus on yourself and
learn to consciously look beyond the visible. Of course, you might also see
what you may not want to see. But one has to make peace with the diversity in
this world without getting affected in whatever manner. This process begins
with a higher awareness which becomes deeper and deeper as you go along.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Wednesday 27 November 2019
Tuesday 26 November 2019
Prime Importance
It is really important to know why we do
certain things. Why we think in a certain way. Why we react in a particular
manner. Is any of this coming under the justification category ? Or is it our
lopsided view of the world, people or even ourselves ?
I find there are people who are out to
attack you for simple , unintentional and caring ways. They need to look deep
down within themselves to see exactly WHAT plagues them. There are conflict
areas in everyone’s lives. But to know who to trust and even what to trust is
of prime importance.
It is so much easier to preach than to
practice. Because the awareness may be only externally oriented.
The ones that go in to their own dark
corners will see light sooner than those who block their inner light but continue
to work for external value. Of course, value there will be for the world to
see. But inner growth ? That comes with inner virtues which are honed
painstakingly and from within, ripping apart the thick layers on the mind that
create a continuous cloud over the light. But it is for each one of us to
realise that. Ironically, this doesn’t come through even “Satsang” . Feeling
good momentarily is different from feeling good in the moment and in every
moment. And that happens only when we become simple , pure and transparent like
glass. Like channels through which God can work.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Monday 25 November 2019
Sunday 24 November 2019
Emotions and pain
The common theory is that the caliber and
mettle of a human being is how he or she braves the hardships in life. This is
what we are taught. Grin and bear it, or grit your teeth. Clench your fists ...
etc.
But there is also another side to this.
Bottling up emotions and pain can have significant side effects. Sooner or
later, they could spiral into major health setbacks.
The only way you can assimilate pain of any
kind is by not letting it sink into your cellular memory. Physical pain can be
forgotten once it is treated. But emotional pain as also mental agony get
registered and continue to give pain even after the event. We have to guard
against this.
Always have avenues of releasing this kind
of pain, in whichever way, before it becomes a deep wound.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari
Thursday 21 November 2019
A Nomadic life
A nomadic life is such a free life in so
many ways. They have little opportunity to get attached to places because they
never stay long enough . And even the few days are spent mostly amidst nature.
In tents. Yes, they seem to be a close knit community and therefore, attached
to and protective of their own . Lifestyle diseases elude them at the best of
times and worst of times. Happiness is not a special acquisition.
City bred folks have all kinds of issues.
For sunlight , they have to specially go into the sunlight. For exercise to the
gym. There is little informal meeting and more meeting friends with
appointments. What happened to the word “spontaneity”? Not to mention the
artifice that seems to set in , often as a part of the survival kit, among
other pretensions.
Simple pleasures are simply not sought.
Those days are gone when small town life also made frequent inroads into nature
. And the five star culture has deprived people of the wonderful experience of
living on farms and rustic life. Even farms have five star homes now.
Spoilt, aren’t we ? But more than that , we
have lost out on the beauty of being one with nature. I guess, what you have
never experienced, you don’t miss.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari
Wednesday 20 November 2019
Tuesday 19 November 2019
Wisdom
When you post some very profound words of
wisdom , people often show a doubt in that , can we really practice all of it ?
True that it takes an awful lot of will, determination and desire to walk that
path. Not to mention a constant awareness. And many , therefore, turn around
and walk back to the path is comfort. The common statement is, “ come on ! I am
not a saint”.
As if the path of wisdom is only meant for
the saints, or, the extraordinary ! And yet, if you read the biographies of the
world famous personalities, some started at the bottom and worked their way up.
This kind of gamut of experiences and learned wisdom to make such a stupendous
success of their lives can be a beacon for those who think they can never
emulate such people successfully.
The real Issue is not that we can’t do it.
It is , that we have slotted ourselves as people with limitations, that of being
“ordinary”. Or just with an established pattern which we kind of like and are
settled into.
Actually, there is wisdom inside all of us
, wherever we are and whatever we do. We just don’t know that we can use it
anytime, in fact, must use it to better our understanding about everything to
graduate to higher vibrational levels as students of life do.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Speakingtree Blog:
www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari
Monday 18 November 2019
Sunday 17 November 2019
Emotional angles
To say it as it is, clearly and without any
emotional angles can be a wonderful way to show simplicity. Emotion of any kind
colours your statements as also our behaviour. I also find that it shows in
your body language. Basically, it is not coming from a clean space.
It is amazing how any blocked energy can be
lodged in your system for years and years. Use your inner electronic conveyor
belt , like that of a treadmill, to keep moving with a healthy plan for life
and definitely include leaving each step behind as you take the next one.
Retracing only helps when you want to heal something that was left incomplete.
Don’t forget to revisit and heal. Nip any tendency of a residue build up in the
bud. It takes a long time to clean so many cob webs. And time is short.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Thursday 14 November 2019
Acceptance
I have found that things just happen even
if you don’t interfere with your personal desires and efforts. Something will
happen in your life. But people are not willing to take this for an answer.
“But what about what I want ? And what if things don’t happen that way ?”
We tend to push away things that might have
happened had we let them happen. Just by looking the other way.
The soul is here to interact with this
world for the relevant experiences. So often, we say, “my heart is not in it
anymore “. But after so many years of pursuing an activity ? Why now ? Because
the soul is satisfied and wants to move on but we don’t want to let go. To make
our peace with the fact that something is over and something else is coming up
that we need to go through. The cognisance is lacking when the soul connection
is weak. So, the answer is :
Accept. Accept. Accept. Don’t expect ,
expect and keep on expecting. Believe me, some amazing things start to happen
at that stage if acceptance because acceptance is a way of surrendering.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Speakingtree Blog:
www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari
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