As Navrātri draws to a close, one tries to reflect on the past nine days. Vratā is tapas, a struggle to control and fight against your inner demons. A way to reset, a way to start afresh. The 10th day is a day of celebration. A celebration of your victory over yourself. For the battle …
Read the previous part here… The Devi smiled again. “Yes, it is true. They are very strong. But what can I do since I took that ill-considered vow, even though it was long ago? Go back and tell them what I said, and let them do what they think is proper in this situation.” Hearing the …
Read the previous part here… Well, we have understood how to overcome tamas, and rajas. Next is sattva. But wait – sattva is a good guna, so why should we work on overcoming sattva? What form does Devi take in the next (and final) carita? Who does she fight with? Mala has been removed, Vikshepa has …
We humans are complicated. I mean, things can be simple but we tend to make them complicated. We leave things unsaid, tasks undone and people incomplete. Our desires are not rational, our greed excessive and our satisfaction is elusive. We make things and situations harder than they actually are, and then search for solutions. We …
The spirit of the Pujo is something else in Kolkata. Kolkata. The name evokes memories of history, heritage, art, food…and Durga Puja. As the flight descends on this city, a breathtaking view emerges. Kolkata, dressed in all its finery, all set to welcome Maa Durga. The festive atmosphere is unparalleled, the enthusiasm undiminished. The taxi …
The concept of bad and good exists only in Western philosophy. Sanātana Dharma only speaks of action, and consequences. Every karmā, or every action, has consequences, which can be good, or bad for you. Depending on what your expectations or circumstances are. You have a choice of right action. That is termed as Dharmā. You …
You can fight an enemy who is outside, but how do you fight the enemy within? Spirituality is all about knowing yourself. If you are brutally honest in your assessment, you will find a lot that you do not like. You may also be disgusted in some matters – how can I think this way? …
Once you observe Ekādashi vratā regularly, Navrātri is a breeze. Conditioning one’s body to work on reduced inputs helps in times of need, but if you keep a track of it, you will observe that you actually eat much more than you have to. Our ancestors used to hunt and farm and collect food, and …
In mathematics, summation is the addition of a sequence of any kind of numbers, called addends or summands; the result is their sum or total. So is life – a summation of many moments that we experience. The result of all these moments and experiences is what we call living, isn’t it? So, do you want the summation to consist mostly instances of scrolling through social media and …
या देवी सर्वभूतेषु विष्णुमायेति शब्दिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥ yā devī sarvabhūteṣu viṣṇumāyeti śabditā ।namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namaḥ ॥ The number nine holds special significance in our lives. In fact, we begin our journey with the number nine – that is the number of months we spend in our mother’s wombs. Yog shastras …
