Read part 1 – Miles to go – here...

So, what lies ahead?

Before we get to that, a question for you. How many of you ‘know’ your grandfather?

By know, I mean what he was all about. His daily life, his joys, the challenges he encountered, his friends, colleagues…let me put it this way. Most of us must have heard stories from him, but these would have been the highlights of his life. What about the rest of it? Wouldn’t that be a good read?

Now, another question. How much do you know of your great-grandfather, and his father?

Chances are, barring the name, we really don’t know much (unless he was Jamsetji Tata or something, in that case, Wikipedia does the trick). Think about it – in a few generations, people who were so dear to us, fade away to a point that even their names are not remembered.

Enter technology.

Tech has made it so much easier to record one’s thoughts, emotions and feelings. It’s almost like a diary – collate your Twitter, FB and Insta feeds and you pretty much arrive at what a wonderful person you are (well, you only record the good moments, don’t you??).

Jokes apart, how about using this technology for something more than duck-faced selfies and saccharine-filled hagiographies? (in English, self-admiration and self-praise).

When I set out to write on a daily basis, I didn’t have any agenda in mind. No path to follow, no place to reach. But as I went about it, I thought about who would read these thoughts of mine. Would it be the hoi polloi (in English, the common people. And stop using so much jargon please), or would it be a select few? For that matter, would ANYONE read this?

The good news is that I gave up my dreams of becoming a male J.K. Rowling years ago. And so, it didn’t really matter.

When one gives up excess expectations, it becomes easier to do things, without the pressure of performance pulling you down.

So I write, hoping that my kids would read this, and their kids, and so on. Like a time capsule, having a glimpse into what people of my generation and time thought about life, and work, and love. What they think of me wouldn’t really matter to me, since I would be long gone. But knowing a part of what eventually became them, would be a nice thing, don’t you think?

Also a few learnings that I gather on the way, a few words of wisdom that I came across, and a few more that I thought of too. In the hope that the pitfalls that I encountered, help them to navigate the path of life better.

That is what you actually leave behind yes? Not the money (spend it before you go), not the big house (eventually gets demolished, or into dispute), maybe the jewellery (love antique necklaces)…but what you leave behind is the learnings that you give your kids. That is why I read a hundred odd books a year…that is why I learn so many languages…and that is why I fail and stand up again. And I will continue to do so, in turn, building up a huge repository of future thoughts and posts for your reading (and my spamming) pleasure.

So what lies ahead?

A few things that I will write about in these coming months – the three remaining books of the Panchatantra, more Sādhanā courses, yoga and philosophy, Ronin Kyokushin and the Bhagavad Gita.

The last item on this (illustrious) list is actually the first, and only reason that I write. An overwhelming need to dig deep into the philosophy of the ONLY book that one would require to read in one’s lifetime. I could not tackle it until I was worthy of it, and I am getting there. Shortly, I will attempt to bring to you, an experience of the Bhagavad Gita – not the ISKON version of bhakti yoga, nor the drab translations that float the internet, but my own experience of it. Do pray that I am able to prepare myself well for this monumental task.

Yog Daily will continue to bring to you सुभाषित (Subhashitas) – sayings from the vast compendium of Indian literature, with an emphasis on Sanskrit. I will also attempt to bring to you the Sanskrit language, with all its beauty and richness, in an easy-to-learn basic course that will not make you a pundit, but will at least allow you to savour the depth of meaning in some of the slokas that you are familiar with.

All these thoughts, exercises, sayings and transformational processes will become part of Avyakta Yoga, work on which has already begun, and I will be bringing you updates on it’s progress regularly.

How can you help?

For now, by giving your feedback on whatever you read, and also sending me snippets that can help me grow in my own journey. Also, a lot of money to sustain this effort (kidding). If you like it, spread the word, if you don’t, well, I will try my best to win you over. I may not succeed, but I will not give up trying:)

And one more thing.

न विश्वसेत् पूर्व-विरोधितस्य शत्रोश् च मित्रत्वम् उपागतस्य ।
दग्धां गुहां पश्य उलूक-पूर्णां काक-प्रणीतेन हुताशनेन ॥ १ ॥

na viśvaset pūrva-virodhitasya śatroś ca mitratvam upāgatasya |
dagdhāṃ guhāṃ paśya ulūka-pūrṇāṃ kāka-praṇītena hutāśanena || 1 ||

One should not trust a person who has been an enemy before, but now offers the hand of friendship. Look at the cave, that was once the house of all the owls, now burnt due to the fire that the crow set to it…

काकोलुकीयं – The natural enmity between crows and owls – the third tantra…starts tomorrow!