Yog Daily

The pressure of being a superhero…

I read this interesting article by Avivah Wittenberg-Cox in the Harvard Business Review. Titled “In praise of extreme moderation”, it speaks of the trend of workaholism being a badge of honor, and extremism is becoming the norm not only in our professional lives but increasingly in our personal lives as well.  People take up sports and …

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Of enemies and friends…

It is said… शत्रुणा न हि सन्दध्यात् सुश्लिष्टेनापि सन्धिना ।सुतप्तम् अपि पानीयं शमयत्य् एव पावकम् ॥ २३ ॥ śatruṇā na hi sandadhyāt suśliṣṭenāpi sandhinā |sutaptam api pānīyaṃ śamayaty eva pāvakam || 23 || One should not make friends with an enemy, even if he seeks a truce. Because, no matter how much heat is given to water, …

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Kyokushin…fito!

Back in the Kyokushin days, we used to have a 45-day training camp before any tournament. Every athlete has a seasonal training schedule – while they do train off-season as well, it is when competition is a few months away, that peak training happens, day after day, over extended periods of time. The Kyokushin camp …

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Puja and 16,000 wives…

You can conduct a puja, any puja, with an elaborate set of sāmagri (items), or just one flower. What matters is the feeling within. Likewise, Deepawali can be celebrated with an array of dazzling lights, or just one diya, that lights the Jnana Jyothi (the inner wisdom)…the many diyas in your mind are lit by this one …

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Of Rishi’s seven…

तदेष श्लोको भवति ।अर्वाग्बिलश्चमस ऊर्ध्वबुध्नः, तस्मिन्यशो निहितं विश्वरूपम् ।तस्यासत ऋषयः सप्त तीरे, वागष्टमी ब्रह्मणा संविदान ॥इति ।‘अर्वाग्बिलश्चमस ऊर्ध्वबुध्नः’ इतीदं तच्छिरः, एष ह्यर्वाग्बिलश्चमस ऊर्ध्वबुध्नः; ‘तस्मिन्यशो निहितं विश्वरूपम्’ इति प्राण वै यशो विश्वरूपम्, प्राणानेतदाह; ‘तस्यासत ऋषयः सप्त तीरे’ इति प्राणा वा ऋषयः, प्राणानेतदाह; ‘वागष्टमी ब्रह्मणा संविदाना’ इति वागष्टमी ब्रह्मणा संवित्ते ॥ ३ ॥ tadeṣa śloko bhavati |arvāgbilaścamasa …

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Let’s debate again…

A day of debates. Actually, a season of debates. From politics, to relationships, to services. It is tough to debate. It is easy to fight yes. Look no further than the Lok Sabha. But intelligent debate? Now, that is a different cup of tea. A debate requires both sides to bring to the table, facts, …

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A few snippers from the Gayatri Ramayanam…

१३. स –स निर्जित्य पुरीं श्रेष्ठां लङ्का तां कामरूपिणीम् |विक्रमेण महातेजा हनूमान् कपिसत्तमः || ५-४-१ Having conquered  by his valour the guarding deity of Lankapuri,   who was capable of taking any form she desired, Hanuman, son of Vayu and very powerful (scaled the ramparts of Lanka) १४. ध –धन्या देवाः सगन्धर्वाः सिद्धाश्च परमर्षयः |मम पश्यन्ति ये नाथं …

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On killing time…

Bhogā na bhuktā  vayameva bhuktāḥ – The more we get, the more we want, isn’t it? At the start of my career over twenty years ago, I had thought of a target – a certain amount of money that I would aim to earn , that would fulfil my needs and help me lead a life of …

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On the spoken word…

There have been a lot of things said about good speech, but the first phrase that comes to mind is Kabir’s famous doha – बोली एक अनमोल है, जो कोई भी बोले जानि । हिये तराजू तौलि के, तब मुख बाहर आनि।। – words are priceless, and so weigh your words well, before you speak. Our ancestors …

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The many facets of one…

Krishna, Kishan, Madhav, Banke Bihari, Gopala, Kanhaiya, Ranchhod, Parthasarathy, Ishvara…the many names and the many facets of the personality of the most loved God in the Hindu pantheon – Sri Krishna. God is all-powerful, controls the Universe – fear God, they say – since He is looking at all your bad deeds and will punish …

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