And so we finished the second book of the Panchatantra – Mitra Samprāpti.
With it, comes a new layout to the website. A few tucks here, a few nips there, and hey and pesto…you cannot find anything anymore:|
If that’s how you feel, then do excuse me while I complete the mammoth exercise of collating all the stuff that I have written into meaningful chunks, complete with easy access and (hopefully) good design.
In the meanwhile, here is a snapshot of what you can find in the first instance.
Sādhanā – The theory
I started the 21-day sādhanā during the lockdown, not knowing how it would shape up, or even what I would write. While it may sound odd to you now, but I really just got up every day, did my yog and meditation, and then sat down and typed whatever came to my mind at that instant.
I started with a 5-day target, which then became 7 days and then 21 days. At the end of the 21 days, I had what I never started out to make – a tool for transformation.
Sādhanā – The exercises
I followed it up with 21 exercises, using the theory that I had written about earlier, and combined with the reading, the exercises became a practical way of achieving that transformation.
I am now working on getting these two bits integrated in a way that you can, from the comfort of your home, also make use of the perspectives that I have experienced, and hopefully bring about a big change in the way you work, live, and love life!
Love in the times of Corona
The first thing I wrote in the lockdown, now in a easy-to-download (and absolutely free, not that you were going to pay me anyway) book. Read, and feedback please (the least you can do, for a freebie).
Panchatantra
We all are familiar with the Panchatantra as the kids tales that we grew up with. While it does have an entertainment value for kids, the Panchatantra is actually to be read during the Brahmacharya phase of life – when you are learning about the ways of the world.
English translations do little justice to the richness of Sanskrit, and Sanskrit versions remain alien unless you have mastered the language.
And so I combined the rasā of Samskritam with the commonality of English, to present the Panchatantra in a way that you may not have seen before.
I used sources in three languages – Sanskrit, Hindi and English, to attempt to understand the essence of the thoughts in the numerous slokas that the scripture contains, and also consciously stayed away from making the English too ‘rich” (actually, flowery), so that you could identify with the story, rather than be enamoured by the linguistic quality of the prose (in common English – so that you could understand the English without keeping a dictionary by your side).
I completed the Mitra-Bheda, the first tantra of the Panchatantra, as a series of 55 posts, and the second book – Mitra Samprāpti, as a series of 25 posts. Will start the third tantra in a few days!
LinkedIn Diary
LinkedIn is a medium that many do not understand.
Some crave for likes, and shares, much like Instagram, while others tend to share rehashed (and often copied) content.
I just like to write a few snippets early in the morning, while wishing the birthday boys and girls (yes, I do that everyday), with a customised message that hopefully brings smiles on some faces.
A big fan of polls, almost all my posts contain them. Since one cannot embed such posts outside of LinkedIn, here is my workaround. You can visit the link at the end of most posts, and read (and vote) them on LinkedIn.
Yog Daily
Your daily dose of something yoga. Can be the sadhana, the Panchatantra, or some sayings that can give you an insight into yourself, or the world around you. I did also start a series on Tirukkural, and a couple of posts on the wisdom of Sarvajña.
On Guru Purnima, I wrote on The Uddhava Gita, where Lord Krishna tells how Avadhuta Dattatreya discovered twenty-four gurus by observing this world.
There was also a post on my favourite bhajan of Sri Krishna, by Meera. And of course, my thoughts on my Krishna, something that I wrote on the occasion of Janmashtami.
I, me, myself
Still work in progress – the testimonials have to be filled in, and would love if you could volunteer to say a few:) Have tried to encapsulate what I want to present to the world, and how I would like our interactions to be (actually, what we can speak about). Do look through it, and if our thoughts are congruent, do drop in a line (or in the tech age, fill the Hubspot form).
Part 2 of this blogpost will speak about what is coming ahead – so see you tomorrow!