My Spiritual Musings

Two decades back I picked up a quaint little book called "Spiritual Diary" from a book store. Back then we had many brick and mortar bookstores and it used to be a joy to spend hours together at book stores pouring over various book. The Spiritual Diary is a cute, little book with spiritual inspirations for each day. They were primarily drawn from teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda. It just had a little saying to focus on each day. Simple and clear instructions for every day.  A few days back I found this book tucked inside my book shelve. In it I had written some prayers and incidents from circa 2001-2002. I was doing my Masters at that time adjusting to a new life in the US. I had a very demanding work-study schedule. Below I have penned a prayer of how fragile life can be around 2002 Thanksgiving. The deep realization that a simple lane change can be deadly enough to change our life forever. When I read my prayers again I was happy that the core of me has remai

One of the major reasons why there is a lot of stress in our life is because we have a lot of difficulty  in accepting life as it is manifests to us. We want our life to be a certain way but the reality does not meet our expectations. Frustration and disappointment sets in. Accepting the reality of the present moment as it has manifested and not  as what we would like it to be is easier said than done.    Why is acceptance and surrender so important? When the reality is not to our expectations then often times we react impulsively rather than responding  appropriately  to the present moment. We have a knee jerk reaction to every unpleasant incident.   Something as simple as as reckless driver cutting across our lane triggers us.  I am guilty of the same fault. But hey life will constantly throw curve balls at us. How do we develop equanimity? Acceptance to the NOW helps us to stop reacting and respond appropriately.     The religious amongst us seek solace in temples and o