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  • No water!

    During this lockdown, there were a few instances that taught me some lessons and reminded incidents. In past those incidents did mean little, however, during the lockdown, there were some learnings that emerged. This small incident happened recently which reminded me of two lessons. Lesson one, it is better to be calm when dealing with people or situations. Once again, my recent experience reinforced this lesson. Lesson two, of Hindi class during school. There is a Doha by a saint Rahim, which uses water giving a wonderful message. The message is “water is most important, without water, there is no pearl (shine in pearl), person (respect of person) or lime (use-ability of lime)”. The author uses “water” in different contexts (in Shlesh alankar – Pun decking).

    रहिमन पानी राखिये बिन पानी सब सून

    पानी गए न ऊबरे मोती मानुष चून

    https://business2buddha.com/2015/01/reaction-and-response/

    I have written a lot of blogs on water, be it on economics, meditation, rainwater harvesting, current affairs, or others. You can read the different flavors can be read here.

    No water

    Last week, we woke up to know that there is no water in our wing of the building. Recently we read the news that due to lockdown water usage in Mumbai reduced. It was a surprise how it is possible that we don’t have water?

    drop-meets-ocean

    I was not upset, probably because there are more pressures of work these days than water crisis. Probably, I was unmoved because I did not have to rush to the office. Or probably I reasoned out in my mind better – I quickly accepted the situation. “Ok there is no water, now what?” Actually it was case number three. I went down, spoke with security, and came to know that there is a new fellow on duty. He was unaware of switching on the water pump. Result? this whole trouble.

    It was a revelation – once again – to me when I was talking to him. We take things so much for granted that when we do not have it, only at that time we notice them exist. We never care for who made it possible for that thing to reach us. Water in this instance. It is stored somewhere. We receive water when an unknown BMC employee timely switching on and off of the switches. It is one of the largest supply systems in the world. It traverses the distribution line put in place by god knows who and when. We never think about these people who were the foundation for making our water tank full every morning or for that matter who made our water tank in the first place. Forget about being mindful of the security guard of our building who switches on the button daily. We take the availability of water for granted these days especially in the cities like Mumbai that we don’t realize those who make it possible actually exist!

    Lessons

    These are some important things that come to my mind with the incident

    • Be grateful

    Every individual makes some contribution to our life, we should be thankful to them for this. Yes, if today this security person is not there someone else will be, but his being there today made you feel safe at home. So for that at least – be thankful.

    • Be compassionate / considerate

    There are possible reasons for mistakes so try to look at correcting situations and not criticizing people. You may not know what a person must be going through. Or it is possible that he is new to the system and genuinely unaware of his all responsibilities. A leader must inform his team members about the end results or the basic responsibilities.

    • Own your mindfulness

    If someone loses mind the overall surroundings become tensed. If I am not mindful, it may cause harm not only to me but also to the people around me. Also, if I am mindful I can better handle the situation isn’t it? If you lose your calm the situations are going to get worst.

    These lessons are useful irrespective of personal or professional life. One has to be grateful plus considerate to people, and mindful of self, isn’t it? These factors help a person retain (water) respect – पानी गए न ऊबरे मोती मानुष चून! According to Rahim – No water is no respect too.

  • 3 small lessons from a leader

    This incident turned into 3 small lessons for all of us from our boss. Leaders make learning effortless and yet impactful when you read the story you may realize the 3 small lessons were not rocket science. Yet, how often we implement such small things in our daily life when dealing with situations and people?

    3-small-lessons-from-;leader

    It was a late morning in our office, the day had just started a few hours ago. There was tension in our small office. Our office was small. A slightly higher voice in one corner can be heard on the diagonally opposite side of the office. Generally a very calm, composed, motherly and one of the most silent persons of the office was upset. It had been more than 10 minutes since our admin and accounts person was furiously shouting to our office boy. She was asking questions, pointing errors, and suggesting the impact of all these. Irresponsible behavior and mistakes were causing a significant impact on our daily work, and costing office.

    The accounts manager continued her monologue – “it is common sense isn’t it?” For a few other things, she said “I had explained this to you earlier too”, how can you make similar types of mistakes (not exactly the same) repeatedly? So, some things were straightforward errors of judgment by the office boy. The office boy was making these errors for some time; we all had been impacted some time or the other.

    After it was enough for our boss, he called the accounts manager, who used to report to the boss. He requested the office boy to bring an early lunch. The office boy knew and generally used to collect bosses’ lunch from a nearby restaurant.

    3 small lessons

    The boss turned to the admin cum accounts manager and said I heard some parts of your conversations. This is my suggestion to you –

    • you cannot expect everyone to think the way you think
    • had our office boy been as intelligent as you are, he probably wouldn’t have been an office boy
    • you have to think from an individual’s level of intelligence and instruct him accordingly

    After these three-suggestions, he further added – “I am not saying your observations are inaccurate.” Now, when you have thought about these three points, look at the past 10-15 min, our office has been stressed out.

    http://business2buddha.com/2020/03/managing-emotions/

    The way he explained his point of view was such that the accounts manager had calmed down and the tension in the environment defused. His teachings were so good that I remember this lesson even after more than a decade. I may have failed in explaining the heat of the situation that was there. Probably, it is difficult for you to understand what difference between those three small statements made to the situations.

    When I revisit the incident, I take a few takeaways from the incident, one we have to be compassionate. Second, we have to understand the point of people. Lastly, we should start thinking about what should be our response later. These lessons can help in managing situations. I am still learning and trying to implement these and others. How do you handle tough situations?

    Image source – The Coach Space from Pexels

  • Bright day on the other side

    Some of us met each other more than 30 years ago. However most of us met 25 years back when we took admission in Technical school. We studied together for 2 years had a wonderful bond, competition, cultural events, and sports besides education in the school. After 12th, many lost contact because we all took different paths. Thanks to lockdown, a blessing in disguise, my childhood friend Abhishek created our school’s group on WhatsApp. This close to quarter of a century old disconnection made Vinee – another of my school friends – ask an interesting question. What if everyone can share what they did post our 12th till now? It would be great to know the journey of everyone. In fact, in some cases, we have forgotten some of the batchmates. Everyone has a story and these stories become life lessons for others isn’t it? Whatever experience we have good or bad, shape us. The darkest of the night has a bright day on the other side.

    Brighter-day

    We connected after a long time we all are rejoicing in these discussions. Some have shared their stories, others are yet to share. I am in the former category. I did introspection and then shared about how my life moved on from there. It was an interesting exercise, thanks to Vinee for asking the question that made me introspect and Abhishek for creating the group. On a lighter note, I feel we have grown old. About 8 years back, I used to ask Saxena Sir, Ramana uncle about what and how life has been for them and what would they want to tell me as some of the lessons in hindsight. Their thoughts are share in different blogs earlier

    http://www.business2buddha.com/2019/10/situations-how-this-one-word-sentence-made-me-spiritual/
    There are shocks and failures that teach you biggest lessons in life than any success does.
    http://business2buddha.com/2016/08/happiness-how/
    It is true that owning cattle, jewels or kingdoms is mine of wealth
    But when you own wealth of contentment (satisfaction) those mines (cattle, jewels etc) of wealth become worthless (like dust)
    http://business2buddha.com/2015/09/work-is-worship/
    Work and spirituality live in backyard of each other
    http://business2buddha.com/2013/01/chinu-and-the-pebbles/
    When I was a kid, I used to pick up stones the way Chinu does now. Now, I am grown up (may be!) and now I care for different kind of stones
    http://business2buddha.com/2013/08/race-never-ending/
    We are running on a treadmill, we do not reach anywhere but still get tired. At times, it becomes purpose of our life!
    http://business2buddha.com/2014/01/entanglement-of-a-langot-undergarment/
    This is an interesting story, how a small article – undergarment in this case – brings the whole world with it.

    Bright day on the other side

    When I look back, I realize that I had been blessed with some awesome experience and faced some tough times too. When I was going through bad phases I felt worthless and worst to be walking on the face of the earth. Now when I analyze life in hindsight it looks everything was great. I know that at times I had been sulking, getting frustrated, and looking for better things in life or thought that I deserve better than what I got. It might be that sometimes I did not deserve something, yet I got it.

    Generally, we think like this – what I got I deserved it or I deserved better than what I got. In the present moment it is the best that we accept what we have got in life. Otherwise we end up muddling our present too. All years when I see the ups and downs of my life I realize that it’s good that I had gone through these ups and downs otherwise, a straight line life without ups and downs would have resembled a cardiogram of a dead person’s heartbeat.

    Life is made-up of the sum total of the situations we face, how we respond to those situations, learn from those and the decisions we make. At times we get in trouble, at times we make wrong decisions and at times we come out victorious even out of the worst of the situations that we are facing. This has been lessons from my introspection.

    This pandemic and the subsequent lockdown has put everyone in tough situations. The times are troubled – no doubt about it – however the decisions we make and the way we respond to the situation is going to define us, how we are going to go ahead from this point to the future. The decisions we make are going to be far-reaching for us and generations, be it business owners or working professionals. The darkest of the night has a bright day on the other side.

  • Gyani in professional life

    The Bhagvad Geeta defines who is a gyani (sage) as follows – “One who remains unattached under all conditions, and is neither delighted by good fortune nor dejected by tribulation, he is a sage with perfect knowledge.” It is very difficult to implement in life. The practical approach for trying is – “Pandemic has happened, we are in lockdown. This is our current reality. We cannot change it, isn’t it? What we can do now is detach ourselves from this reality and look at what can we do as a professional and as a person.” If we approach situations in this manner we can be Gyani in professional life – a saint in suit. Here is a very small example with me how I failed in it recently and learnt a lesson.

    My recent experience

    My daughter – Adviti – has been kind enough to teach me some lessons on a regular basis. She reminded me of a Shloka of Bhagvad Geeta – “who is a Gyani (sage)?” Recently we gave her a slate and chalk so that she can scribble some things on it. She is too young – 2 years only – to write something useful. So, to keep her entertained, I make caricatures, animals or some drawings. It is a slate; it needs cleaning to scribble something next time. I am a very terrible painter, this has been a learning experience for me how to make something worth its salt. Slowly,2 I started drawing things that at least have some resemblance to the original. Now, I have started making something which is of at least some value – or I feel it is so.

    Adviti-Drawing-Lesson-Who-is-Gyani

    Initially it was ok for me, the drawings were awful and she was rubbing stuff. Yesterday I copied one of the drawings from her coloring book. I fell in love with that and as usual Adviti rubbed it clean. I tried to stop her, because I was very happy with the drawing. Probably for her there is no definition of beauty or ugliness. For her everything is equal. In fact there is a probability that the drawing I made was not worth it but I fell in love with it because I made it. So it was a lesson for me to let go and be equanimous in such situations. By the way, the picture on the side is about 2 month old, I make better drawing now 😀 😉

    http://business2buddha.com/2011/07/when-will-we-stop/

    Who is a Gyani (sage)?

    दु:खेष्वनुद्विग्नमना: सुखेषु विगतस्पृह: |
    वीतरागभयक्रोध: स्थितधीर्मुनिरुच्यते || 56||

    duḥkheṣhv-anudvigna-manāḥ sukheṣhu vigata-spṛihaḥ
    vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhaḥ sthita-dhīr munir uchyate

    One whose mind remains undisturbed amidst misery, who does not crave for pleasure, and who is free from attachment, fear, and anger, is called a sage of steady wisdom.

    य: सर्वत्रानभिस्नेहस्तत्तत्प्राप्य शुभाशुभम् |
    नाभिनन्दति न द्वेष्टि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता || 57||

    yaḥ sarvatrānabhisnehas tat tat prāpya śhubhāśhubham
    nābhinandati na dveṣhṭi tasya prajñā pratiṣhṭhitā

    One who remains unattached under all conditions, and is neither delighted by good fortune nor dejected by tribulation, he is a sage with perfect knowledge.

    I remember above shlokas of Bhagvad Geeta that she is effectively teaching me without even realizing. The lesson is “who is a Gyani (sage)?” I got too attached to the drawings – very trifling things – that would be gone over time. Whenever she wiped those I felt miserable, though I know these drawings are transitory.

    It is easy to relate to the slate and scribbling. It becomes difficult to apply this wisdom to our daily life. In our daily lives we are attached to the “bigger things” be it our certificates, designations or possessions. It’d be good if we learn this lesson for our daily life.

    Source – Bhagvat Geeta and the translation (Holy Bhagavad Gita).

  • One consciousness

    I had been thinking about writing on Bhojan Mantra unfortunately for the last couple of days I did not get time. This Covid lockdown has changed me in more than one way, especially regarding spiritual practices and reading books on One consciousness. I have started respecting food a lot. Earlier I used to just gobble in anything – vegetarian of course – without giving it any thought as such. Food is there, I have to eat it at a given time or if I am hungry I am going to eat it. During Covid when people are struggling for food, suddenly my approach to eating is changed. Many people are donating especially for the daily wage workers, in fact, I had been donating also to International associations for human values – donate here –  an organization which is donating food packets to the daily wage earners.

    I said that Covid-19 changed me in a certain manner, food is one very change. Almost always whenever I eat my lunch or dinner I recite this Mantra called Bhojan Mantra. There are two mantras the video of the same is given here a loose translation of the same is also available on this video. This is my first trial of creating video, Sanskrit recitation is not an issue, the challenge is the usage of technology. I wish someone could help me in creating or editing the videos better.

    The first Mantra (sourced by Bhagvad Geeta Chapter 4, Shloka 24) loosely means that whatever we are eating is the energy or the Brahman whoever is eating it is a Brahman and the action performed afterward and even during eating the food is also Brahman that is by the Brahman for the Brahman of the Brahman. Interesting isn’t it? Everything is made up of the same energy – only forms are different – and everything is going to go back in the same energy. If you now try to relate it to the concept of Physics concept E=Mc2 (Mass-Energy Equivalence) you realize that this Mantra was written long back and it means the same thing which has been accepted and proven scientifically.

    Note – Here Brahman is not the varna that Indian system has.

    I was attending a meditation session of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar – Guruji – in the session, he said every incoming Breath energizes You and outgoing breath relaxes it suddenly struck to me the moment you eat your food it becomes you, the moment you breathe in that air the air also becomes you and the moment you breathe out that air going out actually is no more you. In a way, we can say that the breath becomes me and dies as me when it goes out! Or if we expand our Horizons actually everything is ME – the air the food.

    http://business2buddha.com/2012/12/tender-coconut/

    We define ourselves as the body alone which was some mineral in some parts of the world some time ago. Now it is me, or perhaps now I am feeling that it is me, it was, it is and it will remain me – only thing is I need to look beyond the body alone. This is also a concept of Indian spirituality – Adwait – everything is one single Monolithic entity represented or manifestation of the same energy or consciousness – Brahman – in multiple ways.

  • Online Meditation session

    Stressed, frustrated, bored or worried about world after #lockdown. Join #meditation session it’ll be stress buster.

    Date: 9th May 2020 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM India Time
    Register: http://tiny.cc/bbSat

    Date: 10th May 2020 11:00 AM – 12:00 AM India Time
    Register: http://tiny.cc/bbSun

    A one hour Free Introduction session for Meditation Workshop

    You’ll understand how to :

    ✔ Learn to deal with your thoughts and stress ?
    ✔ Increase your Happiness quotient
    ✔ Learn a scientific breathing techniques and guided meditation

    Venue: Zoom call

    Because IN is the only way OUT.

    Conceptualized and planned on Buddha Poornima and delivered over the weekend for bust people.

  • Change in belief

    Incidents shape our experience, experiences shape our opinions and opinions in long term shape our beliefs and set of belief become our religious practices. With time everything must evolve and must change! We must always remember – This too shall pass and should always be ready to accept change in belief, questioning our assumptions based on new experiences. Here is an incident that changed a laughing stock of our life into a serious affair after the Corona pandemic in which more than 2,00,000 reported deaths have happened until now.

    Our incident

    It was the year 2015, I had married to Simple – my wife – for only 8 months. In these 8 months, I had to travel out of India twice for a month or more. So before leaving for the second time, I had arranged for my wife’s travel to join me in Toronto. Due to her half-yearly audit preparation, she flew later. This is a story how things make or change us.

    While in flight, Simple sneezed. Fellow passenger, who was flying to the USA, was somewhat taken aback. She quickly took out her first aid box and gave a tablet to Simple. Initially, Simple was a bit hesitant to take this medicine. Remember we were told in our childhood – “while traveling do not eat anything given by others.” She said I am alright, it was due to the cabin temperature I do not have a cough or a cold. Probably the co-passenger was also told something like, don’t eat anything given by strangers, in her childhood. So the co-passenger read the content line by line and said it is just multivitamin. Somehow Simple got away this time. However, she sneezed again, this time she could not say no to her. Simple had realized by now how petrified the lady on her next seat was. So, this time around she took the medicine – unwillingly though. So, the whole flight afterward was peaceful for both – Simple and the passenger.

    Simple landed in Toronto and the first thing that she narrated was this incident. We laughed together on this and, I told her somehow in India it is not a big deal, I think we are so immune to it isn’t it? We remembered this incident whenever we flew, smiled at each other. Karma you call it. This small smile and fun started haunting me recently.

    Change-in-belief

    This Corona happened and we are all locked down at home. Now whenever we go out for buying essentials, we get hand sanitizer at the entrance of D-Mart as if it is a Prasad! Honestly speaking, touching the shopping trolley I feel scared and giving cash or card, I tell myself hope this person is safe. Now, I realize how that co-passenger must be feeling about sneezing of Simple. How life, experience and opinions change, isn’t it?

    One virus that is bothering everyone across the globe has given a new perspective to the joke we used to tell each other almost every time we flew. Small or big all types of incidents shape us as we grow up. So I changed my opinion about coughing, sneezing and more! If someone coughs around us now the eyebrows rise. Simple and I changed our opinion towards the fellow passenger of Simple in 2015.

    http://business2buddha.com/2019/11/10/this-too-shall-pass/

  • “Greedy” monk

    Prayers of the Frog Volume 1 and Volume 2 is a wonderful story book. Here is another story from the same. This story connects the dots with perception that I had been writing. We do have some monks like this in our society. Do read the story for now.

    Monk

    Greedy monk

    Gessen was a Buddhist monk. He was also an exceptionally talented artist. Before he started work on any painting, however, he always demanded payment in advance. And his fees were exorbitant. So he came to be known as the Greedy Monk.

    A geisha (Japanese women who entertain through performing the ancient traditions) once sent for him to have a painting done. Gessen said. “How much will you pay me?” The girl happened to be entertaining a patron at that time. She said, “Any sum you ask for. But the painting must be done right now before me.”

    Gessen set to work at once and when the painting was completed he asked for the highest sum he had ever charged. As the geisha was giving him his money, she said to her patron, “This man is supposed to be a monk but all he thinks of is money. His talent is exceptional but he has a filthy, money-loving mind. How does one exhibit the canvas of a filthy-minded man like that? His work is good enough for my underclothing!”

    With that she flung a petticoat at him and asked him to paint a picture on it. Gessen asked the usual question before he started the work: “How much will you give me?” “Oh, any sum you ask for,” said the girl. Gessen named his price, painted the picture, shamelessly pocketed the money and walked away.

    • Many years later quite by chance someone found out why Gessen was so greedy for money. A devastating famine often struck his home province. The rich would do nothing to help the poor. So Gessen had secret barns built in the area and had them filled with grain for such emergencies. No one knew where the grain came from or who the benefactor of the province was.
    • Another reason why Gessen wanted money was the road leading to his village from the city many miles away. It was in such bad condition that ox-carts could not move on it; this caused much suffering to the aged and the infirm when they needed to get to the city. So Gessen had the road repaired.
    • The final reason was a meditation temple which Gessen’s teacher had always desired to build but could not, Gessen built this temple as a token of gratitude to his revered teacher.

    After the Greedy Monk had built the road, the temple and the barns, he threw away his paint and brushes, retired to the mountains to give himself to the contemplative life and never painted another canvas again.

    Read other such good stories and learn for yourself. I have referred to the book and its stories many times earlier too check here.

    http://business2buddha.com/2018/07/21/intentions/
    http://business2buddha.com/2018/07/08/perceptions-create-reality/
    http://business2buddha.com/2011/02/15/no-judgement-its-all-about-perception/

    Essence – A person’s conduct generally shows what the observer imagines it to show.

    Again this boils down to perception.

    http://business2buddha.com/2020/04/06/perceptions/

  • Perceptions, perspectives and expectations

    I was watching Mahabharat episodes. The epic is the best depiction of conflicts we keep on going through on a daily basis. The biggest conflict and learning is the shloka of Mahabharat that teaches the value of the action and no entitlement of the results. Dhritrashtra’s perception was he is the eldest so the throne belonged to him. Bhishma’s perspective was that he has to take care of the kingdom (even if the king is incorrect). Dronacharya’s expectation from teaching Kuru prince was to take revenge from Panchal king. Many in the epic knew that their opinions are based on ideology applied incorrectly in the given situation, yet they did not amend their ways. When the battle started everyone took side not based on what is right or lawful but which side my enemy is on. This is the result of these perceptions, perspectives, and expectations. The outcome was – people were fighting their own battles at the backdrop of Pandavas and Kauravas.

    Perception

    Aurora borealis

    When I was thinking about aurora borealis (or polar lights), I thought that such a phenomenon or any other related ionization must be happening at different wavelengths that are beyond the human eye’s abilities to see. Our incapability to see does not mean some things do/did not happen. Sound below 20 Hz and above 20,000 Hz exist, we humans are unable to hear it. Our senses and perceptions create our realities. I wrote last week “our past experiences – Sanskara – condition us”. We need to go beyond the conditioning to change our perceptions.

    http://business2buddha.com/2011/02/15/no-judgement-its-all-about-perception/

    Perspective

    In some of the satsangs of Art of living, I heard a few romantic Bollywood movie songs. Earlier when I had heard these songs I felt ok it is a romantic song sung by the lover for the loved one. However, when I heard the same song in a different setup it was as perfect in Bhakti too! These presentations of songs change my perspective, examples are in the below videos –

    The perceptions made these songs to be romantic songs however when I looked at these songs from a different perspective the meaning of the song itself changed.

    Expectations

    कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।

    मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भुर्मा ते संगोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥

    You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities. Bhagavad Gita, Chapter II, Verse 47. Effectively, we must do our actions as per need of the hour and do not be feverish about either the actions or the results.

    Conclusion

    http://business2buddha.com/2010/08/19/playing-golf-work-and-meditation/

    In Mahabharat, each person was living his perceptions, defining his stand in his own’s perspective and having different expectations. These three things blinded people. Isn’t it true that we live in the cage of our perceptions, perspectives, and expectations? Meditation can help change in all these three.

  • Perceptions

    Perceptions are our realities – however, how real are these perceptions? The reality persists until we get to understand the other side too. Long back, I met Sai Kaka and he told me very interesting lines explaining how we are stuck and how the “beyond” is experienced. If you look at many opinions and “-isms” you would realize that almost all are bound and jailed in the opinions of their own. What Sai Kaka told me was this –

    Sai Kaka

    Sanskar yukt chaitanya jab (संस्कार युक्त चैतन्य जब)

    • chintan karata hai to usko chitt kahate hai (1. चिंतन करता है तो उसको चित्त कहते है)
    • manan karata hai to usko man kahate hai (2. मनन करता है तो उसको मन कहते है)
    • nirnay karata hai to usko buddhi kahate hai (3. निर्णय करता है तो उसको बुद्धि कहते है)
    • asmita ka bhan karata hai to usko aham kahate hai (4. अस्मिता का भान करता है तो उसको अहं कहते है)
    • inme se sansakar nikal jaye to jo bachata hai vo shuddha chaitanya hai (इनमे से संस्कार निकल जाए तो जो बचता है वो शुद्ध चैतन्य है)

    This in English means –

    When a conscious filled with rituals (or say the lessons learnt about ‘way of living’)

    • thinks we call it mind (imagination)
    • contemplate we call it Mind [there is a difference between Chitt and man which I am not able to translate in English]
    • makes a decision we call it intellect
    • perceives pride we call it Ego

    Now when the rituals or ‘way of life’ learnt, get out of this conscious mind, what is left is the pure consciousness.

    I recalled these lines from Sai Kaka when I read the story of Prayer’s of the frog on Perception.

    Story from Prayers of the frog

    A monk was walking in the monastery grounds one day when he heard a bird sing. He listened, spellbound. It seemed to him that never before had he heard, but really heard, the song of a bird.

    When the singing stopped he returned to the monastery and discovered, to his dismay, that he was a stranger to his fellow monks, and they to him. It was only gradually that they and he discovered that he was returning after centuries. Because his listening was total, the time had stopped and he had slipped into eternity.

    Prayer is made perfect

    when the timeless is discovered.

    The timeless is discovered

    through clarity of perception.

    Perception is made clear

    when it is disengaged

    from preconceptions

    and from all consideration

    of personal loss or gain.

    ‘Then the miraculous

    is seen and the heart is filled with wonder.

    http://business2buddha.com/2014/03/10/amazing-isnt-it/
    I have written on Amazement/wonder read here

    Ashtavakra Geeta talks about Wonder, Janaka responds to Ashtavakra with astonishment. This veil takes time to cast-off. Our perceptions create our reality and we are stuck with that reality with our preconceived notions. When this perception, way of life, Sanskar is removed what is left is consciousness – pure bliss ( इनमे से संस्कार निकल जाए तो जो बचता है वो शुद्ध चैतन्य है).

    I have thoughts on the conflict of perception, in my mind that I shall try to put next week.