Priya Hegde

<hr>Silently, smoothly love glides. A sliver of interest here, A spark of connection there, A touch of wonder here, A stroke of beauty there, A stir, a shake, creating radiant little pockets of love.Flowing through chasms, Glowing in darkness, Shining through hearts, Growing, covering, spreading, Expanding, no longer a beginning or an end.The heart yearns for this love, The gentle caress of its strength. To remain forever immersed in its depth, Diving deep into that stillness, Guided by the glow, leading us to eternity.Alas, the mind pulls us away, Steering us with thoughts. The slightest stroke of blame, A hint of criticism, a flash of fury, a tide of anger Creates a roar so loud, love hides, fearful and small.The heart shrinks, love disappears, Until it rises with the strength of its creator, Pushing all else away, Churning, twisting, molding, Until love becomes that which it is – Divine.Eternal Divine Love!<hr>&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Poetry and Illustration by PRIYA HEGDE</h4>&nbsp;<hr>

Love

Purnima is a UN award-winning writer and blogger. She is a fellow of Journalism by The International Reporting Project of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the recipient of the BlogHER International Activist Award 2013. The is one of five senior editors at World Moms Blog, a Forbes Top 100 website for women writing from 30 countries. She is a Heartfulness practitioner and trainer, and on the Heartfulness Magazine editorial team.&nbsp;

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Purnima Ramakrishnan

<h4>PURNIMA RAMAKRISHNAN went on a family holiday to Bhutan in 2016, and the impression it left has stayed with her. She shares some of the important lessons she learned during that visit. &nbsp;</h4>&nbsp;I visited the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan almost a year ago. Today, I am still transported back to that land of the Thunder Dragon from time to time. Reflecting on my time in Bhutan, I see how it taught me lessons that I find myself applying every day. After my trip, my life remains the same on the outside for anyone who saw me every day, but my heart is open in such a tender and simple manner. Below are some lessons I picked up from Bhutan.<hr><h4>Happiness is the highest factor</h4><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/mindfulness_lessons_from_bhutan_941c06f5ef.jpg">Dr. Saamdu Chetri, the Executive Director of the Centre for Gross National Happiness in Bhutan says, “It only takes 10% of a group to decide to make a change, in order for it to make an impact on the whole group.” Bhutan does not measure the country’s well-being and success by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but by a measure known as Gross National Happiness (GNH).Gross National Happiness acknowledges that material wealth is important, but it equally values the importance of community well-being, including culture, governance, knowledge, wisdom, health, spirituality, psychological welfare, a balanced use of time, and harmony with the environment.Now, that is not a tall list. When I landed in the country, I was transported to a beautiful place where there was so much joy. The attitude of the people did not feel materialistic at all. Their attitude was filled with love, care, concern and they always smiled. It was a genuine smile, one where you could feel an uplifting energy all around the person.When I think about it, what is the reason we do all that we do, throughout our lives? We work hard, get good jobs, pursue relationships, and achieve success. Ultimately, we do all this to be happy and to make our near and dear ones happy as well. So why not be happy in the first place, and allow the rest to automatically follow? That is perhaps the law of Nature, which the Bhutanese people have already discovered.I was reminded of the words of the modern-day saint, Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur who says, “Joy attracts Grace.” Yes, it does indeed, and Bhutan is a fine example of that. &nbsp;<hr><h4>Technology is neither a want nor a need; it just has its place</h4><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/mindfulness_lessons_from_bhutan3_73ea284314.jpg">We stayed in a wonderful hotel, in one of the finest and best in Bhutan, according to travel sites. No, it was not expensive at all. That is one thing I liked about the country. One evening there was a power cut. We were strolling around the hotel grounds, enjoying the scenery and waiting for power to be restored. “Please come inside for dinner sir,” the Maître requested, seeking us out. “Maybe after an hour, it is so early,” we insisted. “The power may not be back until midnight, so we suggest you have an early dinner,” he insisted. I kept wondering all the time, why was there no generator or back-up power installation? When I enquired, he looked at me like I was asking an unusual question, and said, “But Ma’am, it will be back in the night. There must have been some avalanche in the mountains and the lines must be cut. It will be restored soon. And we have a lot of candles. Why should we waste fuel?” Yes, of course, his rationale was sound. Why should we, indeed? With our own cozy first-world lifestyle, we can’t imagine such an answer from hotel personnel. It was not that they did not care for power back-up. They just didn’t think it was worth having; it was seen as a waste.Did you know, Bhutan got its first TV in 1999 and access to Internet only a few years ago? By that time many of us were already arguing over which channels to watch, and who should have absolute control over the remote, and perhaps even buying separate TVs for the bedroom and the living room.I observed that for the Bhutanese, TV or Internet was not the center of their lives. Rather, they are tools that can be used intentionally to get information or connect with each other. I never saw a single Bhutanese checking his mobile phone in my entire trip. When I finally enquired whether they owned mobile phones, the receptionist took out his iPhone and asked me if I would like to make a call or borrow it. So they did have phones, but they only seemed to use it when they had to.Similarly, there was no Wi-Fi available in our rooms, only in the hotel lobby, even though we stayed in a wonderful place. When I enquired about the Wi-Fi, one hotel staff member responded, “But Ma’am, do you want to use the internet? Do you want to check for flights or emails or perhaps do your official work?” I am sure he would have laughed if I had said, “I think I have 500-odd messages in my WhatsApp from today which I want to check, lest it becomes 1000 tomorrow.”<hr><h4>Wealth is Nature</h4><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/mindfulness_lessons_from_bhutan4_fb51797ab9.jpg">Bhutan is also the only ‘carbon-negative’ country in the world. Its constitutional laws have declared that, at all times, its forest grounds should be greater than 60 percent of the total land area. At present, the green area is 70 percent.When Bhutan’s Crown Prince Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck was born in 2016, the country gifted 108,000 saplings to the prince. In Buddhism, trees are providers and nourish all life forms. Planting a tree is the most wonderful gesture for someone we love. A tree symbolizes longevity, health, beauty and even compassion.Bhutan doesn’t allow any smoking in public, public product advertising or large-scale mining or extraction projects. In addition, plastics are completely banned. These are huge steps to improving the environment. The country has also remained completely organic; there are no pesticides or insecticides used. I could go on with my endless list of things that Bhutan does for the environment, rather, avoids doing to prevent spoiling the environment.<hr><h4>An everyday routine of meditation</h4><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/mindfulness_lessons_from_bhutan5_d73d4a0ad8.jpg">Buddha Purnima is the day Buddha was born, attained enlightenment, and passed on to the Brighter World. I had a great curiosity to visit Bhutan on Buddha Purnima. So we planned this trip to happen on that day to see how Buddhists celebrated. I noticed that on this day people meditated a lot. It was not a festival but rather a day of rumination, a day of meditative silence and contemplation, spent deep in prayer. Spirituality felt like an integrated part of their lives. It is not a unique or special concept, like a mindfulness class you might join, once a week. For them, they meditated as if it was an everyday routine.Similarly, the Heartfulness meditation I practice has a routine of morning meditation and evening rejuvenation which has been so effective for me personally. I noticed that the disposition of such Heartfulness practitioners was so similar to the Bhutanese people. They have this all-encompassing super calm around them, a disposition of cheerful acceptance, and a balance in their life. For them, everyday is a Buddha Purnima because of their regular practice of meditation and rejuvenation. If you haven’t tried Heartfulness meditation yet, I sincerely encourage you to try it .It was also interesting to observe how the Bhutanese people did not have to motivate each other to meditate. I think that is the key to maintaining their kind of peaceful disposition.Before visiting, I had wondered why Bhutan was listed as one of the happiest countries in the world.After visiting I know the answer – they know that the purpose of human existence is to learn how to love. And therefore, they’ve placed their efforts in the right direction by creating an environment of peace, care and joy.Traveling to Bhutan for me was a unique, life altering experience. I felt transported to an alternate reality, like a paradise situated in the mysterious mountainous kingdoms of Shangri-La.It wasn’t that the Bhutanese have no challenges. I observed that in spite of challenges, their hearts were always open and their attitude loving.These lessons do not end here. They have helped me strive to improve from day-to-day and begin a journey towards my own Ultimate Reality, as Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur describes in his book, Reality at Dawn. But that is another article for another time.&nbsp;

Mindfulness lessons from Bhutan

<h4>PURNIMA RAMAKRISHNAN shares a list of 51 small acts that will make a difference in the lives of others and yourself. See which ones resonate with you, and try one or two this week.</h4>&nbsp;Have you met a stranger who completely changed the way you looked at this world?That someone at the departmental shop who let you ahead of him in the queue, because your child was losing patience, or that someone in a public transport who offered you a seat because you looked so exhausted, or a vendor who waived you away the change you owed him, just because you had no coins in your pockets.Well, this world is full of such compassionate – kind and beautiful souls! This everyday kindness is a blessing; it gives an instantaneous joy, which is refreshing, and pleasant.Today, in our current lifestyle, how could one make a difference in this world? As the New Year dawned, when the whole world made plans and resolutions, what did you chose to do?Here are 51 ways to make a difference in the world.<h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>GIVING</h3><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">“It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.”&nbsp; ―Mother Teresa</h4><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/51_giving_img_80ce55473f.jpeg?updated_at=2023-03-29T15:16:34.271Z">&nbsp;1. 1 pint of blood can save up to 3 lives. You can save 3 lives if you choose to donate blood.2. Got a lot of shoes and clothes, gathering dust in the closet? Donate them to an orphanage.3. Donate a month’s color pencil supplies to the kindergarten class of your local school. Kids love colors. See the joy in their eyes.4. Pay-It-Forward to assist the local farmer. And motivate him/her to go completely organic.5. Feed stray animals. Make one of them your pets, if you like to.6. Say sorry to someone from whom you expect an apology. Yes, that is the only way to mend fences. Give, don’t expect to get.7. Blog about a social issue which needs attention. And share it on Social Media.8. Dedicate a complete day to help out a friend in his/her aspirations and goals.9. Grow out your hair for a couple of months religiously. Cut it all out, and donate to an organization which makes cute wigs for kids.10. Rescue stray animals to hand them over to an animal shelter like the Blue Cross.Save<h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>DOING</h3><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">“Stop doing what is easy or popular. Start doing what is right.” ―&nbsp;Roy T. Bennett,&nbsp;The Light in the Heart</h4><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/51_doing_img_121ee04972.jpeg?updated_at=2023-03-29T15:21:57.305Z">&nbsp;11. All that trash lying around in your neighborhood? Organize a weekend clean-up drive.12. Got some talent? Is it singing? Or dancing? Or playing the lute? Teach a few kids for free.13. Visit the old-age home in your locality and spend an hour reading out books to the elders. Their smile would warm your heart.14. Volunteer at the Suicide Hotline in your city. Save a life.15. Plant a tree (sapling) in your backyard.16. Volunteer to babysit a few hours at the orphanage.17. Collect reusable plastic for recycling. Clean up the environment.18. Bake cookies for a relative whom you have not met in a year. Surprise him/her.19. Gift a tree (sapling) to your best friend on his/her birthday.20. Babysit to help out a single-parent. Tell him/her to go have some “me-time.”Save<h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>SHARING</h3><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">“Love only grows by sharing. You can only have more for yourself by giving it away to others.” ―Brian Tracy</h4><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/51_sharing_hfn_mag_img_a8b5f92519.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-29T15:22:40.255Z">&nbsp;21. Share your snacks, lunch or coffee with a friend at work.22. Show an embarrassing photo to friends. Give them a good laugh.23. Have a lot of grocery coupons? Give some to the first person you meet on the sidewalk.24. What is your aspiration? Share it with a complete stranger and ask him/her what he/she thinks about it. Their no-nonsense response could change your life.25. Upgraded to the latest iphone? What did you do the older model? Give it to someone who needs them.26. Buy two copies of the <a href="//www.heartfulnessmagazine.com/subscribe/">Heartfulness Magazine</a>. Give one to a friend who does not yet read it. And subscribe your friend to the free digital version of the e-magazine.Save Save<h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>COMMITTING</h3><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">"Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality." –Abraham Lincoln</h4><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/51_committing_img_ddc007aaaf.jpeg?updated_at=2023-03-29T15:23:25.343Z">&nbsp;27. Mentor someone.28. Avoid plastic bags for a month. If you can create the habit, avoid them for a year.29. Plant a vegetable crop in your porch and water them every day.30. Create vegetable/fruit waste compost for your vegetable garden.31. Save an hour’s electricity, than your usual consumption, every day.32. Do not waste leftovers for a week. Save food. At the end of the week, you would have learnt to cook adequately, not more than what you need.33. Have you heard of the of the United Nations Foundations? Lobby for at least 2 of them. I chose #5 and #16. Check out what they are.34. Teach a girl child to write. Take a tiny step towards women-empowerment.35. Sponsor an entire year’s education for a girl child, if you can afford it.Save Save<h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>LOVING</h3><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.” ―Robert A. Heinlein,&nbsp;Stranger in a Strange Land</h4><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/51_loving_friend_img_f3ea0286a3.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-29T15:25:19.554Z">&nbsp;36. Cook for a friend.37. Tell someone they look beautiful. And mean it. And if they smile back at you, you meant it.38. Launder for your spouse. Give him/her a rest.39. Share favorite recipes with complete strangers and follow up to see if they cooked them.40. Buy a cup of coffee for the person standing next to you, at Starbucks.41. Give a hug to a homeless person today morning.42. Sing nursery rhymes to your neighbor’s toddler.43. Surprise your spouse with a gift he/she would cherish for all his/her life.44. Say “Thank You” and “I Love You” to 10 people today.<h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>MEDITATING / FEELING</h3><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.” ―Helen Keller</h4><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/51_masterclasses_banner_img_135edae2dc.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-29T15:27:13.380Z">&nbsp;45. Make a list of things you are grateful for, at the end of the day. How do you feel when you thank God for those? Write your feelings in your diary.46. Hug a tree. Feel the energy. Ask a friend to do the same. Make this a weekly habit.47. When you wake up, count the number of people who would be happy to see you. Call one of them randomly to say “Good Morning.”48. Help a child relax. If necessary, recite the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuiV395xI4I">Relaxation</a>. Give a mental hug!49. Learn to meditate by getting in touch with a <a href="https://heartspots.heartfulness.org/">Heartfulness Trainer</a>.50. Take a friend to meditate along with you, to your Heartfulness trainer.51. Enroll yourself for three masterclasses in Meditation through this link - <a href="https://en.heartfulness.org/masterclass/">https://en.heartfulness.org/masterclass/</a>. Resolve to achieve something amazing through the science of meditation.Save SaveSaveGo on. Do more. Let the list grow to #101. And share it with us.Write to <a href="mailto:contributions@heartfulness.org">contributions@heartfulness.org</a> and tell us what you chose to do from the above list, and why. Share with us your experience of making a difference in the world.Save Save Save

51 ways to make a difference in the world

Darkness has a way of revealing how lost we are, literally and metaphorically. Just when the fear settles that we may have strayed too far from the path, someone appears. That happened to me for the first time on a mountain.The Triund trek in Himachal Pradesh is renowned for its breathtaking views of the Kangra Valley and the snow-capped Dhauladhar Range. It’s moderately difficult: a few hours up, a rewarding view at the top, and back to the plains by sundown. That was our plan.In the summer of 2022, my husband and I embarked on this beautiful trek. After a scenic climb and a stunning view, we lingered a little too long on the summit before beginning the descent later than we should have. The mountains have a way of making time slip past unnoticed. The towering peaks cast long shadows, and the crisp mountain air filled our lungs. But as the sun dipped behind the ridges, the rhythm of the trail shifted. What was once peaceful became unfamiliar. The path blurred into darkness, and unease settled in. We heard the howls of animals, along with the buzzing of insects and the occasional slither of a snake.By then, it was fully dark. We switched on our phone torches, only to find both batteries nearly drained. The trail was uneven, narrow, and becoming treacherous to follow.I thought I saw something—a glimmer, like a pair of eyes glowing faintly from behind the trees. I didn’t want to assume. My heart palpitated. I blinked, and the glimmer was gone. Maybe I imagined it, I thought.That moment opened something in me. A silent prayer arose. It was not for safety or help. It was beyond words. When all options run out, we do not ask for help, because help is logical. We ask for something beyond logic. We ask for a miracle. Though, as Spock from Star Trek might say, “There are no such things as miracles.”But then, just like that, someone appeared.“What are you guys doing here so late?” he asked, stepping toward us like he’d been there all along.“We lost track of time,” my husband said. “And we may have lost the trail, too.”He nodded, not surprised. “I’m a mountain guide. My group is camping at the summit. I’m heading down. You can come with me if you like.”&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/mountain_guide2_f29c75cf34.webp" alt="mountain-guide2.webp"></figure>&nbsp;It was surreal. One moment, we were unsure. Next, the guide was there. Calm, steady, and completely at ease. His presence changed the atmosphere. My heart settled.He walked with us for the next couple of hours, sharing stories of other treks and routes beyond Triund, like the Indrahar Pass. Eventually, we reached the base. A tea shop was still open, although it was late at night. We bought some water to pause and catch our breath. He asked where our car was, chatted briefly, and then quietly disappeared, with just a goodbye.We hadn’t asked his name. We didn’t even remember how we’d addressed him. But I only remembered the moment of fear, the silent prayer, and the man who arrived just after.When Guidance Becomes PresenceI think of this experience often. But I don’t want to reduce it to an interesting anecdote or story. It is too real. There was a sense of meaning that didn’t come from understanding, but from recognition, as if some part of me already knew this was not chance. It was a moment that transcended time and quietly became part of me. It didn’t belong to time, space, or any person.The universe had responded to a signal I had sent out hours earlier. But what stayed with me was the realization that I had always been in touch. The universe didn’t have to respond, because how can something respond to itself? Would you respond to yourself?&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/mountain_guide3_b8a5ef5815.webp" alt="mountain-guide3.webp"></figure>&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">It was a moment that transcended time and quietly became part of me. It didn’t belong to time, space, or any person.</h4><hr>&nbsp;We often hear quotes like those from Rumi, who said, “You are the universe in ecstatic motion,” or from Kabir, who wrote of the drop that becomes the ocean when it merges with it. I once understood these as lofty spiritual metaphors. But in that moment, I recognized they were not just poetry. They pointed to something real. The universe is me. It didn’t have to respond. It simply revealed itself.In my spiritual life, guidance has come through my father, mother, husband, mentors, and even through my son. And sometimes, through strangers, like this mountain guide. But in that moment, I felt that all of it was part of the same orchestration—a conversation, a communication, a communion from my Self to myself.There’s a line in the book, Role of the Master in Human Evolution by Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari, that expresses it with simplicity:“If there is one thing more important than truth, than spirituality itself, it is the Master who gives it to us.” —Vorauf, June 28, 1986And this Master, this guiding force, is the universe itself, communicating through myriad ways. We often think of the <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/from-isolation-to-solitude" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">spiritual guide</a> as a revered figure who teaches, shares, and leads. But in Heartfulness, the guide is not merely a teacher or advisor. Their role goes deeper. It is an inner transmission, subtle, silent, and often unexplainable, that lights up something within. The guide doesn’t hand you a map. They help you discover your compass.That night on the mountain, our guide, of course, pointed us to the path. But he also walked with us, trusted the trail, and invited us to do the same. That’s what a true spiritual guide does. Their help isn’t loud or obvious. Sometimes, it's a feeling of calm in confusion, or a shift in how you see something. A moment of quiet clarity. But it’s all more than that.To receive that, we have to take the first step, often without knowing what comes next. Trust does not begin with certainty, but with willingness.What stayed with me most was how the guide left. Without ceremony. Without asking for anything. And it reminds me again of the guide’s role. True gurus don’t create dependence. They walk beside us until we can walk on our own, and then quietly step back, revealing that they are part of our very own being.Life, as the Master IntendedSpiritual journeys, like mountain treks, come with their own unique terrain: breathtaking views, steep climbs, valleys, and detours. Having a guide doesn’t mean we’re incapable. It means we walk with more grace and fewer stumbles. Over time, the outer guidance becomes something inward. The reassurance we first sought grows into inner strength. We begin to sense direction even when things are uncertain. True guidance transforms us rather than rescuing us. The guide shows us that life itself is the curriculum. Every moment, every silence, every uncertainty becomes part of the teaching.And perhaps that is the guide’s true intention—not to shield us from difficulty, but through difficulty, to awaken something within us. The path isn’t laid out to be followed blindly, but rather, it is shaped step by step, according to our willingness to walk. In this way, life itself becomes both the teacher and the terrain. In Heartfulness, the guide is a presence of clarity and love that walks with you, showing you the light, until you realize that you are the light.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">The guide’s true intention—not to shield us from difficulty, but through difficulty, to awaken something within us.&nbsp;</h4><hr>&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/mountain_guide4_5f4f4811fe.webp" alt="mountain-guide4.webp"></figure>&nbsp;When I first began meditating in my teenage years, I didn’t feel much. The teachings of Heartfulness were interesting and even inspiring, but I didn’t feel any earth-shattering transformation. Back then, I didn’t understand what I was receiving, or even what I was doing.Later, when life’s terrain grew more complex, I began to understand. I recognized the gift that I had. I took refuge in the spiritual practice. We don’t look for guides on smooth roads or when we are admiring breathtaking views. We look for them when the trail vanishes, and when torch batteries run out.The Heartfulness practice and the spiritual guide who offers it are both deceptively simple—no grand rituals and no promises. But with time, something inside begins to shift. Eventually, the path we once feared to walk in darkness becomes the one we tread, illuminated by light from within. Looking back, I see that the mountain guide belonged to that moment, emerging from the same darkness that had frightened me, appearing when I was ready to see him. That night, providence took the form of a stranger with a flashlight.<hr>Illustrations by ANANYA PATEL<hr>

The Mysterious Mountain Guide

<h3 style="text-align:center;">ART ESSAY</h3><h4>ANUJA CHANDRAMOULI and the journey of transformation through mythology—profile by PURNIMA RAMAKRISHNAN.</h4>“Life is like driving a car. You have to keep glancing at the rearview mirror every once in a while—meaning the past—which is a way of staying connected to your roots. Trying to figure out where you’re from helps you get attuned to your cultural heritage, which is a big part of your identity. Revisiting the ancient world gives you an insight into the present, which you cannot have if you do not look at the rearview mirror while you’re steering through the present, all the while keeping an eye on the future.”Anuja speaks about mythology. Mythological stories like the Mahabharata, Ramayana, and Puranas shaped my childhood—constant companions at every moment. Lord Krishna was always my favorite, and learning of his death left me deeply saddened.When speaking with Anuja, author of fourteen books reimagining Arjuna, Mohini, Shakti, and Ganga, I was curious about how ancient narratives could support spiritual seekers like me. As a Heartfulness meditator, I know turning inward requires courage and guidance.Could these old stories offer another form of guidance, I wondered?&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/ancient_narratives_2_ecdd6c1ed5.webp" alt="ancient-narratives-2.webp"></figure>&nbsp;<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Looking Inward: The Real Journey</h4>Anuja says that when most people think of journeys, they imagine external movement: flights taken, monuments visited, experiences accumulated. But the journey she’s describing is entirely different.“Through writing, through engaging with our ancient mythology, you are encouraging yourself to look inward. That is a lot more challenging because it calls for a degree of mental discipline; it calls for finding the stillness at the simmering and always churning core within you and reveling in the periods of quiet contemplation and introspection.”Mental discipline, stillness at one’s core, and quiet contemplation are some of the same elements we cultivate in <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/meditation-medicine" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">meditation practice</a>. When we sit down for meditation, we turn away from the external world and face what’s within. The discipline Anuja describes is almost the same work in a different form.As Anuja explores these stories, she describes accessing “universal consciousness,” a phrase that stops me in my tracks! In Heartfulness, we refer to consciousness expansion and meditation as means to connect with something greater than ourselves. Here was an author describing a similar state, achieved through immersion in mythology!<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Emptying to Receive</h4>Anuja describes her research process in terms that sound almost ascetic. When she begins work on a book, diving into the vast ocean of epic literature, the first thing she encounters is her own ignorance. The material is immense, accumulated over generations. Anuja says that it is humbling and sometimes even overwhelming.“It’s like scooping out your insides. You’re emptying all of it so that you can fill it with this beautiful store of ancient knowledge, which then reshapes who you are as a person. You’re emptying yourself up to make yourself a worthy receptacle.”The trick, she says, is to trust the process and to keep returning to the research and the writing with humility. Slowly, you gain insights, you begin to harness what you’re receiving and pour it onto the pages.“When that happens, a certain healing happens. Because as I mentioned, you’ve been scooped out hollow and once more, you’re shaping yourself reflectively, immersing yourself in the timeless flow of profound truth; you’re surrendering to a greater process, and you emerge stronger from it.”<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Characters as Teachers</h4>Anuja has written fourteen books. She calls them her babies, the books she’s carried and delivered with care. But she also calls them her parents, the guides who have helped her grow.Each character demanded something different from her. Each book required her to reach a certain level of growth before she could do it justice.From Arjuna: Saga of a Pandava Warrior-Prince, her first book, came the confrontation with anger, that defensive shield we mistake for strength. She had to let go of preconceived notions about this character she’d grown up with. To surrender to this process, she found she had to let go of her own anger.Anyone who meditates regularly knows what it’s like to meet anger on the cushion. The question is always: will we defend it, or let it go?<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Mohini: Facing Discomfort</h4>Then followed Mohini: The Enchantress. This character forced Anuja to confront the inherently ingrained discomfort around sexuality and sensuality.“As women, there are so many hang-ups we have about sexuality because society either encourages us to be sex objects (as opposed to sexual beings) or the very vision of chastity and repressed sexuality. In Mohini, I realized I was so shy and reluctant to do this character justice. That was the very first time that I used the first person as an author, because I wanted to get closer to this character and stop being so reluctant to engage with someone so confident in her sexual skin.”<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Beyond Binaries</h4>Anuja’s most recent book, The Wife and the Dancing Girl (a revisionist take on the Tamil classic, Silapathikaram), tackles another false choice: the “Madonna-whore” complex: the good wife versus the dancing girl.“I really struggled to write this book because I had a lot of growing up to do. We’re forced to view women as either one thing or the other. But a woman has thousands of faces, and they’re all valid.”This is what svadharma means, following your own dharma—your own truth.<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Shakti: Accessing Inner Strength</h4>If any single work embodies the transformative power Anuja describes, it is Shakti: The Divine Feminine.“When you’re exploring the transcendental quality of the Divine Mother, that’s when you realize that the answers you were seeking outside are within you. The greatest lesson the Goddess teaches you is also the simplest: You are enough!”For Anuja, writing Shakti meant exorcising personal demons, confronting nameless terrors, working through phobias and unpleasant experiences, and trauma accumulated over a lifetime. The book itself became the reward—and not only for Anuja. During the Kerala floods, a young woman reached out to her on Instagram. Stranded, waterlogged, frightened, the girl told Anuja that Shakti had been her source of comfort in those terrifying hours.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/ancient_narratives_3_f0b082e4e0.webp" alt="ancient-narratives-3.webp"></figure>&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">“When you’re exploring the transcendental quality of the Divine Mother, that’s when you realize that the answers you were seeking outside are within you.&nbsp; The greatest lesson the Goddess teaches you is also the simplest: You are enough!” &nbsp;</h4><hr>&nbsp;<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Ganga: Redefining the Sacred</h4>In her book Ganga: The Constant Goddess, Anuja reimagines the river deity as a woman who follows her heart.“She refused to stay put in one place and be the dutiful wife. She wanted to truly become a divine lover and partake of a timeless love that will sustain nature in its raw splendor. She chose to live life Goddess-size.”<h4 style="text-align:justify;">A Simple Practice</h4>When I ask Anuja how readers can meaningfully engage with these stories for their own transformation, she speaks of interlocking patterns—mysterious connections that reveal themselves only through sustained attention.What you receive from mythology depends on what you bring to it. The stories can serve many purposes, including pure entertainment. Yet if you keep responding to their call, you may be surprised by how they educate you without your even trying.”Anuja offers a simple practice: read a few pages every day. The Bhagavad Gita, the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the Upanishads, your favorite Puranic tales, Tenali Raman stories—or even your own writing! Just read and absorb.“You’ve been fed this diet of stories as a child, along with mother’s milk and the parupu-sadam (rice and lentils). It becomes a part of your blood and your bones. Just read a few pages, and you absorb and assimilate what is being conveyed. Slowly, with time, you start discerning the mysterious interlocking patterns which convey the deeper truth.”It is never obvious, she says. It is never simple. And yet it is both obvious and simple! That is the paradox.&nbsp;Anuja’s daily reading practice parallels meditation: both require showing up, absorbing, and yielding. Over time, the change is subtle but deep; when needed, your <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/a-diy-guide-to-wellbeing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">inner strength</a> emerges.<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Death and the Shamba Revelation</h4>Near the end of our conversation, Anuja shares what she calls her “eureka moment,” an insight that came while working on her book, Abhimanyu.“The characters in the Mahabharata were all embodiments, divine entities who wanted to be a part of this Dharma Yuddha [righteous war]. They wanted to assist Vishnu’s avatar, Krishna, because he was Bhumi Devi’s worthiest champion. Once a divine entity’s purpose is fulfilled, there is no sense in clinging to this world. They must be released so they can return. Ultimately, liberation is about letting go, especially of the things you love with passionate abandon.”Anuja speaks of the Yadava massacre, the destruction of Krishna’s entire clan after the Mahabharata war—almost unbearable for her to contemplate as a young child. Shamba, son of Krishna and Jambavati, was blessed by Shiva in his Ardhanarishvara form [Shiva as half-woman]. Shamba was beautiful, like Krishna, and irresistible to women—but also cursed. The sages doomed him to deliver an iron mace that would destroy the Yadava race. On the surface, their loss can feel terrible, yet it is divinely ordained.Anuja’s insight goes deeper.Death and destruction, the work of Shiva the destroyer, come with negative connotations, but they are part of the great cycle, whether we acknowledge it or not.“Stories help us engage with these mysterious patterns. They encourage you. The monsters of the world may be real, but you carry with you what is necessary to deal with all of it, whether it be death, personal demons, or anything else. You will find what you need, provided you are brave and kind.”&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/ancient_narratives_4_279f487566.webp" alt="ancient-narratives-4.webp"></figure>&nbsp;<h4 style="text-align:justify;">The Living Inheritance</h4>As our conversation comes to a close, I return to the image of the rearview mirror. We must glance back to move forward. The past helps us orient toward the future.As Anuja says, stories are living organisms. They breathe, but they also change with each generation. Something gets added, something gets removed, always according to what is needed. It doesn’t mean the stories are contaminated or diluted. Similarly, we are living organisms, capable of being emptied and refilled, changed, and adapted. As we go, we develop the capacity to confront our demons and discover our strength.The journey inward is not easy. It requires contemplation and courage. Just as we return to our meditation cushion each day, we can repeatedly return to the wisdom of ancient stories. The practice is the same: showing up, opening your heart, and allowing transformation. &nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">The journey inward is not easy.&nbsp; It requires contemplation and courage.&nbsp; Just as we return to our meditation cushion each day,&nbsp; we can repeatedly return to the wisdom of ancient stories.&nbsp; The practice is the same: showing up, opening your heart, and allowing transformation.</h4><hr>&nbsp;

Ancient Narratives as Maps to Modern Transformation

Qui-Gon Jinn (Star Wars)

Focus

R. Sriram has been working as a Yoga teacher in Germany since 1988. For years, Sriram taught under the guidance of Sri T.K.V.Desikachar at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Chennai and contributed to the development of the institute.

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R. Sriram

<h4>R. SRIRAM has been teaching Yoga since 1977. He is a disciple of T. Krishnamacharya and his son T.K.V.Desikachar, and he now lives and teaches Yoga in Germany. During the Yoga4Unity 2022 program, he conducted a masterclass on breath as the link between body and mind. Here are the first two parts of this wonderful masterclass.</h4><hr>About Mantra and BreathThe word “mantra” is about speaking, producing a sound. But it is not just producing a sound, as you are also listening to it. A mantra only has strength and only becomes powerful if you chant it and listen to the sound that is being chanted.It is both the voice as an instrument of the body, a karmendriya, an action organ, as well as hearing as a sense organ. Both go together. What is special about chanting is that you are coordinating the words, coordinating the sounds, making sure that the flow of the word, the sounds, is beautiful and unstrained. It is almost like you are modulating the breath when you chant. So chanting a mantra well is equivalent to good breathing.&nbsp;Looking at the breath itself, when you do conscious breathing, what we call Ujjayi in Yoga, you not only use the throat to produce the sound but you also listen to it. Ujjayi is not about producing a big sound, nor is any other breathing technique in Yoga. It is about producing a reverberation that you can listen to. It is reverberation plus listening, as is the case of mantra.Therefore, breath is very close to mantra. It brings a spiritual quality to something very mundane, like an Asana practice, where we are “merely” moving and adjusting the body.<h4>Tuning the Trunk</h4>Coming back to Asana practice, if you are doing Trikonasana or Sirsasana or Veerabadrasana, try to breathe slowly and consciously. Where is the sound coming from? It is coming from your trunk. Your trunk is very important, not just your throat. Without your chest –the expansion of the chest giving it strength, and the air in the chest reverberating – the sound will not come.Whether you are breathing or making a sound, you are using the whole trunk. When you do a posture, whether it is a headstand, a Samasthiti or a balanced posture standing on one leg, you are mainly using the trunk. The leg is just supporting the body. It is always about the trunk in Asanas, as the trunk is like an instrument. It is like a veena or sitar, or any instrument that you tune. You are tuning it with the breath and the sound you produce, not with some sort of muscular external adjustment and alignment.Make sure the tone or the tune of the breath or sound that emanates when you are doing a posture is correct, has the right reverberation.So, when you go into Trikonasana, focus on your trunk. The trunk is in a diagonal twist posture, so let it feel like a tuned instrument. It doesn’t matter if your hand is a little bit this way or that. Don’t worry about unnecessary details. You are not doing gymnastics, you are not doing Western physical training, you are doing something about the trunk, about the Merudanda as we call it in Yoga.To discover more, please enjoy the masterclass at:<hr>&nbsp;<hr>

Breath as the link between body and mind

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Rabia Basri

Gifts and Graces

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Rabindranath Tagore

The meaning of life

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Rachel Carson

The balance of nature

Rachel has an M.A. in Classical Studies and an M.Litt. in Ancient Cultures and lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. She works in social media and marketing, and in her spare time is a volunteer for Heartfulness charities.

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Rachel Nelson

<h4>RACHEL NELSON works in marketing and social media. And yet here she challenges the way it is infiltrating our lives, changing workplace norms, how we see ourselves, and how we live our lives.</h4><hr>I was searching for a job during the pandemic. One of the first things I was told was: Have a social media presence. It will improve your chances of being hired. Employers want to see who you are as a person. They want to see your private life to know how you might act in your professional life.This felt like a huge invasion of privacy. It would neither have been possible nor acceptable before social media. Why should an employer see what goes on in my life outside of work? Why would a prospective employer base their decision to hire me on the front I show on social media?I was told to comb through my social media accounts, check if there was anything an employer might find objectionable, and make them as professional as possible. Having grown up when social media was for connecting with friends, the transition from a personal, generally private network to the public sphere has meant scrambling back to see if I posted anything stupid as a fourteen-year-old. Who didn’t?I first got Instagram when it was only two years old and still essentially a photography app. There was no concept of influencers, and social media was as separate from work as home life. I still use Instagram primarily as a photo gallery, a place to store memories, and it has been private almost as long as I have had it. I have never been bothered about having followers, so the switch from this mindset has been a difficult transition.In the past decade, social media has become a ubiquitous presence. It is less of an individual choice and more of a societal obligation. When getting and maintaining a job relies in part on an online presence, saying no to <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/unplugging-to-reconnect" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">social media</a> is a difficult decision. Its role in our professional lives means it is also difficult to turn off from work. It is even worse since the pandemic and working from home, culminating in a state where we can be contacted any time. Through our phones, we are constantly alert to notifications. This alert-feedback makes it incredibly difficult to relax or “turn off” from both work and social obligations.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/socialmedia_obligation2_700x382_58c5ac44c0.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T07:11:24.372Z" alt="socialmedia_obligation2"><hr>As someone who works in marketing, I have four separate social media accounts per platform on my phone at any one time (not including my own personal accounts), all of which give me constant feedback. While many people get a separate phone for work, the obligation to keep it on and nearby, in case someone needs to contact us, still remains. And so, the feedback also remains.The second aspect of social media obligation is that of the uncalculated, unpaid labour which goes into a social media presence for work purposes. We are expected to contribute to the conversation on platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn, to keep up with trends, promote our work, and promote our successes. Employers look to see if a LinkedIn account is up-to-date and relevant, or if it has been left to stagnate. For many of us, these tasks are performed in our time off. They are unpaid, and often time-consuming and stressful.It creates an enforced, performative element in which people feel as though they have to put on a front which is not true to their lives and personalities. All we end up seeing are curated snippets of that person’s existence. We are not seeing the reality of the person; we are seeing what they want us to see. This results in a culture where everyone appears to be doing well at work, progressing, and thriving. Others feel as if they are stuck, less successful, and less able to juggle work and other aspects of life. It is the professional equivalent of seeing social media influencers on yet another trip to a country half-a-world away, while you’re stuck at your desk at home, having forgotten what fresh air smells like.<hr><hr><h4>Social media creates an enforced, performative element in which people feel as though they have to put on a front&nbsp; which is not true to their lives and personalities.</h4><hr><hr>Professional use of social media is not all bad, and many people enjoy using it. There are some jobs that might not require a LinkedIn account as much as others – a farmer, for example. Farmers might have Instagram accounts in which they show snippets of their daily lives. This can be interesting and informative, as it presents insights into the lives of others and can be an amazing way to equalize and to connect us, showing a common human experience across borders.It is when social media is not a choice, particularly when there is pressure to present a perfect life – whether for work or personal use – for fear of being seen as less competent, that we may feel constantly on show or watched. This level of scrutiny can produce the feeling of being hunted, activating the fight or flight response. This evolutionary survival mechanism served us well in the past when we would either overcome danger or be killed, because either way the problem disappeared. Now, the alert-feedback of social media acts as a trigger which does not disappear. So, neither does our stress.This takes us to the third issue, the blurring of lines between social media as a hobby and social media as a job. For individual creators, artists, small businesses, or anyone who wants to be seen but doesn’t have a lot of money to pay for advertisements, social media can be anything from a casual marketing tool to a lifeline that brings in their only income stream. As social media grows, however, more and more people are turning their own lives into their product. They use social media to catalogue their day, their house renovations, their trips around the world. Through advertising and sponsorship, they make money from it. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this, the impact of having your life become your product, your social media become your marketing, and your attention always jumping to work through the easy access of your phone, will begin to take its toll on your ability to relax and step away from social media and work.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/socialmedia_obligation3_700x382_aa510b0627.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T07:12:37.330Z" alt="socialmedia_obligation3"><hr>This is the point in an article where the conclusion drawn would usually be along the lines of “ultimately it is up to you how you use social media,” but we are now seeing that this is not the case. Many people are advocating for reduced social media exposure, or even getting rid of it all together, but with it so prevalent in our jobs and lives it is hard to reduce it, even when we want to.We are starting to see where the next evolution of social media is taking us. With a focus on online living and virtual reality, it already sometimes feels like we spend more time updating people about our lives on social media than actually living them. As social media becomes a normal part of existing in society, we need to think about how we are expected to use it, and how we wish to do so.Please share your own experience and viewpoint on this topic at contributions@heartfulnessmagazine.com or in the comments.<hr><hr><h4>Illustrations by ANANYA PATEL</h4><hr>

When social media becomes an obligation

Radhika practices and teaches yoga for therapy and optimal health, having studied with Saraswathi Vasudevan at YogaVahini, Chennai, India. She is a co-founder of the reStore organic shop in Chennai and has a deep understanding of the issues in modern food production and consumption.

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Radhika Rammohan

<h4>RADHIKA RAMMOHAN is a yoga practitioner and therapist with Yogavahini, a school in the tradition of Krishnamacharya. During the Yoga4Unity Program 2022, she shared her experiences of how yoga has helped her to refine her inner and outer environments. She also offered us some tips on how to deepen our own holistic well-being.</h4><hr>I have always been involved with the idea of holistic health. My first concern was environment and health, then I came to yoga three decades after that. And when I did, I realized that holistic health goes far beyond food.I was always drawn to the idea of being able to connect directly with the food I ate with as few intermediary steps as possible. When I lived in the USA in the mid-1990s, I saw packaged, mass-produced, and processed foods. I felt uncomfortable about using chemicals for increasing yield or quality without reverence for the land. It felt intuitively wrong.So I sought out and started buying organic foods from smaller retailers, who were not selling popular or branded items. This was also the time when genetically modified crops (GMOs) were being introduced in the USA. For instance, dairy cows were given rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormones) to increase milk production, and in Wisconsin, where I lived, there was activism against this. I always bought milk from dairy farmers who did not use rBGH.At that time, food production and policy were skewed toward corporate interests, at least in the West. I started volunteering at an organic farm and doing some gardening, and I was shopping at cooperative natural food stores. Eventually my interest in food and food systems led me to care for a broader set of issues: land energy, regeneration of the environment, and human rights. I started reading books like Small Is Beautiful by F. Schumacher, and a few by the Indian environmentalist Vandana Shiva, and they helped me envision solutions. I also became associated with an NGO in the USA called Association for India’s Development.Once back in India, a friend and I started a community-based organic store, called reStore in Chennai in 2008. To this day, it remains an active place, a center for direct farmer support, local and traditional foods, zero waste, etc.I was very busy and was running into difficulties in my ability to work with people. I realized I didn’t understand my mental patterns very well, or what was leading to the difficulties I had dealing with the world. I wanted to find a quieter space for myself from where I could understand myself better and the world better. This brought me to studying yoga. I did not want to only be a practitioner, but also understand the philosophy behind it and understand the yoga sutras. So I joined a yoga teachers training program.The program led me to the affirmation that the Hindu tradition is really a holistic view of the universe, which is made up of the 5 elements or bhutas – akasha (space), vayu (air), agni (fire), apas (water), prithvi (earth).Everything is essentially made up of these basic elements.In the last few generations, we have been leaning toward a reductionist view of life. We break down everything to its atomic or molecular structure, which is very practical, but in doing so we miss the interconnectedness between things. It’s not so evocative to say that you and I are made of the same elements, so we reduce it to a very atomic level, rather the level of the pancha bhutas.<hr><hr><h4>In yoga, it is about leading to a quieter mind that is able to witness itself a and see from where these actions arise. a Yoga is for everyone, including people a with busy lives, with a family, etc.</h4><hr><hr>We are not so very distinct from each other when we look at it this way. Any sense of competitiveness is reduced when we lose this sense of individual distinction. This is how I’ve seen yoga and sadhana bringing our minds to a quieter location that increases our sensitivity and lets us reflect. That’s also how I feel yoga helps us develop environmental sensitivity.Yoga influences the way I handle relationships, which includes with other beings and the environment, and, of course, my work. Earlier, I thought of health in a very physical sense, and I related it mostly to food and exercise. But mental, emotional and spiritual well-being is actually the space we act from, and where our deepest aspirations come from. Very often we don’t get in touch with that core.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/inner_outer_ecology2_700x378_f5ff63af47.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-11T07:27:18.206Z" alt="inner-outer-ecology2">&nbsp;<hr>My way of thinking has shifted to inside-out. Our ways of relating to ourselves and to the world are mostly programmed or habituated. In yoga, it is about leading to a quieter mind that is able to witness itself and see from where these actions arise. Yoga is for everyone, including people with busy lives, with a family, etc. Yoga isn’t about the asanas or pranayama alone. It doesn’t have anything to do with a mat. It is about principles like satya (truth) and ahimsa (non-violence). So, while having a regular life with children, pets, and other people around me, if I can make sure that my interactions have the qualities of the yamas and niyamas, then the residue I leave behind in each of these interactions will be minimal. That is the practice of yoga.So, even if you come to yoga for physical exercise, you will naturally gain more sensitivity. Hopefully, after finishing your practice, you will reach work and be able to see the behavior you are upholding in your workplace. Or coming home to your kitchen, maybe the way you are interacting with your house help, or someone else. Hopefully some of that stays with you, and you are able to say, “What am I doing here?”Adding yoga to ecological campaigns is a wonderful idea. When we see environmental injustice, damage, or inequality, and we are not able to do very much about it, it can lead to a lot of anger. Being stuck in that anger is not very conducive for good activism. We might turn into angry activists who people love to hate. It’s not very efficacious.<hr><h4>When what we are practicing is contributing to some kind of quietness,&nbsp; and we’re able to see everything&nbsp; around us with a little more compassion,&nbsp; then we are definitely in a good place.&nbsp;</h4><hr><hr>When what we are practicing is contributing to some kind of quietness, and we’re able to see everything around us with a little more compassion, then we are definitely in a good place. It gives us a happier way to wake up in the morning, compared to saying, “Oh, the climate has not changed, abuse has not changed, and injustice has not changed.” Then it’s not a happy way to wake up.I hope that yoga teachers impart to their students not only the knowledge of the asanas, but also the deep, transformative potential of the practice. Krishnamacharya once said, “The location for a yogi ought to be shantam.” That is equanimity – not in the sense of being unable to respond appropriately to different situations, but to respond from the space of shantam. To bring out whatever is appropriate – anger, courage, wonderment, love, compassion – but not to get carried away with it. To come back to the equanimous&nbsp;location.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/inner_outer_ecology3_700x378_840fdddf15.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-11T07:28:35.323Z" alt="inner-outer-ecology3">&nbsp;<hr>It is difficult to practice yoga for a short time and expect your problems to be solved. You need to dive deeper. As a teacher, that’s my aspiration – to help my students take their practice deeper, to understand their minds and their yoga, to study some texts, to understand the underlying foundations behind what we are teaching them.For others, I would say get involved with a community or sangha. Study together. It could be a formal teacher training course. We can create communities of practitioners who learn from each other and take their practice deeper.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/inner_outer_ecology4_700x378_8ad0ab2e90.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-11T07:29:58.318Z" alt="inner-outer-ecology4">&nbsp;<hr>I think it’s important that we have some way of knowing if what we are practicing is transformative. If we can sense that we are more sensitive today than yesterday, we can say we are progressing. It’s a sense of refinement. If we are not feeling that, it’s okay, but we have to keep trying and learning.

Inner and outer ecology

Dr. Rahul Mehrotra is an experienced cardiologist with an academic career spanning more than two decades. He possesses a sharp intellect and is keenly interested in managing various cardiac ailments optimally utilizing different investigative modalities. He is currently the Chief of non-invasive and clinical cardiology at Artemis Hospitals.

RAHUL MEHROTRA

Rahul Mehrotra

<h4>RAHUL MEHROTRA shares his experience as a busy cardiologist who also loves bird-watching and meditation.</h4>It has been more than a decade now that working as a cardiologist, watching birds around my house, and practicing meditation have gone on side by side. There seems to be a whole world to explore in the field of medicine, in the realm of birdlife, and in the world inside us. All it requires is tuning in.As I go to my terrace and hear the bird calls, spot them with ease and feed them, I realize I am becoming better at it. Discoveries are made: the white eyes, the tailor birds, the spine-tailed green bee-eaters informing us of the much-awaited monsoon rains, and many more.Birdwatching and meditation are not two separate hobbies. Along with my professional and family life, they are part of a whole, complementing each other. If my meditation makes me calmer, it also makes me more perceptive of the happenings around me. I more meaningfully observe the birds go about their daily business. I realize the value of being regular in feeding them, ensuring the bird feeder and the water bowl are never left empty.Their biological clocks work perfectly. Birds are there at the same spot and the same time every morning to have their breakfast. How simple a life they lead! The same food over and over, happily accepted. The same schedule – waking up at dawn, flying for food, a whole day of chirping, resting, moving about and going back to rest. In the rainy season they go hungry at times, yet they are happy when it rains: the small puddles on my terrace serve as the house sparrows’ bathing pools!Acceptance comes naturally to them. I should learn from them.They do not horde or worry for the future. Is that plain stupidity or instinctive faith in the provider? They live in the moment, meeting their needs diligently, with alertness. How do they learn to make the perfect nests? By instinct. With what instincts are we humans born? What is our innate nature? To be peaceful, calm, grateful, joyous and perhaps responsible for the rest of creation.Birds seem to have so much time during the day. Do they overeat? I wonder as I prepare a lecture on heart disease and the obesity epidemic that is engulfing the world.Why do I feel so much at ease when I meditate? I am with that eternal, original me, who does not require any of the props, the sensory inputs. The birds are perhaps in that state all the time, with their original selves, at ease, as they were meant to be.It is all there inside us, all around us, provided we take interest and tune in.<img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/tuning_in2_657e25d409.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-06T05:59:47.440Z">&nbsp;

Tuning in

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Rainer Maria Rilke

The journey within

Earth’s intelligence

Inner potential

The Source Within

Rajesh lives in Delhi, India, with his wife and two daughters. He has been a photographer since 2007, and also runs a Bed & Breakfast. He loves taking photographs of the beautiful natural scenery and peoples of the Indian subcontinent, including Spiti in the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, Pushkar in Rajashtan, Bhutan and Nepal. Nowadays he is travelling regularly to the northeast of India, working on photographic projects in Nagaland, Arunachal and Assam.

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Rajesh Menon

<h4
 id="h-rajesh-menon-is-a-wildlife-photographer-and-environmental-conservationist-living-in-north-india-here-he-shares-some-ideas-for-solutions-to-the-animal-human-conflicts-that-are-apparent-in-all-regions-of-the-world-today">
 RAJESH MENON
 is a wildlife photographer and environmental conservationist living in North
 India. Here he shares some ideas for solutions to the animal-human conflicts
 that are apparent in all regions of the world today.
</h4>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />


 Recently I heard the news that a man died in Spain, gored by a bull during one
 of the country’s popular festivals. Such headlines make me wonder, “Are we
 playing God with Nature?”, “Are we the reason for all the chaos in the world
 around us?”, “Are we knowingly looking for a reason external to us?”



 Things back home in India are not rosy either. Down south, elephants are burnt
 to death for entering human settlements. Wild animals are electrocuted for
 entering human settlements. Elephants are run over by trains as they try to
 cross the railway tracks in Assam. Tigers and leopards are poisoned for coming
 too close to us. I could go on and on.



 I spoke to my forester friends, and they shared some useful insights about the
 other side of the story: The number of little children who die every year,
 grabbed in front of their mothers by leopards that prowl near human dwellings;
 poor farmers who face the wrath of wild boars destroying their crops. These
 are genuine issues that a few face, unlike the multitude of city dwellers. One
 for the team, as they say. A team that has no clue about the daily wars the
 poor farmers face to stay alive each night. There are farmers and tea-estate
 workers in the North-east and the South of India who face the wrath of wild
 elephants. For them, it’s work during the day and fending off wild animals at
 night, without sleep. But then, how many of us are aware of these conflicts?


<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<div class="block-image">
 <figure>
 <img decoding="async" width="700" height="394" alt="" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/animal_human_conflict2_700x394_fc880e6d9f.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-07T11:49:27.359Z" />
 </figure>
</div>

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 Let me come straight to the point: Are we the solution providers or are we the
 problem?



 What is the reason for our existence? Is it just to make money, have a good
 time in life, procreate, fend for the kids, and make them as irresponsible as
 we are? In the name of society, do we drag down all things that encounter us
 as we travel to the doors of heaven? As my friend says, “Are we the worst
 parasites on this earth, gobbling away everything that comes within our
 reach?”



 It is said that we humans are the best form of life on Earth, and that even
 the gods have to descend to Earth and take human form to evolve! Another dear
 friend enlightened me with references to Indian mythology, where the gods
 descend with weapons in their hands, so they do not have to face us humans
 unarmed. What is it then that makes us so proud of our race? Are we in sync
 with Nature? Do we live in harmony and with love?



 Recently I was witness to a very beautiful scene of harmony in the wild, in
 the Corbett Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand. While on the Jeep Safari, I saw a huge
 tamarind tree with langurs (Semnopithecus entellus) on the branches and
 spotted deer (Axis axis) below. The langurs are famous for alerting the deer
 about the presence of tigers and other carnivorous animals. In this particular
 scene, the langurs were also feeding the deer. They were plucking the tamarind
 fruit they were relishing and throwing them down for the deer to eat. The deer
 were happy to oblige! No claims of superior or inferior being. I was so happy
 to witness this pure magic of love and harmony.


<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<div class="block-image">
 <figure>
 <img decoding="async" width="700" height="394" alt="" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/animal_human_conflict4_700x394_d7eb5a5283.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-07T11:51:03.981Z" />
 </figure>
</div>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />


 There is too much to say about animal-human conflict. As far as I see it,
 there is no conflict on the part of the animals. They cross over to human
 settlements for easy means of food, because we have encroached on their
 territory. We have built our railways and roads on the animal-crossing
 corridors. We have multiplied so fast that we don’t have enough space for
 ourselves and we conveniently forget about the other species on Earth. I
 recently saw a beautiful caption with a picture of a deer crossing the road:
 “The deer is not crossing the road. We are crossing it’s jungle.” It makes you
 think.



 Harmony and love are all we need to deal with each other. Since when have we
 given value to a piece of paper and made it our god? Since when have social
 status and egos taken over? We still have time to correct our trajectory and
 go in the right direction. The question is: Are we willing to?


<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<hr />

<h4 class="has-text-align-center">
 Harmony and love are all we need to deal with each
 other.
</h4>

<hr />

<hr class="vertical-space1" />


 Let me leave you with a success story of a group of volunteers in Assam. Their
 name is Hati Bondhu, which translates to “elephant my friend.” They
 operate in Chapanala, in the Nagaon district of Assam. The place is an
 elephant corridor and that has led to many animal-human conflicts.



 They convinced the local farmers to cultivate the land between the forests and
 the villages. They have created a beautiful pond and large paddy fields and
 other food crops on 200 bighas of land (1 bigha = 14,400
 square feet). The twist to the story is that they cultivate these lands
 for the elephants. The pachyderms have their fill, drink and
 swim in the pond, and go back to the jungle without disturbing the villagers.
 They haven’t had any conflicts during the past two years.


<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<div class="block-image">
 <figure>
 <img decoding="async" width="700" height="394" alt="" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/animal_human_conflict5_700x394_7190085b61.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-07T11:52:26.167Z" />
 </figure>
</div>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />


 He mentioned that it was not a cakewalk. Educating the local village tribes
 was the hardest part. During the pandemic, the local farmers have come forward
 and contributed. Fear for their lands has now turned into care for the
 elephants. Both are happy. Now they are the ones empowering the project.



 Kudos to this great initiative by Hati Bondhuand the amazing
 volunteers! The call of the hour is for more such genuine efforts with harmony
 and love in mind. How to spread more awareness and seek the help of local
 farmers and villages to resolve these conflicts? May the human will to take
 the right initiatives prevail!


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<div class="block-image">
 <figure>
 <img decoding="async" width="700" height="394" alt="" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/animal_human_conflict3_700x394_3e6977ddc3.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-07T11:57:17.959Z" />
 </figure>
</div>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<hr />

<h4 class="has-text-align-center">Photography by RAJESH MENON</h4>

<hr />

The animal-human conflict

<hr class="vertical-space1">
<h4>Photo essay by RAJESH MENON from the national parks of India.</h4>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
I was born in the land of elephants, Kerala. Not a festival goes by without the
 elephants decorated in their full attire. When I became big enough, I came to know that my grandfather was the
 manager of the local zoo. I had never met him as he had passed away before I was born. But I was in awe of him when
 I came to know how much he loved the animals in his care.
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 <div class="col-md-12"><img decoding="async" class="lazyload w-100 h-auto"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/a_prayer_for_their_survival_1_img_83f4894c5e.jpg"
 alt="a-prayer-for-their-survival-1-img">

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 <img decoding="async" class="lazyload w-100 h-auto"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/a_prayer_for_their_survival_3_img_a72d8e5319.jpg"
 alt="a-prayer-for-their-survival-3-img">
 
 </div>
</div>
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As I grew up, I noticed that the elephants were forced into submission by their mahouts
 for the festivals. What mental torture and physical agony they must have gone through to satisfy us humans!
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 <div class="col-md-6"><img decoding="async" class="lazyload a-prayer-for-their-survival"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/a_prayer_for_their_survival5_img_a231727231.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-31T13:06:45.455Z"
 alt="a-prayer-for-their-survival5-img">
 </div>
</div>
<div></div>
<div>
 <hr class="vertical-space1">
</div>
<div></div>
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 <div class="col-md-6"><img decoding="async" class="lazyload a-prayer-for-their-survival"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/a_prayer_for_their_survival3_img_8eb5e7ccbe.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-31T13:07:17.214Z"
 alt="a-prayer-for-their-survival3-img">
 </div>
</div>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
The passion to see them in the wild, where they truly belong, slowly took shape when I
 began photography. Somehow, through my photography, I wanted to convey their beauty when they are truly in their
 natural habitat.
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<div class="row">
 <div class="col-md-12"><img decoding="async" class="lazyload w-100 h-auto"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/a_prayer_for_their_survival_2_img_0a8b916b27.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-31T13:13:08.423Z"
 alt="a_prayer_for_their_survival_2_img">
 <hr class="vertical-space1">
 
 <img decoding="async" class="lazyload w-100 h-auto"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/a_prayer_for_their_survival_6_img_70348879c7.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-31T13:15:02.580Z"
 alt="a-prayer-for-their-survival-6-img">
 
 </div>
</div>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
My favorite place to watch elephants in their habitat is with my dear friend Sreekumar,
 in the Sholayar Jungles on the border of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. They never ever felt threatened by our presence and
 always let us view them with their dear ones.
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<img decoding="async" class="lazyload w-100 h-auto"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/a_prayer_for_their_survival_7_img_f9123e1074.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-31T13:16:34.479Z"
 alt="a-prayer-for-their-survival-8-img">


<hr class="vertical-space1">
The national parks I visit to see tigers, deer and sambhars are the Jim Corbett
 National Park in Uttarakhand, and Ranathambore in Rajashtan. To view rhinoceroses I like to visit Popithara in
 Assam.
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<div class="row">
 <div class="col-md-12"><img decoding="async" class="lazyloaded w-100 h-auto"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/a_prayer_for_their_survival_8_img_fb5ae3b53d.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-31T13:17:09.153Z">
 <hr class="vertical-space1">
 
 </div>
</div>
Like spirituality and meditation, waiting is the chief quality that one needs to
 develop to observe and photograph wild animals. They will reveal themselves and let you be joyful. Carry them in
 your heart with a prayer for their survival.

<hr class="vertical-space1">

<hr>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">Photo essay by&nbsp;RAJESH MENON</h4>
<hr>

A prayer for their survival

<hr><h3 style="text-align:center;">A PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY</h3><hr><h4>RAJESH MENON is a photographer from Delhi, who specializes in images from nature. Here he shares some of the beautiful birds of Kanha Shanti Vanam, the 1,300 acre property near Hyderabad, India, that is the international headquarters of the Heartfulness Institute. It is also a green sanctuary.</h4><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/birds_of_kanha3_45ae49590c.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:53:01.853Z" alt="birds-of-kanha3">&nbsp;<hr>It all began with Daaji announcing retreats in Kanha Shanti Vanam during the pandemic. Keeping COVID-19 in mind, everyone who visited Kanha during this period was required to do a two-week quarantine, which could also be used as a spiritual retreat. Registering for the September period, a dear friend and I decided to drive to Kanha from Delhi, for reasons of safety.Right after the quarantine period, Daaji asked me to photograph the birds of Kanha. One thing that still baffles me is how he knew that I had come prepared with a 600 millimeter tele zoom lens.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/birds_of_kanha2a_463e199504.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:53:02.198Z" alt="birds-of-kanha2a">&nbsp;<hr>So began my wonderful journey into the life of the birds in Kanha. Five years ago, it was a barren dry land. The place has been totally transformed and is now a thriving ecosystem of trees, shrubs, herbs and organic farms, including rare and endangered species, rainforest trees and medicinal gardens.Following the birds around Kanha, I discovered their daily routine. The tiny and the mighty all have a daily routine. It was beautiful to be one with them, following them, observing them, inspired by their total surrender to all other natural forces.<hr>&nbsp;<hr><h5 style="text-align:center;">So began my wonderful journey into the life of the birds in Kanha. Five years ago, it was a barren dry land. The place has been totally transformed and is now a thriving ecosystem of trees, shrubs, herbs and organic farms, including rare and endangered species, rainforest trees and medicinal gardens.</h5>&nbsp;<hr><hr>The best observed were the Shikra falcon couple, who shared a neem tree. One interesting fact about falcons in general is that the female of the species is bigger than the male. The hunt of the black-winged kite showed me just how concentrated its approach was. The little tailor birds, sunbirds, bulbuls and the weaver birds were also fascinating.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/birds_of_kanha4a_f46c6544fc.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:53:02.162Z" alt="birds-of-kanha4a">&nbsp;<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/birds_of_kanha6a_ecc2465642.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:53:26.755Z" alt="birds-of-kanha6a">&nbsp;<hr>I shared great camaraderie with my fellow photographers on our early morning trips following the birds. Brotherhood is made forever.A word of caution: It is not easy to leave Kanha. The songs of the birds will charm you to come back. I am counting the days when I can be back in Kanha again.A dear friend, who is an avid birdwatcher, mentioned that there are now 70 species of birds in Kanha. I have only seen and photographed around 30 species, so naturally I can’t wait to see the rest!<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/birds_of_kanha5a_ac57b52681.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:53:01.942Z" alt="birds-of-kanha5a">&nbsp;<hr>&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Photographs and article by RAJESH MENON</h4>&nbsp;<hr>

The birds of Kanha

<hr><h3 style="text-align:center;">A PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY</h3><h4 style="text-align:justify;"><a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/contributors/rajesh-menon" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">RAJESH MENON</a> is a nature photographer and artist based in Delhi, who travels to some of the most beautiful and remote parts of India to celebrate the wildlife of the southern Asian subcontinent. Here we showcase just a few from his portfolio of the birds of the Himalayan foothills, Delhi, and Pondichery.</h4>&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Great_Indian_Hornbill_5309cfb815.jpg" alt="Great Indian Hornbill.jpg"><figcaption>Great Indian Hornbill</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/painted_stork_4fb36ef87d.webp" alt="painted-stork.webp"><figcaption>Painted Stork</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Oriental_Pied_Hornbill_6c73329087.jpg" alt="Oriental Pied Hornbill.jpg"><figcaption>Oriental Pied Hornbill</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Black_rumped_Flameback_c7fa8509de.jpg" alt="Black-rumped Flameback.jpg"><figcaption>Black-rumped Flameback</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Black_Stork_3a38a40d0c.jpg" alt="Black Stork.jpg"><figcaption>Black Stork</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Red_billed_Blue_Magpie_01276b6155.jpg" alt="Red-billed Blue Magpie.jpg"><figcaption>Red-billed Blue Magpie</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/White_breasted_Kingfisher_4_2d9e9f9400.jpg" alt="White-breasted Kingfisher 4.jpg"><figcaption>White-breasted Kingfisher</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Purple_Swamphen_2686ab5322.jpg" alt="Purple Swamphen.jpg"><figcaption>Purple Swamphen</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/black_crested_bulbul_c9870f1ba0.webp" alt="black-crested-bulbul.webp"><figcaption>Black-crested Bulbul</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Painted_Stork_2_b82a0de622.jpg" alt="Painted Stork 2.jpg"><figcaption>Painted Stork</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Coppersmith_Barbet_3f7859c1d3.jpg" alt="Coppersmith Barbet.jpg"><figcaption>Coppersmith Barbet</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Crested_Serpent_Eagle_Juvenile_11207d4c7b.jpg" alt="Crested Serpent Eagle_Juvenile.jpg"><figcaption>Crested Serpent Eagle_Juvenile</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Gray_capped_Pigmy_Woodpecker_fb0b12af2e.jpg" alt="Gray-capped Pigmy Woodpecker.jpg"><figcaption>Gray-capped Pigmy Woodpecker</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Paradise_Flycatcher_1_dd6c95a142.jpg" alt="Paradise Flycatcher 1.jpg"><figcaption>Paradise Flycatcher&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Photography by RAJESH MENON</h4><hr>&nbsp;

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