Victor has been an avid practitioner of Heartfulness Meditation and a trainer for more than 30 years. As a career CFO he has been able to combine the benefits of meditation in the everyday management of his duties and responsibilities. He lives with his wife in Atlanta and has a daughter

victorkannan.jpg

Victor Kannan

<h5>VICTOR KANNAN challenges the widely-held notion that compassion fatigue is inevitable in a life of service,
 especially the noblest of professions like education and medicine. How does fatigue develop and how can we avoid it?
</h5>

Why do we talk about the idea of fatigue in compassion and empathy in professional life?
 It seems to evince a pendulum swing from recognition to caution; recognition of the need for these qualities instead
 of just having the materialistic instincts of profits and productivity, to caution about sustaining compassion and
 empathy.
Compassion and empathy are natural qualities of a human being. They are positive for
 community building and improving relationships. Why then do we talk about the need to develop them and guard against
 fatigue?

<img class="has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/compassion2_45599d5e78.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-29T11:21:26.957Z" />


In this materialistic world, even the noblest professions of education, healthcare and
 spirituality are being sold, contrary to traditional values, which say there should never be any charge for them. They
 are not supposed to be the means to riches but are offered to enrich fellow beings. Those who offer these noble
 services have always been well respected by the community at large and their needs taken care of.
But in the modern era, this whole consciousness is lost. As a result, now there is a
 movement to bring back empathy, compassion and emotional intelligence (EI) into commercial, professional and
 marketplace dynamics. While this is good, commercialization usually cannot be avoided, except in those non-profit
 organizations that are exceptions to the general rule.
While there is a growing recognition of the need for emotional intelligence and social
 intelligence in the business world, the counter-theorists are quick to caution against compassion and empathy fatigue,
 and a number of studies are being conducted in this field.
Fatigue is different from tiredness. Tiredness can be corrected by rest and is a natural
 process of energy flow. Taking care of people can be tiring, but fatigue is like stress, it is chronic. It shows
 imbalance and an inability to cope. How is it that some people can go on longer and others can’t? Whether it is stress
 or fatigue, it is a question of stamina and resilience. Caregivers also need tools to improve their capacity and
 acquire the skill of being compassionate and empathetic for long periods, for it is proven that care with compassion
 and empathy cures better, makes everyone happier, and costs less.

<hr>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">What we need is a new understanding of 
 how to give and receive; a compassionate culture of 
 giving and receiving to usher in 
 an era of total well-being.</h5>

<hr>
So here is what comes to mind: while cautioning people against fatigue, what is unspoken
 is the lack of understanding of how to naturally offer compassion and empathy unconditionally. It is not just an
 attitudinal adjustment. I do believe Heartfulness can help in the development of these qualities.
In his talks and book on emotional intelligence, Daniel Goleman narrates a story about a
 class of Divinity students at Princeton. They had to give a sermon on the parable of the Good Samaritan from The
 Bible, and neither those students preparing the sermon nor the control group showed any significant difference in
 their ability to notice and empathize with a homeless man who was positioned on the way to the Church.
So the first basic human act of noticing the man was not there, irrespective of the
 level of education and the preparation done for the sermon on the Good Samaritan. It is clearly not enough to know
 about empathy and compassion. What is critical in imbibing the qualities of empathy and compassion so that we can
 avoid fatigue?
As we begin to deliberately notice (observe), pay attention, and have positive
 intention, along with our meditation practices, these qualities develop naturally and a new habit is formed. Then
 fatigue will not occur. It will also not occur if there is a reward, and what is that reward? The reward is in the
 appreciation and gratitude felt by the patient or student or co-worker.
We also need to explore the cultural and social paradigms we live in. Our current
 paradigms have reduced most of our service professions to transactional relationships based on economics, whether it
 is in hospitals or hospitality. When we go to a restaurant, we pay for what we eat, but the waiter also expects a tip.
 This culture of tipping shows that what is provided to anyone is an exchange.
Our service professions require something more than a transactional value system. For
 highly paid medical professionals, it could be in the smile and joy of grateful patients. In the hospital industry,
 perhaps it is in the superior positive experience. In the hospitality industry it can be through tipping, which in
 some countries has become an expected part of job performance.
Everyone now knows that tips are part of the earnings of waiters, and hence most patrons
 tip generously. Unfortunately the owner of the business may pay the attendants less, knowing that they make money on
 tips. So, even this has now entered into economic calculations of businessmen.

<hr>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">Compassion and empathy are 
 natural qualities of a human being. 
 They are positive for community 
 building and improving relationships.</h5>

<hr>
When these types of expectations are normal and ubiquitous, how do we engender a culture
 of sensitivity in the community, one where the beneficiaries are generous in expressing their gratitude as much as the
 givers are generous in their caregiving or mentoring? Perhaps it has become necessary to educate the entire community
 of givers and receivers in how to express compassion and empathy. What we need is a new understanding of how to give
 and receive; a compassionate culture of giving and receiving to usher in an era of total wellbeing. We are all
 receivers and givers. When we recognize this, perhaps we will avoid fatigue altogether.
Heartfulness allows us to uncover the qualities of compassion and empathy so that they express in the most natural way.
Then we avoid fatigue. We can then experience a more meaningful way of giving and being.


<hr>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">Article by VICTOR KANNAN</h4>

<hr>

How can there be fatigue in compassion and empathy?

<h4>VICTOR KANNAN shares some insights on effective teamwork.</h4>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">Alone we can do so little;
 together we can do so much.
 —Helen Keller</h5>

Have you ever wondered how some teams work effectively and some don’t? Why do some relationships flourish and others
not? Why do some morph over time into better or worse?

In a simple word, we can answer this with ‘compatibility’. The members of the team must be compatible.
The dictionary says,
Compatibility is a state in which two things are able to exist or occur
 together without problems or conflict.
Synonyms: like-mindedness, similarity, affinity, closeness, fellow feeling, harmony,
 rapport, empathy, sympathy.
Can we use these definitions to describe our teams and teamwork?
In their book The Discipline of Teams, Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith explain
 that not all groups are teams, and that “teams and good performance are inseparable.” We know teams that don’t perform
 do not exist for long.
Boards, committees and councils are not necessarily teams. Groups do not become teams
 just because they are in one boardroom and have similar titles.
Friends are not always brothers and brothers not always friends. If friends become
 brotherly and brothers become friendly, there is a resonance. In this resonance life flourishes, hearts are inspired,
 wars are won and kingdoms conquered.
Teamwork needs such resonance. There are organically formed teams with natural leaders
 who remain unmindful of their position; these teams thrive while enjoying the process of collaboration. In this sort
 of environment, a team is effective, adding value to what it produces, and there is a collaborative flow among the
 members. Because of this type of flow, the outcomes are good consistently. Good teams will develop direction, momentum
 and efficiency towards achieving their any goal. Teamwork, like work, brings joy and fulfillment when we love what we
 do, and learn how to do it better and better. Then we create a larger flow and we thrive in that environment.
 Productivity and prosperity abound. Our spirits flourish and joy expands.
In order for a group to function as a team, its formation is critical. Formation
 includes persons, values and mutual understanding. This produces a level of maturity, ease and synergy. Those teams
 that form naturally and those that are engineered can both be high-performance teams if we know and respect the
 elements of a good team.

<img class="has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/team2_a2b06a5be4.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-29T12:57:52.676Z" />

While most of this seems commonsensical, we often lament the lack of teamwork in most
 groups. Why? We need to study how good teams are formed, as individuals, managers and organizational leaders.
Katzenbach and Smith write, “Teamwork represents a set of values that encourage
 listening and responding constructively to views expressed by others, giving others the benefit of the doubt,
 providing support and recognizing the interests and achievements of others. Such values help teams to perform, and
 they also promote individual performance as well as the performance of an entire organization.”
Teams produce collective work and
 products. In teams, authority and accountability are shared. A team is not an environment of control, power,
 concentration and inequality. It does not include haves and have-nots. Individuals in teams possess complementary
 skills, and teams need this diversity. It is vital for their performance.
A good team flourishes when its members enjoy creative freedom, imbibe discipline of collaboration and coordination,
learn constantly and improve their skills continuously as they complement each other towards a united mission or
purpose. And a good team will fizzle out if this complementarity is devoid of freedom, skills development and continuous
improvement.

There are plenty of causes for which to work. There are plenty of teams that are needed to embrace those causes. So, if
we are not able to be part of such a team, it is more productive to sleep under a neem tree and enjoy life.

<hr class="vertical-space1">

<hr />

<h4 style="text-align: center;">Article by VICTOR KANNAN</h4>

<hr />

What is your team’s vibrational compatibility?

<h4><hr class="vertical-space1"></h4>
<h4>VICTOR KANNAN explores a vision for us collectively ushering in the next dimension of human existence, consciousness and bliss.</h4>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
The idea of giving, in its magnificence, is really the essence of spirituality, bringing forth unity, love and compassion. For some of us, it is even the purpose of existence. But do we all have the same understanding of the purpose of existence? According to Professor Lawrence Krauss, there is no purpose for existence itself.1
He says, “A universe without purpose should neither depress us nor suggest that our lives are purposeless. Through an awe-inspiring cosmic history we find ourselves on this remote planet in a remote corner of the universe, endowed with intelligence and self-awareness. We should not despair, but should humbly rejoice in making the most of these gifts, and celebrate our brief moment in the sun.”
In an LA Times editorial,2 he goes on to say, “Living in a strange and remarkable universe that is the way it is, independent of our desires and hopes, is far more satisfying for me than living in a fairytale universe invented to justify our existence.”
<hr>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">The traditional perspective of success and power 
 are now outdated from the point of view of 
 univervsal existence and the common good.</h5>

<hr>
How exciting! This point of view untethers us. It means there can be individual purpose. Instead of conforming to some imposed worldview, we can create our own mini-universes full of people and their aspirations, and together we can create a purpose for our societies. And these purposes will evolve as our collective experience teaches us how to live better and to aspire.
Society is the sum of individual thinking, and currently we are seeing individual thinking changing very fast. The traditional perspective of success and power are now outdated from the point of view of universal existence and the common good: “An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.” In this zero-sum game of economic progress, the polarization of haves and have-nots has been accelerating. Like the rubber band, it is a question of when, not if, it will break and hurt.
Such a polarization also exists in our overall mental, emotional and spiritual well-being, and so many of us have already moved away from the paradigm of success and power on the one hand to the ‘more meaningful’ on the other hand. This global shift is reflected in various fields of research. For example, the psychology of Emotional Intelligence and the science of neural exploration both reflect this movement towards the ‘more meaningful’ in humans all over the globe. Other examples include Theory U by Otto Scharmer,3 and the Big Theory of Everything by physicist Thomas Campbell. Many others are also contributing to this growing discussion. Whether it is the Dalai Lama, Daniel Goleman, Bruce Lipton, Oprah Winfrey or Arianna Huffington, they are assisting in gently increasing the volume on the drumbeat of the call of spirituality.
Anyone who practices true spirituality begets universal love, peace and harmony. Where there is love, it does not brook the suffering of others, let alone cause it. The kind of love we are talking about here is that ‘life-giving energy’, and is not limited to the stuff of romance and passion. Where there is true universal love there is peace. If not, the love is tinged with selfishness and the ignorance of separation.
Where there is love and peace, there is harmony, naturally. Even when the tiger eats a goat, that is part of nature sustaining itself. The tiger stops as soon as its stomach is full. No forest will be destroyed or atmosphere heated up if we feed ourselves only with what we need to survive and aspire – and no more.
<hr>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">Where there is love, peace and harmony, 
 there is total focus, productivity and teamwork of a different kind. 
 This, then, does not just produce more comfort on the material plane, 
 but produces evolution in a para-human context.</h5>
<hr>
Where there is love, peace and harmony, there is total focus, productivity and teamwork of a different kind. This, then, does not just produce more comfort on the material plane, but produces evolution in a para-human context.
It is said that every 100,000 years, life on Earth is ready for a jump in evolution. The last known evolutionary leap was to have come about 100,000 years ago, with the arrival of Homo sapiens on this planet.
Maybe we are on the verge of the next evolutionary jump. If it is not generated by peaceful means, it will be caused by destructive means. When there is no other cure, more of the same is the antidote. The current state of humanity will be cured by itself.
So, perhaps the best is to step aside, wait to participate in the silent and quiet movement of human flourishing, and be a conduit for the next jump in evolution when it is ready to happen. If we participate in that, we will enjoy the next dimension of existence. If not, do we perish?
The choice is ours. In this we embrace the age-old spiritual wisdom of the third metric of existence, as Arianna Huffington puts it in her book Thrive. That third metric includes our well-being, our ability to draw on our intuition and inner wisdom, our sense of wonder, and our capacity for compassion and giving. It is in this understanding and the acquisition of this well-being and, most importantly, it is by passing on this understanding and inspiration to others that we will collectively usher in the next dimension of human existence, consciousness and bliss – a new human species.
<h6>References:</h6>
<h6>1 http://genesis1.asu.edu/essay_Krauss.html 
2 http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/01/opinion/la-oe-krauss-cosmology-design-universe-20120401 
3 https://www.presencing.com/theoryu</h6>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<hr>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">Article by VICTOR KANNAN</h4>
<hr>

A new human species

<h4>VICTOR KANNAN shares some thoughts on being grateful, and the health benefits of this wonderful attitude, calling it an elite quality.</h4><hr>To be grateful is the greatest of all attitudes. It opens up so much peace, harmony and happiness and positively affects individuals, families, workplace and communities. Grateful people are more consistent in their behavior and hence approachable. They emanate a vibration and live in a frequency that propagates harmony in and around them. With this attitude, a person emanates a subtle loving and positive energy all the time.Though the niceties of gratitude are easily understood, there is also now enormous scientific evidence about the benefits of this attitude. Research shows that we sleep better, stress less, and undo negative effects on cardiovascular health and so on.Like anything we learn, imbibe and make part of our own being, the development of this attitude starts with recognition of the need to be grateful. Then we develop a pathway to cultivate this gratitude.<hr><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">A grateful heart is a well-cultivated heart.</h4><hr><hr>Where do we cultivate this attitude? Of course in our hearts. A grateful heart is a well-cultivated heart. A heart that is devoid of complexities and impurities, upon receiving impulses of love begins to blossom much more beautifully,&nbsp;similar to rose bushes well fertilized and fed.We are constantly faced with positives and negatives in life. We profit from hard work as much as with luck and serendipity. We lose in spite of hard and smart work. Whether these profits and losses are in material wealth or inner health or relationships, we can explore how to cultivate gratitude so it drowns the negative experiences in life, dissolves resulting impurities and complexities from the heart.Gratitude is such an elite quality in a human being.<hr><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Article by&nbsp;VICTOR KANNAN</h4><hr>

Being grateful

<h4>VICTOR KANNAN asks: How does the evolution of human consciousness reflect in
 the way we interact with each other and the world around us?</h4>
<h4>The River of Time</h4>
From time immemorial, from all over the world and in all religions, one of the
 definitions of God is love. Why is this?
Love creates. Hate destroys. It is easy to understand; we see this
 in everyday life.
Love is the unifying and ennobling factor of all creation,
 manifestation, life and existence.
Love is what gives meaning to life, and without meaning life is as
 good as dead.
Love and meaning provide inspiration and intrinsic motivation to do
 good things and to even reach to the stars.
Love is at the center of giving and sacrificing.
Love exists when the lover does not.
God has been the domain of religion, as religion is supposed to reconnect us with God.
 Spirituality develops the relationship with God in a more personal or intrinsic manner. This also means a more
 conscious lifestyle, adopting certain universal values of what is ethical and nourishing for the soul. We are not
 bound by dogma and are open-minded to scientifically explore the subtle, using physics to explore metaphysics.
 Generally it is oriented towards the principle of love and unity, while fully appreciating the diversity of
 existence.
<h4>Unity in Diversity</h4>
This is a powerful principle to fathom, and its proper appreciation results in engaging
 in a path of self-transformation while serving creation. In Turkish, to serve means to adore. When we learn to adore
 all of creation in its variety and multiplicity, we serve it. A self-transformed person never shuns the society they
 live in; they are forever grateful for the circumstances that made them.
The idea of unity in diversity speaks to the interconnectedness of all life and its
 manifest journey. How can we participate and be part of this interconnectedness? How do we beget this sentiment of
 being interconnected? It is through our consciousness – through feeling, knowing and being. This is the crux of
 spiritual humanism.
<h4>Interconnectedness</h4>
<img decoding="async" class="lazyload img-float-left has-img-center-in-mobile"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/deeper_path_consciousness1_5944d19c5f.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-04T11:52:05.090Z">The
 ancient Vedic prayer of Sarvam Bhavantu Sukhino (May all be happy) deeply reflects this awareness of the
 interconnectedness of all. Prayer for everyone and the well-being of everything was part of meditation during the
 Vedic times, 5,000–10,000 years ago, long before Lord Buddha.
Lord Buddha exemplified the interconnectedness of life on a grand scale. He postulated
 the theory of reincarnation and the need to achieve eternal life called enlightenment or Nirvana, and at
 the same time he did not forget dharti1, the field of service. He was a model human being: the
 love and respect he had for all, including his patient waiting for enemies to transform, was the ultimate in
 compassion, kindness and universal love. While he educated people to live a life befitting acquisition of ascetic
 wealth and for the purpose of enlightenment, he also realized that this state had to be personally experienced,
 repeatedly, and that it is beyond faith and hallucination. It is a permanent state of being.
<h4>Compassionate Inquiry</h4>
The Buddha practiced compassionate inquiry. He questioned everything, but the basis of
 that inquiry was compassion. This is one of the most revealing and yet less spoken lessons from him. He was humble
 enough to seek gurus and fearless enough to change them. He was loyal enough to remember everyone gratefully who
 helped him and compassionate enough to wait for enemies to transform. His passion for finding the solution for human
 suffering was the most admirable aspect of his life, and his renouncing of his family has to be understood in the
 context of compassion and generosity for all humanity.
<h4>Universal Love and Awakening</h4>
<img decoding="async"
 class="lazyload img-float-right has-img-center-in-mobile"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/deeper_path_consciousness2_15fd75c1a5.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-04T11:52:56.489Z">This
 sort of unconditional universal love arises from an awakening of a different order and a deep knowledge of the
 interconnectedness of life. It is the foundation of spirituality, with only human welfare at its heart. Universal
 love is the ultimate knowledge of an awakened being.
Opposite to this sort of awakened existence of love and compassion is the awkward
 existence of ignorance. It may at best make one numb and insensitive to suffering. But as long as we have a mind,
 our conscience is dormant and waiting to confront us one day, and when that happens, awakening begins.
Along with awakening comes pain and suffering, and with the right orientation this very
 suffering becomes the pathway of spiritual evolution – not for the sake of the awakened, but for the benefit of the
 entire humankind. This sort of noble suffering is possible only due to the thorough absorption of the knowledge of
 interconnectedness and the emanating feeling of universal love. Gratitude, generosity, fortitude and forbearance all
 come from this deep state of being in universal love for that which contains all.
<h4>The Masters</h4>
2000 years ago, Jesus exalted the need to embrace the same simple human values, like
 non-judgment, kindness, love, forgiveness and helping fellow humans, as Lord Buddha and others who came before him.

Then in the first millennium after Jesus, Sufism seems to be the most predominant
 philosophy of this human approach to spirituality. The turning and returning, the rotating and swirling portrayed in
 the dance of the Sufis signify this aspect of awakening and journeying towards Oneness. The turning happens when an
 individual spirit is awakened to an alternate life. The path of selfishness and ignorance is shunned when suffering
 awakens the conscience. The turn is the starting point of returning, and this returning is full of suffering and
 demands cheerful acceptance. The only panacea for this suffering is divine love and longing for Oneness. This very
 suffering provides the material for transformation, while love for all and longing for Oneness provides the
 direction and speed to achieve that state of inter and inner connectedness.
Another stalwart of spiritual humanism is Swami Vivekananda, who in his short span of 39
 years made an incredible impact on humanity. His belief in the indomitable potential of a human being is
 unparalleled. He says, “What is the individuality of man? Not Tom Brown, but God in man. That is the [true]
 individuality. The more man has approached that, the more he has given up his false individuality. The more he tries
 to collect and gain everything [for himself], the less he is an individual. … We must first understand what is meant
 by individuality. It is attaining the ideal. You are man now, [or] you are woman. You will change all the time. Can
 you stop? Do you want to keep your minds as they are now — the angels, hatreds, jealousies, quarrels, all the
 thousand and one things in the mind? Do you mean to say that you will keep them? … You cannot stop anywhere… until
 perfect conquest has been achieved, until you are pure and you are perfect.”
During the same era, we find numerous saints like Ramana Maharishi (1879-1950), Swami
 Ramakrishna Paramahansa (1836-1886), Shri Ram Chandra of Fatehgarh (1873-1931), Shri Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur
 (1899-1983), Paramahansa Yoganananda (1893-1952), and Neem Karoli Baba (1900-1973). There have also been so many
 unknown teachers of caliber, some who could not travel or be discovered by international seekers, but they served
 the human community they lived and died in.
The lives of these Masters are powerful examples of the two sides of existence, namely,
 personal evolution while contributing to universal well-being. This is, in a nutshell, the essence of spiritual
 humanism.
<h4><img decoding="async" class="lazyload img-float-left has-img-center-in-mobile"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/deeper_path_consciousness3_4fe03494ca.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-04T11:53:45.402Z">Conscience to Conscious Action</h4>
Spiritual humanism encompasses much more than philanthropy. Spiritual humanism embraces
 the personal and communal aspects of transformation, progress and evolution. Anyone who contributes to serving human
 beings to ultimately make them free, pure and perfect is a true servant of humanity. Mahatma Gandhi’s statement, “Be
 the change that you wish to see,” implores the personal aspect of this starting point.
At times, service to humanity can be so intoxicating it might become the sole
 preoccupation. Then the danger of ego cannot be underestimated. But when we adopt a practice such as meditation to
 evolve our consciousness, then service to humanity becomes pure and all encompassing. It starts with one’s own self
 and extends to serving all humanity and beyond.
<h4>Consciousness and Connectedness</h4>
As long as there is consciousness there is connectedness, and through this connectedness
 we learn, grow, move, expand and evolve. A deep understanding of this connectedness makes us compassionate and
 empathetic, generous and kind.
Thus, the content of this consciousness is our personality: we see ourselves in our
 thoughts and actions. The world is a mirror of our consciousness, and we can use that mirror to adjust, clean and
 stay well. Our interconnectedness is also seen through that mirror. What we do comes back to us, since the very
 nature of interconnectedness is circular. In the giving is receiving.
Spiritual humanism is essentially the field of deep service and a deeper path of
 evolution of consciousness. They are two sides of the same coin.
The noblest of services is to free people from bondage. In the words of Confucius, it is
 to teach people how to fish rather than feeding them fish. According to Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur, the highest
 form of service is to inspire and help people expand their consciousness and attain freedom to solve their problem
 of life.
This is the central theme of the lives of saints and Masters of high order in overall
 human welfare.
1 The word dharti is the root of Dharma. Dharti
 has its origin in dhru, which means to uphold one’s duty.
<hr>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">Article by VICTOR KANNAN</h4>
<hr>

A deeper path to consciousness

<hr class="vertical-space1">
<h4 style="text-align: center;">A PERSPECTIVE</h4>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<h4>Knowing the self is a topic of great interest in psychology and also in philosophy. VICTOR KANNAN reflects on this question that has been intriguing us from time
 immemorial, and shares the insights he has gained from introspection.</h4>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
All aspects of existence – temporal and real – are included in this question, who am I?
 The idea of who I can be and who I ought to be are also part of this larger question. A simple 10-minute
 introspective exercise takes us through several answers that reveal our roles, temperaments, achievements and
 relationships, and eventually our potentiality.
Mel Schwartz, blogger of ‘A Shift of Mind’, writes in Psychology Today, “The
 universe purportedly exists in a state of flowing potential. And it is essential to understand that we are indeed
 part of that universe. The goal then is to access that potential, keeping the parts of our identity that continue to
 serve us well and shedding the old, habitual pieces that constrain us. This process is known as positive
 disintegration. This permits us to find balance between the extremes … and enter into a relationship with self that
 commits to our personal evolution.”1
Swami Brahmavidananda, in his expositions on the Bhagavad Gita, writes, “The search for
 identity is nothing new; it is as old as the human race. One recognizes instinctively that one is more than what one
 has believed oneself to be. ‘Who am I?’ is the most fundamental question. … If you understand that, everything in
 Vedanta is answered.”2


<hr>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">I am a
 manifestation of 
 where I put my attention, 
 which is supporting 
 my intention.
</h5>


<hr>
In the past I have explored God as a principle instead of a named entity: what is God
 rather than who is God? There have been several attempts to define God by various philosophers and saints from
 different cultures and eras in history. The Hindu philosophy accommodates a wide range of possibilities of defining
 who or what God is, and puts them all into two categories: gods with forms and attributes are in the category of
 akar, and the definitions of God without any form or attribute are clubbed into nirakar. ‘Who’
 bogs us down in the akar and ‘what’ leads us to nirakar.

‘Who’ gives God a form and name? It is we humans who identify God and assign it a name
 that is mangiven. Hence, to me God as a principle makes the most sense. It belongs to the nirakar 
 category, and the right question would be ‘What is God?’ not ‘Who is God?’ If there is any parallel for humans, then
 the question for us would also address what I am instead of who I am.
<h4>SO, WHAT AM I?</h4>
According to Schwartz, I am a potential. 
 Is this potential a driving force, and until I understand and achieve this potential do I keep changing? 
 In other words, does who I am keep changing until it is synonymous with what I am?
As I considered these questions, something in me expanded and a simple revelation emerged: I am a manifestation of
 where I put my attention, which is supporting my intention.
I AM is composed of Intention leading to
 Attention leading to Manifestation.

<img decoding="async" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/who_ami2_7843b5a57a.jpg" alt="who-am-i">
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<h4>HOW DO WE FORM INTENTIONS?</h4>
An intention is a mental state that represents a commitment to carrying out an action or
 actions in the future. An intention involves mental activity such as planning and forethought. An intention
 constantly evolves. It seems to emanate from some place deeper within our consciousness. This consciousness is a
 constantly transforming and evolving inner space and hence is dynamic. It is the result of our heart–brain– mind
 interaction with the environment and the way we process that interaction. The uniqueness with which each one of us
 processes this interaction is due to the particular signature we have on our consciousness at any moment in time.

An intention may be positive or negative, deliberately acquired in this moment or
 inherent to our nature. But in that deliberate, volitional space of our existence we can act to acquire positive or
 negative intentions. Life is a school; we can learn to change our intentions, as we learn from their past
 manifestations and their implications.
If we are not born with positive intentions we can acquire them. 
 If we are born with negative intentions we can change them.
Irrespective of whether our intentions are deliberate and conscious or autonomous and
 unconscious, we change constantly, so what we manifest also changes constantly. From that point of view, if we
 change constantly, who ‘I am’ also changes constantly. When this reaches a level of constancy, ‘I am what I ought to
 be’, that is, a unified individual fully integrated and balanced. Here both my inside and outside match. What I
 mean, what I say and how I act are all part of my integrated personality.
<h4>HOW CAN WE WORK WITH THE I AM
 EQUATION TO REACH OUR FULL POTENTIAL?</h4>
One thing we can do is to cultivate positive intentions. This brings us to the attention
 part of the equation. Attention is a cognitive process in which we notice, pause, learn, and then act to manifest
 the intention more effectively. It is a skill, and when we develop it into a habit, it becomes a continual and
 dynamic process of transformation. When we finally manifest our intention via attention and action, these
 manifestations then produce their own results in our life. These results, whatever they may be, good or bad, painful
 or desirable, form a part of the next reaction pattern influencing our consciousness. This then becomes a new basis
 for the next intention to surface.
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<img decoding="async" class="w-100 lazyload"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/who_ami3_84dd81cf09.jpg" alt="who-am-i">
<hr class="vertical-space1">
So intention, attention, manifestation, its consequences and our learning all contribute
 to our transformation of consciousness. Since intention arises from our consciousness, the purity of consciousness
 determines the type of intention we will have. The rest is a process of manifestation, and the level of purity of
 consciousness determines the nature of manifestation.
Thus, who I am is largely predicated by what I am as a level of
 consciousness.3
At times we are not able to achieve the self-development goal we had set out to achieve.
 There are hindrances, which are the manifestations of prior intentions and circumstances that we have created. The
 complex mixture of all our previous intentions, attentions and manifestations is the base we live in and must
 transcend. Each of us can make that leap by overcoming our old self, changing old circumstances, and creating new
 intentions that manifest through positive attention in a new self.


<hr>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">Attention is a cognitive process 
 in which we notice, pause, 
 learn, and then act to manifest 
 the intention more effectively. It 
 is a skill, and when we develop 
 it into a habit, it becomes a 
 continual and dynamic process 
 of transformation.
</h5>


<hr>
If we don’t like who we are, we can change, for our potential is nothing short of
 spectacular. This is the great transformation. When we evolve to a place of constancy and purity, then our
 intention, attention and manifestation become consistent with that constancy, which is the potentiality that
 Schwartz talks about in ‘A Shift of Mind’. When we reach and realize that state of mind and feeling, awareness and
 intuition, intellect and wisdom, confidence and humility, we reach a state of absolute balance. That potential is
 what I ought to be. When I reach there, then I can say “This I am,” or “That thou art.”.
<hr class="vertical-space1">
References: 
 1<a style="color: #333333;"
 href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/shift-mind/201006/who-am-i">
 https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/shift-mind/201006/who-am-i</a> 
 2 <a style="color: #333333;"
 href="https://bhagavadgitablog1.wordpress.com/2013/09/05/chapter-2-sankhya-yogah-topic-of-knowledge/">https://bhagavadgitablog1.wordpress.com/2013/09/05/chapter-2-sankhya-yogah-topic-of-knowledge/</a> 
 3 The Evolution of Consciousness is a huge subject in itself, which is dealt with exhaustively by
 Daaji in his series <a style="color: #333333;"
 href="https://www.heartfulnessmagazine.com/evolution-of-consciousness/">https://www.heartfulnessmagazine.com/evolution-of-consciousness/</a>.

<hr class="vertical-space1">


<hr>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">Article by VICTOR KANNAN</h4>


<hr>

Who am I?

&nbsp;<h4>VICTOR KANNAN inspires us to cultivate our original state of purity and simplicity.</h4>I am intrigued to see new brands of clothing, nutrition and perfume called ‘Purity’ and ‘Pure’. Despite this trend, I feel that the idea of purity is repugnant to many people. It has a religious or moral connotation, and people cringe and their minds close. They withdraw and avoid the conversation, for they feel uncomfortable with any ritual or worship that focuses on purity. They don’t associate purity with the presence of love, forgiveness, empathy and compassion that could inspire them. Instead they feel judged because of their impurity, and dislike the self-righteousness of those who preach purity. Also, in many people’s minds the idea of purity is limited to fidelity in the conjugal relationship of marriage. Lack of purity in relationships creates separation, feelings of guilt, and other complications of insecurity, disappointment, anger and loss of discernment. No one is perfect, and yet the idea of cheerful acceptance of each other is farfetched.Adulteration of any kind causes impurity, not just in relationships or in the mind. Can we mix oil and water? Do we rear goats and lions in the same cage? When everything is in its own space and time, in character and content, we can say there is purity. In other words, when there is no adulteration there is purity.This leads us to explore the idea of simplicity. Simplicity is related to purity, while complexity is not. Everything in its own nature is pure and anything pretentious is not. Don’t we say ‘pure and simple’ all the time?Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur says, “Be simple to be identical with Nature.” Is Nature simple? It has so much variety and grandeur. Its origin is fascinating and its sustenance mind-boggling. Still we say that to be simple and in tune with Nature begets happiness and joy in living.Natural forces can be powerful and awe-inspiring. They may be simple, yet when unleashed they can create huge disasters and also sustain the creation on an enormous scale. The sun shines daily and sustains the life of trillions of life forms. It is a blind force. It is majestic and serene at the same time. What is this character in Nature that makes it simple in spite of being so majestic?In Nature there is predictability. The laws of nature operate inexorably. There are no double standards or pretention. In other words, there is no complexity. Nature is diverse and yet it has no complexity in its character. It is pure and simple.Looking at human beings through the same lens, we can say we are physiologically complex, with so many organs, connections and signals passing through us, with extraordinary interdependence, yet the human body works like Nature. Where we find the most complexity is in the mind.When we describe people as simple on one side and complex on the other, what is the characteristic that defines that spectrum? Let us look at it from the same standard of viewing Nature. Are we the same externally as we are internally? Do we exhibit trustable, predictable behavior?Think about the distinction between man-made versus natural. Even in shoes, the label distinguishes manmade materials from natural leather. So simplicity and complexity, too, may have to be understood from the point of view of what comes from nature and what is man-made.When the mind creates things for the sake of itself or its identification, it ends up complex. Such complexity is adulteration or impurity. It is not simple addition but complex accumulation that takes us away from our true nature of purity.&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">When we become pure: We see the interconnectedness of being. We respect and cherish each other. We contribute to the communal and collective well-being. We begin to weave our destiny.</h4><hr>Our intuitive appreciation of purity drives us to value purity, while we also struggle with the tendencies that make us impure. It took time for us to become impure, so it’s reasonable to think that it will take time to become pure once more, when we are awakened to the possibility. If we have impure thoughts and actions, we need to examine them and reverse them, like rewinding a tape in forward motion, for the past is the past. A conscious process will take less time than the unconscious one that resulted in our current state.The true nature of our being is to be pure. As Nature is also pure, it becomes our ally once we undertake a conscious journey towards purity. Nature cooperates: when we head in the wrong direction, there are obstacles, pain and suffering. When we head in the right direction, we feel happy joyful and expansive, and that is also Nature cooperating. We can also augment our level of purity by acts of kindness and generosity.When we become pure: We see the interconnectedness of being. We respect and cherish each other. We contribute to the communal and collective well-being. We begin to weave our destiny.If we accept that purity weaves destiny, then our destiny is here awaiting us. We shape our existence so that our life is infused with purity – and this shaping is in the proper learning, doing and becoming. We weave it into our existence by becoming pure and simple as Nature intended us to be.&nbsp;

The principle of purity

<hr><h3 style="text-align:center;">A HEART-BASED APPROACH</h3><hr><h4>VICTOR KANNAN shares what heart-based leadership means and defines ten essential qualities for excellence in leadership.</h4><hr>“If you don’t understand that you are in service to the people below you, then you don’t know anything about leadership.”Dee Hawkes – writer, teacher, and football coach.<hr>The other day, out of curiosity, I searched for scholarly articles on “mind-based leadership” and “heart-based leadership.” This yielded more than 3.9 million searches for the former and 3.8 million for the latter. I felt very relieved to see such a return, and I was happy to note that a lot of work has already been done in this area. The search takes us to interesting reading on transactional <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/four-core-qualities-of-listening" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">leadership</a> versus transformational leadership, profit versus purpose, and reward versus emotional investment in team members.&nbsp;But most modern-day leaders in corporations are held to account for short-term results and stock performance. Cut-throat practices are overtly and covertly encouraged due to competition and short-term orientation. This results in chronic stress for all those who are stuck on the Catherine wheel of corporate life.&nbsp;While we have higher standards of living today than in the past, our quality of life is still wrought with worrisome consequences. Stress, depression, sleeplessness and loneliness are on the rise. This is causing dissociation from family, friends, faith, and even facts.&nbsp;Though my search results indicate what people are looking for, it does not give us any indication of the prevailing culture in <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/the-superpower-of-listening" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">leadership</a>. Historically, leadership in businesses is for profits and career promotions. In other words, it is based on quantitative aspects of a person’s corporate experience. For over half a century, however, we have come to realize that material success alone is not adding to our happiness and well-being. Also, society has pockets of material prosperity and better health, while an enormous number of people and the world are unaffected by this prosperity.&nbsp;This unfortunate trend is not limited to corporate life but has spread to other professions, from school teachers to factory workers. Chronic stress and helplessness create hopelessness and deeper mental issues. They also affect physical health adversely. As body, mind and spirit are connected, if we lose our mental health along with our physical health, where is the question of excellence?&nbsp;The statistics and trends are alarming, cutting to the very purpose of organizations, people, nations and our civilization. The industrialization, urbanization and materialism that we have adopted over the decades for GDP growth, personal success and the alleviation of disease, have become the essence of our current problems of mental illness and social inequity. The combination of these two is a fertile ground for personal and social unrest. And the lack of an holistic humanistic approach has resulted in the current situation. What are we doing about this?&nbsp;<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/excellence_leadership2_85429f8410.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-08T07:39:38.970Z" alt="excellence-leadership2">&nbsp;<img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/excellence_leadership3_c745ad3a59.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-08T07:41:29.469Z" alt="excellence-leadership3"><hr>It is in this context that I am encouraged by the search results. An overwhelming number of people are doing research on heart-based leadership, to help pull us out of the current and imminent danger of losing all the gains we have made as human beings.&nbsp;Heart-based leadership is a qualitative approach to engendering the lasting well-being of all those with whom we surround ourselves. It is servant leadership. It is interconnected and interdependent. Corporations that are successful in making a profit, are innovative so that they can adapt and thrive. Those lacking dynamism perish. They either flourish or perish based on how dynamic they are. So, what leadership qualities are needed for such an innovative and dynamic approach?&nbsp;The leadership of any corporation with a certain corporate culture can be identified by the priorities it has in its value system. The corporate vision, mission, values and goals are not just ritualistic statements – they are the compass providing direction and stability for the organization over time. The words must be lived through day-to-day actions and periodic reinforcements and corrections. They gradually become ingrained into the DNA of the corporate culture. Such a dynamic organization will continue to evolve to greater heights.Corporate culture is always top-down. It succeeds according to the authenticity of its leaders’ behavior and the transparent corrective action when the top falters.“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Peter Drucker, authorThe order of many older organizations is hierarchical, top-heavy, and structural. The expectation of contribution from employees is limited to doing their jobs and making their bosses happy. The emphasis on “out of the box” thinking is not encouraged. As a result, the speed of innovation and competitiveness is also less. As a result, many older organizations are not as great as they used to be.&nbsp;In comparison, a heart-based organization is flat, productive, inclusive, innovative, and provides a porous ceiling for talents to move up in the organization quite easily.&nbsp;<h4>What is heart-based leadership?</h4>Stephanie McDilda, a motivational speaker and leadership coach, says, “Heart-based leadership is the ability of an individual to inspire loyalty and build powerful relationships by being kind, caring, and courageous – virtually by leading from the heart.”She goes on to say, “I’ve asked thousands of people to tell me about the best manager for whom they have ever worked. They say things like:She cared about me, He listened well, She was concerned about my development, and He appreciated me.“These are all heart-based traits that connect you with your team at the heart. Virtually no one has ever said:&nbsp;She was strategic, or He was good with numbers.“These are head-based traits. I cannot deny that these are important skills for a good manager, but they are not the qualities that inspire passion in your team. Remember that your goal is to manage resources, but lead people.1”&nbsp;It will not be out of place to mention the concept of servant leadership in this context. As Aristotle said, “He who cannot be a good follower, cannot be a good leader.” In a nutshell, this talks about leading by example. When Jesus said “Love thy neighbor as thyself,” it is leading by example. In a leader today we value the virtues of authenticity and empathy more than being an extrovert.&nbsp;“When you love your employees, they will love you back … and they will walk on hot coals to give you what you need,” says Stephanie.&nbsp;<h4>Changing the panorama of leadership&nbsp;</h4>Today’s leaders are more diverse, technically savvy, rationally minded, and independent. A recent survey by the MIT Sloan School of Management shows that younger managers prefer narrower, more technical approaches, while older ones tend to work through others and focus on the big picture. One way to interpret these results is to say that the mental frame of reference is uniquely different between the two age groups. The younger group has the potential to use the heart-based leadership values while the older group is more set in their ways. This is a generalization and not indicative of individuals or particular corporations.&nbsp;It is gratifying to note that “Managing yourself ” is the predominant characteristic of both younger and older leaders, followed by “Anticipating people’s emotional reactions during a change process.” Both these management techniques point to the need to improve the emotional intelligence of leaders.Emotional intelligence “is the capability of individuals to recognize their own emotions and those of others, discern between different feelings and label them appropriately, use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, and adjust emotions to adapt to environments.2” D r. Daniel Goleman popularized this term in 1995 via his best-selling book, Emotional Intelligence, where he lists an array of heart-based qualities such as attention, empathy, authenticity, and resilience that drive leadership performance.In Yoga, many practices are prescribed to improve mental acumen and purity of the heart. Both go hand in hand, along with a certain amount of physical agility and well-being. The eight steps of Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga provide a road map for us to cultivate heart-based qualities and lead a balanced life, integrating physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual values and activities. A proper understanding and practice of these eight steps of Yoga results in well-being, which is essential for today’s leaders.&nbsp;<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/excellence_leadership4_54e81ebf18.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-08T07:41:59.151Z" alt="excellence-leadership4"><hr>&nbsp;<hr>&nbsp;<h5 style="text-align:center;">The eight steps of Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga provide a road map for us to cultivate heart-based qualities and lead a balanced life, integrating physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual values and activities.&nbsp;</h5>&nbsp;<hr>&nbsp;<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/excellence_leadership5_d4cedeba35.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-08T08:40:51.012Z" alt="excellence-leadership5"><hr>I consider the above 10 qualities to be essential for a heart-based leader.&nbsp;While working on the above, we may incorporate breathing and meditation practices to improve our physical and mental health and our awareness. In this way, we will remain dynamic, alert, emotionally intelligent, and able to manage change and lead people. This is the Heartfulness way, a heart-based leadership pathway.<hr>References: 1 https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-heart-based-leadership-stephanie-mcdilda/ 2&nbsp;Source: Wikipedia<hr>&nbsp;<hr>&nbsp;<h4 style="text-align:center;">Article by VICTOR KANNAN</h4>&nbsp;<hr>

Excellence in leadership

<h4 class="has-black-color has-text-color"
 id="h-victor-kannan-explores-the-components-of-our-mental-well-being-and-how-the-refinement-of-intellect-helps-our-consciousness-to-evolve">
 VICTOR
 KANNAN
 explores the
 components of our mental well-being, and how the
 refinement of intellect helps our consciousness to evolve.
</h4>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />


 When we talk about consciousness, we are also indirectly including three
 other aspects of mental functioning – the mind, the intellect, and the ego.
 Why? Because these three play out within the canvas of our individual
 consciousness, and consciousness only evolves when these functions of mind,
 intellect, and ego evolve. Mind evolves from thinking to feeling, intellect
 evolves from instinct to wisdom, ego evolves from identifying with our
 individual self to identifying with the universal being, using the qualities
 of wonder and humility.1



 The idea of “intellect” is not explored much in faith traditions. A lot more
 emphasis is given to love, devotion, faith, and surrender. Many who are
 moved by faith and devotion seem to lead a life of irrationality and
 emotional excess, devoid of much self-awareness. They do not seem to take
 self-responsibility seriously. This leads the skeptics and the rational to
 deny the existence of mystery, esoterism, and the magical.



 When we observe the universe, we wonder at some phenomena, and we doubt
 others. Doubt is a poison, even for intellectual reasoning. Wonder is the
 best way to approach the things we don’t know about. There is so much that
 is majestic all around us. A healthy dose of skepticism, along with wonder,
 keeps the mind’s door open and observant for non-judgmental learning.



 This is more important when we take up a self-transformational journey
 through yoga, meditation, and spirituality. Spirituality is an art and
 science of exploring our true connection with nature, and our inner reality
 and ultimate potential. This is a process of transforming the self from who
 we are to who we can be. In this process, we transform from inside out. We
 start from the center of our being, and the transformation eventually appear
 sat the circumference. This naturally influences the environment and the
 community we live in.



 Spiritual self-transformation is also called the “evolution of
 consciousness.” Consciousness has been defined2 as the degree of
 awareness and unawareness, and the quality of our response to such
 awareness. As consciousness begins to unravel its potential, it evolves and
 expands. This results in an increase in our ability to perceive clearly and
 act with focus and purpose.



 Mind is a thinking instrument. Given a set of mental and emotional
 circumstances and backdrop, it finds new solutions. Thinking results in a
 new thought. This thought becomes a seed for future thinking. Intellect is a
 tool that helps us dissect, analyze, and understand. It is a tool of
 discernment. Ego is the part that gives us a sense of identity: what is I,
 me, mine, and ours. The identity is questioned when we feel threatened and
 constrained. The ego suffers. It triggers the other counterparts of
 intellect and mind to analyze a problem and think of a solution. When
 overcome, the new solution re-establishes our identity.&nbsp; All these
 three work together in a complex fashion; it is difficult to say where one
 ends and the other begins.



 Let us assume, for the sake of discussion, that the intellect is the
 connecting link between thinking and identification. Intellect is the
 discriminating or discerning faculty. It is like a knife, dissecting and
 analyzing the world around us, in the pursuit of meaning. It can cut off a
 lifeline or make things around us sharper for better use! It makes sense of
 our thinking. However, intellect has to be refined and evolve. How? By
 purifying, regulating, and focusing it. If the intellect is not pure, it can
 justify all evil acts.


<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<hr />

<h4 class="text-center">
 We start from the
 center of our being, and the transformation
 eventually appears at the circumference.
</h4>

<hr />

<hr class="vertical-space1" />


 The spectrum of intellect stretches from instinct to wisdom, and eventually
 to direct perception. Though humans are supposed to be at the pinnacle of
 the evolution of species, all forms of life have a form of intellect called
 instinct. Research shows that trees, too, have a nervous system.3
 They communicate among themselves. Electrons pass from the external field to
 the central nervous system of a plant, and then a feedback loop creates an
 action. That action protects the plant, or preys on food, and helps the
 plant understand what is around it.


<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<div class="text-center">
 <img alt=" the-role-of-the-intellect-2" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/role_of_intellect2_44e37a7a9e.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T06:20:18.384Z" />
</div>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />


 So instinct is the first element of intellect. That instinct is necessary
 for survival. Many a time we ask, “What is your gut feeling?” Where is that
 gut feeling coming from? Research shows that the source of brain function is
 not only in the brain.4 For example, the vagus nerve from the
 heart stimulates the brain into certain action and not the other way
 round.5 The autonomic functions are shared between the brain, the
 gut, and the heart. They control both the sympathetic and parasympathetic
 responses, whether they are fight, flight, or freeze responses or post
 stress feelings of calm, peace, happiness, and joy. Our instinct is all over
 our body-mind complex. Neurons from the gut send signals to the brain, and
 the brain sends back a signal for response. This is all instinct. Instinct
 is directly related to brain function and hormones. It is our inheritance to
 protect and safeguard our lives. It is this instinct that protects the ego,
 and it draws from the resources of the memory bank and thinking of the mind.



 The second element of intellect is intuition. We know that some people are
 more intuitive than others. All of us have felt a sense of things and events
 before they happen. This is intuition. A feeling. A premonition. A
 forethought. A foresight. An aha moment. Intuition develops when we quieten
 our mind, observe, and witness.



 Meditation is an important way to develop intuition, as it helps us to open
 our minds to their subconscious and superconscious states.


<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<hr />

<h4 class="text-center">
 Meditation is an
 important way to develop intuition, as it helps us
 to open our minds to their subconscious and superconscious
 states.
</h4>

<hr />

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<div class="text-center">
 <img alt=" the-role-of-the-intellect-2" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/role_of_intellect3_6af88e52fd.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T06:26:17.373Z" />
</div>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />


 The third element is intelligence. Intelligence is a variable, but all of us
 have it. Animals have it and plants have it. Intelligence can be improved by
 acquiring knowledge and knowing how to apply it, and most knowledge comes
 from experience and observation. This knowledge includes emotional
 intelligence, which is acquisition of emotional and mental soft skills such
 as listening, pausing, reflecting, focusing, and being attentive. The more
 emotionally intelligent a person is, the more successful and happier they
 can be. Yet once again, without the evolution of that intelligence by proper
 and pure intentions, it can be wasted on inhumane enterprises. The power of
 intention cannot be underestimated in the growth of our consciousness. Pure
 and generous intentions are the principles of an evolving mind, intellect,
 and ego. It is when it goes instead toward self-aggrandizement that the
 problems begin.


<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<div class="text-center">
 <img alt=" the-role-of-the-intellect-2" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/role_of_intellect4_6b2144a29a.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T06:27:41.016Z" />
</div>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />


 The fourth element is wisdom. When does intellect evolve to become wisdom?
 By conscious effort to purify, regulate, and focus our intellect. The
 evolution of the mind and the ego also helps in the evolution of the
 intellect and vice versa. How does wisdom help us?&nbsp; When we are wise,
 we make better choices. Should I speak or not? What to say? How much to say?
 When to say? Whether to go here or there? As we become wiser, our choices
 become consistent with the goal we have taken up for our lives. We may not
 know how to define wisdom, but we definitely know when we see a wise person
 or hear words of wisdom.&nbsp;



 In a nutshell, the role of the intellect is a crucial one. Intellect also
 sheds light on faith. Faith is a state of mind. I struggled with the term
 “faith” for a long time. I didn’t understand it in the context of how it has
 been practiced – to get from the Almighty what we want, with faith
 increasing if expectations were met. This did not inspire me. In one of my
 meditations, it occurred to me that the role of faith is to beget hope; hope
 begets positive action, and positive action produces positive results. So,
 to my understanding, intellect actually embellishes the understanding of
 faith and puts it in its right place.



 One way to explain the evolution of consciousness is to say that it is a
 release from the limitations of the mind, the intellect, and the ego. It
 results from their continuous refinement so that they become feeling,
 wisdom, and appreciation of the world around us. It is an ever-growing
 subtle-fication of the body-mind-spirit complex, ever tending toward
 moderation and balance in all aspects of life. In this process, intellect
 plays a very big part. If the mind is not refined, the intellect is not
 refined, and the ego is not refined, then love, obedience, and surrender
 will remain misplaced, and will be counterproductive to our evolution.



 The 20th century spiritual teacher, Babuji (Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur),
 added the term “real” before love, life, and surrender, perhaps to indicate
 the importance of the pure form of these attitudes to guide us to the truth.
 Also, when all the elements of consciousness are purified, regulated, and
 focused, direct perception is enabled. This is what saints and spiritual
 scientists like the Buddha and Babuji are able to do. We also have the
 possibility to perceive directly when we embrace an evolutionary practice
 like Heartfulness.&nbsp;


<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<div class="text-center">
 <img alt=" the-role-of-the-intellect-2" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/role_of_intellect5_d0dac36a18.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T06:28:51.311Z" />
</div>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<hr />

<h4 class="text-center">
 When all the elements
 of consciousness are purified, regulated, and
 focused, direct perception is enabled.
</h4>

<hr />

<hr class="vertical-space1" />


 1
 <a href="https://www.heartfulnessmagazine.com/editions/december-2016/" target="_blank"
 rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.heartfulnessmagazine.com/editions/december-2016/</a>


2 By Daaji


 3
 <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/plants-communicate-distress-using-their-own-kind-nervous-system"
 target="_blank"
 rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.science.org/content/article/plants-communicate-distress-using-their-own-kind-nervous-system</a>



 4
 <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3845678/" target="_blank"
 rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3845678/</a>



 5
 <a href="https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210624/Researchers-observe-brains-responses-to-vagus-nerve-stimulation-during-sleep-and-wakefulness.aspx"
 target="_blank"
 rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210624/Researchers-observe-brains-responses-to-vagus-nerve-stimulation-during-sleep-and-wakefulness.aspx</a>


<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<hr />

<h4 class="text-center">Illustrations by JASMEE MUDGAL</h4>

<hr />

The role of the intellect

<h4>VICTOR KANNAN shares some insights on how to cultivate a clear mind, something essential to a happy and healthy life. He presents 3 Gs as the way to achieve a clear mind – goal, generosity, and gratitude.</h4><hr>Clarity is an important mental quality. Clarity of mind and purity of heart make for a high level of discernment and proper decision-making. They both help in correct thinking and right understanding of the people and situations around us. Lack of clarity results in a downward spiral of confusion, fear, anger, restlessness, and lack of happiness. It makes things worse and causes harm to our near and dear ones.How to develop clarity, leading to correct thinking and right understanding? I contemplated this question for a few days and came to the conclusion that we need these 3 Gs.<h4>G1: Be Goal-Oriented</h4>Having a goal helps with clear thinking. Without a goal we are without direction, purpose, and meaning. When we are goal-oriented, we are not bothered by unnecessary things.Having multiple main goals is a problem. Multiple channels of attention scatters our focus, so we are not effective in the pursuit of any goal. It helps to set one overarching goal. Such a goal is generally big and aspirational. It holds deep meaning and profound purpose. Most of us have one main goal, like becoming the best version of ourselves, or realizing our ultimate potential.A big goal energizes us as we proceed in life. It continues to be more inspiring, and we become more enthusiastic as we march along. There is no fatigue when we set a goal of this nature. It is not limited. An unlimited goal keeps on going, and we keep asking, what’s next? That’s exciting. Every day, like a lotus flower that keeps coming up, anew, lovely conditions continue to emerge. Not all of them can be expressed, but we look forward to them. However subtle the flowering may be, we are able to feel it. It is tangible. That kind of goal keeps us excited and enthusiastic to keep going. It determines our orientation to the infinite.The goal determines the orientation, and the orientation decides the journey. When that happens, we adopt a conducive lifestyle. If we are serious and clear with our goal, we simplify our life and make sure that everything is conducive to this goal-oriented existence.The goal demands that we avoid unnecessary things. For example, many of us say “there’s nothing wrong with acquiring things; it is only attachment to them that is the problem,” but I’m not able to understand that completely. Why acquire things? It requires effort, and that effort can be applied to something more conducive for the goal. It is worthwhile to talk about balanced existence in this context. It doesn’t mean balancing every good activity with something questionable. Balanced existence is not balancing necessary things and unnecessary things. It is best to avoid unnecessary things.Right understanding is essential, and correct thinking precedes right understanding. To have correct thinking we need to clear out the inner cobwebs and simplify the inner environment. This is usually facilitated by Heartfulness rejuvenation practices and other practices to remain meditative. But for right understanding we need to have generosity.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/3gs_personal_growth2_4f7fe4f22d.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:52:28.060Z" alt="3gs-personal-growth2"><hr><h4>G2: Be Generous</h4>How to ensure right understanding? To answer this, we may have to ask one more question: How to avoid mis-understanding and wrong understanding?Misunderstanding happens due to prejudice, jealousy, impatience, anger, fear, insecurity, etc. Wrong understanding is due to the conviction we have in our misunderstanding. This is because we are defensive, proud, and egoistic. All this colors our vision and perception.What is the antidote? Generosity. If we are generous towards ourselves, we have self-compassion. We are not hard on ourselves. If we made a mistake it’s okay. Pause, be self-compassionate, take the time to fix it.If we are generous, we listen to others, we’re empathetic toward others. This again gives us the necessary pause. When somebody says or does something, we can either misunderstand them or understand them correctly. Understanding them correctly doesn’t mean that they have said or done the right thing, only that we have given ourselves the possibility of not misunderstanding.Often, misunderstanding of others comes from jealousy, fear of failure, and insecurity. Jealousy arises mainly in close quarters, such as at work. The boss may praise somebody else for our work and we feel jealous. Jealousy can exist in the worst form between siblings. It is less talked about, like guilt, but it is extremely counterproductive to peace and progress.The antidote to jealousy is also generosity. Jealousy and generosity cannot go together. When we are generous with our hearts, our time, our space, our minds, and our thoughts, it facilitates right understanding.How to develop generosity? Generosity is fostered when we give and love giving – time, space, things, and the emotional space everyone needs to express themselves. Give and see. When you put a smile on people’s faces, help them feel safe and welcome, and reduce their pain and suffering, see how you feel in your heart. If you repeatedly do this from a heart full of love, an enormous good will await you.<hr><hr><h4>How to develop generosity? Generosity is fostered when we give&nbsp; and love giving – time, space, things,&nbsp; and the emotional space everyone needs&nbsp; to express themselves. Give and see.</h4><hr><hr>Another way to develop generosity is to develop contentment. It is difficult to be generous if you are not contented. If you think that what you have is not enough, how are you going to be generous? If you think you have enough, you will be generous.Generosity is mainly in the giving. However, without a proper attitude towards receiving, life’s day-to-day interaction of give and take is not complete.<h4>G3: Be Grateful</h4>Being grateful also sets our inner climate very nicely. Generosity and gratitude go together – we put others first when we are generous, and we put others first when we are grateful. We are not complete without the many things that others do for us in our lives. Remembering those givers and those moments help to promote mutual respect, appreciation, and harmony.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/3gs_personal_growth3_dd7317e656.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:52:57.428Z" alt="3gs-personal-growth3"><hr>Generosity in the giving and gratitude in the receiving completes the cycle of human interactions. If we develop generosity and gratitude, it takes care of the entire relationship cycle; giving and taking is what makes a relationship. We give time, we take time; we give things, we take things; we give knowledge, we receive knowledge; etc. We give generously and we receive with gratitude. It is a beautiful thing.Generosity and gratitude also foster authenticity and humility. With these qualities in the heart, there is no room for jealousy or competition, anger or hatred. There is only harmony and contentment. When generosity and gratitude moderate our reactions and responses to situations, we maintain our steadiness and remain centered. With this sort of a heartful condition and inner environment, we will have correct thinking and right understanding. This helps with purity of heart and clarity of mind, irrespective of the situations we grow out of, just like a lotus.&nbsp;<hr><hr><h4>Illustrations by ANANYA PATEL</h4><hr>

3Gs for personal growth

<hr><h4>VICTOR KANNAN explores the concept of carefreeness and what that means. He also offers us 4 simple steps to regaining lightness and carefree happiness.</h4><hr>The term carefree is generally used to characterize our lives as children, when we roam around without a care in the world. “Carefree” is a state of mind without worries. This may be true for children, but as we grow older we are beset with a ton of responsibilities, and worries pile up. Our energy flow is affected, and we lose freshness in our feelings. This grows into a debilitating situation, and we are drowned in a state of helplessness. How then can we be carefree as adults?Carefree does not mean indifferent, careless, or uncaring. We tell others, especially young ones, to pay attention and be careful as they go to school, play, bike, or participate in sports activities. We inspire partners and employees to be caring, and pin them for their uncaring attitude. We blame others for being careless when we damage a valuable item, such as a vase or a statue. Being uncaring, careless, and not paying attention are vastly different from being carefree.In the middle of it all is the idea of caring: “How much to care?” and “What to care for?” are the questions that surround the attitude of being carefree.Caring is a value, whereas being careful and uncaring are personality traits. Values are taught early in life and are part of our up bringing. Children catch these critical values from their parents, families, and the environment in which they grow up. Values form a foundation for life. Caring unfolds in how we treat people and do things. It shows in kindness, compassion, and generosity, and in the ability to pay attention to detail when doing things. Many of us go after knowledge, as it gives us power. But power is not easily sustained without a caring attitude. The American President Theodore Roosevelt said, “No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.”What happens when we behave in an uncaring manner? Uncaring is selfish, and it lacks etiquette. It has a high concentration of ego, self-centricity, and uncouthness. Over time, this results in isolation and loneliness. Who will associate with someone who does not care for etiquette and relationships?&nbsp;Carelessness, on the other hand, is a lack of interest, pride, patience, faith, and passion. It shows in sloppy work, lack of progress, constant turmoil, and chaos in teams and relationships. Careless work results in unintended consequences. A careless person speaks without restraint and awareness. Carelessness means lack of attention to work and people, and also means not handling things properly. Carelessness is a state of ignorance. While an uncaring attitude is due to the ego, carelessness is due to the lack of development of our real intelligence.<hr><hr><h4>Caring unfolds in how we treat people and do things.&nbsp; It shows in kindness, compassion, and generosity, and&nbsp; in the ability to pay attention to detail when doing things.</h4><hr><hr>Amidst the caring, careful, uncaring, and careless people, we also come across people who are carefree. Carefree people exhibit a condition of flow, joy, and happiness. They don’t take up the gossip and curious inquiry of their friends, family members, or colleagues. When we are in their presence we feel expanded and safe. We don’t feel the need to be guarded. A person who is doing a spiritual practice for self-development will enjoy this condition of being carefree at times. And as they grow in spirituality, the carefree condition becomes more and more permanent.The carefree condition is a balanced condition of the mind, free of excitement or dejection. To develop such a condition takes practice – a practice that helps in the moderation of tendencies and reducing the swings of the mind.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/4steps_becoming_carefree2_89b486af48.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T09:30:56.490Z" alt="4-steps-to-becoming-carefree"><hr><hr><h4>The carefree condition is a balanced condition of the mind,&nbsp; free of excitement or dejection.</h4><hr><hr>The spiritual Guide, Lalaji (1873–1931), describes how we can reach the condition of carefree happiness: “The mind has the middle position where there is the mixed condition of happiness and sorrow. And when the mind rises above these two stages and reaches the spirit or the causal body, it gets peace, stability and carefree happiness.”1<hr><h2>Steps to Becoming Carefree</h2><h4>1. Moderate your tendencies</h4>Become aware of your excesses and accept them as a challenge to overcome. Then practice self-development to overcome these personality challenges and shortcomings. Try to get rid of your negative personality traits, which we formed due to the collection of impressions or samsakaras. Adopt practices such as Heartfulness Relaxation, Meditation, Cleaning, introspection, and visualization to reprogram your personality. Eventually you will gain control over your mind and behavior. You will start thinking correctly, which helps in processing future possibilities and choices in a more positive manner.<h4>2. Reduce your wants and needs</h4>This will help you develop a carefree state of mind, as there is less to worry about. The tendency of wanting more and more to be comfortable, or to have a sense of self or safety, can be moderated and refined. Otherwise, you won’t know the difference between wants and needs. You will be mentally captured by the things you accumulate. More things, more to worry about. More unnecessary things, more unnecessary worries. There is wisdom in simplifying your life. It will tremendously improve your carefree status.<h4>3. Clean as you go</h4>The micro-practice of “spot cleaning” in Heartfulness will help you to remove mental impressions as they are forming throughout the day. Otherwise, left untended they may trigger a samskaric engagement. Spot cleaning helps to develop a carefree state of mind.<h4>4. Have faith</h4>Have the faith that when you do your best, only the best possible outcome will follow. Faith also contains the attitude of total acceptance, and if the outcome is less than optimal, more effort will follow, without a doubt, or a trace of concern.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/4steps_becoming_carefree3_b8cbec7685.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T09:31:53.129Z" alt="4-steps-to-becoming-carefree"><hr>Finally, every now and again try to be carefree. Feel it and enjoy it.&nbsp; It does not mean being irresponsible. It is like resting before activity begins. You are fresh, light, creative, and productive. Adding wonder and gratitude to this carefree condition will take your whole being to a new dimension of existence. Only when you experience such a condition of being, will you appreciate it. It is worth striving for.<hr><hr>1Ram Chandra (Lalaji), 2018. Truth Eternal. Shri Ram Chandra Mission, India.

4 steps to becoming carefree

<h4>VICTOR KANNAN is a longtime Heartfulness practitioner and trainer from Atlanta, USA, who shows us how the universal lifestyle principles of yoga can reduce our carbon footprint.</h4><hr>With heightened awareness of global warming, many of us are looking to governments and corporations to change their policies and practices, and they are struggling to make the necessary changes. While it is easy to point the finger at them, what about us? What is our level of awareness of the carbon footprint we create? What are the changes we are willing to make in our consumption behavior? Rich or poor, we can all improve our awareness of the effects our actions have on the environment.Ask yourself, “Am I leading a life that will leave the Earth a better place than when I found it when I was born? How am I mitigating the risks and uncertainty of my own future and that of my children and grandchildren?”1“The average carbon footprint of a person in the US is 16 tons per year, one of the highest in the world. Globally, the average carbon footprint is around 4 tons. To have a chance of avoiding a 2˚Crise in global temperatures, the average global carbon footprint needs to drop to under 2 tons per year by 2050.”2Since nations like the US have a larger carbon footprint than others, those of us living in these nations have more responsibility to lower our carbon footprint.One way to reduce our footprint is to reduce food waste. The US Environmental Agency calculates that an average American wastes a total of 4.9 pounds of solid waste a day.3 Even a small reduction in this waste would help greatly. By eating less meat, taking fewer connecting flights, taking reusable bags to the shops, and reducing food waste, we can lower our individual carbon footprints from 16 tons per year to less than 14 tons.In the world today, there are still significant levels of childhood hunger and malnutrition stunting children’s growth. About 11 million children suffer food insecurity in the US alone, and according to World Vision, about 690 million children around the globe go to bed hungry.5 This is heart wrenching. A conscious lifestyle, reducing carbon footprint by reducing food waste, will help to mitigate hunger for others.<hr><hr><h4>A conscious lifestyle,&nbsp; reducing carbon footprint by reducing food waste,&nbsp; will help to mitigate hunger for others.</h4><hr><hr>Saving on food waste also has a multiplier effect. The less we purchase, the less refrigeration we need, both before and after cooking. Raw unprocessed food can be stored easily, and any excess can be given to food relief organizations. We can also urge manufacturers of food products to consider longer shelf lives, based on storage conditions at home. Many companies insert food expiration dates and best sell by dates as a way to increase their sales. WebMD states that dairy products are good for a week later than sell-by dates.6Arresting global warming is everyone’s responsibility. Compared with other excesses, those of our consumption-based lifestyles affect our future disproportionately. Spiritual teachers have always said, “Waste is immoral.” Waste happens because of ignorance. How can we flourish spiritually without dispelling our ignorance of over-consumption and waste?The Earth and its inhabitants have been constantly ravaged over time, because of the tumultuous nature of existence and the evolution of life. However, life in general is resilient. It regenerates after destruction. Chaos begets order. Order decays into chaos. Thus goes the cycle.As human beings, we are conscious of our actions, and suffer the consequences. We make choices every day. If we are ignorant in the choices we make, the pain and suffering that follow can become agents of self-knowledge and transformation. The demand for real self-transformation has never been greater.Heartfulness has ten guidelines for charting a good life. Three of these can specifically help us reduce our carbon footprint.They are:<ul><li>Simplify your life so as to be identical with Nature.</li><li>Be happy to eat in constant divine thought whatever you get, with due regard to honest and pious earnings.</li><li>Mold your behavior and way of living to such a high order as to rouse a feeling of love and piety in others.</li></ul><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/carbon_free3_700x233_6bbb044d8a.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-11T13:13:22.949Z" alt=""><hr>Nature recycles and replenishes constantly. It gives as it takes. It keeps itself in balance. Nature is simple and purposeful in its working. Similarly, if we lead a simple life, we will only take what we need, and we will give back to Nature. When human-generated consumption and excess waste affect Nature, Nature will adjust and rebalance. This rebalancing of Nature creates havoc. An example of such an adjustment is what we call Climate Change. Similarly, when we as individuals consume much more than we need or can afford, our body also behaves like Nature. It starts aching and paining all over.The idea of being happy and content is consistent with simplifying life. Happiness is possible when we make the money we need by proper means. A life of contentment is a simple life, arousing a feeling of love and calmness in others. It does not evoke jealousy in others. It does not evoke competition or one-upmanship. These simple guidelines help in reducing our carbon footprint, while making us happy, content, and responsible global citizens.<hr><hr><h4>A life of contentment is a simple life,&nbsp; arousing a feeling of love and calmness in others</h4><hr><hr>As we simplify our life to live optimally, we contribute to the reversal of Climate Change – not only the Earth’s climate, but also the social and emotional climate of our family, friends, and neighbors. Gandhi spoke about simple living and high thinking. The above guidelines all help in high thinking and noble living, creating a positive climate at all levels.<hr><hr>References<ol><li><code>The Nature Conservancy. “How to help calculate your carbon footprint.” </code><a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/carbon-footprint-calculator/"><code>https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/carbon-footprint-calculator/</code></a></li><li><code>The Nature Conservancy. </code><a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/carbon-footprint-calculator/"><code>https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/carbon-footprint-calculator/</code></a></li><li><code>The Environment America.</code><a href="https://environmentamerica.org/reports/amc/trash-america"><code>https://environmentamerica.org/reports/amc/trash-america</code></a></li><li><code>United States Environmental Agency. “National Overview: Facts and Figures on Materials, Waste and Recycling. </code><a href="https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/national-overview-facts-and-figures-materials"><code>https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/national-overview-facts-and-figures-materials</code></a></li><li><code>World Vision. “5 world hunger facts you need to know.” </code><a href="https://www.worldvision.org/hunger-news-stories/world-hunger-facts"><code>https://www.worldvision.org/hunger-news-stories/world-hunger-facts</code></a></li><li><a href="https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/food-poisoning/news/20210917/food-dating-labels-explained"><code>https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/food-poisoning/news/20210917/food-dating-labels-explained</code></a></li></ol><hr>

3 ways to reduce your carbon footprint

<hr><h4>&nbsp;</h4>VICTOR KANNAN explores the nature of gentleness, and why it brings lightness in its wake.&nbsp;<hr>The other day I was wondering why the word “gentle” is used often in Heartfulness practices. “Please close your eyes very gently and very softly.” With these words begins the guided Relaxation practice. The guided Cleaning says, “Gently brush the impressions aside.” And many of the other practices guide us to gently do this and that.Adopting gentleness prevents scratches on the surface of action, whether we are cleaning the floor or a table, speaking with people, or cooking and cleaning.&nbsp;Gentleness in everything. Gentle people seem to have mastered the art of awareness, empathy, compassion, and grace.&nbsp;<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/being_gentle_light2_311dcc09c9.jpg" alt="Cbeing_gentle_light">&nbsp;<hr><hr><h4>Gentleness is not to be confused with lack of strength.&nbsp; It is like the strength of flexibility.&nbsp; Being gentle is not to be confused with lack of courage.&nbsp; It is like patience and courage itself.</h4><hr><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/being_gentle_light3_ffa2dad52f.jpg" alt="Cbeing_gentle_light">&nbsp;<hr>Gentleness is not to be confused with lack of strength. It is like the strength of flexibility. Being gentle is not to be confused with lack of courage.&nbsp;It is like patience and courage itself. Mahatma Gandhi says, “Be truthful, gentle, and fearless.”&nbsp; Developing gentleness is an art of a skill in real being.&nbsp;“They say that at the last day there will be judgments, and that our dear Friend [God] will be in anger. But from pure goodness only goodness emanates. Be then without fear, for finally you will see that He is full of gentleness.” —Omar KhayyamLife can be beautiful, but living is challenging. If we live consciously, we make a chosen destiny. We can be strong or weak, we can be gentle. We may make mistakes, but we can become gentle by introspection. We may misspeak, which we can correct with gentleness. We can be gentle in our movement, conversation, communication, and consumption. Yes, consumption. Zero waste is impractical. But gentleness in consumption will minimize waste, save the planet, and feed the hungry.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/being_gentle_light4_0a1c29adcd.jpg" alt="Cbeing_gentle_light">&nbsp;<hr><hr><h4>Life can be beautiful, but living is challenging. If we live consciously, we make a chosen destiny.</h4><hr><hr>Gentle does not know hurry, it moves swiftly. Gentle does not rattle, it speaks clearly. Gentle does not fear or panic, it pauses. Gentle is not heavy, but light! Be gentle is to travel light in the journey of life.<hr><hr><h4>Illustrations by ARATI SHEDDE</h4><hr><hr>

Being gentle is being light

<h4>Does the Unified Field Theory – the theory of everything – really explain everything? VICTOR KANNAN explores this question and examines the meeting point between scientific thinking on the subject and the observations of the great yogic scientists of the last century.</h4>&nbsp;There is a struggle in the scientific community to neatly tie together all the theories of physics: many scientists believe there is an inherent structure and order to the universe and it operates inexorably. All exceptions, like objects out of orbit colliding with each other, are still explained as the force of energy from the Big Bang carrying them through the unstable process, but eventually towards an equilibrium arising out of a collision with other planetary objects in motion, or finding an orbit around a planet or a moon with gravitational equilibrium.But this theory has again missed the world of metaphysics – a word clearly coined because of the inadequacies of physics alone to explain all things manifested in the universe. The word came about in the mid-16th century, the Latin metaphysica, based on the Greek ta meta ta phusika, ‘the things after physics’, referring to the sequence of Aristotle’s works. The title came to denote the branch of study treated in the books, later interpreted as meaning, ‘the science of things transcending what is physical or natural’.1So, what is beyond the physical? Of course it has to do with the mind, which is at the core of manifesting physical and philosophical things. Thoughts, feelings, moods and imagination form part of this mind. The mind is not an organ in the body, like the heart and the brain. The mind is a well-recognised metaphysical organ! Out of the mind comes consciousness – the field of action of the mind. But then the components of thinking and their association with the ego (one’s own self) and not the collective oneness of everything, limits its expansion.The other important core element of metaphysics is consciousness, which is said to be in all things living. Of course, metaphysicists talk about a range of consciousness, from the consciousness of a stone to that of angels.Now coming to the search for a unified theory of everything both physical and metaphysical, can there be such a theory? It may be possible only if we combine matter with energy, and both with consciousness.Pictorially, we can explain the components of the unified fields of the physical and the metaphysical as follows:<img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/matter_energy_what_else1_img_7024acb6b4.png?updated_at=2023-04-03T06:33:59.375Z" alt="matter-energy-what-else1-img">The participants in the triangle at the base partake more of matter and energy. As they incorporate more of the life-giving force for consciousness, it becomes possible for them to move up the pyramid to an existence that is in the metaphysical world.We have the traditional view that matter produces energy and that the two are related. But I wonder if energy can be created without matter. For instance, today I was tired and did not want to exercise. I meditated and relaxed. Then I found some energy and went to exercise. As I went beyond 45 minutes, I felt a second wind and continued beyond what I had ever done. It was a physical breakthrough for me, and I came away wondering what gave me this energy. I had not eaten anything and had only relaxed and meditated. Where did this physical motivation and energy come from?So, a metaphysical act gave a boost to physical manifestation. Energy came out of an act of doing nothing – an act of nothing, or meditation, which perhaps worked on my thinking or conscious resting.Another equation that came to mind in this context isLq = Pc (m+e)The quality of life (Lq) is exponentially proportionate to the use of matter and energy (m+e) in the furtherance of purity of consciousness (Pc). If matter and energy are used for the furtherance of ME, the ego in me, then development of consciousness can be expressed asX = C / MEwhere X is the level of frequency of life.&nbsp;The higher the frequency, the more present is the being. Conversely, as ME approaches zero, than X tends towards infinity.So, as we reduce our ego towards zero, consciousness soars towards infinity, and joy, peace and universal love reign supreme.While these may be dismissed as clever imaginations, it was worth exploring the connection between matter, energy and its utilization for boosting one’s ego or for understanding its relationship to one’s consciousness.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">If consciousness can expand, then the question comes: what nurtures consciousness?</h4><hr>If consciousness can expand, then the question comes: what nurtures consciousness?In this context, it is necessary to recognize the saint from India named Ram Chandra (1899- 1983) who talks about a type of energy called Transmission that nurtures human consciousness. He defines transmission as the energy needed for the transformation of man. In his words, “Transmission works in the conversion of matter into energy, and energy into the Ultimate.”2The Big Bang is largely accepted as the theory that explains how the current universe came into existence from a singularity. From that singularity, massive energy was released, which in turn created matter and eventually life. If this expansionary process reversed itself, what would happen?In a paper published in ‘Physical Review Letters,’ physicists Nemanja Kaloper at the University of California, Davis, and Antonio Padilla at the University of Nottingham, have proposed the cosmological collapse mechanism and analysed its implications, which include an explanation of dark energy.3What Ram Chandra says may be a precursor to the possibility of a black hole absorbing all of the manifest universe into its singularity. So, this idea of transmission helping us make that journey back home is where physics and metaphysics meet. So with this, do we also have a unified theory?I leave it to scientists, with this axiom: What saints have intuitively known for a long time seems now for scientists to prove._________________1Google search of the meaning of the word ‘Metaphysics’ 2Ram Chandra, Complete Works of Ram Chandra, Volume 2,&nbsp;Shri Ram Chandra Mission, USA 3https://phys.org/news/2015-03-universe-brink-collapsecosmological-timescale.html#jCp

Matter, energy, and what else?

<h4 style="text-align:justify;">VICTOR KANNAN recently visited the Inner Peace Museum at Kanha Shanti Vanam, and invites us inside its doors to feel the calmness that inner peace brings.</h4>&nbsp;In the heart’s core, A sacred calmness resides, Inner peace endures.Most peace museums around the world are dedicated to wars. Indeed, they are peace museums because they remind us of what passed, and that which should never come to pass again. However, in Kanha Shanti Vanam, on the outskirts of Hyderabad in India, there is a museum that is dedicated to a different kind of peace: peace of mind, peace of heart, and peace of soul. It is first of all a humble tribute to the great souls of humanity who tread the path of unity and love, the path of spirituality, and of the Almighty. And it is also more than that. The Inner Peace Museum is unique in that it is an experiential museum. It proffers to the visitor an opportunity to soak in its lush, verdant surroundings, meditate in its atmosphere effused with subtle Divinity, be inspired by its art and installations, and feel inner peace.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/inner_peace_museum2_fc03401664.webp" alt="inner-peace-museum2.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_inner_peace_museum2_fc03401664.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_inner_peace_museum2_fc03401664.webp 800w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/inner_peace_museum2_fc03401664.webp 800w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/inner_peace_museum3_1d6d947b92.webp" alt="inner-peace-museum3.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_inner_peace_museum3_1d6d947b92.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_inner_peace_museum3_1d6d947b92.webp 800w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/inner_peace_museum3_1d6d947b92.webp 800w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;World peace is achievable once individual peace is at hand. And peace is already there. Our philosophy makes us understand that: peace is our fundamental nature. A meditative practice helps us arrive at a meditative state and constantly keeps fuelling peace within as well as with people we meet, wherever we go; we are in some way contributing to peace because of who we are.The intensity of your inner peace will be exposed the moment you drop all ideas of pride, ego, desires, etc. You will be unburdened so much that you will be surprised with your own nature which is full of peace. —Daaji&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/inner_peace_museum4_a0a8a6efda.webp" alt="inner-peace-museum4.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_inner_peace_museum4_a0a8a6efda.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_inner_peace_museum4_a0a8a6efda.webp 600w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/inner_peace_museum4_a0a8a6efda.webp 600w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;The exhibits of the Inner Peace Museum reflect humanity’s quest for the highest through the ages, and the inner journey inspired by the world’s rich spiritual heritage, realized through meditation.The artists who contribute their original work for the museum come from around the world. Inspired by their stay and experiences in the pristine environment of Kanha Shanti Vanam, they create in the museum studio. These individual and collective works represent diverse faiths and schools of thought from around the world, ranging from the ancient forms of worship to modern scientific ideas, all united in the singular urge of all life to evolve to the Highest.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/inner_peace_museum5_fa710c0e26.webp" alt="inner-peace-museum5.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_inner_peace_museum5_fa710c0e26.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_inner_peace_museum5_fa710c0e26.webp 800w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/inner_peace_museum5_fa710c0e26.webp 800w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;The Inner Peace Museum inspires us to focus on true peace, the inner peace in our hearts, which if established will automatically lead to external peace. It also brings to light the universal concept of Unity, the fact that we are all united by that singular urge to evolve to the highest as human beings, whether through religious thought, science, philosophy, literature, art, music, spirituality, or simply by virtue of being human.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/inner_peace_museum6_42e42e7523.webp" alt="inner-peace-museum6.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_inner_peace_museum6_42e42e7523.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_inner_peace_museum6_42e42e7523.webp 800w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/inner_peace_museum6_42e42e7523.webp 800w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/inner_peace_museum7_36e143b71a.webp" alt="inner-peace-museum7.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_inner_peace_museum7_36e143b71a.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_inner_peace_museum7_36e143b71a.webp 600w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/inner_peace_museum7_36e143b71a.webp 600w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/inner_peace_museum8_b68c0711e7.webp" alt="inner-peace-museum8.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_inner_peace_museum8_b68c0711e7.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_inner_peace_museum8_b68c0711e7.webp 600w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/inner_peace_museum8_b68c0711e7.webp 600w," sizes="100vw"></figure><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">The Inner Peace Museum inspires us to focus on true peace, the inner peace in our hearts, which if established will automatically lead to external peace.</h4><hr>For more information, please contact us at ipm@heartfulness.org.

Inner peace museum

<h4 style="text-align:justify;">VICTOR KANNAN explores the debate around whether AI has consciousness. He comes up with a very compelling logic for how it can easily be solved.</h4>&nbsp;There is a growing debate about whether AI has consciousness.I find this question amusing. The seriousness with which we debate this question seems to be misplaced. After all, we are not asking if an intelligent being is devoid of consciousness. If we are not asking that, why then are we asking if programs that are powered by artificial intelligence have a human type of consciousness.We seem to have understood intuitively what <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/human-intelligence-artificial-intelligence" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">artificial intelligence</a> is and what consciousness is. Because the responses we get from our prompts to Gemini or Chat GPT seem to be personal and contextual, we are surprised, and we ask if AI is conscious.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Ai2_f954cb4d42.webp" alt="Ai2.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_Ai2_f954cb4d42.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_Ai2_f954cb4d42.webp 601w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Ai2_f954cb4d42.webp 601w," sizes="100vw"></figure><h4 style="text-align:justify;">What is intelligence?</h4>According to the Oxford dictionary, “intelligence” is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. When this is done by programming a computer, it is artificial intelligence as opposed to natural intelligence, which is innate, such as found in living beings like plants, animals and humans. They use innate intelligence to respond to situations, while machines are programmed to respond.&nbsp;It is a different discussion to ask if we are not programmed or influenced by our past memories and present socio-economic conditions. This takes us to behavioral science and psychology. &nbsp;Let us, however, stay focused on this question of AI having consciousness.&nbsp;<h4 style="text-align:justify;">What is consciousness?</h4>According to the Cambridge dictionary, “consciousness” is “the state of being awake, thinking, and knowing what is happening around you.” Consciousness is the degree of awareness and unawareness, thinking and not thinking, knowing and not knowing. Somehow this definition is short on the sleep and dream states of consciousness.&nbsp;<h4 style="text-align:justify;">What does AI do when it is “sleeping”?</h4>We might say AI is learning while “sleeping” based on the previous set of interactions. This is machine learning. We might say this is similar to how the brain functions while a person is sleeping. Just as the brain consolidates and stores information obtained during the day, AI machines are continually indexing the knowledge obtained during the period of interaction for future use. This sounds like a valid argument.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Ai3_85d442febf.webp" alt="Ai3.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_Ai3_85d442febf.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_Ai3_85d442febf.webp 800w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Ai3_85d442febf.webp 800w," sizes="100vw"></figure><h4 style="text-align:justify;">Repetition and creativity</h4>The fundamental difference is the repetition of a machine versus the creativity of innate consciousness. We might ask the same question to AI repeatedly and it would keep on producing slightly different answers; hence, we can claim it to be creative or imaginative. The random number generator in a gaming device appears to produce unpredictable outcomes. Those who know the rule that the house always wins, know&nbsp; the sum of all outcomes is profitable for the house and not the sum of all players.Many lose so a few can win. The predictable outcome is that the house always wins, though individual outcomes are random. The fact that the house always wins means the aggregate outcomes are pre-programmed.Pre-programmed and uniqueness&nbsp;Similarly, AI machines are pre-programmed. They have artificial intelligence but not the consciousness to create the intelligence to begin with. Machine learning algorithms do not make them originally creative and unique, while human consciousness does. Consciousness is a composite of the ability to think, process, decide, and act in a unique manner based on circumstances and past learning. It all seems programmable. But two people respond totally differently to the same set of circumstances and this highlights the uniqueness in behavior.Knowing and how we know are aspects of consciousness. Intelligence is a means to know, and hence is part of consciousness. Knowing includes feeling, and feeling instigates thinking. Thinking results in understanding, and that helps in choices and decision making. All these are aspects of consciousness. Hence AI is an extension of human consciousness; it is not that AI has any consciousness of its own or even the possibility of having its own consciousness.Humans can behave in a mechanical way, but machines cannot behave like humans. Here lies the confusion and pathway for clarity! The best we can do is to define the existence of artificial consciousness as an explanation for the learning aspects of Artificial Intelligence engines. If we call it Artificial Consciousness would the debate end?&nbsp;

Why not artificial consciousness?

<h4 style="text-align:justify;">VICTOR KANNAN explores the process of aging, with a focus on aging gracefully. How can you be at peace with yourself as old age approaches? How can you develop maturity in behavior and focus on life’s best interests?</h4>&nbsp;For a few months now I have been asking the question, “How to age gracefully?”I turned 65 a few months back. I don’t feel it, and I don’t know how it feels to be 65, since I have never been 65 until now. It is a good milestone, as perhaps two-thirds of the time on Earth is completed. There is a lot to be grateful for.The idea of aging gracefully is a great one. It is a very important threshold, especially in the 21st century. We say that 50 is the new 40, and so on, to improve the outlook on aging. It is true we are living longer and more actively. However, aging invariably calls for maturity in behavior and focus on life’s best interests.Maturity is possible when we process our life’s experiences like fruit ripening slowly to its full sweetness. Introspection is a tool for developing awareness. It promotes alertness and it helps us to keep up with positive associations of ideas, people, books, and more. Not only do we associate with the positive regenerative moments in life but also actively avoid unnecessary, harmful, or hurtful circumstances.&nbsp;Friction is needed for movement. Lack of resistance is needed for expansion. In the Heartfulness way of meditation, as we progress we shift our consciousness over time from movement to expansion, through the continuous process of contemplation. The daily <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/love-in-action" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">practices of meditation</a>, observation, introspection, and visualization help us understand how to adjust our thoughts and actions so we can be in line with the expectations that arise rightfully as we age.Would you accept a mango that looks ripe but is rotten inside? Can you imagine aging without maturity? Can you accept growing old without gracefulness? It is an insult to life itself. It is a colossal waste of time and effort. It is a misdirection of life and its blessings.The need for gracefulness challenges us to balance growth opportunities with our ability to respond to them. We choose our physical environment and develop forethought. We become more diligent, agile, and resilient in our mental and emotional responses.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">The need for gracefulness challenges us to balance growth opportunities with our ability to respond to them. We choose our physical environment and develop forethought. We become more diligent, agile, and resilient in our mental and emotional responses.</h4><hr><figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/aging_gracefully2_251944ba28.webp" alt="aging-gracefully2.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_aging_gracefully2_251944ba28.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_aging_gracefully2_251944ba28.webp 810w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/aging_gracefully2_251944ba28.webp 810w," sizes="100vw"></figure>Have more time alone and with nature and grandchildren if possible. Associate with people without agenda. Listen and share with young people. Avoid the contact of peers who are focused on competition and comparison: some peer groups are riddled with jealousy and prejudice. Avoid being curious and most importantly transcend FOMO, the fear of missing out.Good luck aging. Time moves inexorably. It is a beautiful thing. It signifies the movement of nature. Day comes and the sun is shining. Seasons change, we celebrate; flowers and fragrance fill our homes. Life cycles through and wisdom is accumulated. Humanity is better off because of it.If we did not age and time stood still what would happen? I shudder to think. Look forward to aging more gracefully as time clicks on perfectly.There are three principles I love to follow: Love one who loves all. Love all who are loved by the one.&nbsp; Love all and hurt none—including plants and animals.Yes, we can take what plants and trees give us without hurting them. They happily give us seeds and fruits as they ripen. Similarly we hope to give our wisdom to the next generation to improve the lives of all.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Illustrations by ANANYA PATEL</h4><hr>

Aging gracefully

<h2 style="text-align:center;">&nbsp;</h2><h2 style="text-align:center;">CULTIVATING FOCUS BY&nbsp; DECLUTTERING OUR LIVES</h2><h4 style="text-align:justify;">&nbsp;</h4><h4 style="text-align:justify;">VICTOR KANNAN reflects upon the connection among focus, silence, and space. The more we develop these attributes the more we understand ourselves and others at deeper and deeper levels. The deeper we go, the more our inner spiritual journey unfolds before us.</h4>In our modern, fast-paced world, the ability to focus has become a rare commodity. Distractions are ubiquitous, ranging from cluttered physical spaces and overloaded digital screens to jam-packed calendars and emotional entanglements. However, there is a direct connection among focus, silence, and the space we create within ourselves and our surroundings. By intentionally managing this space, we can cultivate clarity, efficiency, and a deeper <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/wild-intelligence" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">spiritual awareness</a>.<h4>Silence and focus</h4>Silence is not merely the absence of noise; it is a state of being that allows us to access clarity and peace. When we reduce our involvement and interest in external distractions and random curiosities, we create a fertile ground for focused attention. Focus and attention are abilities that we naturally discover when we remove the intrusions that tend to stampede our minds.When we take the time to pause and introspect, we can identify what serves us, and what is just a distraction. We can consciously reduce the proliferation of these unwanted and unnecessary attractions of sensory objects, ideas, events; even people. Make a list of these distractions. You will find them mostly related to your tendencies, which express themselves in your behaviors. In all of us, such behaviors are protected by our defensiveness and our lack of acceptance of the need to change.<h4>Create space for silence &nbsp;</h4>Silence is inherently tied to the space we create, both externally and internally. Physically, an uncluttered environment fosters calmness and order. When our surroundings are chaotic, they mirror and amplify internal disarray. Organizing our spaces, whether our desks or digital devices, creates a sense of ease that enhances focus.Internally, creating space involves letting go of unnecessary emotional baggage, outdated beliefs, and endless mental chatter. Heartfulness and <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/meditation-health-part-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mindfulness meditative techniques</a>, and journaling, are conducive ways of allowing us to observe our thoughts without attachment. The more internal space we cultivate, the more room we leave for silence and, in turn, for focus.Consider this: A room filled to the brim with clutter or odds and ends can feel tiresome to stay in. It exudes the vibrations that caused the clutter. Are we hiding things under the bed? Are we stashing away things we never use in corners, to simply gather dust? These things represent fear, confusion, chaos, and lack of focus. These thought vibrations, protected by the things we have kept there, affect our mind constantly when we occupy those spaces. The space in our mind is constantly encroached. A cluttered mind, like a cluttered room, is a cacophony of fragmented thoughts and unprocessed emotions, which in turn create noise, contaminating the inner space, jamming the signals, and diminishing our ability to see clearly. Lack of focus becomes our permanent condition and state of being.<h4>Avoid clutter: A holistic approach &nbsp;</h4>Clutter comes in many forms. Physical clutter, such as unused items or disorganized workspaces, distracts and drains energy. Digital clutter, like an overload of apps or notifications, fragments our attention. Similarly, an overcrowded calendar filled with commitments can leave little room for reflection or spontaneity.Emotional clutter—lingering resentment, unresolved conflicts, and excessive emotional involvement—also takes up valuable internal space. Mental clutter, such as the constant need to impress others, or to recall unnecessary details, or add ifs and buts to more thoroughly explain a situation that is quite plain for everyone else, inhibits our ability to live in the present.By avoiding clutter, we open pathways to silence, which enables focus. Minimalism, time management, and emotional detachment are not just practical strategies but transformative practices that create harmony in every facet of life.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Silence is not merely the absence of noise; it is a state of being that allows us to access clarity and peace. When we reduce our involvement and interest in external distractions and random curiosities, we create a fertile ground for focused attention.</h4><hr><h4 style="text-align:justify;">The spiritual connection &nbsp;</h4>As we declutter and simplify, we naturally shift from superficial distractions to a deeper understanding of ourselves.Our ability to focus is directly related to the silence we keep. Silence is directly related to the internal space we create in our hearts and minds, while space is directly related to the clutter we avoid by choosing a conscious lifestyle. The clutter we create and find ourselves in makes us wonder who let the dogs in but ourselves. &nbsp;This applies to physical spaces, digital apps on our screens, events on our calendars, emotional entanglements, the tendency to form impressions, etc. The more of these we are able to filter out of our lives, the smoother our journey to spiritual betterment.For more insight into these aspects, please read the chapter on “Less is More” in Daaji’s recent book,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.in/Power-Paradox-Kamlesh-D-Patel/dp/0143459309" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Power of Paradox</a>.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/power_of_silence2_a18942ee06.webp" alt="power-of-silence2.webp"></figure>&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Illustrations by ANANYA PATEL</h4><hr>

The power of silence

<h4 style="text-align:justify;">VICTOR KANNAN on going back to basics—a practical reset for leaders and seekers that renews intention and sharpens practice in work and life.</h4>Every so often, whether in business, leadership, or inner life, we need to go back to basics. This practice helps us review, reset, and recommit to our best intentions and to renew our best practices.Over time, even a healthy routine can become mechanical. As we age, the relevance of past good habits fades, and in the complexity of our lives, we lose sight of our primary goal. Gradually, we veer from our intended path. What began as a straight line toward our goal has slowly curved away from its target. Returning to fundamentals helps us straighten that curve and refocus on our true goals.For a leader, going back to basics might mean re-examining purpose and objectives, reviewing and renewing the vision and mission statement, or re-evaluating stakeholder alignment. To make corporate culture thrive, we must revisit the values that once defined its character before complexity set in. The same is true for anyone who is practicing self-improvement or talent development. For a seasoned Heartfulness meditator, going back to basics could mean sitting once again with a beginner’s mind, free from expectations of inner peace or joy. It could also mean returning to the fundamental practices of relaxation, meditation, cleaning [a practice for releasing emotional impressions], prayer, and introspection exercises—doing them deliberately and consciously, with every step fully and properly incorporated, without haste, hurry, or casualness.&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Returning to fundamentals helps us straighten&nbsp; that curve and refocus on our true goals. &nbsp;</h4><hr>&nbsp;Going back to basics is a smart strategy. It is about ensuring progress remains aligned and practices are followed correctly. A musician who has mastered their instrument still returns to scales. A top athlete revisits form. Likewise, every discipline, every craft, every life benefits from a deliberate pause—a reset that clears the accumulated noise and restores clarity. When we do this periodically, we rediscover something fresh, even if are supposedly adepts. We remember what truly matters and gain further clarity on what is important. Going back to basics also simplifies our lives and helps us stay focused on the important goals we set for ourselves.A periodic exercise or habit of going back to basics arrests the inevitable onslaught of entropy. This process redirects our energies and removes entropy, making fresh waves of progress possible. We realign our intention and our joy in doing what we do.In the corporate world, returning to basics has become a trend. Recently, under the new CEO Andy Jassy, Amazon has embarked on a large‐scale reset of its culture and operating model. He is returning Amazon essentially to what originally made it successful. According to recent reporting, Jassy has reinforced Amazon’s founding “Day 1” mindset and re-emphasized its original Leadership Principles, tying them directly to performance reviews and compensation. Similarly, when Nestle’s board selected insider Laurent Freixe as CEO in 2024, they noted a move “forward to basics” after years of acquisitions and diversification had left the company feeling adrift.Many attend <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/communication-and-diversity" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">meditation retreats</a> for these going-back-to-basics renewals. Even corporate heavyweights attend Heartfulness or <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/the-power-of-observation" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mindfulness meditation</a> retreats for periodic resets. Such retreats do more than any other back-to-basics exercise. They help us return to the center of our being and core of our principles before moving forward again with clarity, conviction, and confidence. We emerge from them with greater energy and enthusiasm.Try this out—whether on your own or as a leader in your company or community—and feel the difference. Even one day of deep introspection and recommitment will be sufficient. If you cannot spare a day, choose a short, intentional reset—a quiet walk, a few lines in a journal, or a single deliberate pause. It will end in the unmistakable joy of a homecoming.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/back_to_basics2_553e8a16bb.webp" alt="back-to-basics2.webp"></figure>&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">A periodic exercise or habit of going back to basics&nbsp; arrests the inevitable onslaught of entropy.&nbsp; This process redirects our energies and removes entropy, making fresh waves of progress possible. We realign our intention and our joy in doing what we do. &nbsp;</h4><hr> &nbsp;

Back to Basics

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Vihaan

Meditation

Executive Chef Vijay was born in India, graduated from the National Business Management College in Sydney, Australia, then cooked in Thailand, New York, and now Dallas, TX. His samosas and chutneys topped celebrity Bobby Flay’s show, Beat Bobby Flay, and he has appeared on the Food Network’s Cutthroat Kitchen.

vijay-sahu.jpg

Vijay Sahu

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<h4>VIJAY SADHU is a perfectionist. Whether he is standing in the kitchen of one of
 his many successful restaurants in the United States, competing with Bobby Flay, or simply sitting in meditation,
 Chef Vijay determinedly puts his heart into everything he does. The result? Great food that is filled with love,
 hardearned and well-deserved success, and a daily effort to show up as his best possible self. Sitting at a table at
 Fausto’s, Kanha Shanti Vanam’s Italian Restaurant, he shares more about his passion for cooking and his journey of
 becoming a chef with MAMATA VENKAT, how finding a Guru and diving into
 spirituality changed his attitude in the kitchen, and how all of his experiences have shaped his most important
 role: being a parent.</h4>
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&nbsp;
<img class=" has-img-center lazyload" alt="the-heartful-chef"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/heartfulchef3_bc8a48b117.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T08:27:57.951Z" />

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Q: Chef, how did you discover your passion for being in the kitchen?
VS: My experience was very different. I was more
 into dancing when I was growing up, and I was part of a band that my friends used to have. I moved out of home when
 I was 15, and from that age I never depended on anyone. I was a dropout because of the band. We were performing a
 show in a hotel in Hyderabad, and the venue was right next to the kitchen. I was smelling the aroma and air of
 beautiful food, and I said, “Oh my gosh, this is so incredible!”
My eldest brother was a chef. My parents were worried about me. They were like, “What is
 this guy? He doesn’t want to go to school. He doesn’t want to go to college.” I was very careless. I didn’t really
 worry too much. 
 I said, “Take it as it comes.” 
 I started liking cooking, food, and serving people. There was no grandmother inspiration or mother inspiration. I’m
 a self-made person. I started working as an apprentice for some of the big hotel chains. Then, I had the opportunity
 to go to the U.S. at the age of 18 and ended up in Manhattan. There I started working for some of the best
 restaurants, peeling onions, and doing behind-the-scenes work. It was all old-school style.
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<img class="has-img-center lazyload" alt="the-heartful-chef"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/heartfulchef2_6e1331e0fa.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T08:28:53.621Z" />

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Q: What does the journey look like for someone who is trying to be a world-famous
 chef?
VS: Back in the day, not every chef went to
 college. I didn’t go to college to begin with. After working in New York, I made some money, and then I thought
 about going to college. I moved to India for six months, worked for one of the top hotel chains, and wanted to be at
 the management level, but people would say, “No, you don’t have a degree, so you can’t be a manager”. I thought that
 was discrimination, but while having tea with a cousin of mine, looking at a newspaper, I saw something about study
 abroad in Australia. So I packed my bags and moved to Australia. There I finished my hotel management degree right
 off the bat. I worked for a good restaurant there, and then I moved back to the U.S. again. That’s when I really
 started.
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<hr>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">Whatever I did, I put my heart into it. 
 That’s number one. I don’t compromise at all.</h5>


<hr>
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Q: What kind of attitude did you have in order to create success for yourself?

VS: From day one, I wanted to be a perfectionist in
 everything that I did. I don’t waste my time. If I do something, I’ll do it perfectly, otherwise I’ll say, “I don’t
 think this is for me” or “I’m not ready for this.” I don’t experiment with things, except recipes. That’s how I
 started working for some great chefs.
I had an opportunity to open my own restaurant in Milwaukee when I was a young guy,
 probably 29 or 30. It was called Saffron Bistro, with a lot of European influence, and it was rated one of the best
 restaurants in the world by Bon Appetit Magazine. My restaurant was a small hole in the wall, no bar, just tables
 and the food, some wines.
From there, it just kept growing, growing, growing. I appeared on television with other
 chefs, I was on the cover of a lot of magazines in New York and Milwaukee, and then I moved to India again. I came
 with my family here and opened a restaurant in Hyderabad. But the mentality didn’t suit me, so I packed my bags and
 moved back to the U.S. again. I opened a beautiful restaurant in Dallas called Northwest Frontier Cuisine. I
 prepared a lot of kebabs and barbequed food. My restaurant was once again rated one of the top restaurants in
 Dallas. I was the first Indian person to do that.
There I was blessed to work under one of the best chefs in the world, Steven Pyles, the
 father of Southwestern cuisine, who invented Tex-Mex. He pulled me out and said, “Hey, why don’t you work with me?”
 I worked for him, and then opened a restaurant called Sutra, with a Portuguese-Spanish influence and an Indian
 touch. It did phenomenally well. Whatever I did, I put my heart into it. That’s number one. I don’t compromise at
 all.
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<img class=" has-img-center lazyload" alt="the-heartful-chef"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/heartfulchef4_312642df14.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T08:29:55.809Z" />

<hr class="vertical-space1">

Q: I imagine that you apply that mentality of perfectionism to your meditation
 practice. What drew you to spirituality and, specifically, to Heartfulness?
VS: In 1998, my brother said, “Hey, why don’t you
 try Heartfulness?” 
 I said, “What is that?” 
 From my childhood, I was never into idol worship. I used to go to the temple with my parents, but I wasn’t really
 into it, although I believe there is a God. I started Heartfulness, and met the Guide, Chariji, in 1998 in Austin,
 did for a month, but I didn’t continue. I was back to my usual stuff. People do service, and cooking for people is
 my kind of service.
Two and a half years ago, I met my wife, who was into Heartfulness, and the first thing
 I told her was, “Don’t try to get me into Heartfulness.” One day, Daaji started coming in front of me in subtle
 form. There was a Heartfulness trainer in Dallas and I went to him and said, “I want to have a meditation session.”
 So I never stopped. I know we all miss parts of the practice here and there, but as I mentioned to you earlier, if I
 like something, I do it.
The first book I ever read was Designing Destiny from cover to cover. I’d never
 finished a book before. It changed my perception about lifestyle and everything. I used to eat meat, breakfast,
 lunch and dinner, but after finishing Designing Destiny I stopped eating meat right away. I used to smoke
 and I just said no and stopped right away. It’s not just respect for the guru; I love him. I’ve started to really
 miss him from the bottom of my heart. I used to only listen to hip-hop and jazz, Cuban jazz. That’s what pumped me
 up in the kitchen or in my car. After finishing that book, now I listen to Babuji’s talks. It changed me so much, my
 way of thinking.
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<img class="has-img-center lazyload" alt="the-heartful-chef"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/heartfulchef5_df79ed9c0f.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T08:30:56.174Z" />

<hr class="vertical-space1">
Q: Do you think that the love for this practice and the connection with your guide has
 positively impacted the way that your food turns out?
VS: I always cooked with love from the beginning. I
 used to call it focus. My mentors taught me that it was all about consistency, quality, using proper ingredients,
 and then putting love, putting your heart and cooking. That’s always been there. It wasn’t because of Heartfulness,
 but Heartfulness added a layer to it.
When I came to Kanha two and a half years ago, I visited Daaji. He looked at me, shook
 my hand, and that was it. Later, my brother came, so I went with my brother to Daaji’s apartment. While leaving, at
 the entrance, I started crying. It just happened. And I didn’t know why I was crying. It was like a child missing
 his mom.
My desire was always to cook for Daaji, and during this visit I started cooking for him
 from the first day. Until today, I’ve been cooking for him. That connection between him and I – I don’t ask for
 anything. I don’t want to ask for anything because I don’t need to. I took a break for two days and went to Vizag
 with my wife. I literally started crying in the cab, saying, “Honey, let’s go back. I miss him.” I don’t expect
 anything from him.
When I open my eyes, I think of him. That has improved my cooking a lot. My flavors have
 changed. The way I cook vegetables is different. The way I use spices. The way I create dishes is natural,
 spontaneous, and it just comes automatically now. When I cook for him, I don’t have to plan, it just comes. My love
 toward food has gone up tremendously. It has improved so much.

<hr class="vertical-space1">



<hr>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">The way I create dishes is natural, spontaneous, 
 and it just comes automatically now. 
 My love toward food has gone up tremendously. 
 It has improved so much.</h5>


<hr>

<hr class="vertical-space1">

Q: How do you think your attitude in the kitchen has changed?
VS: There was a tremendous change after practicing
 Heartfulness. Three years ago, when I worked for the W Hotel, I was very tough and very straightforward, I would
 never compromise, and I would yell at my staff. At the end of the day, we all have emotions, so we need to balance
 them. People would sabotage me because I was tough. Ego was there. I was in competition, I was in the newspapers, in
 magazines, and it was a big deal. People would come from the East Coast to try my food. I always wanted more. My
 dream was to get a James Beard Award.
My ego started melting because of this practice. In general, I don’t like to show off,
 and I’m mellow, easy, I need my space. I took Daaji’s advice on how to change, how to look at things in a positive
 way. I had problems with everybody. I looked at the right way, but I didn’t compromise. I wouldn’t let things go.
 Now, every day, I park at my same spot, and before I go inside to work, I pray. I have seen the change, how people
 started approaching me in a positive way. They started approaching me in the kitchen, and that is a big plus.
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<img class="has-img-center lazyload" alt="the-heartful-chef"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/heartfulchef6_12574372e5.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T08:32:00.972Z" />

<hr class="vertical-space1">
Q: Your path during your teens and twenties was unconventional. It was not a
 stereotypical, linear path. I imagine that your parents had moments of deep stress, concern and worry. How has
 your experience impacted the way you parent? What advice would you give to people who are in their teens and
 early twenties who want to follow their passions?
VS: I don’t tell my kids what to do, and what not
 to do. All I tell them is to focus, and put a lot of your love in whatever you do. Don’t give up. Stick to your
 passions. Don’t jump from here to there. Don’t be fickle. Think always that there is a God that is helping you, that
 is always there for you. I don’t see what they study. I don’t go through their homework. I don’t do any of that. I
 am teaching them to be independent, but I’m there for them all the time. With my experiences of what I did in the
 past – smoking and drinking and relationships – I do tell them to be careful.
Every human being makes mistakes. Just don’t repeat the mistakes. I tell my daughter,
 who is sixteen, “If you get a ticket, you will have to pay for it, not just money, but you will have to pay the
 consequences. Do you really want to go through that, or do you just want to be careful?” 
 My son is nineteen: “I know what you do. I’m not asking, but cut it off, don’t do it.” Why? This is the reason. I
 don’t just tell them,“Don’t do it,” I give my own examples as a father and friend to show them why it’s important to
 be careful.

<hr class="vertical-space1">



<hr>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">I don’t tell my kids what to do, 
 and what not to do. 
 All I tell them is to focus, 
 and put a lot of your love 
 in whatever you do.
</h5>


<hr>

<hr class="vertical-space1">

We are missing that relatability between parent and child. Most parents are very
 controlling and they want their children to be doctors and engineers because they are doctors and engineers. But it
 doesn’t make any sense at all. If you want to be a painter, be a painter. If you want to be a magician, be the best
 magician out there. That’s what I tell my children. Be who you are.
We work for money, but that is wrong. Work with compassion, work with love. If you’re
 really interested, do what you want to do. In any field, there is no limit. If you want to be a carpenter, you can
 be the best carpenter. If you want to be a teacher, you can be the best teacher. If you want to be a chef, you can
 be the best chef. That’s how I look at things.
Q: What is the one lesson that has resonated in every moment of your life?
VS: I say, “Be in love, just focus, and think that
 your Beloved is doing everything.” You are just an instrument. Be a perfectionist. Whatever you do, do it perfectly.

<hr class="vertical-space1">


<hr>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">Work with compassion, work with love. 
 If you’re really interested, 
 do what you want to do. 
 In any field, there is no limit.
</h5>


<hr>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<img class="has-img-center lazyload" alt="the-heartful-chef"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/heartfulchef7_3341a49627.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T08:33:05.603Z" />

<hr class="vertical-space1">

<hr>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">Interview by MAMATA VENKAT</h4>

<hr>

The heartful chef

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<h3 class="has-black-color has-text-color">
 Chef VIJAY SAHU has cooked his way from India to Australia, and across
 Thailand, New York, and now Dallas, TX.&nbsp;Here he shares his thoughts on
 preparing a very special meal from the heart, and how important it is to
 fill the food with love.
</h3>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<h2 class="text-left">
 What is heartful
 cooking?
</h2>


 In my view, it is to cook food with love, compassion and gratitude; to cook
 food in remembrance with a balanced mind; and to eat food in a prayerful
 mood.


<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<div class="text-center">
 <img alt="heartful-cooking" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/heartful_cooking3_042b4d7426.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:12:21.954Z" />
</div>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

Here are 10 tips for heartful cooking:

1. Food needs to be simple, fresh, healthy, and tasty.&nbsp;


 2. Cook with a focused mind by centering yourself, and cook food with love
 from your heart.


3. Never cook in a rush.&nbsp;

4. Follow the techniques to create a well-balanced meal.

5. Maintain hygiene in the kitchen and cook in a cleanly manner.

6. Select quality organic ingredients where possible.&nbsp;

7. Serve food with a loving attitude.

8. Eat in a prayerful mood with gratitude.

9. Cook perfectly – not well or great but perfectly.

10. Never waste food because food is prasad from God.

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<div class="block-image">
 <figure class="has-img-center" style="width: 700px !important">
 <img alt="heartful-cooking" class="lazyload w-100"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/heartful_cooking2_9e559f1548.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:45:48.919Z" />
 <figcaption>Pickled beets, poached tomatoes, star fruit, micro nasturtiums</figcaption>
 </figure>
</div>

<hr />

<h4 class="text-center">
 Cook with a focused
 mind by centering yourself, and cook food with love from your heart.
</h4>

<hr />


 Before my visit to Kanha Shanti Vanam earlier this year, I had a strong will
 to cook a Sufi meal for around 300 of the participants of the 150th
 birth anniversary of Lalaji. Sufi cuisine is a combination of Turkish,
 Lebanese, and Persian flavors. I didn’t know how and where I could find
 people to help me with the cooking as well as serving, so I prayed and
 received help from one of the well-known culinary institutes in Hyderabad. I
 didn’t know any of these students, and had never cooked with them. Nor had
 they heard of Sufi cuisine and they were totally new to this world. But I
 had strong faith in my Master, which helped me during the event.


<hr class="vertical-space1" />


<div class="block-image">
 <figure class="has-img-center" style="width: 600px !important">
 <img alt="heartful-cooking" class="lazyload w-100"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/heartful_cooking4_eb69b8d62b.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:52:13.765Z" />
 <figcaption>
 Karinyarik, mujadra, garlic sauce, zaatar oil, gulab
 </figcaption>
</div>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />


<div class="block-image">
 <figure class="has-img-center" style="width: 600px !important">
 <img alt="heartful-cooking" class="lazyload w-100"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/heartful_cooking5_0abb73458f.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:53:37.368Z" />
 <figcaption>Falafel</figcaption>
</div>


 With my will and faith in him, I built my confidence in cooking. During the
 entire evening my focus was only on cooking – how to get authentic flavors
 and presentation to make everyone happy. Without my Master’s help and
 support, I don’t think the event would have been successful. I am 100%
 convinced that it could happen only because of faith and confidence in
 him.&nbsp;


<hr class="vertical-space1" />


<div class="block-image">
 <figure class="has-img-center" style="width: 492px !important">
 <img alt="heartful-cooking" class="lazyload w-100"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/heartful_cooking6_7fce6f2b84.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:54:40.207Z" />
 <figcaption>
 Arugula salad, labneh, sour beet jam, sweet mustard drizzle
 </figcaption>
</div>
<hr class="vertical-space1" />


 I have started applying this new technique both in my spiritual and culinary
 journey. Daaji gave me one piece of advice, which I will remember forever,
 and that is “Listen to your Heart while cooking.” This is really helping me
 a lot.


<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<div class="block-image">
 <figure class="has-img-center" style="width: 492px !important">
 <img alt="heartful-cooking" class="lazyload w-100"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/heartful_cooking7_8cdee4176d.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:55:49.331Z" />
 <figcaption>Aush reshteh soup</figcaption>
</div>

10 tips for heartful cooking

Passionate about saving rare trees, Dr. Juturu combines science and conservation to protect endangered species at the Heartfulness Tree Conservation Center. His work bridges research and restoration, ensuring these trees thrive for future generation.

vijaya-naresh-juturu.webp

Vijaya Naresh Juturu

<h4>B. RATHINASABAPATHY and VIJAYA NARESH JUTURU share how the Heartfulness Institute is preserving a tree steeped in legend and ecological significance.</h4>Among India’s sacred trees, few carry a story as tender as the Krishna Buttercup Tree. Its leaves, folded like tiny cups, are believed to have once held butter lovingly taken by young Lord Krishna. A tree with a legend etched in its leaves, it continues to inspire devotion, ecological respect, and conservation efforts to this day.<h4 style="text-align:justify;">A Legend Written in Leaves</h4>The Krishna Buttercup Tree (Ficus krishnae) is a unique species of fig, celebrated for its spiritually evocative leaf structure. Each leaf forms a natural cup or pouch—a feature deeply intertwined with Hindu mythology. According to popular lore, young Lord Krishna once stole butter and, to avoid being caught, hid it in a curled leaf. This legend gave rise to the tree’s name and its affectionate moniker: the buttercup tree. This story has kept the tree sacred for centuries, and its curled leaf is regarded as a divine signature—a living relic of Lord Krishna’s playful devotion.<h4 style="text-align:justify;">A Tree Struggling to Survive</h4>Unlike many other fig species, Ficus krishnae faces unique biological constraints that make natural regeneration extremely difficult. Studies have shown that only about 10% of seedlings grown from its seeds remain true to type, while nearly 90% revert to the common Ficus benghalensis. This means that even when seeds germinate, the chances of preserving the unique identity of Ficus krishnae are very low.Additionally, the species relies on specialized pollinators, whose decline further disrupts its reproductive cycle. These compounded biological constraints place the tree at high risk of vanishing from its natural landscapes.<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Conservation at Heartfulness Tree Conservation Center</h4>To safeguard this culturally and ecologically significant species, the Heartfulness Institute, through the Heartfulness Tree Conservation Center, has undertaken extensive research on clonal propagation techniques. Propagation methods such as stem cuttings, air-layering, and tissue culture were systematically attempted to overcome the limitations of natural seed-based reproduction. Among these, tissue culture emerged as the most effective and reliable approach. Years of dedicated experimentation have enabled the development of robust protocols that ensure not only high survival and multiplication rates but also the preservation of the true genetic identity of Ficus krishnae in every sapling produced. As a result, hundreds of healthy saplings have been successfully raised at the center, a significant proportion of which are being distributed across diverse regions under our ex situ conservation programs. These efforts represent a critical step toward ensuring the long-term survival and restoration of this rare and culturally revered species. Beyond conserving a single rare tree, this work embodies the harmony between science and spirituality—protecting biodiversity while honoring cultural heritage.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/krishna_buttercup_tree2_6c27c4965e.webp" alt="krishna-buttercup-tree2.webp"><figcaption>Krishna Fig leaf—front and back, revealing its divine scoop, said to cradle Lord Krishna’s butter.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<h4 style="text-align:justify;">Why This Tree Matters</h4>Conserving Ficus krishnae is not just about protecting one species. It represents a broader message about the delicate balance between nature and culture, science and <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/creativity-and-spirituality" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">spirituality</a>. Every threatened species lost is a thread removed from the intricate web of biodiversity, weakening ecosystems and diminishing cultural heritage.&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Beyond conserving a single rare tree, this work embodies the harmony between science and spirituality—protecting biodiversity while honoring cultural heritage.</h4><hr><figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/krishna_buttercup_tree3_cb1f8a1b08.webp" alt="krishna-buttercup-tree3.webp"><figcaption>Krishna Fig—Planted in devotion (2021) nurtured by time, now a sacred shelter of grace (2025).</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;At Heartfulness Institute, we believe conservation is both a scientific responsibility and a spiritual duty. Through our work with Ficus krishnae, we aim to set an example of how modern propagation techniques, combined with cultural wisdom, can address the challenges of conserving rare and threatened species.<h4 style="text-align:justify;">A Tree Worthy of Worship and Wisdom</h4>Krishna Buttercup Tree reminds us that every leaf can tell a story—in this case, a divine tale with ecological urgency. It connects the ancient with the future, myth with science, and devotion with action. May the curled leaf of Ficus krishnae inspire us to protect not only our sacred stories, but also the <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/think-ecosystem" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ecosystems</a> that hold them.The Krishna Buttercup Tree is more than a botanical rarity. It is a living link between myth and ecology, faith and responsibility. More than a tree, it is a story. A place where devotion meets conservation, and every leaf whispers a timeless bond between nature and faith.&nbsp;

The Krishna Buttercup Tree

Viji Balasubramanian is a counsellor and professional coach who lives in the U.S.A. &nbsp;With a background in biomedical clinical research and academia, she later became a psychologist and professional coach, empowering people from all walks of life to maximise their potential and shape their well-being and success. She coordinates the Heartfulness CARE for Cancer Program, and is a Heartfulness trainer and practitioner.

viji-balasubramanian-img.jpg

Viji Balasubramanian

<h4 style="text-align: justify;">VIJI BALASUBRAMANIAN takes us, along with her family, on a journey of discovery and
 bonding in a tiger reserve in Kerala India.</h4>
<hr />
<img class="img-float-right has-img-center-in-mobile"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/magnificent_mother_nature_img_1_dbe918cb43.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-29T11:06:17.407Z"
 alt="mother-nature-tiger" width="400" style="width: 400px !important;" />The plan was to take a trip with our
 extended family during the school holidays. We remembered a talk given by Ms Srilekha Venkateswar from The Wild Walk
 (www.thewildwalk.com) at our school’s annual day function. She said that today’s parents think they are bonding with
 their children in front of the TV or in the shopping mall, but that’s not bonding. Real bonding is when we are
 together in Nature, one with our natures, one with each other – our humble selves with magnificent Mother Nature. So,
 off we went, young, old, all in tow, to the Parambikulam Forest Tiger Preserve in Kerala, southern India.
Those four days were filled with so much serenity. I found myself going down on my knees
 to my children’s height while we chatted and it seemed so much more connected. We drank tea from the hut of an 80-year
 old man who was not a tribal native, but had come there as a young man to help build the dams. He had so many stories.
 His self-sufficiency and ability to walk effortlessly through the slopes of the forest were amazing. We slept in tents
 that were so simple yet very modern and convenient. Peacocks climbed on the roofs of the tents and all night long they
 kept ‘talking’ to each other.
<hr />

<h5 style="text-align: center;">All zipped up in a tent … 
 Excited to be in the jungle … 
 Alligators basking in the sun … 
 Peacocks by the dozen, dancing 
 in their colours … 
 Elephants in plenty caring for 
 one baby calf … 
 Spotted and Samba deers with 
 their beautiful eyes … 
 The majestic Indian Gaur … 
 I think I almost saw the flower 
 fairies … maybe in my heart. 
 Magical, 
 magical, 
 magical.</h5>
<hr />
The morning walk by the river was gorgeous. “Look mom, elephant poop. Wow it is huge!”
 My daughter had her binoculars and was able to see the Malabar kingfisher and the hornbills. So many peacocks graced
 our morning walks with their pretty dances.
The astonishing thing was that these safari rides, boat rides and walks filled us inside
 out in a strange way. We would come back for food and respite and everybody would be silent. Just as I thought, “Maybe
 they are getting bored,” somebody would pipe up, “Did you see that Malabar squirrel and the way it was moving from
 branch to branch?” or “Did you see the Langoor black monkey that was hanging upside down?” And there would be a glow
 on everyone’s faces again.
Treasures ...
 Memories …
<img class="my-4 w-100"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/magnificent_mother_nature_img_2_a4d6a0ff84.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-29T11:13:43.932Z"
 alt="mother-nature" />I did not know how my five-year-old would fare. Taking him along was a good lesson for me as a
parent. Never  underestimate them – their love for nature, their curiosity, and their enthusiasm for the wild.

On the second day he commented, “If we are going to journey through the forest to see the ‘same’ animals again I am not
coming. I’m going to stay in the tent with thatta and patti and speak with the peacocks.” Come time to explore again,
however, he was the first one to roll out, and after a five-hour safari he put his head to rest sleepily on me. But
every time the bus slowed down to let a deer or bison pass, he would wake up to look and tell me if it was a Samba deer
or a spotted deer. The child behind so excitedly remarked, “Bison! Look! Bison!” My son sleepily said, “No amma, that’s
a Gaur. Bisons don’t live in India.’ Wow! I wish all learning was this practical, straight into the head and heart. Some
day.
<hr />

<h4 style="text-align: center;">Article by VIJI BALASUBRAMANIAN</h4>
<hr />

Magnificent Mother Nature

In today’s technological era, Vikram is dedicated to keeping the tradition of storytelling alive. Calling it “an art form as old as human existence itself,” this former software engineer uses storytelling as a bridge between the young and the old. Vikram is the mind behind Around the Story Tree, a conservation initiative through storytelling, and the main contact for the marketing and publicity of Tahatto, a Bangalore-based theater group. He is a frequent TEDx speaker.

Vikram-Sridhar.jpg

Vikram Sridhar

<img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/storyteller2_a42e0971d4.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-06T11:04:29.191Z"><h3 style="text-align:center;">… THERE WAS A STORYTELLER</h3><h4>VIKRAM SRIDHAR is a modern day storyteller from Bangalore, India. Here he shares with MEGHANA ANAND some insights about the art of storytelling and how it is an enabler of the wisdom bridge.</h4>Q: Hi Vikram. Tell us how you came to be a storyteller.VS: Storytelling connects three broad areas of my interest – theater, conservation and social work – though my academic qualification is in engineering and management. Theater for me meant acting, production, backstage, and ticketing; basically producing a play. I used to work with wildlife organizations in the rescue space in Bangalore, rescuing kites, monkeys and snakes. I also used to work with children, senior citizens and others in the social sector.Storytelling first happened once when someone asked me, as a theater person, to come and tell a story. But when I looked at the story world a little more deeply, I understood that actually every folktale has flora and fauna deeply embedded in it. And if you extrapolate that into Indian mythology also, every deity has an animal or a bird and a tree or a plant. That means conservation is not outside, it’s already there in our households and folklore, and these stories are what we today call folktales.Conservation is not only about flora and fauna. It can be about our languages, the textiles we wear, and even our emotions. For example, how do you express anger? How do you use it? That is conserving your own emotions. The Bhagavad Gita says, “Ahankaram balam darpam kamam krodham,” meaning, “Arrogance, strength, pride, lust and anger.” These are all part of our emotional palette. Every story has these emotions. Either as a listener or as a teller we are going through these emotions. That’s what makes us human beings.What I love from a theater perspective is that it is not about performing on stage, where I need to learn lines by-heart. Storytelling is more candid and more open. Second, I can see the audience’s reactions and change or adapt, by listening to their voices. And third, now I had a tool for social work, and in today’s times you definitely need a tool to make a change. That’s what happened.I realized that I love being in spaces with children, telling them stories. Who doesn’t like to laugh? So from the Spastic Society to an old-age home to an orphanage, even in hospitals sometimes, story is a medium that I use. It is not only about going to different spaces; even speaking to another human being itself is social work. In today’s times, when people need a lot more of a human voice, just listening itself is therapeutic.Q: Absolutely. So what kind of stories do you narrate? From where do you get your inspiration and what is the source of your stories?VS:&nbsp;In today’s world, a huge chunk of what we call folktales, which connect us from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from Gujarat to Arunachal, are found only in the children’s section of bookstores. That is my source. A lot of revival has happened in poetry today, but these folktales that have come down to us through generations, are today to be found in books in the children’s section mostly. Of course I give credit to the writers who have documented them. But this is an oral tradition of our country, and when it is no longer orally transmitted, there is no longer life in it.So my source is just these pure simple tales – The Panchatantra, The Jataka, and even The Stories of King Vikramaditya. If you go deeper into the Vikramaditya stories, there is so much more from an adult’s emotional perspective. Today who knows these stories? They are profound, and told in a simple language which can be understood. For a child it may be just a joke, but for an adult it’s such a strong thing.So my source is digging the folktales of our country itself. Every state has thousands and thousands of folktales, and that’s where I start my collection. The word ‘folklore’ means ‘wisdom of people’, so it could be anything from Tenali Raman to Birbal, Rabindranath Tagore to Bharatiyar. It could be stories from the history of known people and unknown people, stories about the origin of food and so on.So one source is definitely folktales, and the other is listening and digging deeper, questioning. When I question, I discover that everything has a story.Q: Who are your audiences? How do they respond to your sessions?VS:&nbsp;My assumption is that human beings like to listen to stories. We assume that children are the ones who love stories, whereas I feel that anybody who is emotional will love stories. And I think everyone is emotional.It’s also a journey for me. Even if I don’t achieve a certain emotional response today, it may happen tomorrow. I am not a storyteller; I am trying to be a storyteller. I may be a storyteller tomorrow and then I will connect more with someone.Each person responds based on their baggage – on their mindset, how their day passed, and so on. For children there is absolutely no yesterday, today or tomorrow, and that’s the ideal state that we all try to reach. As adults, we are constrained by the traffic, what we are going to make or eat for dinner, and in that, how we express our emotions. So, depending on the day people react to the stories differently.Q: Storytelling for children is popular, but what triggered you to reach out to adults through this medium?VS:&nbsp;One trigger was definitely discovering a deeper meaning to the stories we generally tell, like The Hare and the Tortoise. It’s a story we tell children about life, but if you look at it deeper, are we a mammal like the hare or a reptile like the tortoise? Are we running life like the hare or are we walking life like a tortoise?The original story is in <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/the-tale-of-tales" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Aesop’s Fables</a>; Aesop was a somewhat romanticized character who is depicted as a Greek slave who was freed because of his cleverness, and ended up becoming an advisor to kings and city states. From the little bit of travel that I have done, I have come across the phrase “Haraka haraka haina baraka”, which is a proverb in Swahili that means “Haste makes waste” (Literally it means “Hurry, hurry, no blessing”). In Hindi, it’s dhire dhire (slowly, slowly); in Tamil, arakka parakka (hurry-burry).<img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/storyteller3_ac6a5b8a1f.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-06T11:06:02.968Z">And in Sevagram, where Gandhi lived, there’s a huge placard which says “Mad Rush,” and he talks about how the world will keep running. He quotes Aristotle, Socrates, Vivekananda, Buddha, and says that every generation will have people running, running, running. There will only be a few who run slow. And when these runners look back in life, it will be an empty road. Now if you look at The Hare and the Tortoise story from this perspective, it’s symbolic of this fact of life. And that for me was a trigger.The second trigger was when I went to the Sabarmati Ashram about two or three years back. I was at their bookstore, and there were these three monkeys that Gandhi is famous for. A grandparent was showing the three monkeys to the grandchild, asking, “You know what these three are?” And the grandchild said, “Speak no evil; hear no evil; see no evil.” I wondered, “Is the child seeing evil, hearing evil or speaking evil? Shouldn’t we be instead asking ourselves? That means the stories we are trying to tell our children are actually meant for ourselves.”That for me was a big trigger. Maybe that is why adults tell stories! It was not for the children but for the sake of themselves. We are telling stories to ourselves and the children are merely spectators. We are bombarding the spectators today and expecting children to know everything, whereas us adults have lost the charm of relating to something wonderful.Q: How far does this tradition of storytelling go back?VS:&nbsp;&nbsp;I think it is from the time we had to do time-pass. Somebody told me a beautiful thing, “Life is between birth and death, and in between we are time-passing.” And if you look at our basic needs, and you take them away, aren’t we doing just storytelling in between? For example, apart from hunting and gathering, our ancestors did storytelling. You can see it in cave paintings and cave architecture.If you look at storytelling as plain art, it has a start, an end, and in between there’s a curve of adventure, and we either go to a new state or we come back to the earlier state, transformed. That is a simple way to look at a story.Q: Storytelling is an age-old tradition: it’s a pity we see it dying today. How do we keep it alive for the future generations?VS:&nbsp;I think as long as human beings are there in this world, there will be arts. The mediums for these traditional arts will definitely adapt and go on. Unfortunately the word ‘storytelling’ is skewed, because today everyone is a storyteller. A moviemaker is a storyteller, a photographer is a storyteller. I don’t have a word for myself; I sometimes wonder what I should call myself. I am just a storyteller. The media have changed. There is now a movie maker and a storywriter.What storytelling means etymologically is ‘something told by a human being orally’. So as far as human beings are there, and as far as there’s a need to listen to the human voice, storytelling will exist. The media of course will change based on distance and time.<hr><h5 style="text-align:center;">Storytelling is an educational tool. It is a performance.&nbsp;It is connecting. When you do any art form – not only storytelling – you express&nbsp;and touch others with your emotions.</h5><hr>Q: How is storytelling therapeutic?VS:&nbsp;Storytelling is an educational tool. It is a performance. It is connecting. When you do any art form – not only storytelling – you express and touch others with your emotions.Why do you feel so relaxed when you listen to a song? You may not have even seen the person in your life, but their singing immediately triggers something within you. It is because the human voice is a deeper connector than a visual. So when you throw it on the mike, you are touching the audience in some way – it’s a comfort. And comfort is a therapy in itself.If I go deeper, when I am performing the story live in front of an audience, it has something to do with Nada Yoga, the Yoga of Sound, which is the bhava, the voice from within. This voice from within is why we do a satsangh or sing together. And as much as there is silence-soundsilence, there is sound-silence-sound. Nada comes from different parts of our body.<img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/storyteller4_0994a1377f.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-06T11:07:12.267Z">The Indian system of Nada is from our nabhi, the navel. When you listen to someone’s voice, you are receiving that voice, that energy, and cleansing your own self with it. Your voice takes a form with your riyaz, your practice, your energy. That is why when you speak to people, you find some energies are positive and some are negative.And because storytelling itself is an oral tradition, I believe Nada Yoga is a sublime part of it. It means that the sound which comes from me has to be with the right mindset, with positivity, with the right lifestyle. My own riyaz has to be solid, because when it is expressed through the voice, there are at least 20 pairs of ears listening. The voice is flowing into their body and doing something to the listener.<hr><h5 style="text-align:center;">“Once upon a time” for me is simply going into your own self, away from everything else.&nbsp;It’s detoxing in a different way, because in that one hour,&nbsp;how many people are actually thinking of something else?&nbsp;It’s just my space, my spiritual space.</h5><hr>Q: You have practically covered almost all parts of India with your storytelling performances. Do you have any plans of taking your stories abroad?VS:&nbsp;I want to cover the country more, because I think this country itself is so large. I traveled abroad in my professional life when I was working with an IT giant, but as far as storytelling is concerned, this country itself is enough. If in the process I have to go outside, it’s okay, but the number of children in India itself is humongous.I can be myself here. When I was in Srinagar in Kashmir, it was amazing to see the children there laugh aloud. I find joy in that. There is enough work to be done here as a storyteller, I feel, and I am happy with that. I think it’s an ocean.I’ve started to also look at the lullabies of our land. Lullabies are such important oral traditions, which don’t have words. In a recent session I tried this lullaby that I’d learnt for the first time, and the children said, “Can you sing it again? We want to lie on your lap and sleep.” And they slept! One child was lying on my lap while I was singing. It was really beautiful.Q: Is there any single underlying message that you carry through your stories?VS:&nbsp;If at all anything, I would like my stories to inspire children to just love being in this world, instead of saying, “Why am I born into this world?” Children should be allowed to celebrate life. Everything is a celebration. Today is a celebration; this moment is a celebration.And for the adults my message is that no one is perfect. That’s something I have accepted a long time back. I find the perfect in the imperfect. Who has not been guilty? We are human beings, and the idea of presenting ourselves into this world is maybe just to understand this and come back. Imperfection is something very beautiful.Q: That’s very motivating. What does the art of storytelling mean to you personally?VS:&nbsp;It’s my mode to fulfill my spiritual, emotional and financial needs. Some people do three different things in life to satisfy these three needs, and I used to do that once upon a time. But today my spiritual, emotional and financial – everything is storytelling. I don’t bring in anything and I don’t take back anything. I am there for today and in that sense I am not cluttering the world.Q: That brings us to the last question: As a storyteller, what does “Once upon a time” mean to you?VS: “Once upon a time” for me is simply going into your own self, away from everything else. It’s detoxing in a different way, because in that one hour, how many people are actually thinking of something else? It’s just my space, my spiritual space. I go completely gaga, and I don’t know what’s happening on any side. When I say or hear “Once upon a time”, it’s a different form of meditation in that space. And when so many people come together in that space, it’s a journey that can happen only once in a lifetime.Q: Thank you so much Vikram, and I wish you all the very best.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Interviewed by MEGHANA ANAND</h4><hr>

Once upon a time ...

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Vinoba Bhave

Nothing is so powerful as love and thought

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Violeta Chamorro

Reconciliation

Virginia is a multi lingual intercultural relations consultant, health, wellness and neuro language coach, with over 25 years experience. Virginia helps professionals cultivate language skills and adapt to new environments and lifestyles. Virginia explores the role of neuroscience in learning, evolving value systems, and the significance of inner alignment for outer change.

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Virginia Cutchin

<h4>VIRGINIA CUTCHIN is a multilingual intercultural consultant and neurolanguage® coach who helps professionals cultivate language skills and adapt to new environments and lifestyles. Here, JAYATI DESAI of the Heartfulness Institute interviews Virginia about the role of neuroscience in bridging intercultural differences and learning new languages.</h4><hr>Q: Welcome Virginia. Despite the globalization of the workforce, there are still differences in the attitudes and ways we work around the world. I am curious to understand how neurolanguage coaching helps us to collaborate more effectively.VC: Sure. First, let me thank you for this chat.Neurolanguage coaching was developed and registered by a wonderful woman named Rachel Paling, who established a worldwide network of neurolanguage coaches. It is a method of language acquisition and learning that places heavy emphasis on neuroscience – how brains like to learn.All brains are basically the same, but with subtle differences that play out in how we interpret challenges – what happens when we feel anxious or threatened. This happens when we learn something, like learning to drive or learning a new language, especially when the pressure to learn is great.Neurolanguage coaching is a process of co-creation with the learner, considering every learner as a unique case and discovering how best they learn. We present information to them accordingly and keep them as engaged as possible from the very beginning. An absolute beginner who doesn’t know anything about the language can speak and remember in a short amount of time, just by knowing how the brain accesses different blocks of information.<hr><hr><h4>Neurolanguage coaching is a process of&nbsp; co-creation with the learner,&nbsp; considering every learner as a unique case and&nbsp; discovering how best they learn.</h4><hr><hr>Q: Our understanding is that children absorb information and learn new languages faster than adults. Does this method specifically cater to children or adults?VC: It’s for both. My clients include 7-year-old children and 60-year-old adults. We do take into consideration that children learn faster, so our approach is tailored to their energy level, their brainwave patterns, the development of the physical brain, and the physical capacity to learn the language. It’s fascinating, because it allows us to engage at such a personal level that it builds closeness and trust very quickly, and that’s lasting.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/language_culture3_700x466_823e75f57d.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T12:44:02.687Z" alt=""><hr>Q: So, is this method faster than traditional methods?&nbsp;VC: Yes, there is evidence that those who use neurolanguage coaching learn the language faster. Neurolanguage coaching focuses on mechanical skills, such as grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary, and also mastery skills, such as subject matter and target audience? What do you need to learn about? If you’re using it for business, you don’t need to know how to ride a bicycle, you need to know how to negotiate.Neurolanguage coaching is tailor-made to the specific needs of the learner. It’s dynamic, so the learner stays engaged throughout the coaching, as they help identify what is to be learned. It is meaningful and relevant for the learner.I lived in Italy as a teenager, and I’ve forgotten most of my Italian, so I’m going to re-learn it using this method. There are language families across the world, and we are constantly building bridges from your native language to the target language that you want to learn. And even though it could be wildly different, say English and Chinese, there are connections to be made, and the brain loves connections and patterns, and to be as efficient as possible. When we can build those bridges – we call it scaffolding –starting from a good foundation, connections between languages are made quickly.Q: Scaffolding and building bridges between languages was the crux of the cultural counseling you provided me. But there is still a blind spot when we move from one part of the world to another, and work with people who have a different primary language and a different understanding of the language spoken.In your role as a cultural awareness counselor, how do you enable people to make that link between different cultures?VC: That’s a great question. We know that when people feel anxious or incompetent, when they don’t know what their role is, or where to buy socks in a new country, the learning part of the brain shuts down. Not completely, but we have less access to it, because at that point the brain wants to survive and protect us. Whether it’s protecting us physically, emotionally, or protecting our self-esteem, it is one of the components of culture shock or transition stress. The harder we try to learn in fight-or-flight mode, the less effective we are.My background in intercultural training informs my activities as a language coach, and vice versa, because we learn best when we are calm and centered. Different brains accomplish calm in different ways, but physiology is physiology. When we practice techniques to keep the brain calm, it’s fascinating how much we can learn.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/language_culture2_700x466_2407ae9dce.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T12:44:45.346Z" alt=""><hr>Q: Are there any specific hacks we can apply? When we onboard new staff into their roles, I see them panic or become nervous when they’re being presented with a lot of new information. What are some techniques we can apply to calm down?VC: You can’t be anxious and relaxed at the same time. Many years ago, I was in the dentist’s chair. I was already anticipating the drill in my mouth and I was getting anxious. So, I focused on relaxing my hands on my lap and I laser focused on feeling relaxed. I did some deep breathing because oxygen in the blood is key to relaxation. If the mitochondria in your cells don’t have oxygen, you don’t have energy. I’m in the dentist’s chair and I’m actively practicing relaxation, and all of a sudden the procedure was done.It’s not that we must use consciousness that way, but just two minutes of relaxation and deep breathing can change your brainwave patterns. It’s a paradigm shift. I do it when I’m practicing coaching or training, or whenever someone is anxious. It’s such a simple technique that’s 100% effective.Q: I can totally relate because Heartfulness Relaxation is recommended when you feel anxious or need to center yourself.VC: It’s often passed off as trivial, but it’s truly effective. Everyone can try it out intentionally.To be continued.<hr><hr><h4>Interview by JAYATI DESAI</h4><hr>

Language and Culture

<h4>VIRGINIA CUTCHIN is a multilingual, intercultural relations consultant, a health and wellness coach, and a neurolanguage® coach. In part 2 of her interview with JAYATI DESAI, Virginia talks about how values evolve.</h4><hr>Q: You have spoken about acquired versus core values, and how they are likely to shift when we move from one place to another. We are taught a set of values by our family and immediate surroundings when we are young, and as we maneuver though different stages of life those core values may evolve. How can we differentiate between the two, and develop a better understanding of ourselves and our values?VC: Great question. When I encounter difficulty and confusion in identifying an underlying value, I ask myself, “What is it that you can’t not do?”What is it that you can’t help but do every day? How is it that you must show up in the world, because not doing that creates such discomfort. This is different from your comfort zone. A core value is something you can’t not do, whether it’s an activity or a way of thinking. Sometimes, it has to do with your DNA, and what’s passed on.If it is not something you have to do, then it’s probably an acquired value. Acquired values come early in life. We learn them from parents, siblings, teachers, friends, the neighborhood, guests, and television. We evaluate everything that comes into our world, and sense it as a possible acquired value. Because we are constantly bombarded with external influences, we owe it to ourselves to manage the incoming assault of influences and to take time to really untie the knot of what is a core value and what is an acquired value.When people move to different countries, or when they acquire a new language and the idiosyncrasies of that new language, sometimes confusion, disappointment, or anger can come from the clash of their core values versus incoming influences.I’ve rejected some of my acquired values because they conflicted with my core values. Some acquired values served me well, helped me serve others – so I keep those. I’ve lived in other countries and I’ve been able to evaluate a lot. You can’t choose your core values, though. You can modify them, but you can’t reject them, because they are so essential to your being. Personal reflection is essential to keep your values in check.Q: I’m curious – based on the number of people you’ve coached over the years across the world, do you see any patterns in the way values are evolving or shifting in the last few years?VC: Yes, absolutely. In the past couple of years, as the world has been impacted by the pandemic, I see a couple of things happening. Those who benefited from the pre-Covid materialist world want to hang on to it and rebuild it into what it was before. For others, there’s more willingness to explore core values, consciousness, and to question our willingness to adhere to the old ways. There are those who say, “Wait a second. This doesn’t feel right, look right, or serve me anymore.”We are willing to be more discerning. We are willing to assert what works and doesn’t work for us anymore. According to me, this comes from a long history of self-reflection and growth. It boils down to alignment with the inner Self.<img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Evolving_social_values2_700x466_03e6e6b017.jpg" alt="">Q: In an earlier conversation, you mentioned our relationship with nature, and aligning our core values to the internal and external environment. Can you elaborate on that?VC: It’s been liberating for me to go small. A huge revelation for me has been the recognition that when we are in the present we aren’t thinking about anything else. I am aware of my feet as I walk, the breeze and the sunlight on my face, and the feeling of my dogs’ leads in my hand as I take them for a walk. I became aware of the fact that I have enormous power to affect my immediate environment with my energy level. We are exchanging energy with the environment all the time, and I want that energy to be positive, because that’s what I want from the universe.I start every day by breathing in the goodness of the universe. The universe is governing without any judgment. I breathe out what I’m willing to do on my part. It could be showing gratitude, or it could be acknowledging fear and embracing the protection of the universe and my well-wishers.&nbsp; I’m willing to go very small and realize that I can only affect my little world that fits inside a hula hoop. That’s all I can influence. If we all uplifted our world with good energy, the world would be uplifted.Everything we see in nature has the whole universe inside of it. One of my favorite quotes is “Even the smallest flame has all the qualities of fire.” Whether it’s a little child or the trees, the entire universe is inside them. It’s right there, it’s limitless, it’s accessible, and it’s limited by our willingness to tap into it. If I’m in alignment with myself and the natural world, eventually it translates into better alignment with society at large, with the people around me.<hr><h4>Everything we see in nature has the whole universe inside of it.</h4><hr>Sometimes people don’t want change, don’t like realignment; but I am under no obligation to perpetuate that which does not work for me anymore – if it doesn’t allow me to show up as my best self in the world then I can reject it. That’s my obligation. I’m a part of many different communities, as we all are. My strongest, most meaningful community is with those people who are showing up, trying to be their best selves so they can help others be their best selves. There is so much ego-less ness in that, it’s absolutely intoxicating. Everyday, I wake up with this energy, this determination and gratitude to show up in the world and do what life expects and asks of me that day.To be continued.

Evolving social values

<h4>VIRGINIA CUTCHIN is a multilingual intercultural relations consultant, a health and wellness coach, and a neurolanguage® coach. In part 3 of her interview with JAYATI DESAI, Virginia talks about building trust-based relationships and building community through communication.</h4><hr>Q: How can we make conscious changes in the ways and means we communicate, in order to develop authentic connections?VC: It comes down to core values and acquired values, and making adjustments. We need not negotiate on core values, but we can be flexible with acquired values, regardless of how strong they are.I love what you said about communicating versus connecting. Language is much more than words. Take a look at the communicative heritage between humans and other animals. They communicate well – they exchange a few words, but it’s mostly tone of voice and how they approach, whether it’s welcoming or menacing. We have this enormous communicative power and a large part of it is nonverbal. Our presence speaks for itself.Because of the world we live in, we often lose touch with our core values. We get on the treadmill, and we run to try to keep up. I have done that, too, in the past, but I know that I am a product of my choices. Habits are choices that are repeated. If I want to be a different product, I change my choices. I change my habits. Right now I am a product of that effort,and there is a lot of “been there, done that” in my past. Not all of it is pleasant. So I am changing the choices I make today. I focus on the end goal and on the systems in my life that support that goal. If I fail, it’s not because I’m a horrible person, it’s because the systems don’t support that goal effectively. I have learned this from James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits. It’s helpful to focus on the systems that support my progress.Q: A lot of our readers are young professionals, constantly working to evolve in all aspects of life. Do you have any suggestions on how to overcome stereotypes, and how to cultivate empathy, alignment, and connection when building authentic relationships?VC: The first thing is to develop a sense of curiosity about others and yourself.The second thing is the suspension of judgment, which is one of the most effective skills anyone can develop, including young professionals.What do I mean by that? When we witness a situation or have an experience with another person, so often we jump to an evaluation, largely to protect ourselves so that we know how to respond. We are constantly evaluating because our brain is constantly scanning the environment for threatening situations. Some of that is physiological and we can’t completely escape it, but we can override it by developing a healthy sense of curiosity to find out why it is happening. We can use that curiosity and test the boundaries of our own vulnerability. We are a lot stronger than we think we are. The brain is going to protect us regardless. So while trusting that it will continue to do what it does best, we can test the boundaries of our own vulnerability.The third this is developing self-confidence, which comes from knowing what your core values are, knowing what your boundaries are, and knowing that sometimes your boundaries can be flexible and sometimes they can’t, and that’s okay.It helps to know that people from different cultures behave, respond, react, and initiate differently, so developing curiosity without judgment is really important. At the same time, if we are going to live in the world we have to adapt to certain things like credentials, education, etc. We don’t need to reject those things, we just have to choose the life we want to live. When we suspend judgment, we don’t have to criticize, we just have to discern.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Building_Community_Through_Communication1_1_700x303_b5dd2fd8fc.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-11T13:28:57.773Z" alt="Building-Community-Through-Communication1-1"><hr>Q: Any final messages for our readers?VC: Don’t be afraid to participate. We’re all involved in a lot of meetings and networking events, and we are sometimes tempted to say, “I’m not going to say anything. I’m just here to learn.” That’s great, but what if everyone did that? We’d all be sitting around looking at each other. An affirmation I set for myself many years ago is, “Today I choose to participate in the abundance of life.” If it resonates, you’re welcome to take it.Today, make a conscious choice to participate in the abundance of life that is there. Whether we stay home, unable to go out, we are connected through the energy of the universe. When we recognize that, we welcome it into our lives. Participate means to show up. Be an active participant in your own life. You don’t get to judge the value of what you contribute – you just have to put it out there with a positive intention.Q: That was incredibly inspiring, Virginia! Thank you so much for sharing that.VC: Thank you, it’s been an absolute delight.

Building community through communication

Virginia Woolf was an English writer. She is considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device.

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Virginia Woolf

Creative power

Vivan is the Managing Director of Yesha Electricals, is a trained pilot and was the President of the Gujarat Flying Institute for 15 years, and is currently chairman of an industry association in Gorwa Vadodara. He has been a Heartfulness trainer since 2015.

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Vivan Patel

<h4>VIVAN PATEL decided it was time to build cognitive reserve in his brain by doing a few simple tasks. The results speak for themselves: he became much more aware instead of functioning on autopilot.</h4><hr>In order to build and retain cognitive reserve, our brain needs fresh challenges almost on a daily basis to keep our neural pathways open and maintain a healthy central nervous system. I decided to take up this challenge by practicing a few simple exercises I learned in the Brighter Minds Restart program for adults.One of the things I took up first was to take a different route to work and try to take only left turns to get to the office and … well, it’s not always possible! I was able to make it eventually but I had to get quite creative and think of different options while I was driving. I was fully aware rather than operating like we normally do from the subconscious mind and following our habitual patterns.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Jump_Start_Your_Brain2_187006091a.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T06:15:37.620Z" alt="jump-start-your-brain"><hr><hr><h4>In order to build and retain cognitive reserve, our brain needs&nbsp; fresh challenges almost on a daily basis to keep our neural pathways open&nbsp; and maintain a healthy central nervous system.</h4><hr><hr>The other thing I tried was cycling to work, which is actually quite amazing because I was able to observe things minutely as well as engage all the senses. For instance, cycling behind a fruit vendor’s cart I could actually smell the bananas. Curiously, depending on how ripe the bananas were, I could perceive different smells on different days – I began to understand the different stages of ripening and whether they were ready to eat simply by cycling in their wake!The olfactory experience is really something you cannot ignore when you’re on a bike. I would pass by some popup shops and street vendors, each selling a different snack with its telltale aromas. I learned about other people’s eating habits on a working day and, more interestingly, how the different vendors engage with their clientele. I missed all this from the car with the windows rolled up and the AC on. I became more observant of the faces of these vendors as I passed by, noting their expressions. When you do this for a few days, they start smiling at you because they see you every day, and you form a connection by this gesture of acknowledgment!You see, and you can hear the birds, especially early in the morning, something that you miss out on completely while driving. I observed that some birds had a preference for certain trees – some trees were teeming with them and others not as popular. Maybe it was the berries or fruit that attracted them.At the same time, I began to appreciate the difficulties that cyclists face. One of the biggest disturbances I found was the constant honking of vehicles. In a car you are insulated from even your own honking, because cars nowadays are so well sound insulated. It’s actually very irritating for other people out there, cyclists and pedestrians. Another appalling discovery was how some people don’t take cyclists into consideration, and instead tend to “nudge” them aside and not give way. It actually felt somewhat disconcerting to be riding a bicycle in peak hour in the hurtling traffic.The other activity I took up while cycling was alternating finger exercises with my hands on the handlebar. I could only do this when the road was empty, as I didn’t want to risk running into something, ha ha! I rediscovered my neighborhood by noticing different signs, even the little ones stuck on trees by vendors, for example someone selling coconuts or an advertisement for after-school tuition.Another challenging thing I did is to use my less dominant hand to do the daily tasks. I used my left hand to brush my teeth, shave, and eat my food. I would walk backward whenever I had the opportunity, especially when going up stairs. I would wake up to a different alarm tone, and this would surprise me awake rather than make me groan. Something fun we tried as a family is eating a meal in silence, using only visual clues. Another was trying to use the mobile phone upside down – this was frustrating and hilarious at the same time.All this made me more mindful, aware of every activity. I didn’t operate on autopilot in a habitual manner. Instead, thought went into every moment. Just this recalibration stimulated my neural pathways!<hr><hr><h4>Illustrations by ANANYA PATEL</h4><hr>

Jump start your brain

Wakanyi is a Global Education Specialist, writer, editor, storyteller, and founder of the African Folktales Project. The theme of peaceful, cross-cultural cooperation is a common thread in her writing and personal life. For more than a decade she has lived in 7 countries, on 3 continents, as a global nomad, developing a rich intercultural intelligence built upon her training as a journalist.

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Wakanyi Hoffman

<h4>WAKANYI HOFFMAN is a Global Education Specialist and founder of the African Folktales Project. Here, she speaks with SARA BUBBER about the value of storytelling and passing down wisdom through generations, her Kikuyu culture, and how all of us are indigenous people contributing to the world.</h4><hr>Q: Hello Wakanyi. It is a pleasure to meet with you today. I love listening to stories, reading them, and meeting people who tell stories, so I’m very happy we are talking.WH: Thank you! I’m also quite excited to have this conversation with you, Sara.Q: In the Heartfulness community, we often talk about the Wisdom Bridge – the transfer of wisdom from elders to youth, and from youth to elders, because learning is a dual process. It signifies the relationship between traditional cultural heritage and wisdom, and the present. What is the importance of the Wisdom Bridge from your perspective?WH: Wow, that’s a really important way of framing it! Off the top of my head, the Wisdom Bridge is a rite of passage from one generation to another. It signifies the idea of passing the baton from the old to the young, so that they become custodians of knowledge, whether that is cultural knowledge, spiritual knowledge, or values.Of course, there is reciprocity as well. Children offer wisdom to the old, so there is a kind of remembrance for our elders that wisdom is an ongoing pursuit, and that they can gather wisdom from the young as much as they can gather from their peers. Then, the other way around, elders are passing down wisdom to the younger generation, signifying, “It is our task to carry you forward.”To some degree, I see the Wisdom Bridge as a reminder that we are all indigenous to this planet. It is very important to hold that in our hearts, to understand that we’re all human beings and our knowledge is ancient. It has been growing. It never ended. We tend to put indigenous people to the side and have parallel worlds going on. I think it’s important to recall, and to recall from each other, that we are all indigenous to our planet.For me, the Wisdom Bridge is a symbolic movement of knowledge from one generation to another. It is also a symbolic movement from one culture to another. That way, we’re not stuck. You can take the wisdom and knowledge that has been passed down to you and recreate it, using it to learn about others. It is also a bridge to other worlds. There’s a lot there. I see it as a rite of passage from one generation to the next, and a way to connect with others who do not come from your cultural background.It is the gift of elders to the next generation, and it is a way for elders to recall who they were when they were younger, receiving that gift from others. There’s a whole exchange of knowledge that goes on when that is allowed to happen.Q: I really like what you said about it being a rite of passage and a gift. It’s a wonderful gift! As you said, we often keep indigenous people aside, so we are losing out on their wisdom.The Wisdom Bridge is creaky and in need of repair. The relationships between grandparents and grandchildren, tribes and urban populations, are not so strong now. Many of our ancient cultures are either being absorbed into modern urban life, or people are moving away from them. So we are losing a lot of wisdom from our past. This affects all areas of lifestyle. What can we do to save and preserve the bridge that we have?<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Indigenous_Global_citizens2_3a54c866bc.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T12:42:44.502Z" alt="Indigenous-Global-citizens2"><hr>First of all, I want to start on a hopeful note. I’d like to think of this as the audacity of hope – we are all human beings, and we are all indigenous to this world. Yes, there is a crisis around how much of our old oral traditions and cultural knowledge have been passed on, whether it’s to global modern culture, or national modern culture. There is definitely a big divide between indigenous knowledge and the rest of the world, however, I believe that all the knowledge is carried in every generation. Like we started off with the idea of the Wisdom Bridge, I believe my mother holds within her heart the knowledge of the past. Now she’s living as a modern woman, but that knowledge lives somewhere in her.It’s less a question of where to find the knowledge, and more an issue of how to open up the path; for people to open their hearts to share the knowledge. It’s a living thing. And we can recover that knowledge through storytelling. Telling stories is something inherently human.We all tell stories. You and I are telling stories now, and we’re telling stories on social media, and we’re telling stories on the news. We’re telling stories with friends when we gather, and when we’re at the supermarket we’re telling a story. I believe a story is a living thing, and it lives from one person to the next. As soon as we have a conversation, we exchange some form of story. You will carry part of my story with you, and I will carry part of your story with me. That’s the link.We can bring storytelling into classrooms, so that children who no longer live in their indigenous communities, or rural communities, where a lot of this culture and wisdom is practiced don’t have to lose it. We just shift it to the masses.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Indigenous_Global_citizens3_700x400_8e8a660169.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T12:52:13.020Z" alt="Indigenous_Global_citizens3"><hr><hr><h5>The Wisdom Bridge is a symbolic movement of knowledge from one generation to another. It is also a symbolic movement from one culture to another.</h5><hr><hr>Also, indigenous knowledge and wisdom is not something that is stuck in the past. It is not lost; it is living in modern populations. It’s just not being utilized in the same way that it was in its indigenous settings. There’s a need to recall it from each other. The power of storytelling is such that we can recall the past by beginning from where we’re standing.If you know a folktale from your own community, that is a way to recall some part of your indigenous heritage. The more people are telling stories from the past, the more we are recollecting that knowledge and bringing it into the present. We don’t necessarily need to move backwards. In fact, that’s what the hesitation usually is.There is the challenge of how to embrace indigenous cultures in the modern world. I think that’s the wrong question to ask. We are all indigenous. We’re indigenous to this planet. The question should be, “How do we work together? How do we bridge the gap?” One good way is to open up the avenues of storytelling, whether it’s digitally, through social media, or orally. Create storytelling sessions. In that way, we begin to discover where we have deviated, and the cultural values and principles we’re still applying to our modern world that are from the indigenous past.Don’t forget, also, that indigenous folk have been moving on. They’re not stuck in the past. They are using knowledge that they have refined over time. Through storytelling and openly wanting to learn about each other, we create the space where knowledge is considered as another source of being, rather than separate from who we are.I think storytelling is the answer to your question. I have realized that we are made up of stories; it is our stories that feed us. If we’re able to understand that and bring indigenous wisdom into schools, without distorting the way knowledge is passed down (usually, orally is the best way to do it) then we will regenerate and recollect this wisdom.Q: This dialogue is breaking a lot of myths: for example, indigenous people are not stuck in the past, we are all indigenous, and we are not separate from each other. These are great insights.WH: There are age-old traditions all over the world. What are the initiatives you are taking up in your culture as a storyteller to bring them back, to tap into them, and to open things up?I’m a Global Education Specialist, and through my research I discovered the UN Sustainable Development Goals. I discovered that there’s a lot of talk about how to engage children in classrooms to understand and embrace the SDGs, and how they can become better-informed global citizens who can find solutions to the challenges of achieving these goals.But the SDGs are complex for young children. So how can we package them for young children who just want to be children? They want to play and learn and be happy. They don’t want to be bothered by big ideas about what the world looks like, and what the problems of the world are. Take climate change, for instance. Even though we’ve seen an amazing movement of children around the world protesting for climate justice, there’s still a big question mark around how they truly understand the crisis itself. They can understand that there is a lot of pollution, there are a lot of fires and earthquakes, but to what extent do they understand that this major crisis could signify the end of times as we know them?As a result of my research, I founded the African Folktales Project. I collected African folktales that contain ideas about sustainability, and through that process I discovered that all folktales have some lesson or idea about the future. A lot of stories are about conflict between humans and wildlife, and about climate issues like drought. There are a lot of African folktales related to climate change. This was a very exciting discovery for me. I realized that storytelling was one of the ways I could bring the Sustainable Development Goals to the classroom, so as to help kids understand them and get inspired to do something.So, I started taking stories tied to the 17 SDGs and reimagining them. For example, I have taken a story about a big fire that happened, and how the fire was put out and the land was regenerated and recovered. I’ll use the same characters, the moral of the story remains, but I reimagine it in the present time. Often, folktales are set in the past, so they are not relevant to kids growing up in today’s world, especially when you’re telling stories to children in modern settings versus indigenous settings. As I tell these stories, I ask the children to take them and remake them, recreate them. It is that Wisdom Bridge you were talking about initially – passing down stories and leaving them incomplete, so they can have ownership of the stories.<hr><hr><h5>I’m trying to create an environment in which we can embrace&nbsp; the idea that these are our stories – all of us indigenous people on planet Earth.</h5><hr><hr>I’m deconstructing the idea of folktales being held by a certain group of people. I’m trying to create an environment in which we can embrace the idea that these are our stories – all of us indigenous people on planet Earth. I don’t discount the fact that the stories came from a certain space, but even within an indigenous population there is a clear understanding that stories never had an original storyteller anyway. A story was always meant to be passed down. When I heard a story from my grandmother, she couldn’t possibly tell me where the story originally came from. The objective was for me to take the story, use it in my own life, and pass it on to my children. That keeps the stories going.This is one of the ways I’m trying to promote storytelling, promote indigenous wisdom, especially in my country, Kenya, where there is a rich oral tradition from indigenous cultures that is not seen any more in classrooms.I’ve transformed the stories into podcasts, and next year I will publish a book of the first series of UN SDG folktales. I’m trying to use as many forms of communication and media as possible – digital, audio, and live sessions in schools. These stories can become our stories, not stuck in one space.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Indigenous_Global_citizens4_700x428_3887ecdec5.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T13:02:46.494Z" alt="Indigenous_Global_citizens4"><hr>Even within indigenous communities, there is a concern that children are not always told stories by their elders, because of the formalities of going to school and the way in which the culture has been separated from formal education. So, I’m hoping that these storytelling sessions will also engage indigenous elders in the process of recollecting, retelling, and recreating their stories. Then we’re all learning from each other, and we’re doing something relevant for the times with what we already have.I’m trying to bridge and marry cultures through storytelling, using folktales as a pedagogical approach to learning more about who we are.To be continued.<hr><hr><h4>Interview by SARA BUBBER Illustrations by SANTANU CHATTERJEE</h4><hr>

We are all indigenous global citizens – part 1

<h4>WAKANYI HOFFMAN is a Global Education Specialist and founder of the African Folktales Project. In part 2 of her interview with SARA BUBBER from the Heartfulness Institute, Wakanyi shares the value of storytelling, passing down wisdom through generations, her Kikuyu culture, and how we are all indigenous global citizens.</h4><hr><h3>We Are All Indigenous Global Citizens – Part 2</h3><hr>Q: A lot of change has taken place from previous times to modern times. But one thing that really stands out as central in this dialogue is storytelling. What is the role of stories in the transfer of wisdom?WH: That could be another session, couldn’t it? Storytelling is a living thing. It is who we are. We tell stories using all forms of communication: Through song, through dance, through nonverbal communication, we use the art of storytelling to communicate our feelings, our ideas, our fears, and our concerns. And so, the role of storytelling in communicating wisdom is central.Children are like sponges: They are very good at receiving a story, and then interpreting it for themselves and reenacting it. Whenever I hold a storytelling session with a group of children, I will hear the story later on from another child who was not part of the group, because that story was shared. That’s clearly the way we’ve always passed down knowledge. Even in schools, whenever I speak to educators, especially teachers involved in global citizenship education, every single discipline that children are taught in school, whether it is mathematics or science or music or art, is a form of storytelling. If children imagine it as a story, there’s a lot more retention; that has been scientifically proven.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/indegenous_global_citizens_part2_2_f3532515cd.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-06T12:48:34.467Z" alt="indegenous-global-citizens-part2-2"><hr>The role of storytelling in passing down wisdom is key to understanding how to do it, and there is no one way that is better than another. Take oral storytelling – I could claim that stories are best told orally, but that’s just one way in which indigenous communities have done it. Now we have other tools, and we can use the digital tools we have. We can use any space in which human beings are gathering to tell stories. We need to open up our minds to what is available to us, and get excited that we can scale the process of telling stories with these tools.Q: Storytelling has been going on for a long time in oral form. We’d like to know about the oral traditions of Africa.WH: There are so many! I think I will focus on my own culture. I come from a tribe known as the Kikuyu people of Kenya. The communities of the Kikuyu are based around the mountain region. We border the Masai and other tribes, and there’s a lot of intermarriage. My maternal grandfather was part Masai, so there’s a bit of Masai blood in me.Some of the oral traditions are reflective of this intermarriage and intercultural exchange, but there are also certain ways of the Kikuyu I can speak to, for example, the oral tradition around naming. We name our children after ancestors; for example, my name, Wakanyi, is my maternal grandmother’s name, and she was named after either her maternal grandmother or paternal grandmother. It really depends on the line and the birth order. I’m the last born, and the second daughter of my mom. My sister is named after my father’s mother. That’s one of the very strict traditions of the Kikuyu culture. You know the birth order and you also know if it’s from your mother’s side or your father’s side.<hr><hr><h5>Our indigenous cultures are so important,&nbsp; and we need to honor their importance to this world.&nbsp; They provide the map to show us where we’ve come from,&nbsp; and where we’re heading.</h5><hr><hr>There’s a creation myth: The first Kikuyu that settled around Mount Kenya climbed up the mountain. From there, he experienced a spiritual awakening by encountering the God of the Kikuyu, and he was presented with a wife. The wife then bore nine daughters, and the nine daughters started the Kikuyu’s nine tribes. We are all descendants of those nine tribes. Depending on your name and your clan, you can trace your ancestors back to one of those daughters.There’s also a tradition of building houses, which is an interesting one. According to the Kikuyu, a house – a round hut – had to be built in a day. That doesn’t happen anymore, but in the olden times, each hut was built from morning till evening. A lot of organizing had to go on to complete the task. The reason? An incomplete house could invite the wrong kind of energy, evil spirits. To avoid them, you had to build your house, move into it immediately, and begin living in it. Then you’d have the blessing of the right kind of spirits.There are a lot of stories around ancestors, and how the ancestors live with us, in us, and around us. There’s a lot of respect for ancestors who have departed, as well as rules and ideas about how not to upset the ancestors. You cannot invoke certain names or people in any old way. You must pay your respects to certain people that have passed before you. And the naming culture also has a lot to do with respecting those who have left, and showing the continuation of life, in a reincarnation kind of way.A lot of traditions are still practiced within modern Kikuyu culture, such as traditions around marriage. When you get engaged, you go back to your home and stay, and perform a ceremony, which is basically a marriage ceremony, before you do the formal modern wedding ceremony.<hr><hr><h5>We’re all living on the same planet.&nbsp; We are experiencing the same changes,&nbsp; and the same landscape,&nbsp; on the whole, and we breathe the same air.&nbsp; So, I think it is important for us to understand&nbsp; that we are called to work together&nbsp; as indigenous citizens of this planet.</h5><hr><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/indegenous_global_citizens_part2_3_a16c47ec3d.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-06T12:50:44.267Z" alt="indegenous_global_citizens_part2"><hr>Q: As you were talking, it reminded me so much of the similarities in my culture, like what you said about naming. In India, the first son in many cultures is named after the paternal grandfather. Regarding marriage, you cannot marry someone from a certain village because they are your brothers. You should marry someone from seven villages away. These traditions are still followed – the ones with ancestors that live on, and the rites after death, also continue.As you were talking, the thought that came that these stories are unifying. There are so many things that are similar: The folktales are similar, the rituals are similar, and we all feel a sort of brotherhood. We resonate with each other. The whole circle of storytelling is complete.WH: I agree completely. Which is why we need to start embracing the idea that we are all indigenous to this world. Our indigenous cultures are so important, and we need to honor their importance to this world. They provide the map to show us where we’ve come from, and where we’re heading. If we ignore this, it’s like taking off to sea without a compass. We don’t know where we’re going.It’s not to say that we need to be like they used to be, or that they are better than us. There’s no “us” and “them.” We’re all one. Like you say, there are so many similarities that bring us together. There are more similarities than there are differences, and the reason for that is because we have originated from the same kind of indigenous populations. The way to bridge that gap is to tell our stories. And when we find a point of difference, that’s an opportunity to recall a story that might bring about the connection.It makes me excited to hear that within Indian cultures there are similarities to my own Kikuyu culture. And I know this is true for my own people back in Kenya, where there are 50 to 60 tribes. Within those tribes, there are many ways in which we are interconnected, but we tend to differentiate ourselves based on something as abstract as language. When we overcome the language barrier, we discover that we’ve all intermarried.We obviously share some of these ideas and ways of being. Ultimately, we’re all living on the same planet. We are experiencing the same changes, and the same landscape, on the whole, and we breathe the same air. So, I think it is important for us to understand that we are called to work together as indigenous citizens of this planet.Q: I’m so happy to end on the note that stories connect, and we are all indigenous to this planet. Thank you so much for talking with us today. It was wonderful to have you.WH: It was my pleasure. I hope that we get to talk again sometime soon!<hr><hr><h4>Interview by SARA BUBBER Illustrations by SANTANU CHATTERJEE</h4><hr>

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