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Your question - how to react to a death in the family, is a difficult one. Every time death strikes, it is a new experience. One can only close one's eyes & take a deep breath to let the thought of death of a dear one sink deep into one's mind. When death strikes, it is a shattering moment. It is one of those inevitable events, which one has to live with, with as much composure as one can muster. But, soon thereafter, the whole process of cremation & after-death rituals, take

Thoughts with Grandad - Point No. 2 - Stress & anxiety is due to our sense of insecurity about what is going to happen to us etc. Stop being concerned about your future & you will not have any stress. This doesn't mean we do not plan for the future - we do so intelligently & systematically. Stress can also arise, if the task before us appears to be beyond our capacity to handle it at first impression. For this, Gurudev's advice is solid - निश्चिन्त रहो, निर्भीक बनो, मैं तुम्

I have actively gotten into running / marathons since through Lakshyaa - we have gotten a chance to collaborate with Procam International (for Philanthropy Pillar at VDHM), that organizes the best marathons in India. Running has opened up a new dimension. Seeing runners set goals and break their personal barriers and records is amazing. Something that requires a lot of committment and dedication. The runners mindset is something that also translates into daily lives. In day t

Grandad on importance of meditation, when I used to obsess over winning matches when I was competing in tournaments - But I notice his obsession with winning in every new tournament (desire to win is OK, but to only think of it, while playing every shot is to invite disappointment). Does he forget his earlier, tentatively arrived convictions? Why, becauseq he has not assimilated the lesson learn't properly. This is what I keep telling him - practicing detachment to the result

Happy to share about the launch of Create Discomfort Fitness Community. Members from all around the world are joining in. The motto of Create Discomfort Community is following - Life is beautiful, and you only get one opportunity to be here present on Earth, so why not live it to the fullest. Create #Discomfort intentionally explores how we all can take up activities that challenge our mental & fitness capabilities. The entire goal being self discipline & self improvement in

A Family Man and a Lover of Country What got me back to India from US - Communications with Dada Direct quote from him during his last days - I cannot really quite figure out clearly (which may be of relevance to your age group) what bothers me right now, besides the pains of growing old. The larger immediate issues facing the country (India) generally occupy my concerns, but I am generally quite optimistic that Narendra Modi will succeed in steering the country appropriate

Some key takeaways from the run today - The distance was short only 10km, but this was a run, that was on higher end in terms of being challenging. The Delhi weather was extremely humid, making it tough to breathe During the run, so many times felt like quitting, that this is enough, body is not able to cope up. I got this feeling at 2km, 4km, 5km, 7km, 8.5km mark. Running is such a beautiful activity that even though I got this thought of quitting 5 times during the 10km run

Grandad was an avid mountaineer, and he always gave references of mountaineering to me, when it came to learning planning, importance of being alert, and more than anything planning for 10 steps ahead. Preparation has to be always the key. All emphasis was given to proactiveness, and not reactiveness. This approach and mindselt was seen in all his walks of life. Following in italics was shared by grandad on mountaineering - Preparing for an expedition involved a good deal of

12th May 2020 - Message from Grandad - Each individual is separate only at the physical level, otherwise at the level of Pran (प्राण ), Mind (मन ), Intelligence (बुद्धि ) & higher realms (which we loosely describe as spiritual), the entire humanity as well as the animal kingdom are interconnected, & sensitive evolved humans can feel the pain & pleasure of all living beings. So it is appropriate that you have been venturing into the spiritual realm as your family legacy. Mudit

Grandad on Self Awareness and taking things not for granted - Chapter 9 - If you empathize with everything (living or even non living) around you, then you will automatically not take anyone & anything for granted, because everything & every person around us is Brahman. Brahman or Consciousness pervades the whole Universe. Non-living things too have consciousness pervading them, even if they do not show it. One must also handle non-living things, gently. Your daily practi

Gita - Chapter 3 Grandfather on Gunas of Nature, and how these impact our lives - Shloka 33 - implies that we are governed by the three gunas of our nature & we cannot change our nature easily nor should we be doing this forcibly, but if we keep doing noble actions deliberately & consciously without attachment, then we can improve ourselves gradually. Shloka 34 emphasizes that attachment & aversion reside in each one of our senses & we should not allow ourselves to come un

Grandad on Tackling Heavy Work Loads - 6 March 2020 As a working rule, panic is a sign of lack of confidence & your self-confidence being high now, you immediately up your antenna to tackle any new problem which may land on your plate. You could always sound your seniors that you will take some time to deal with the extra work they are assigning to you, since you already have enough on your plate. During my service days, there were occasions when I felt at sea but I al

Dada on Unpleasant Experiences, and reflections around it - If something unpleasant happens to you, just bear with it coolly if you cannot avoid it well in time. Could it have been avoided? Was any action of yours, responsible for it happening? What were the components of the unpleasant experience, which made it unpleasant? Was the unpleasantness a subjective experience? Why & how it happened need to be investigated coolly to prevent repetition if it is possible. Normal

Shloka 10 - Shloka 10 - बीजं मां सर्वभूतानां विद्धि पार्थ सनातनम् । बुद्धिर्बुद्धिमतामस्मि तेजस्तेजस्विनामहम् ।।१०।। Shloka 11 - बीजं मां सर्वभूतानां विद्धि पार्थ सनातनम् । बुद्धिर्बुद्धिमतामस्मि तेजस्तेजस्विनामहम् ।।१०।। Shloka 12 - ये चैव सात्त्विका भावा राजसास्तामसाश्च ये । मत्त एवेति तान्विद्धि न त्वहं तेषु ते मयि।।१२।। Shloka 10: O son of Partha, know that I am the original seed of all existence, the intelligence of the intelligent, and the prowess of

Today Marks 1 year since passing of grandad as per Vedic Calendar. We all dearly miss him. He might not be present in the physical form, but we can feel his energy everywhere. The team, and organization he created has his values all around them - Honesty, National Pride, Love, Transparency, Taking up Challenging tasks - where the need is, Creating Discomfort and Care and Love for Team Members, No Tolerance for Lose Talks / Misinformation / Distractions from our goals, high wi

Chapter 7 — Jnana-Vijnana Yoga — Yoga of Direct and Total Perception Shloka 1 — श्रीभगवानुवाच मय्यासक्तमनाः पार्थ योगं युञ्जन्मदाश्रयः । असंशयं समग्रं मां यथा ज्ञास्यसि तच्छृणु ।।१।। Shloka 2 — ज्ञानं तेऽहं सविज्ञानमिदं वक्ष्याम्यशेषतः । यज्ज्ञात्वा नेह भूयोऽन्यज्ज्ञातव्यमवशिष्यते ।।२।। Shloka 3 — मनुष्याणां सहस्रेषु कश्चिद्यतति सिद्धये । यततामपि सिद्धानां कश्चिन्मां वेत्ति तत्त्वतः ।।३।। Through shloka 2, Sri Krishna says that I will tell you (Arjun) — विज्ञान सहित तत्त्वज्ञ

Recently, I visited REACHA’s Social Impact Projects that we are implementing in collaboration with Indian Army in Kashmir — Uri, Boniyar, Kupwara and Baramulla. These are areas near the border line in North Kashmir Terrain — difficult and tough terrains and where a lot of work needs to be done to positively strengthen the communities, and enable them to get skilled and trained so that they can stand on their own feet and also are in the position to contribute to the economy o

Chapter 4 — Janana Karma Sanyasa Yoga Shloka 16 — किं कर्म किमकर्मेति कवयोऽप्यत्र मोहिताः ।तत्ते कर्म प्रवक्ष्यामि यज्ज्ञात्वा मोक्ष्यसेऽशुभात् ।।१६।। Shloka 17 — कर्मणो ह्यपि बोद्धव्यं बोद्धव्यं च विकर्मणः । अकर्मणश्च बोद्धव्यं गहना कर्मणो गतिः ।।१७।। Shlokas 16 & 17 are not easy to understand unless you contemplate on them to try & comprehend what exactly is implied. Different scholars have interpreted these shlokas differently. Perhaps, when we meet next, we could discuss

Chapter 4 — Janana Karma Sanyasa Yoga Shloka 10 — वीतरागभयक्रोधा मन्मया मामुपाश्रिताः । बहवो ज्ञानतपसा पूता मद्भावमागताः ।।१०।। Shloka 11 — ये यथा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तांस्तथैव भजाम्यहम् । मम वर्त्मानुवर्तन्ते मनुष्याः पार्थ सर्वशः ।।११।। Shloka 10: Sinha Ji Commentary — God says that there have been many that have attained his supreme state of mind and have been able to free themselves from the worldly cravings. Essential reqisities for the realization of god are as follows: 1.

Chapter 4 — Janana Karma Sanyasa Yoga Shloka 1 — श्रीभगवानुवाच, इमं विवस्वते योगं प्रोक्तवानहमव्ययम् । विवस्वान्मनवे प्राह मनुरिक्ष्वाकवेऽब्रवीत् ।।१।। Shloka 2 — एवं परम्पराप्राप्तमिमं राजर्षयो विदुः । स कालेनेह महता योगो नष्टः परंतप ।।२।। Chapter 4 of the Gita is very illuminating & you will love it, specially through the commentary of Sri Sinha. Shloka 3 — स एवायं मया तेऽद्य योगः प्रोक्तः पुरातनः ।भक्तोऽसि मे सखा चेति रहस्यं ह्येतदुत्तमम् ।।३।। Shloka 4 — अर्जुन उवाच अपरं