For the Best

“What is not natural cannot be permanent and what is not permanent is not worth striving after.” Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi

There is a Light that fulfils the deepest longings of every heart.
It is simple, ever-present, natural.
It is the source, the life-force,the absolute self-nature of every being,
Subtler than the subtlest , greater than the greatest, ever-pure, stainless, perfect, pervading everything everywhere always – no words can begin to describe the wonder and the mystery of That!



Stop everything.
In particular, stop your frantic, run-away mind and its endless froth of unnecessary thinking.
To do this, sink deep into your own being as you do in sleep.

Seek the root of the tree of thought, the I- thought….where does it arise ?
Turn all your awareness inwards and seek with great earnestness and sincerity.

Your perseverance will eventually be rewarded – something will quicken in the depths of being, something will manifest and flower in your own centre.
Once this flame is discovered, the Light will take over.

Nothing more can be said.



“ Have faith in the Divine and in yourself; that will cure all. Hope for the best, expect the best, toil for the best and everything will come right for you in the end. “ Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi.

Why Not Now?

(Lockdown Reflections.)

"Knowledge without love is lifeless. The loveless heart may have all the religion and all the knowledge, yet it is dead. As the Bible says, "God is love." God is in the heart of each person, and the heart of each person is the highest heaven. When that heart is closed by the absence of love, then God is closed. When this heart is open, God is open, and one is alive from that time.” Hazrat Inayat Khan

They say there is a dread plague sweeping over this earth.
Outside my window, clean air, sunshine, birdsong and trees alight with flowers tell me Mother Nature is alive and well; better than before.

The news screams of disease and death in a world brought to a stand-still by fear.
Disease and death have always been an integral part of the human experience. Someday,we all must die…has that ever stopped us from living while we can?

They say everyone must stay at home – stay separate from each other, in isolation.
In the hustle and bustle of the biggest cities, millions are wracked by a deep and terrible loneliness anyway. No one taught us how to be alone and not lonely, to rest in solitude with great joy.

They say everyone must wear a mask now. Was it so different before?
We have been wearing the mask of personality always, never letting down our guard so that our real selves can be seen. Rare is the one centred contentedly in being who has truly dropped all masks.

Why has this happened? No one really knows.

Perhaps this is the result of the insane greed and self-destructive way of life of this human race.
Perhaps Nature decided to stop all the frantic, and mostly unnecessary, human activity,
to force mankind to pause for awhile, to really reflect and introspect.

What is really important ?

Is there a better way to live on this earth?

Can we live happily and in harmonious coexistence with each other and all other living creatures on this planet?
Can human consciousness ever evolve into a wiser, more loving , joyous and peaceful state of being?

Every human being must explore these questions sometime.

Why not now?

On Slowing Down

According to United Nations statistics on birth and death, approximately 58 million human beings died globally in 2019 from a variety of causes. Converted to a daily average, that’s about 159,000 people per day. The latest Covid 19 statistics show a global death rate of about 7000 people per day.That’s about 4 % of the total deaths that happen anyway. But, suddenly, the human race is afraid…..and, for the first time since World War 2, the world has come to a stop. The frantic global activity that is “normal” has slowed down to almost a stand still. Why is all this happening? What does it all mean? There are so many theories: conspiracies by evil cabals, Nature’s revenge, end of the world , etc. etc.
I don’t know the answers. I do believe in the wisdom of the universe and that “ This, too,shall pass!” An old friend sent me a poem, supposedly by a Spanish lady, that made a lot of sense. So this post is to share that poem.

Wonderful poem by a lady from Spain: ( Gracias Senora!)

The earth whispered but you did not hear.
The earth spoke but you did not listen
The earth screamed but you turned her off.
And so I was born...
I was not born to punish you..
I was born to awaken you..

The earth cried out for help...
Massive flooding. But you didn't listen.
Burning fires. But you didn't listen.
Strong hurricanes. But you didn't listen.
Terrifying Tornadoes. But you didn't listen.
You still don't listen to the earth when
Ocean animals are dying due to pollutants in the waters,
Glaciers melting at an alarming rate,
Severe drought.

You didn't listen to how much negativity the earth is receiving.
Non-stop wars.
Non-stop greed.
You just kept going on with your life..
No matter how much hate there was..
No matter how many killings daily..
It was more important to get that latest iPhone than worry about what the earth was trying to tell you..
But now I am here.
And I've made the world stop in its tracks.
I've made YOU finally listen.
I've made you take refuge.
I've made you stop thinking about materialistic things.
Now you are like the earth...
You are only worried about YOUR survival.
How does that feel?

I give you fever.. as the fires burn on earth.
I give you respiratory issues.. as pollution filled the earth’s air.
I give you weakness as the earth weakens every day.
I took away your comforts..
Your outings.
The things you would use to forget about the planet and its pain.
And I made the world stop...
And now...
Earth has better air quality.. Skys are clear blue because factories and vehicles are not spewing pollution into the earth's air. The water in Venice is clean because the gondola boats that pollute the water are not being used.
YOU are having to take time to reflect on what is important in your life.
Again I am not here to punish you.. I am here to Awaken you...
When all this is over and I am gone...
Please remember these moments..
Listen to the earth.
Listen to your soul.
Stop Polluting the earth.
Stop Fighting amongst each other.
Stop caring about materialistic things.
And start loving your neighbors.
Start caring about the earth and all its creatures.
Start believing in a Creator.
Because next time I may come back even stronger....
Signed,
Coronavirus.

We are all part of a cosmic story that has no beginning or end. This planet and all life-forms that live on it are also part of the story. Woven out of loving, intelligent consciousness, this story has tears and laughter, suffering and joy, pain and bliss, everything and nothing. Enacted through the dance of the opposites, this story is powerful, beautiful, magical and awe-inspiring while it is equally terrifying and monstrous and tragic.
Who is the author? Who is the audience ? What does it all mean? How can we know anything else without first knowing ourselves?
You and I are an integral part of this story. To answer these questions, we must examine our own roles in this story. Deeply and purposefully, we must delve into the source of our own being; what wonders we may find !

“ When you have not understood yourself, what is the point of understanding other things?
When you have understood yourself, what else is there to understand?” Atma Vidya, Bhagawan Sri Ramana Maharishi.

My Little Boat

( to celebrate my favourite Kabir poem and Ramanavami.)

Tossed on life’s tempestuous ocean, fortunately, my little boat is unsinkable.

Its timbers are prayers, faith is its sail, filled with the guiding wind of grace.

Peace is a force-field protecting it from deluge and gust and lightning.

Stillness is its rudder and the Guru’s compassionate hand is steady upon its tiller.

How fortunate, how blessed, how favoured am I - gratitude springs like a fountain from my heart!

My little boat is God : in it, I rest so peacefully and joyously like a babe in his mother’s arms.


The Guest:
“The Guest is inside you, and also inside me;
you know the sprout is hidden inside the seed.
We are all struggling; none of us has gone far.
Let your arrogance go, and look around inside.

The blue sky opens out further and farther,
the daily sense of failure goes away,
the damage I have done to myself fades,
a million suns come forward with light,
when I sit firmly in that world.

I hear bells ringing that no one has shaken,
inside 'love' there is more joy than we know of,
rain pours down, although the sky is clear of clouds,
there are whole rivers of light.
The universe is shot through in all parts by a single sort of love.
How hard it is to feel that joy in all our four bodies!

Those who hope to be reasonable about it fail.
The arrogance of reason has separated us from that love.
With the word 'reason' you already feel miles away.

How lucky Kabir is, that surrounded by all this joy
he sings inside his own little boat.
His poems amount to one soul meeting another.
These songs are about forgetting dying and loss.
They rise above both coming in and going out."
Kabir, Translation by Robert Bly