When one thinks of a religion, any religion, the uppermost question in one’s mind is, “Who was its founder and from where did it come? What was His message?” If you gaze up into the sky at night, you’ll see that there are other planets besides ours and since ours is inhabited, there’s no reason…
According to Hindu philosophy, ‘Sat-Yug’ was a long period of truth, honesty and beauty. Later ages, like the ‘Treta-Yug’ and the ‘Dwapar-Yug’, were a mixture of good and evil. ‘Kal-Yug’ marks the evil age, when man’s consciousness sinks to an all-time low. This Yug or age is followed by total destruction (Prayala) and renewal to…
Good Friday marks the anniversary of that beautiful morning over 2,000 years ago when a man called Jesus who came from Nazareth arose from the tomb to demonstrate that life (soul) is eternal – that the man in flesh is ‘not’ the real self, but merely the physical symbol of the ever-living soul. He proved…
Meherbai’s New Year Resolution was to write a book on dieting. Meherwanji was quietly reading Parsi Times on his favourite easy-chair on a peaceful Saturday morning when Meherbai barged on him like a bull in a bullfight and said: “Samjho! Breaking news! Eureka!! I’ve evolved a brand-new way of not getting fatter, but actually slimming day by…
Some of us are born smiling, most of us have to work at it, which means learning new techniques and unlearning some old mental habits, but the good news from the frontiers of psychology is that mood is malleable and happiness is yours for the choosing. Everyone wants happiness. We want it, strive for it,…
According to Hinduism, our Earth passes through various cycles, as per mankind’s mental conditioning and consequent actions (karma). These cycles (Yugas) are, Sat-Yug, Treta-Yug, Dwapar-Yug and Kal-Yug (which we are passing through now). Lord Ram was the seventh incarnation of God Vishnu in the Treta-Yug. Since every Yug is a struggle between the forces of…
By now, the readers may have guessed that Meherbai was an excellent cook and believed in sharing all the good things of life with her friends. In old age, our friends become our family and it was the same with Meherbai and her Mandli who believed in being happy and making others happy. This is…
In the Upanishads, there is a thought-provoking story of a musk deer (Kasturi-Mriga) which elucidates the nature of real happiness… Once when roaming about and frolicking among the hills and dales, a Kasturi-Mriga suddenly became aware of an exquisite musk-scent which stirred the innermost depths of its soul so profoundly that the deer was determined to find the…
Ancient Indian literature always referred to the mind as a monkey – jumping from one branch to another i.e. one useless thought to another. To counteract this, the Smritis teach us Mansik-Ekagrata or centering the mind. A centered mind is free of worries and emotions. It is quiet, at peace, concentrated and focused. But it is not…
The famous Meherbai Mandli ‘girls’ (all over 75) and ‘boys’ (all over 80) met for a Club-lunch and the discussion turned to relationships. “The most important relationship is the one we have with God” said Meherbai, confessing she was not very religious or a ritualistic freak, but rather a spiritual person who never hurts others….
In India we are exposed to the writings of Western authors, doctors, scientists and others, but rarely do we get exposure to Japanese and Chinese authors. I recently came across a book on psychotherapy developed by a Japanese, Dr. Shoma Morita, a contemporary of Dr. Sigmud Freud and would like to share the same with…