F E A R

“Fear not what is not real, never was and never will be. What is real, always was and cannot be destroyed.” – Bhagavad Gita
“Why fear, when I am there” – Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

What is fear? Why do we fear?
Fear or phobia is a disease, a byproduct of over indulgence and unawareness. Every single creature in the universe is bound by certain phobias. Fear is an attribute which drive humans to pause for a second and revisit or verify their thoughts/acts. Fear is also a resistance or an excuse which forms a wall and prevents humans from exploring the unexplored intricacies of human self. It is an apparatus which separates divine and demonic acts. We fear because, we are responsible and fear the consequences of your acts. We fear God, because God cannot accept our acts which might directly or indirectly hurt another person and eventually we are punished. It is that fear which refrain us from committing a certain mistakes. When you don’t find the answers for your questions, we fear.

Those which have life are tagged with fear. When we have fear, anger as a catalyst, we transform to a wild carnivores whose claws are sharp, perching on a heap of Caracas and ready to charge at you. Humans are an intelligent and prudent creation of God, let’s unfold the truth that we humans are blind and are not transparent. We often forget the “real” potential that is bedridden deep down inside us. We need to polish our skills, love ourselves (having said that, don’t be selfish or ego centric), refrain from attachments and be a “Buddha”. Do the things which give us pleasure and bliss. If only we have happiness inside, we can share and spread the happiness around us. Happiness with the support of tantra can wipe out fear, but not completely per se.

We should not have fear for parents, teachers, elders, machines, objects or nations, but it should be the respect which we have to develop. Out of fear, we forget our uniqueness, transformations and objectives. We restrict ourselves from expressing the uncertainties. We never try because we fear, we are bound by certain level of security and comfortable and we don’t want to lose it. We fear losing, because we don’t believe in ourselves. Our potentials are hidden under the dark clouds waiting to be ejected.

Halleluiah, as derived from the root cause analysis, the essential element which route fear is lack of confidence and courage. Acquiring confidence is like attaining salvation which can be embraced by sheer awareness or Tantra (expansion through awareness). If you have the knowledge and an orientation towards taking risk, we can gain more confidence and lessen our fear. But during the process of risk taking humans can fail, but those failures are stepping stones for better objectives to pursue.

Boy, I see in myself a lot of fear inside. It is that element which prevents me from achieving certain expectations. FEAR (Finding Excuse And Resistance) a sole handiwork of mind.

The S O U L

The SOUL is revealed when:
-You feel Centered.
-Your mind is clear.
-You have the sensation that time has stopped.
-You suddenly feel free from boundaries.
-You are keenly self-aware.
-You feel merged with another person, either in LOVE or silent communion.
-You feel untouched by aging and change.
-You feel blissful or ecstatic.
-You have an intuitive flash that turns out to be true.
-You sense the truth.
-You feel supremely loved or absolutely safe.

The SOUL is disguised when:
-You are too tired or stressed.
-You are pulled outside yourself.
-Your attention is dominated by externals.
-You act out of compulsion.
-You let others think for you.
-You are influenced by fear and anxiety.
-You struggle and suffer.

The SOUL has certain universal qualities:
-It is constant.
-It never loses sight of you.
-It is connected to every other soul.
-It shares God's omniscience.
-It is untouched by change.
-It lives beyond time and space.

"The SOUL", is some excerpts from the book "Life After Death" by Deepak Chopra

Daily Prayer

Enchant this daily prayer everyday to enlighten your day, body and soul
________________________________________________
I ask that spirit walk with me this day and that I have the courage to carry this truth within me in all that I do.
To fully stand in my own truth and power is to honor the spirit within
Help me today to re-member both who I am and who I am not.
Who I am is magnificent, yet to carry a facade of who I am not only detracts from that magnificence.
To accept the truth of my own limitations, clears the path to carrying my true power.
I know that holding my power is only possible when I am not afraid of being vulnerable.
This day I will balance my ego by checking it often and see my true motivations.
I accept the power that is rightfully mine and will to use it to create Home on this side of the veil.
I ask that I may allow spirit to emanate from me to all who choose to look upon me, that I may be a perfect mirror so that they may see the God within themselves
Help me to touch their hearts with my love and allow them to re-member home and who they really are as I re-member who I am.
As spirit walks with me this day I remember to give thanks for the gift of spirit on my shoulder. May I always use it to the highest good of all concerned.
I vow to enjoy this day to its fullest and to laugh at every opportunity.
This day I will play the wonderful Game and I will carry the vibrations of Home in every move on the Gameboard.
This day I will Re-member.

African KuKu

Kuku is a very delicious, colourful African dish made of chicken and lentils/beans. This flavoursome curry can be served for lunch or dinner along with rice or chapattis. Some of the ingredients mentioned below are optional.

Ingredients –
Chicken pieces
Ginger paste
Lentils/beans
Finely chopped onion
Peeled and chopped tomatoes
Mexican green chilly
Lemon juice
Coconut milk
Fresh coriander
Black pepper

* Apply the chicken with ginger paste, pepper powder and salt. Keep is aside to marinate for some hours. Cook the lentils in and keep it aside. Meantime chop the onions, tomatoes and green chilli, most importantly relax and get some fresh air.
* Heat the oil (coconut/vegetable) in a pan and fry the chicken pieces until it becomes evenly brown. Make sure not to fry it in high flames. Transfer the chicken into a plate and leave the oil in the pan.
* Add the chopped onion and garlic into the pan, fry it for 2 minutes. Calmly add the chopped green chilli and tomatoes. Cook for another 3-4 minutes until it is evenly cooked.

* Add cooked, smashed lentils into the mixture followed by coconut milk. Add lemon juice to make the sauce more sharp. Stir the mixture evenly and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the fried chicken pieces into the sauce and cook for 15 minutes. Add finely chopped coriander leaves on to the sauce. Sprinkle few drops of olive oil. Once cooked keep the curry with closed lid for some minutes.
* It’s time to eat mouth watering curry, which goes perfectly with steamy rice. Don’t burn the mouth which apparently happened to me. I couldn't wait to let the curry n rice to cool a little bit. This juicy creamy coloured curry easily gets along with rotis or chapattis. This could be prepared during any celebrations and serve to
our dearest.

Yogapelapaz

Introduction of Yoga during the early 1950’s into the mainstream west brought a renaissance of cosmic relationship and nifty life. Since then remarkable visibility of this phenomenon, Karmic Yoga become pervasive and perch high above all the geographies. B K S Iyengar, Paramahamsa Yogananda, Osho are few of the many Indian masters who practised and taught Yoga in the West. Simple, transcendental, vibrational meditations and many other types of meditations became immense popularity in the last few decades. People in the west are known for their sheer unrestrained dedication and exploring the intricacies of 21st century through the medium of Yoga. Yoga masters, books and videos are of high demand in the west.

During my visit to Brazil, Dani introduced me to her Yoga teacher, who practises and teaches Yoga for over two decades. She taught the session at her beautiful house. She charmed her students with eloquence and benevolence. Without cringing and premeditating I accepted her invitation to take Yoga session at her beautiful residence. It was a formidable challenge because of the time constraint and the language barrier. She gifted me a t-shirt which had an inscription “Yogapelapaz” and very traditional Brazilian coffee chocolates. Dani is her favourite student, friend and daughter.

On my first session, I was introduced to a bunch of mixed aged pretty female students. I gave a very short and crisp introduction about Yoga. I enchanted couple of prayers in a hushed rhythm before commencing with the asana. I showed them the extended and hybrid version of Pranayama. The session continued for almost 30 minutes and I wrapped up the session without dawdling on lectures. Later session was attended by my family. Pai, Mae, victor, uncles and aunts represented from Dani’s family along with other students. Initially I was in a swamp of decay as my beautiful family glued their eyes on me. After the session I smeared Vibhuthi on all my students’ foreheads. Photo sessions followed after the every session. I saw a halo of happiness worn around my students which gave me confidence and an indication that I have something to cherish. Dani was my translator and she was remarkable, spontaneous and synchronised. She cajoled, “Pooja you can do it”.

Next days, I took couple of sessions exploring some new techniques to the next bunch of students thereby expanding my service. Some of the students were kids, teenagers, and Dani’s patients. The students were smart, liberal, inquisitive and calm. The students crawled in my proximity and posed for the photo session. I was treated a like celebrity Yoga guru and they lined up for hugs and kisses. We formed the famous “circle of love” with a radiant smile and place our arms around the shoulders.





My Learning: I was not simply an instructor there, but I was a keen learner and an explorer. The sheer and ardent dedication of my students enlightened me the significance and the magnitude of this incredible culture. No wonder why yoga has found a place in their heart. The west has an impression that, all the people in/from India are either yoga masters or religious followers of yoga. But to unfold the truth, Indians are breached by contriving vicious globalization and yoga finds oblivion under the concrete blocks. Recently an increasing trend has shown up for giving high importance due to the change in lifestyle. People rather forget the fact that yoga is not a set of predefined exercises or asanas for good life, but it is a culture irrespective of any religion or creed, a magnanimous path to tranquillity and salvation.

50Rupees aka 1$

How will your day/life changes if you get 50 bucks? Hmm...Clueless..Breathless... Phew jerk, I am talking about 50Rs not 50$.
A 50Rs is approximately 1USD. A litre of petrol, half Kg of apple, 1 Kg of rice, half kg of chicken, bribe a traffic police, a badminton cock, a bottle of local beer, a pirated movie CD, a “readers digest” magazine, ..Etc. The minimum I spend a day is around 2-3$. The average daily income of a common man in rural outskirts is around 50Rs. Has the value of 50Rs plummeted relatively?

Let me reminisce an incident, during the midst of 1994, an uninvited gentleman knocked our doors. He politely claimed to be a police man not in a regular outfit. My eldest brother has just successfully cleared an interview with a huge public sector and the police man has been sent as a part of the verification. (Verification is a process in which the candidate’s whereabouts is closely studied, measured, scanned and a report will be crafted). The report gives a brief about the behavioural nature of the candidate and the observations from neighbours and friends. Apparently the short cut to get a composite and healthy report is through bribe. (Remember we are talking about the most sacred, diversified, corrupt democracy of the world. Listen what Gandhi said, “Work is worship”).

The surprise visit has to be prudently indulged without any fizzle and unfortunately my parents don’t have a single penny to bribe, as it was month end. We were in dire straits. Papa ordered my second brother, Giri to borrow 50Rs from an uncle (vaman uncle and aunty) who hails in the perimeters of our house (5 minutes run). Giri, unruffled took the back doors, jumped the fence made a stunning beeline to Uncle’s house. He gathered the footsteps in aplomb, hastily galloped and tweaked through the boulevards with an approximate rhythm like Carl Lewis. He returned after 20 minutes with 50Rs and was pounding faster. He couldn’t feel his maimed feet and sat on the veranda and commented “I should try for 100 metres Olympics next time”.

The police man hesitatingly accepted the bribe and left happily. It was an unexpected incident in our family which remarkably found the fruit with the steadfast effort of my brother. Giri was proud and delighted for his accomplishment and in the chaos my parents forgot to appreciate him. But he neither piqued nor gouged

We often forget the past, the roads we travelled, the heydays, the mountain of challenges and success. It is not a rocket science that the money will come today and vanishes tomorrow. An excerpt from Gita,“What have you lost, that you are weeping? What have you bought, that you have lost? What have you made, that have been destroyed? You bought not anything. What you have, you got from here. What was given, was given here. What you took, you took from this universe. What you gave, you gave unto this universe. You have come empty handed and shall go empty handed.. What is yours today was somebody else's in the past and will be somebody else's in the future.” These incidents remind that value of money is relative to time.
At least these currency notes remind us of the smiling Gandhi.
Hail Gandhi ....Hail 50Rs.

My experiences with the familia....

The bus was cosy, flossy but I was dizzy, drowsy and messy. Dani and I are heading to the family home (casa) at Espirito Santo do Pinhal from Sao Paulo. I am supposed to be thrilled and excited as I am being introduced to my other half of the family for the first time. As usual, Dani slept on my shoulders and I watched the vivid ceremonies of the nature through the window. The highways are wide, organised and well directed. The landscape is absolutely out of belief with legions of green serene coffee and eucalyptus plantations. Dani’s siblings Julio, Marianna, Daise came to pick us at the highway. One by one they embraced me and gave a tight hug. We got into the car and I sat sandwiched between Dani and Marianna in the back seat. Julio drove us to the family house

Mae was at the corridors anxiously waiting for us, infact to see Dani and I together. She walked towards me and gave an even tighter hug than the siblings. She was looking brilliantly pretty and blocked my way with Portuguese greetings. It was lunch time and family gathered around the dining table. The lunch was rich with traditional Brazilian cuisine (beans, rice and lentils) and fresh green salads followed by a sweet pastry as desert. Dani was my translator and we plunged into conversation pertaining my Brazilian ventures, work and family. We cracked Jokes which added flavour to our lunch. After lunch Mae proudly showed her paintings and Dani guided me through the house.

Later that afternoon Dani took me for a drive through the country side and the city centre. We covered the churches, schools, university, boulevards and hot spots of the small city. We then met the grandparents, aunt Regina and couple of local friends. I was so popular in the city that everyone knows about Dani’s Indian Hindu sun soaked software Engineer boyfriend. In the evening we attended Mae’s cooking class, which entered the last day of the season. Students served us with traditional and delicious Brazilian dish followed by wine and pastries. They queued up to give me hugs and kisses. I answered them with hand gestures and lip movements like a deaf and dumb instructor. After the dinner we reached home and Pai was home watching TV. He instantly said “hello Pooja, tudo bem?”, I was awestruck and replied “muito bem”. We exchanged handshakes like CEO’s of multibillion dollar company and a light weak hug which spoiled the hugs I received on that day. Victor was shy and went to sleep early. I slept at Dani’s bedroom and Dani at her sister’s bedroom. Her room was small, but elegant, organized and neat. Her bed was soft, cosy and I wrapped myself with the soft quills. The altar has idols of Hindu gods, antiques, incenses and our framed picture. She hanged my painting which I gifted her on the walls. But that night was the worst, humiliating, disgusting nights I ever had.

The next day I woke with bitterness and Dani guided me to the dining table. Mae has prepared coffee for me and we had a heavy breakfast which included variety of cereals, cheese, butter, bread and cake. Dani then took me to show the farm house. The most interesting part of Dani and her life was her super swank farm house. Floras and faunas lived in harmony. They have oranges, avocados, bananas, cherries, mangos, papayas and plethora of Brazilian fruits. There is swimming pool, children’s playground, basketball court, small grass court for football, timber mill and beautiful out house where Julio stayed. The coffee plantations and eucalyptus trees acted as a fence which prevents unauthorized civilians to enter. There is small lake separating the farm house with the neighbouring farm house. And the entire farm house is guarded by 4 dogs, chickens and horses. We were followed and entertained by Charlie, chiquinha and chalitha.

The following days we visited her grandparents, cousins and friends. I paid a hurried visit to her clinic and colleagues. I played football with Julio, Victor and Bruno. I even accompanied her to see her doctor and received some advises. And on our way back from Campinas we picked up her police uncle, Ricardo. He proudly showed me his Russian made pistol which weighed above 5 kgs. When we reached home, we had visitors. Dani asked me to get refreshed and asked me to wear her favourite shirt. I got refreshed and wore the red shirt and blue denim jeans and went to the dining hall. I was shell shocked by the crowd inside the house. The atmosphere was pumped up and the crowd received me like a rock star. I was the in house DJ, Paul Van Dyke. I saw Dani in the other corner of the room and she waved her hands with an abducting smile. I tried to edge slowly through the crowd, it was worse than the traffic in Bangalore. The gathering consists of uncles, aunts, cousins, colleagues, patients and children’s. After lots of action packed adventure, hugging, grabbing, clasping, cuddling, hobnobbing, like an ambling bull I successfully reached the target. The dining table was packed with variety of snacks and drinks. Along with kisses and hugs I received gifts (perfumes, idols, paintings and clothes). Ricardo and his fiancé gifted me with a wine and a shirt. Adding splendour to the soiree all the ladies wore bindies. Everyone wants to talk with me, but unfortunately my hand gestures proved fatal. I carried little Maria for a while. After photography session all the visitors gathered outside at the basket ball court. We formed a circle and Dani thanked everyone for their participation. The surprise was a well planned joint venture by Dani and her relatives. After all it was the “mother of all surprises”. Everyone left happily and it was the most memorable evenings in my entire life.


On my last at the family house, siblings dropped by my room and gave a tight hug and kiss. I saw wet eyes on my siblings and a silent request from deep down “Pooja please don’t go”. I sat on the bed watching Dani’s expertise on packing. Next day morning, Mae dropped us at the bus station and she gave me a tight hug. My eyes become wet, but I resisted. After 4 hours of travel we reached Sao Paulo to spend our last day together. We visited the majestic and magnificent Ze church and new Sao Paulo city. The concrete blocks gave me an impression of NYC. We met Silvia, Dani’s teacher and attended her session on EMF. It was breath taking and I cried a lot. Finally after a momentous visit I gave her one last kiss and took the flight back home.

The visit was the most incredible and mesmerizing thing i have done in my entire life. A decision which i took all along with the backing of Dani was awe inspiring to many other couples. I thank our family, friends and God for feeding us with strength, courage, support and bliss. Last but the least, I thank Dani, without her I would have never achieved this glory.