Life and Spirituality

Earl's Court, Nainital Today my mind went to a fundamental question – how much money does one need for a good life, perhaps the best possible one on the planet. The reason for this thought arose because of worries for a friend and class fellow (Rajat Gupta) who was until a few years ago amongst the richest persons in USA. Then he got involved in legal difficulties because of which not only did the sources of his income stop but he has also been fined and is paying exorbitant legal costs. The net outcome would be that his wealth will reduce substantially. However, on deeper reflection the cause of my worry disappeared as I deliberated briefly on what amount of money is required by a family or person to have a very comfortable and good life style, in fact the kind that much less than one per cent of the population of the planet is able to afford. I presently live in India and my estimates began from here. I arrived at the conclusion that a million dollars of net we...

O n a forested hill side, at a point where there is a little level clearing, sits the mystic yogi. He sits still on soft ground, under the shade of an ancient oak, by the side of a stream of clear water that runs down the hill. He is oblivious to the dance of butterflies that dance about on wild flowers around him. He is oblivious to the sounds of the gurgling stream as it rushes over pebbles and rocks rounded through the ages, or of the chirping of birds that hop from branch to branch. He is free of fear or any desire, completely at peace. His eyes are closed and he breathes slowly, evenly. A single word repeats endlessly in his mind – Allah, broken into two syllables – Al with his inward breath and lah with the outward one. He is not a Muslim. He believes in the mystic truth of all religions and that the Almighty has an infinite number of names, Allah being one of the easiest to chant because it synchronizes with the cycles of breathing with such wonderful ease. His mind is...

I t was mentioned in in the last post that food is inexpensive if bread or pasta is central to a meal and if the bread or pasta is prepared at home from flour. It is only when wheat is processed further into bread or pasta and bought from a store that the price goes up. Admittedly bread or pasta from a store is convenient but the one made fresh at home not only costs less, it is also healthier by far. Eventually the choice depends upon the circumstances of each individual. One way fresh pasta or pasta fresco is made in our home is by kneading a half and half mix of semolina and flour, rolling out into pancakes and then cutting strips of it with the help of a ruler and sharp knife. If you wish you could add an egg or two to the original mix but it is not necessary. The egg would be nicer if hard boiled, cut into slices with an egg wire cutter and used as a garnish. The cut strips are then dunked into salted boiling water and boiled for a few minutes until just right to ea...

What a lovely road! T here are many articles on how to increase happiness therefore it might be worth writing one on how to become unhappy. It is believed that harboring a strong desire for something that we do not appear to be fated to receive in life leads to unhappiness. While self evident,  that this is a source of unhappiness, it is not a sustainable one. This type of unhappiness can be lost in an instant. The moment the desire is given up this unhappiness disappears. Following is a list of seven convenient and frequently used methods of becoming unhappy on a sustainable basis: These steps are more or less guaranteed to work. 1. Get a job that you do not enjoy. This way you would be spending several hours of your life in an unhappy manner. It is likely to become a habit even when not in the workplace. To add to the woes, ensure that about an hour or so is required to commute to work each way. All you have to do is locate your home far away from your place of...

A lot of my friends on facebook and other places liked a picture of my garden that is greener than other times because it is still the monsoons here in Jaipur. This time I snapped a picture from the north side to get a different view. There is a small pond towards the north with a small concrete bridge over it. At one time I use to stock it with gold fish but then the fish eating birds found out and that had to be stopped. Now it is a part of the rain harvesting apparatus of the home. Shyamu the boy who has looked after the home and garden for the last twelve years is shown standing in second photo and I am seen sitting in the first identical one. Just click on the picture for a bigger and better view of the photo. Our photos are tiny because the idea was to get in as much of the garden as possible rather than us. As you can well make out I have planted as many trees as possible all around my home and many on the street sides too. If I had more space I would have planted more...

There are person who proclaim that they do not believe in God and there are others that firmly affirm that they believe in God. Both of these statements should not be taken at their face value because after all what these persons are proclaiming as God means different things to different persons. Let us consider both these type of persons a bit more First let us consider the people who say they believe in God. Perhaps they even visit a temple, mosque or church or belong to one of the many religious organizations that exist on our planet. Or, they may be independent believers who do it on their own. Amongst these are some that practice their faith in a visible active manner, yet, it has been found that some from amongst them may lack in compassion for their fellow human beings or other life that makes up our world. They may even lead a life that exploits or hurts the planet, other humans and other life forms directly or indirectly for personal gain. To my mind these person...

Whenever a human need arises a human often tends to seeks help from other humans. Thus when a human has a health problem he seeks a doctor that can help him. The trouble is that this world is made up opposites -   good and bad, truth and lies etc. For every genuine practitioner out there, there are also quacks willing to lie about their abilities or to exploit the need of a fellow human to satisfy their greed rather than any sincere desire to help. Unlucky persons can get trapped by such exploiters or agents of the devil and instead of getting real help end up loosing their health or money or both. It requires utmost wisdom to protect oneself from falling into the wrong hands. Such quackery and greed does not exist merely in the field of medicine but also in every other sphere of human need. What may be said though that more acute the human need, the more extensive  the exploitation. Unfortunately, spiritual quackery has also been widespread in human societies from...