What is Your Religion??

 I am a Hindu by birth. But if someone asks me what is my religion, I would say:

• It is KINDNESS
• It is COMPASSION

And my God is: LOVE

 My God is not sitting in a temple or a church or a mosque or any other place of worship. There is no god sitting on any mount or in any heaven!!

The love in our hearts is God! If we are kind, if we are compassionate; we are godly; we are spiritual!

 There is no God outside of you. There is no God outside of me.

There is no God who can ever be explained or defined! 

Love doesn’t need any language. Love is a feeling and it can only be experienced. Love only needs loving! And God Being Love needs only loving. God too can only be experienced.

 Hindu scriptures describe God as: Satchitananda — Sat Chit Ananda

Sat: Ever Existent

Chit: Ever Conscious

Ananda: Ever new Bliss

 That is my God. That is the God I worship. That is the God I love. And that is the God I see and feel in the places of worship of all faiths and religions. Once we are filled with love we shall always be blissful. 

And ultimately my Father and I are One.  Indian rishis and scriptures had said that too, millenniums ago: I am He. My soul, my love is a vital and inseparable part of the Great Spirit, of Divine Love.

I have made friends and love bloggers from all religions and all countries! (And that is so in my personal non blogging friends too!!) To name just a few: Saba is a Muslim from Pakistan; Jyot is a Sikh – An Indian living in the US; Yeka is a Catholic (believe in a personal God) and lives in Philippines; Huguette lives in Lebanon and doesn’t believe in an orthodox God; Dawn lives in USA and loves Jesus Christ; Betul is from Turkey; Vee is from Canada; Helen (Eilidh) is from England/Belgium, Kamal is from Mumbai and so on ….. I love them all because they are filled with love and kindness.

 The Holy Geeta, Bible and Quran sit side by side on the shelves of the bookstores and they never fight! Those who fight are the ones who have never read them or have not imbibed their message of love, universal peace and brotherhood!

There is not and there can’t be any difference in: Christ Consciousness or Krishna Consciousness or the Consciousness of Prophet Muhammad and Buddha; or any self realised being.

There is no God of vengeance and there is no God we should be fearful of.

 God is Love

God is Peace

God is Joy

God is Bliss

God is Patience

God is Compassion

God is Light

God is Purity

God is Beauty

Unselfishness is God

Nature is God

God is in the fragrance of the flowers. 

God is manifest in every sunrise and every sunset.

God is manifest in the smile of the child and in the hug of a friend.

God is there in every pure emotion and thought.

 We are going through very turbulent times. There is so much unrest and uncertainty in the young as well as old. The only way we can help the world is by changing our consciousness; and by not getting sucked into the negativity being spewed by media, the politicians and their allies. Once we raise our consciousness, once we become love; once we tear the veil of separation; we help whole of humanity. 

I will love till my last breath 💕💕

************

PS: For more on Love and God you may like to read:

Love is a One Way Street and

Infinitude of God

In fact my blog is filled with Love and God and Life posts 😊💕🙏

copyright © Ashok Wahi

It is Beauty I Love 💕 💖 💗

I See Thee Painting

“O Cosmic Light, every day I see Thee painting the sky in bright colors. I watch Thee clothe the bare soil with green grass. Thou art in the warmth of the sunshine. Oh, Thou art so plainly present everywhere!”

Paramahansa Yogananda

“Whenever you see a beautiful sunset, think to yourself: “It is God’s painting on the sky.” As you look into the face of each person you meet, think within: “It is God who has become that form.” Apply this trend of thought to all experiences: “The blood in my body is God; the reason in my mind is God; the love in my heart is God; everything that exists is God.”

Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda.

Whatever I am today is a gift of my Guru, Paramahansa Yogananda. One of these gifts is my love for nature and travel. Nature is God 💕🙏

Some of my earlier posts which might interest you are:

Monsoon Love 💕

The Red Rose 🌹

Mornings are mine 😊❤️

Paramahansa Yogananda had composed so many divine chants, like:

Oh Thou Blue Sky

Frozen Sky

I will be a gypsy

It is beauty I love. In love and with love I seek the Maker of the beautiful”

Swami Paramananda

This quote of Swamiji has been a favourite of mine for years. Read it first in 1998 💕🙏

How can one see a flower, a sunrise, a sunset, a sky filled with different coloured clouds, the smile of a child, a beautiful face and not think of God 💕🙏

Beauty in motion 💕

Saw her today morning

In her beauty pristine

Changing every second

Teasing me

Enticing me

Alluring me

With Her beauty divine

At times She was so close

Caressing me

Covering Her beauty

With veils of clouds

Grey and dark

And then

Opening up a little

With a mischievous bright smile

To give me another glimpse

Of Her beauty divine

I know You live

In my heart

But how shall I appease

This longing

For your touch?

When shall this

Hide and seek end?

It was a glorious morning with clouds playing hide and seek with the rising sun and the blue sky. Neither do I have the words to describe the feelings which were evoked, nor can my mobile ever capture this beauty in motion 💕💕

of Hope and Faith

It was a dark night

It was a dark dark night

There wasn’t there even

A flicker of light.

It was such a sad night

Even my soul did cry

There was sadness

There was gloom

I paced around the room

I lied down too

And I tossed

And I turned

Still there was no peace

And there was no light

It was such a dark night.

A night in which even my

Soul started to cry

But it was a cry

Of compassion

A cry sad but kind

Because it could see

The suffering of my mind.

And then the night

Turned cold

And I shivered

And I cried

I was so lost

In that dark

Night so cold.

And when it all looked lost

I heard a voice

It was a voice

So soft

It was filled

With compassion

And love divine …

“I am always there with you

I have never left your side.

I have made you in My image

And it is My light

That is reflected

In your soul my child.

It may be burn dim

Or it may burn bright

It is never extinguished

For It Is Life”

All my struggle ceased

I felt such peace

A peace that

Was divine.

And I opened my eyes

I saw the morning star

A new day had dawned

Bringing with it

Renewed Hope

Courage and Faith

And I was draped

In Love Divine

Pics with with my iPhone 8 Plus

ONENESS

God is all there is

I too am He

But I am only He

When I am not me.

I am the wave

And I am the sea

That yon Lake

And the mountain.

And you

Yes you too

Are Him.

There is only One

And that One

Is He

In you and in me.

There is no

Separation

One Love

One Joy

One Peace

One Bliss

One Spirit

One Consciousness

JUST ONENESS

Aum Amen Ameen 🙏

Naseem is no more 😌i

Yes, Naseem is no more. She was young and beautiful and she breathed her last early morning today 😌🙏

I had met her more than 20 years back and loved her on first sight. Sweet little girl with a beautiful smile 😍 Her mother used to give rides to children on a small merry go round, near the park where I used to go for my walks in Mumbai. That was in late 90s. During my talks with her I realised that she was from a decent family but her husband had to leave his work after a heart attack. She had to start some work to feed the family. One day Naseem had come to meet her and I met her that day for the first time. At that time she must have been around 12-13. Such a sweet girl. Loved her.

I started to take more interest in their lives and helped the girls to go through beautician courses. Fatima, the eldest sister, and Naseem became good at this but other sisters eventually did other work. In India, the not so educated Muslim families don’t worry so much about their daughters education. Their brother finished his graduation and got a good job. Sisters too were working. With God’s Grace I was able to help the father start a tailoring shop. And all was going well once again for them.

Their life story of past 20-25 years so vividly confirms my post: Cyclicity of Life Good times, bad times, good times and very bad times😌🙏

We came from entirely different backgrounds, social status and religion. And yet there was so much love. Interestingly all the children, as well as the parents call me uncle😊. There are no barriers, no hurdles, no distances, no cast, colour or creed in Friendship; in Love.

Two years back I had gone to Mumbai, when I had heard about Naseem’s sickness, and had taken her to my doctor. Doctor confirmed that the treatment Naseem was undergoing was right. I was relieved but knew that there was only one cure for her disease – prayer 🙏 Last month I had gone to meet her. Father too is not so well again. Last week Naseem had to be admitted in the hospital. And I was intending to visit her later this week (Am tied up with some organisational work till tomorrow)

But such is life. We know so little!!

In a way I am relieved. Naseem’s suffering is over. She is in very kind and loving Hands now. May God give her family strength and wisdom to deal with her absence. I loved all the children but I was always more fond of Naseem. Have been praying for her during every morning and evening meditation for months.

You will read this and pray for her and get on with your next post and life and forget Naseem. I too will do the same, but may take a little longer. Her family will take longer than me 😌

All of us will forget Naseem. All of us will stop thinking about death. Sad or happy we will continue with our lives.

Was there any meaning to Naseem’s life? Is there any meaning to any of our lives?

Why are you so worried about your job? Your holiday? The grades of your child? Your result? The new car? YOU ARE ALIVE AND NASEEM IS DEAD!! WHY AREN’T YOU GRATEFUL?

It is so amazing that I have been meaning to write about death and life for the past few days. On Thursday I had gone to attend a Spiritual discourse and heard a recording of Dada Vaswani on death. He was the Spiritual Head of the Sindhi community in India and was revered all over the world as a saintly person. I had the pleasure and the privilege of meeting him 3 years back – the only saint I have ever met – a picture of humility and love. That was on Thursday.

On Friday I was to lead the meditation at our center and the reading I chose, incidentally, was Paramahansa Yogananda talking about death!!

During the last month I had written about Life :

Life is a Reality Show

Life is a Cocktail 🍷🍷🍷

Infinitude of God

All the three are my truths and my experiences of life. And I would like to conclude the topic with today’s post … not that one can ever stop talking about life 😇

DEATH IS LIFE ….

Most of us live, as if we shall never die. Most of us die as if we never lived.

Life is absolutely UNCERTAIN. We have no clue what tomorrow may bring. But one thing is absolutely CERTAIN :

WITH EVERY PASSING DAY OUR DEATH IS COMING NEARER!!

Dada Vaswani explained it beautifully. He asked us to meditate on death. And to do it often. And we will realise that it is an illusion. Like I had mentioned in my posts that life is the grandest illusion; so is death. But we are scared of it and we don’t want to think about it. And we don’t want to talk about it. But believe me my dear friend that once you make friends with death you will never be afraid of it. And the quality of your life will grow manifold.

Dada Vaswani gave some practical tips to strengthen our friendship with death :

1. Establish personal relationship with a god, God or a godly person. A person who is filled with love and devotion. For me it is my Guru, Paramahansa Yogananda, for you it may Krishna, Christ, Buddha, Prophet Mohammad, Mahavira, Zarathushtra….
2. Rejoice in everything that comes to you. Everything comes from Him.
3. Be a blessing to others.
4. The god you worship or the godly person you revere shall be there to receive you when you cross over. He will greet you with love and with a smile and shall ask you just one question: What did you do with your life my child?
5. Get detached from everything. Use things but don’t get too attached with them. Love people but don’t get too attached with them too. It is these attachments that come in your life as ghosts. They never leave you.
6. Reduce your desires. Make your life simple.

Dada said Death is simply a Bridge : between the physical and the astral world.

Paramahansa Yogananda says something very similar : he says that our body passes from the dream of physical to the dream astral world. And saint and sinner alike spend some time in the astral world, depending on their karma. And after spending sometime there our unfulfilled desires and strong attachments again force us to come back to the physical plane.

The point my dear friend is : whether you believe in reincarnation or not; whether your belief or your religion is against it or pro; you are going to die and so am I. Death remains the only certainty in this uncertain world. SO :

PLEASE DO NOT WAIT FOR TOMORROW TO LIVE THE LIFE OF YOUR DREAMS.

DO NOT WAIT TILL TOMORROW TO SAY A KIND WORD OR DO A KIND DEED.

Today is the only day that was promised to you.

PLEASE DO NOT WASTE IT : whining, crying, lamenting, blaming, defending, justifying….

SPEND IT : Loving, caring, being happy and spreading happiness and cheer. And when the call comes you will be amply ready…for

HE IS KIND BEYOND COMPARE.

Aum Peace Amen Ameen 🙏

Monsoon Love 💕

Love you Monsoon 💕

Thy thunder and thy lightening

The pitter patter of rain

Thy palette of clouds

Arrayed in beauty divine.

The greys

The blues

The whites

And sprinkling of glorious sunshine

*******

Oh God Beautiful at Thy feet oh I do bow …

Earlier posts on monsoon 👇

the Wait is Over…

Oh thou Grey Sky …

Waiting with Longing ..

Monsoon clouds …

Photos by Ashok on iPhone in one morning 💕

Life is a REALITY SHOW….

Oh yes, Life is just a Reality Show. It is a play, a movie, an act … whatever … but it is not real. It is THE BIGGEST REALITY SHOW ever made. It could also be called THE GRANDEST ILLUSION 😇

I had talked about the software of God which creates our life story in Life is a Cocktail 🍷🍷🍷 That is the plot or the story of the interactive reality show, we call life.

At some time or the other all of us have felt the unreality of life. The holiday we took a couple of years back looks like a dream. That surprise meeting with the person of your dreams; did it really happen? Does not the utter unreality and at times the utter uselessness of all action strike all of us at some time or the other?

We do keep getting glimpses of this play but are too scared to probe it further. We get scared of what life will be like if the life as we knew it is not real! The fear of the unknown keeps us trapped in this endless drama, this never ending cycle of pain and suffering; with some happiness and pleasure thrown in to keep the act going.

You may like to read my views on life/God also on : Infinitude of God and My Love-Hate relationship with USA; Infinitude of God-2

There is no way this ever expanding universe can be real. It is a creation of our thoughts …

Truman Show:

This was a Jim Carey movie and is the story of an insurance salesman, who discovers his entire life is actually a television show and that even members of his family are mere actors!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loTIzXAS7v4

I saw this movie more than two decades back and it resonated so well with my thoughts. I loved it. What a concept! The whole city was a set for this life long reality show. At one stage Truman (JC) finds out about the show and tries to escape but is unsuccessful. He then confronts the director, who tells him about his dream about this immense reality show. The whole world is glued to their TVs to see what will Truman do the next day.

He opens his front door as usual, comes out and says Good Morninggggg 😊😊

Last couple of years I was regularly going to my old apartment for its renovation. In that condo I had an older neighbour, who wasn’t so well. He used to come out in a wheel chair and sit in the sun in the drive way in the winter mornings. Every time I passed by him I would stop my car, roll down the glass and say good morning Mr. M😊 And he will ask me how was my son and bless me. It kept on going on for months. One day it stuck me that I am doing exactly like Truman 😊 Not only me, my neighbour too 😊 Both of us were part of the Reality Show!! Next day when I crossed him I made it a point to come out of the car and shook hands with him!! I see this play being enacted all around me so very often. In the malls, on the roads .. everywhere.

Life my friend, is a reality show only. I have no doubt in my mind. It is not real. But it is so well made that it looks very real. Oh the reality of unreality!!

Life is like a Movie

Life could also be compared to a movie. We know movies aren’t real. Movies are movies 😊 But someone has produced it, directed it; edited it and we are watching it. In a way it is real. Life, like a movie, is real and unreal at the same time.

And also it is a Work in Progress and a Finished Product at the same time. Your computer, tablet or mobile whatever you are using just now is solid. It is a finished product. But the moment you watch its inner structure: there are millions and billions of electrons and protons running around like mad. For them they are a work in progress. But for you it is a finished, solid product. Life is always a perspective. Finished or a WIP – depends on where are you looking from.

Same is true for our lives : We are a work in progress. Life events are happening and shall keep happening. At the same time whatever has to happen has already happened. It wouldn’t have happened, it couldn’t have happened if the Cosmic Creator Director hadn’t already created it in His thoughts. We are a finished product or WIP – All a perspective. Never real.

Or as Neale Donald Walsch wrote in Conversations with God : Life is like a CD Rom. Everything has happened 😇 Depends which track are we watching!!

All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.

William Shakespeare

 If we start to become aware of this play, this drama, we start enjoying it. Worry and tension go out and we get filled with joy and laughter.

 Ultimately good or bad; hero or villain, rich or poor, beautiful or ugly…..it is all maya, an illusion, a play ….never real…..

 Guruji, Paramahansa Yogananda had said,” When you die, you are going to say; Thank God it was a dream!” Same as we get up from a bad dream and say : Thank God it was a dream!!

“It doesn’t matter whether we scrub floors, or whether we are leaders of great nations; unless we know that we are merely playing a part on the stage of time, we will suffer from the dualities inherent in the consciousness of being identified with these different stations and conditions. Stage actors do not bemoan their particular parts, but enact their roles to the best of their ability, knowing they are temporary portrayals. Do you see? It is only when we take life too seriously that we suffer.” Paramahansa Yogananda

So many times I think I should walk away from all this : this dream, this show, this endless drama of life; and then I get up in the morning and say :

GOOD MORNING WORLD 😂

And the show goes on ….

Life is a Cocktail 🍷🍷🍷

Oh yes, Life is a Cocktail. It has 3 ingredients. And the fun or the beauty or the tragedy is that you can’t say no to it. You got to drink it, whether you like it or not!! Three cheers to life🍷🍷🍷

Ingredient 1 — GOD’S PLAN

God, the Creator, has a plan for His creation and for His children. And is the first ingredient of the Cocktail, we call our life. Many saints and sages have talked of this and so have many philosophers and learned men through the ages. And I leave it to you to explore, expound or understand that. I too have my point of view on this and someday i might write more about it.

Ingredient 2 — Soul’s Agenda

I am told every soul comes to earth to learn and to grow. But most of times maya, ego or the illusion makes it forget its plan or its native nature and it gets entangled in the drama of life.

So our soul’s agenda gets mixed with God’s plan and the story of our life gets more complex.

Ingredient 3 — Karma

The third ingredient of the cocktail is our karma. That is our actions and choices of this life and of many past incarnations.

And this makes it a very heady cocktail. An irresistible cocktail. And this also makes our life extremely complex.

My take on life …

I think God, The Creator has written a huge and complex software programme. The first and the biggest of all codes 😇 It has infinite variables and combinations.

This programme processes all our actions ( trillions of actions of billions of people, everyday) and balances these with a reaction (cause and effect). Next it factors in the soul’s agenda and writes the next chapter of the journey of our lives. And finally it looks at His plan for us and fine tunes the story.

And the fun begins 😊

When I realised all this 15-20 years back I thought to myself : I don’t know what is God’s plan for my life and I have no clue about my soul’s agenda. Whatever comes to me from my past, my karma I shall bear gladly. Let me do my best today and let go.

That is how my day to day, my practical spirituality developed. It is simple :

1. Non Judgment: How can we ever judge anyone or any situation? We have no clue about God’s plans and souls agendas.

2. Living in the Now: I can’t undo my past. I can’t do nothing about my future. The only thing I have in my hand is this moment. This NOW. Let me do my best and let go.

Do your best and let go my friend. He knows what He is doing and running the world is His Responsibility not yours or mine.

Keep it simple : Be joyous and spread joy. And enjoy the cocktail we call life 😊💕🍷