Broaden your vision and deepen your roots

Answer: Why not? God loves diversity! What if there was only wheat or rice to eat? But you have so many fruits and vegetables. God seems to love diversity. He has created so many of us in different shapes, features and colors. He is definitely not someone uptight waiting to punish you. A spirit that loves diversity must be diverse in itself too. That is what the ancient saints found in meditation. There is only one energy force but with so many different forms. See, we all are same yet different. We like different things, so one can choose the form He/She likes to adore. Any form that one can connect to! See unity in diversity and celebrate diversity. Intelligent ones celebrate diversity, fools fight over it!


 Find the common thread in different religions. According to different places, there are different customs. Time has created differences. Time and again knowledge is revived as per the need of the time and people.

Answer: There is a love in which respect is not lost in spite of intense intimate love, the love of one who is so centered. The more you go near Krishna, the more you go near Buddha, the more you go near Jesus, the more you go near the Universal spirit, the Guru energy your respect will only increase, and it will not diminish.

Answer: Create a sense of belonging-ness with your juniors. You know that they respect you and you need to be cordial with them. Respect needs some distance, this distance is good but that should be of an arm’s length and not longer than that. Little bit distance is ok to keep the respect among your juniors, but too much distance will bring a breakdown in communication. You need to maintain that balance. A little bit distance needs to be there so that respect is maintained at the same time communication is cordial.

Answer: It is step by step experiential understanding. Before going to atma, the self, you have to know the five elements of creation. What are the tatvas? Prithvi, ap, tej, vayu, and akash - Earth, water, fire, air and ether. Then comes the mind, buddhi (intellect), memory, ego, and maha tattva (Self).

Often you find this happening in the world. Some people who are very much in their ideology, but they are not so practical and others are so practical that they drop all ideals or goals so there is no progress in life. You need a balance, a path, a connectedness with your ideology and the practicality. Wisdom is that which makes high ideals possible to live in daily life, in the mundane existence. Rishi Narada is also called the Devarshi, is a playful Rishi known for creating mischief. He plays double role at two different places. There is a colloquial expression in India which says not to be like Narada. He would create trouble and problems everywhere, but all that problem and trouble will turn out to be something very good for everybody.See life is no fun without some mischief, life is not a struggle, life is not boredom, life is not a weight on your head, it is celebration, it’s a play. Your life is a play and display of consciousness. Narada was one such Rishi, one of his kinds, he would create mischief, and he would connect people who normally don’t connect. He would connect you to the center, to your own existence.
When life is stagnant, you need to go to Narada, he will keep you moving. And how does he do that? With small aphorisms, the tiny Sutras, the tiny words of wisdom, the Bhakti Sutras. ‘Bhakti’, the divine love. Love in its ultimate form, love in its pinnacle.

Answer: Good! You have come to the right place. If you wish to get rid of a bad habit then there are only three ways for it.
The first is your love for knowledge, the Divine or some dear one - whether parents or Guru. By promising some dear one that you will quit the habit, you will be able to get rid of it. This is the best way out.
The second way is greed. If you will not consume intoxicants for six months, then you will get ten million rupees, or that your luck will shine and you will succeed in everything.
The third is fear - if one day you do consume intoxicants, then you will suffer a loss of one million, or you will have to suffer from a major ailment.
If such a greed or fear enters you, even then you will be rid of your addiction.
Along with these three ways, do yoga and pranayama. The best is that along with yoga and sadhana (spiritual practices), you take a vow that you will not indulge in addictions. Take a vow for forty days to start with. Then you can prolong the duration. After that, you would have come out of the habit and won’t look back at it.

Answer: Skillfully! If your boss tells you to do fraud, avoid it skillfully. Finally, say that your consciousness does not allow you to commit fraud. The boss will escape if you do fraud, and you will be put behind bars. However, hundred percent truth is also not workable, it is only an ideal.
There is an ancient Indian proverb that says as much lies are allowed as there is salt in food. For example, if you want to sell your product, it may not be the best; still you can say that your product is the best. That much lies are permissible. Ancient people have said this, thousands of years back. It is fascinating how they handled the human mind.

Answer: Very good! Don’t accept them as they are. Take strict action, and handle them skillfully.
People don’t change overnight, yet people do change. Nobody will remain the same as far as imperfections are concerned. Perfection remains the same. Truth is always one, lies can be many.

Answer: Our likes and dislikes change so often! You like something and then dislike it, and so on. Life should not be swayed away by likes and dislikes, but well founded on commitment. You need some work to sustain your life. Any job that sustains your life, be committed to it and if you get something better, go for it.There is nothing like job satisfaction. Every job has some drawbacks. Earn your livelihood and then do service for satisfaction. That brings you maximum satisfaction. Nothing else can bring you the satisfaction that service brings.