“I think Raichand is back to his shenanigans,” Swami said when we met at the café the other day. Jigneshbhai and I stayed silent. In the past, we had seen Swami suffer due to his boss Raichand’s penchant for making money by hook or by crook. “He wants me to talk to some placement consultant … Read more
Birth The story of why the best teacher of Vedic culture was named Drona is a fantastic one. Legend has it that Bharadwaja, the great seer, while having bath, once saw an Apsara, a celestial beauty named Gritachi, having a bath at the same spot. It was one of the rare occasions when even a … Read more
Swami Vivekananda on Attachment: Be “unattached”; let things work; let brain centres work; work incessantly, but let not a ripple conquer the mind. To attain this unattachment is almost a life-work. Attachment comes only where we expect a return. If working like slaves results in selfishness and attachment, working as master of our own mind … Read more
I read this much-celebrated book ‘The 4-Hour Work Week’ by Timothy Ferriss lately. Perhaps it is intended for a younger audience but for me, a writer close to fifty after twenty five years of corporate life, most of the details in the book were too much work to read. I found only the last section … Read more
When I first started writing, more than the actual writing, I spent a lot of time on reading about writing. Later, after reading a lot about writing, I realised that my time is best spent in the actual writing, going forward. But at that point in time, when I was new to writing, publishing and … Read more
Swami Vivekananda on Misery: All thought of obtaining return for the work we do hinders our spiritual progress; nay, in the end it brings misery. Never will unhappiness or misery come through work done without attachment. Misery comes through attachment, not through work. As soon as we identify ourselves with the work we do, we … Read more
One of the striking features of Bheeshma’s life was that he had the benediction to choose his time of death. One might feel that this was a blessing, which in fact it was. But the other side of it also meant that unlike others who have to wait for death irrespective of what happens in … Read more
At 4 PM Sri heard the thud of the basketball on the external wall of his house, and it shook him. He tried to neglect it, but he couldn’t. He tried to focus on his work, but he couldn’t concentrate. The basketball thuds kept getting louder. The screams of the boys accompanied the thuds. The … Read more
Swami Vivekananda on Freedom Be at rest, be free, and work. This kind of freedom is a very hard thing to attain. Give up all fruits of work; do good for its own sake; then alone will come perfect non-attachment. The bonds of the heart will thus break, and we shall reap perfect freedom. Wherever … Read more