What Happens when we die:

Death is a lovely experience. When we die and become free of our physicality, our overall understanding changes fundamentally. When we are in a body, our position is that of a “start” and an “end”. Everything in our life starts at a certain point and ends at a certain other point. We are born and at some other point of time we die. Overall, we have a linear sense of time. However, after death the sensory perceptions are over and direct perception replaces it. That is when we realize that, in reality, “time’’ does not exist in a linear sense. Jesus had said it categorically to his disciples, “In the kingdom of my father, there shall be time no longer!”     

Another fundamental change in the realm of reality is end of “fear”. In the earthly life fear is a major denominator. It is because right since the day of our birth, we are exposed to judgement by others. We are described as either fair or dark, chubby or skinny, playful or crying, good or bad ....our world is a world of definitions. Actually, when a child is just born, it is ego-less. Gradually however it forms an image of her/him which is a reflection of what it receives from its surroundings. And a false center, namely, the ego is born. Ego is always susceptible to judgement either by others or by ourselves and it is afraid of losing its ground per se. Hence we humans living through our egos resort to various defense mechanisms. After death however, the ego is finished and judgement is over hence the very concept of fear or possibility of being scared does not arise.

Related to being fearless is the possibility of being joyful. Fear kills the joy. After dying we come to realize that pure joy is unconditional. And we are rather perplexed as to why we didn’t realize it earlier?  All our life we pursue happiness and hope to get it upon certain condition being fulfilled. Only after dying we realize that conditional happiness is no happiness at all. It is opposite to being fearful. The pure happiness or pure joy is without any cause or condition and we are made of it. It is our very essence.

Third major realization comes in the form of “connectivity”. When we are ego-less we are connected and in fact unified with everything else in the universe. Actually separation in earthly life is because of separate egos.  After death the original substance, the ‘essence’ takes over. This is an all together different, a ‘love-like’ substance and within its jurisprudence, everything is fundamentally “one” i.e. everything is inter-connected. Hence people who come back from NDE (Near Death Experience) are full of love towards one and all, unconditionally. In our earthly life the unconditional love is rare as there is a sense of “difference” amongst one another. Hence our love is always with an agenda. At the most we can empathize with others but we cannot become others. This condition changes after we die as everything and everyone is “us” only.

And the ultimate of all is the realization that there is no other place to go to. Since time stops existing in a linear fashion everything is here and now. Since a state of pure joy is experienced (which is without fear and full of connectivity), heaven or any other state of being is just not needed. Everything is so perfect and heavenly here and now. This is our home.    

We take our life very seriously because we think this world and this life is real and it is the only dimension there is to it to the existence. We have forgotten our ‘essence’ and ‘magnificence’ because our perception is limited by our senses.  A true Yogi is one who has transcended sensory perception in this very life and tasted the elixir of pure “being”. He is called “dwij” or twice-born. He is the true Bramhan ! 

Above article was published in The Times of India , column Speaking Tree on 5th Aug 2016

Dying to be me: By Anita Moorjani
There was once a time in my life when I used to read 10-20 books a month on an average. Finishing 2 or 3 books in a day was a frequent feature. I had certain questions about life as a subjective phenomena and I needed an answer for them badly. This quest took me to a wide spectrum. From शेखर - एक जीवनी n नदी के द्वीप to erstwhile Paulo Coelho!...From Sigmund Freud n Erich Bern to M Scott Peck....from J L Nehru n Will Durant to Straight up to Spinoza..and finally from Paramhans Yoganand, Osho to Shri Shri....I tried to find solace and in the process got into Yoga and Spirituality. But the beauty is I didn't find any answers...instead the questions dropped themselves ! Life is to be lived and not to be understood! That's what came to me as a realization. As a consequence..hardly 4 or 5 books are read by me over an year these days. Some books beckon..as if they would love to come to me as much as I would love to go through them. One such book I finished yesterday night. Dying to be me by Anita Moorjani. Oh! What a wonderful book. It's her account on her NDE (Near Death Experience) when as a final stage cancer patient she went into coma and experienced "Dying" first hand! 😊Oh! What a wonderful expression! Cogent, clear and free of any dogma whatsoever. Anita tells you lucidly exactly how the bigger picture is. How you are transformed fundamentally when you have tasted the energy in the other(?) realm. The real dimension...more real than our current dimension which we call life. Anita explains, without terrifying or sensationalizing how extremely loving 😍 , timeless, unconditional n all encompassing the reality is. I immediately recalled the word द्विज (the twice born) ..our philosophy says the real Brahmin is one who has reborn in this very life..that is one who has experienced death( through yoga) while living and thus reborn. I was also reminded of Baba Gorakhnath's famous quote म रौ हे जोगी मरौ, मरन है मीठा । तिस मरणी मर दीठो, जिस मरणी गोरष मर दीठा See the death the way Gorakh has seen.. It's joyful beyond your wildest expectations!
When Anita came back she was 'sorted', full of joy and hope personified. Doctors had in fact declared her 'over' already so her coming back was a miracle in itself. However what was truly spectacular was that the cancerous tumours spread all over her body simply vanished within a weeks time leaving no traces whatsoever. How could this be? People asked Anita , " what is that one fundamental change that you have exexperience that has brought you healing of this nature? ". Anita replied, " prior to my NDE, 'fear' was the centre from where I operated. However, after NDE,' Unconditional joy' is what drives me. That has brought all the change.
Please mind the word 'unconditional ' here. 80% of us are driven by fear as a motivator in life. Balance 20% find joy but that is also a conditional joy. As a result by n large we remain entangled. The real freedom is unconditional joy, which if you have experienced even once changes you forever. I think that is the reason why Buddha said, " enlightenment is end to all your sufferings".
Anyway, the final message from Anita is , " love yourself unconditionally and express yourself fearlessly!". And you get thoroughly convinced with this by the time you finish the book.
Highly recommended to all the fellow seekers. 🙆

Mandav : A laid back destination in central India

If you have interest in historical ruins and remnants, archaeological sights and Afgani architecture, Mandav is the place for you. These palaces exude an irresistible old world charm and you are just transported to that era.

When I first visited Mandav I had not the slightest idea of its beauty and hidden treasures. It is a poetry written in the form of structures, lakes, forests and hills.
Mandav is a favorite weekend destination for Indorians. Its about 110 km from Indore by road. Since most of it is a National Highway (NH3) it is fun driving to Mandav on a sunny morning. You need to take AB Bypass Road from wherever you are in Indore or you need to reach Rau circle. After this keep moving on A B Road towards Mumbai.  You will bypass Mhow and then reach a small village like town…. Just after this you need to leave NH3 and take a turn towards another very good highway heading towards Dhar- Ratlam.  You will tread about 10 kms on this and find a small nice road branching out to your left. Take this road which will go  straight to Mandav.
 If we have a look on the brief history of the place, it will be even more enjoyable.Though it has very old references let’s go to 1015 AD when contemporary rulers of Malwa, the Parmars, capitalized on its strategic location and built up some forts.  They named it as Mandavgarh.  Later, In 1401 Delhi was captured by Timur and one of his vassals, Dilavar Khan, raised his kingdom near Dhar. After Dilawar, his son Hoshang Shah came to the throne. He shifted the capital from Dhar to Mandav and put his full might to give Mandav the splendor of a capital city. This was Mandav’s golden time. The city became a well known location with panoramic view resplendent with lakes and forests surrounding it. In those times Mandu was also called Shahidabd or Anadnagri.

After Hoshang Shah and his son’s rule, came Khiljis on the scene. Second in line of Khiljis was Gayasuddin Khilji who ruled for 31 years. He was a typical Afgan king with a harem of about 1000 queens. The ‘Zahaj Mahal’ was built by Gayasuddin Khilzi in 1469 AD. And it was primarily a pleasure palace or a Rang Mahal. It is said that Gayasuddin used to sit on terrace with his feet in wine and a mehfil of dance and mujra used to take place on full moon nights.

After Gayasuddin  Khilaji the history of Mandav is chequered with one or the other king taking its control. It came under Humanyu’s rule in 1534 but was lost once again to a rebel and 10 more years of feud, invasions and conspiracies followed. Finally it is in these feuds that a handsome, tall and an expert horse rider rose to prominence and was successful in establishing his control and kingdom around Mandav. This was Baz Bahadur. Baz Bahadur ruled from 1545 to 1561 almost but in between had to flee from Mandu when it was attacked by Hemu. However he regained the control. It is in these times that the famous episode of love between  Roopmati and Baz Bahadur took place. Roopmati was a hindu princess and was a worshipper of Narmada river.  Baz Bahadur built up a ‘Mandap’ for her (called Roopmati Pavaliion today), wherefrom she could view river Narmada every morning.

The love story ended tragically on 29th March 1561, when king Akbars armies defeated Baz Bahadur at the Battle of Sarangpur. Baz Bahadur fled to Khandesh and Rani Roopmati poisoned herself at her palace. Actually she was apprehensive of being taken over by Akbar’s vassal Adham Khan who reportedly had an eye on her. Within less than a year Baz Bahadur regained the control of Mandav but he was a broken heart now. More feuds and battles were in the offing which made Baz Bahadur a fugitive saving his life somehow and finally he surrendered himself to Akbar’s services in 1570.

With the above history in mind you can connect more with the various gates, palaces mosques and tombs in Mandu. You enter Mandu through one of the gates only.

In Mandav the prominent points are Jahaj Mahal, Roopmati Pavallion, Baz Bahdur’s Mahal and some lesser known spots like Rewa Kund, Shiv temple and surrounding panorama. See Jahaj Mahal Below:

Let’s first visit Jahaj Mahal. It is a huge palace having water bodies on both its back as well as front side. There is a ticket (reasonable) to enter Jahaj Mahal. It’s  justified when you find properly maintained greenery and cleanliness inside.

It is said that Gayasuddin Khilji used to sit in the evenings with his feet in the wine whence the cool breeze used to flow from the backside and he had a spectacular view in front of him (with queens swimming in open pond etc) . It was like sitting in a ship. Hence the name Jahaj Mahal.

Jahaj Mahal has a lake on its back side and garden (Mugal Style) with a manmade pond on the front side. 

The Jahaj Mahal is quite a large property and you will easily spend an hour or so roaming around. If you take a guide (Local guides are available for 200 to 300 rupees) you will come to know the interesting history as well. You also have a museum which can be visited in 15-20 minutes but will give you a feel of that era.You can roam around freely. Enjoy some solitude in this monument of love. If you are tired you can rest under the shade of a tree and have something. Little tit bits will have to be carried by yourself. It is prohibited inside. So also littering has to be avoided:

By the time you come out of Jahaj Mahal you will be hungry. You have many choices for food here. You can give a trial for local food which is Nimadi Dall Bati type. Or you can choose M P Tourism resort. The resort is on higher end because it is a chosen property with an adjoining lake. You also have a very spacious parking, well tended garden with open air sitting space and all the amenities. You can easily spend next two hours here. But choose resort for eating only if you can bear with laid back service and small portions.

In fact people from outside MP would prefer to stay a night at the resort. It has lakeside cottages and other type of rooms suitable to one’s choice and budget. M P Tourism staff is courteous as well as helpful.

Once you have had lunch and rested a bit you are now ready to move to your next destination Roopmati Pavilion and Baj Bahadur Mahal. They are two separate palaces and are built at a distance. Rani Roopmati had agreed to be the consort of Baj Bahadur only if she could be able to view River Narmada every morning. She used to worship Narmada before marriage and wanted to continue with it for her lifetime. Folklore goes that Baj Bahadur ordered to build a palace on a very short notice and at such a height that The Rani could view Narmada from its top. The palace was built up accordingly and was named as Rani Roopmati Mahal.

When you reach at the top of the palace i.e the place from where Roopmati used to view Narmada, you have a spectacular view consisting about 10-12 small lakes and a very soothing waft of breeze. The panoramic mode of a camera will get a very nice click here.

You are also able to see Baj Bahadur Mahal which is built at a lower height and a small residence (from king’s standards). Please see the middle of the photo above where Baj Bahadur’s palace can be seen.

Apart from above there are other places too like Jami Masjid and Hoshang Shah’s Tomb. There are some less talked about places too. For a complete visit two days, one night will be a better option. In this case one can have a nice stay at the MP Tourism resort too and spend the evening near the lake sipping the beer etc…

When to visit :

Mandav is best during July to September. Preferably take a sunny day when a shower or two of the monsoons are already over. This way you will have greenery all over and lakes will be full of water. Falls will also be flowing. One can also visit during winters or October- November  but Extreme winter should be avoided. So also, extreme hot months like April & May, may not be a very good idea.

Over all  Mandu is worth visiting at least once and gives a refreshing proximity with the nature as well as history. Bon voyage.

what went wrong with Tarun Tejpal?

Why Mr.Tejpal faltered?
The so called high & mighty who have made their mark and are already somebody unravel their promiscuity when they succumb to such baser instincts. This leaves a question to ponder. What is that the Indian males are still fidgeting about and are not able to get over?
I want to propose that Indian males are not giving the females the respect due to them.. Moreover, Indian males still carry this weird belief that they will get away with their lewd behavior if they are in a position of authority. Worldwide it is believed that Indians are hypocrites about their sexuality and would take a clandestine & amorous route instead of following the more acceptable (and preferable) road of consent.

What happened with a young journalist is one of the many incidents taking place every day in our working environment. The sudden growth in the working women population,fashion trends,liberalization and many such issues have rendered the male psyche in India all the more confused. We seem to have forgotten this basic principle that one cannot force a woman to concede sexual favors. And it is criminal both in thinking as well as doing.

With the incident that has come to light it is clear that Mr. Tejpal was never a gentleman.it is not only that single weak moment which he has attempted to portray as a faux pas but an all & all amorous unconscious which simply surfaced at an opportune moment. What happened is simply a combination of temptation & opportunity. To say that i was always a gentleman and faltered due to a lapse of judgement is trying to befool all & sundry.

Gentlemen hardly behave as mentors as well as rapists.

Mr.Tejpal faltered because like many other Indian males he too did not have any respect for a woman's wishes & choices. He did it because in the heart of his hearts he too could conceive only one relation between a man and a woman. And mind you, many of us are in the same league. Therefore, it is a humble request that let us start giving our women a freedom to work, dress and go where ever they please without any fear of persecution. This is what we have not done since ages. This is what is expected of us Indian males.

We have to respect women in word and spirit.

As for. Mr. Tejpal, well, the law will take its own course as he has surely violated the one.
 

We, the people.

Fundamentally, we the people are of two types: those who are life ward and those who are death ward. People who are life ward find life worth living. They are not troubled with so called basic questions of life. They are able to respond to demands of everyday situations because inherently they are endowed with the great jewel of life called “motivation”. People who are death ward find life a burden which must be carried. They delay & often complicate their responses to life situations…. Uncontrollably make wrong choices etc.…. Actually these are the people who have been wronged by life & consequently they want to rebel & revenge.  But being unable to find the real culprit they have an unconscious desire to punish --- either to those around or themselves.  

I have also seen people changing from one position to the other. People who were always death ward, when change to a life ward position become extremely enthusiastic, teachers, spiritualist etc. on the other hand people who were originally life ward ….. Full of everything that constitutes this world & the life …. When they change to other position that of death ….. are a tragedy. Only a few then can dare to explore the truth … the rest are shaken and confused. We have seen such examples around us and often we find it difficult to understand what really went wrong …

You become life ward when you are on the right side of life….that is when you are born & grow up  things fall in place the way they normally do … as a child we are given certain amount of libido or joy-de-vivre .. and in the course of our life it remains intact if not increased.

On the other hand when you grow up meeting one disappointment after another your libido is displaced. You either find the whole thing a big big bullshit or become cynical and trapped in a perpetual feeling of listlessness. In the Urdu language there is a lovely word for this position or state --- Afsurdagi. Vohi daireena bimari vohi afsurdagi dil ki .. said Iqbal the great poet … I can’t quite resist myself from uttering the complete couplet ;;;;

Vohi daireena bimari , hai afsurdagi dil ki,

ilaaz bhi iska vohi aab-e-nishat hai saaqui.

Nahin hai Iqubal na ummid apni kashta-e-veeran se,

 Zara si nam ho to ye mitti badi zarkhej hai saaqui.

Translated roughly it will mean something like this ….It’s the same old disease of being listless & feeling disheartened. O Saaqui! Its cure also rests with this water of life. Iqbaal is not hope less even if he is bestowed with an unfertile piece of land. For, if this land is slightly moist & wet it will bear much fertility.

When we do not feel like doing what we have said or wished, we are choosing death. When we keep ourselves withdrawn from the position of eminence, we choose death.  When we do not value ourselves, our wishes & our choices, we choose death.

When we welcome life’s demands & live up to them, we choose life. When we keep our words at all costs, we choose life. When we see & accept this life and this world the way it is, we choose life. Believe me it’s all a matter of simple conscious choice which we can always make. Right here & right now.

Life’s structure is made in such a manner that the type of choice you make now plods you to situations where you will make further choices of a similar nature again. That is if you keep withdrawn or have a receding attitude … life will bring you more & more such situations in which you will be avoided, not given your valid due & things like that and then you will keep cursing …. Why only me

On the other hand  when you choose & demand what is due to you from life , know your inner desires & stand up for them, more & more situations are brought for you wherein you can take a stand & demand for you what you want & of course what you deserve…. The structure is made like that ,,,, the life doesn’t listen to your logic ,,, it simple readjusts … repeat “readjusts” itself to the choices you make.

I exhort my dear fellow living beings who have gone into the trap of death.. to make … the first choice of coming out & begin at once demanding from life what is due to you.

On the other hand the fortunate(?) ones who are full of life are cautioned forthwith that the death is an essential part .. Which you can never part with ,,, as such it is wise to be equanimous when it comes in whatever form, because we don’t die only when we really do physically but there are situations quite deathlike in life ….even when we are full blown alive..

J Krishnamurthy - Freedom from the known.

J Krishnamurthy came in my spiritual life at a later stage. Contemporary of OSHO, JK was equally enlightened (Equally enlightened ! what a joke ) , but as was said he was an Arhat instead of a Bodhisatwa.. Arhat, the one who knows better but not advised to propound because he doesn’t have that facility of communication called ease. Bodhisatwa, on the other hand, can make people understand the message in their own language. It is said Osho was a Bodhisatwa whereas J Krishnamurthy was an Arhat.

Twice or thrice earlier I came across JK’s writings but they were dry & far flung. Osho was much easier & engaging. These two cotemporaries --- enlightened without doubt --- never saw each other face to face.

Anyway, recently I happened to read “Freedom from the known” by J Krishnamurthy.  A concise, pithy & stinging 130 pager can shake you inside out. Provided you read it twice or thrice. JK’s writing has to be gone through twice at least by any sincere seeker to get the real crux.  That’s what I feel .

The three most important messages given by J Krishnamurthy in this volume are :

1.       There is nothing to seek :

The whole stress, tension, confusion & lack of peace is movement from what “is”. Once you are able to see that there exists nothing, absolutely nothing, than what “is”, the turbulence ceases.  When we seek, it simply means we want to become something different than what or how we are. And invariably it is gong to be in future, not now. This non acceptance sort is what creates movement of mind & world.

If we stop seeking, we come home.

2.       There is nothing to fear :

JK opines that Fear has its origin in the memories created by a bad past or it is due to a probable future. Both are non existent at the moment. Hence, Right now there is hardly anything to fear. 

3.       Die to the past totally :

This is really a tough demand. Past exists nowhere except in our mind and in our memories. But, Can we get over the memory? Can we psychologically die to everything that is past now? This is really tough. But JK says, it is only a question of seeing & enhanced awareness. You can be free of your past once you are able to see that it doesn’t exist now. It’s gone in the nothingness. This is so simple that we miss it completely. It’s gone forever.  So why worry or try to relive it?

All that we know cannot conjure up the truth. The truth, says JK, is beyond what we know.  Do you see this?   

Whatever we have known & experienced is but past. The truth is ever new.  The now.  Do you see this? The truth is tremendous amount of awareness & one’s availability to the present. To what “is”!  

Rushdie , Hussein, Taslima.. et.all

I see a common paradigm, a pattern in Rushdie, Hussein, Taslima et.all. They are all iconoclasts. They did not refrain from attacking the established beliefs and dogma of the society. Take the case of M F Hussein who painted Hindu Goddesses in a derogatory manner in the name of art. Take the case of Taslima Nasreen who gave unbridled references to her private life in her autobiography. Her descriptions of atrocities on women in a riot-ridden village in her debut novel ‘Lajja’, were provocative to say the least. What midnights children could not achieve for Salman Rushdie was amply accomplished by Satanic verses. That is, huge publicity & controversy. .


(In fact, I could not turn more than four pages when I started reading ‘The midnights children’. Of course I am no connoisseur of literary works.)

The pattern here is all of them seek and attempt for publicity.

Now I would like to take an absolutely queer reference here. That of Poonam Pandey. She is a nationally known figure today. Not for any merit but for reasons we all know about. So in a way, Rushdie and co. are Poonam Pandeys of a different field. Willing to strip if it serves their purpose of getting attention. I am reminded of one more literary figure in this connection. Mr. Rajendra Yadav, a noted figure of Hindi Sahitya, who has successfully kept himself controversial over all these years.

We may criticize these people but hardly can we deny that we are interested. Great Khushwant Singh attempted the same plank in eighties (of course earlier too) and circulation of the illustrated weekly soared to great heights. We all want to be titillated and better if it is in some form of controversy.

The point here is not that we all seek attention. It is already a fact however much we may deny. Attention, recognition, acceptance, even approval is the basic need of everyone. Even a plant or a pet can not grow healthy if it isn’t bestowed upon enough attention.

The point here is, not many people dare!

I personally feel that merit comes later. Prior to it is the issue of daring. The common pattern here is not that all of them sought publicity but that all of them dared too! They attempted to give expression to their innermost desire. They ventured at the cost of being ridiculed, opposed, denigrated or rejected. That makes the difference. Things do not come in shape by mere merit & talent. Life demands daring. Sometimes daring brings all other things in tow.