Say no to gossip

To some people, one of the greatest forms of entertainment and recreation is gossiping. Chilling out with a friend and sharing juicy tit bits of "news" or even rumours about others gives them great pleasure. Such people feel emptiness in their lives if they do not get a regular dose of such sessions. No wonder that there are so many magazines and periodicals dedicated to sharing such stories about celebrities.

If we think about this, is there any purpose being achieved by such chit chat? Is it helping us in any way? Are our lives becoming more fulfilled or are we progressing towards our goals? For everyone it is a waste of precious time other than people who have made it their career to indulge in this.

I do agree that networking is important and am in no way suggesting that it be done away with. So, even when we network with our close friends, we can always choose interesting and important topics for discussion. Instead of talking about others, we can talk with other on how to make a positive impact on ourselves, our environment etc.

We are all blessed with the same amount of time in a day. How productively we use this time is all that matters. Moreover, our lives itself is uncertain and one never knows which moment is going to be ones last moment. Under such circumstances, we cannot afford to while away our time in idle or malicious chatter.

We need to make a list of our priorities and ensure that adequate time is spent or invested in it. If at all we find extra time in our hands and do not know what to do with it, we can use it to reflect on our lives and ways of improving its quality. If we are keen to improve things or people, let us start with ourselves. I personally feel that praying and contemplating on God is a good way of spending ones time. It can be done anywhere, anytime and anyhow.

Free time is a blessing. Use it wisely. Do not fitter it away.

Universal love without attachments

Universal love is prevalent when one loves everything in the universe. One is filled with a deep sense of affection for everyone and everything. One forgets differences and sees / recognises the same Almighty creator everywhere. The feeling of love is so strong that one wants to sacrifice everything to spread happiness all around. One is seeking nothing for oneself and is completely selfless.

For such a person, there is no enemy and there is no competitor. There is no one to feel afraid of or threatened by. There is no apprehension nor any anticipation. Whether it is another individual or another being, the feeling of love is just the same. Only such a person has true wisdom and knowledge who sees uniformity in diversity.

Yes this mood or this frame of mind can be created by each one of us. It is not impractical or unrealistic. So many holy souls have demonstrated that this is possible. Divine souls like Sai Baba of Shiridi and Jesus Christ have retained this frame of mind even in the most trying of circumstances.

If we look at nature, we find that she is full of love and giving. The sun gives abundant sunshine without making any distinctions, the winds serve to cool things when its gets hot, the earth bears huge amounts of stress without complaints, the trees give shade, fruits, wood etc. Everything in nature is designed to love and sacrifice.

Yet when one loves, one should love without a sense of attachment. Any feelings of attachment ends us diluting love and starts creating expectations. One can be dispassionate only when the sense of attachment is removed. When we love with attachment, we are giving conditional love. Attachment is in reality a manifestation of our ego. With attachment comes disappointment, anger, frustration etc.

People with such a state of mind are rare indeed. They immediately attract the attention of followers and devotees. Even though they desire nothing for themselves, others respond to them with the same intensity of love. Even animals, birds and aquatic creatures approach them without fear or any other negative emotions. Such people have only friends and dear ones wherever they go.

Even though this seems like an impossibility, one should strive to attain this mindset. One can start in a small way with immediate family and neighbours and then slowly extend this to others. Initially there will be hiccups and obstacles, but if one is enlightened & determined and is able to course correct, over a period of time one can, if one so desires, reach this state of bliss and never ending happiness.