from a caterpillar to a butterfly

Not even in my wildest dreams had I ever comprehended this answer to the question, who you are? It was one of the most transforming and inspiring speeches by Oprah Winfrey that I have ever heard. It changed my perspective on life, how I view myself and to what is the purpose of my life. This question about who you are and what is the purpose of your life has several answers. It is a very personal and subjective question. Each of us responds to it based on our goals, dreams, circumstances, family, history, passion, inner calling etc. Oprah Winfrey gives us comprehensive guidelines on how we can approach it and make the best out of it. She starts by saying that who we are is not our role in life. A daughter, mother, spouse, friend, husband and father are all roles we play in life. Our designation, the business we run, and the social initiatives we are part of are all positions we hold in society. Who we are, she says, are the children of God. We are spiritual beings with human experience...

My dear little one, I saw a movie that was a beautiful revelation. It is called “The shift”, which shifted something deep in me. It answered so many questions I had in my mind. One of the most potent things I realized at the end was that we all change. You, me, our relationship, the world around, everything changes. In this changing life, I want to capture these realizations that I had, for someday, it may be your solace when you look at the afternoons from the mornings of your life. Purpose: There will come the point in your life. As early as you are fourteen-fifteen, the world around you will ask you to define your life's purpose. To choose the subjects you have to study, the profession you wish to pursue, the life you need to live, you need to have a purpose. Don’t ever make the mistake of etching this in stone. At forty, many of us are still searching for our purpose. Understand this, my little one; the purpose is not a thing to achieve or become. At this age, and always the pu...

  Through the year they lay, Hoping to be lit, Waiting for their moment, To get enlightened, To shine bright!  These little lamps... What beauty... What light.... Such a warm joyful feeling,  They bring to a cold dull night. How they seize their moment, With intensity and delight, They burn with all their might, To show us who they are.. These little lamps, So delicate to look, So fierce to touch, Dispel the darkness, With just a tiny wick.  Patiently wait, For your moment, To shine,  To burn,  To light-up, To create, To become,  What you are meant to be!

Oh! What a beauty! My big white beauty, Painted in the dark night skies, Your rays are always white, They fill us with so much joy, In seeing your majestic form.. memories come alive, A constant companion in many of our lives, We love to see you full and bright, You are an icon of childhood fun and wonderment. You are a witness to several of our deep experiences. You have been a constant companion silently guarding us and guiding us. You are an inspiration... a sun, can never make you less.. you are original and one of your kind. Gazing at you has revealed several of our heart desires, We wonder what more mysteries you behold. A day brightens up with a glimpse of you, Oh how lovely it is to watch you! Today you are a sight to behold, Enchanting is your presence, My white beauty,  Painted in the dark night skies!

As a child, I was a very average student. My English was not very great. I was not fond of English lessons, especially the ones around poetry and writing essays. My relationship with poetry was purely academic, learn it the way the teacher explained it and be done with it. I haven’t read a single poem outside the school syllabus (and the ones in Inifinithoughts, until now when Rumi happened!). I always used to wonder why poetry was even part of the curriculum. English language was always a burden and never a flow. Writing was never my thing as a student. Ironically, I loved to read novels, mostly mystery. I read them for the plot and rarely for the literature.  As a working professional, in my initial years, I have had very bad experiences in writing reports. There have been days when my boss would sit with me and edit my work line by line, giving me an earful. These did help me learn, but again they reiterated my belief that writing was not my thing. It was during this time that s...

Aashvi came running to her mother and climbed onto the two-wheeler. Her voice busted with excitement. She had a fun day at school discussing mythology. Each student had to speak about one character and what they liked. It was unbelievable; so many of them had picked the same character and anecdote as her, Little Krishna and his fight with the evil Kaliya, the poisonous snake. She went on and on the entire ride back home about what the children shared. Soon they reached home, and as they were getting in, she asked, “Mummy, what is your favourite mythology character?” The mother was not her usual self. Seeing that her mother was preoccupied, the child immediately said, “Let’s talk about it during bedtime”. Just five years old, her thoughtfulness and sensitivity always amazed the mother.  Thinking about a favourite character from mythology always took the mother back to that experience. It was a Satsang on holistic life; the Guru explained the part from the epic Ramayana. “After vanqu...

That pull of the heart toward the one amidst all distractions, That craving of the soul for just another moment, That fixation of the mind on that one thing, That feeling of overflowing oneness with the one, Is Devotion.