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Kindle Notes & Highlights
Whatever we are attached to or hold dear in our hearts, losing it is only a matter of time. It is inevitable.
it is not what is happening to us but how we see what is happening to us. It is not the actual situation but our interpretation of it that then governs our feelings. Change the interpretation and feelings change on their own.’
‘Nothing matters. Eventually.’
Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. Loss is unavoidable, grief isn’t. Death is certain. And life, well, life isn’t certain. Its uncertainty, unpredictability, even irrationality, make it what it is: worthwhile, a blessing. You can see its attributes as appalling, boring and cunning or as adventurous, beautiful and captivating. Your choice. That’s the ABC of life.
Fill your heart with loving-kindness, your time with noble actions, your mind with good thoughts, and suffering will disappear from your life, like sadness from a content heart. You will realize your soul, your self.
Needles can’t prick your soul nor can fire burn it. Water can’t rot it and heat can’t dry it.
I’m often asked, shouldn’t we be passionate about our pursuits? Of course, you should be, that’s correct. But detachment is not resignation, but the understanding that to make objective decisions, I must, now and again, distance myself from my pursuit so I may gain a different and a better frame of reference. It is only then that you get to see the complete picture, the three sides of the coin: left, right and the edge of the coin.
Detachment helps you put things in perspective.
As Shakespeare wrote in As You Like It, ‘Sweet are the uses of adversity, which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, wears yet a precious jewel in its head.’ The gifts of hurt are something like that. They teach us, elevate us, and above all, force us to connect with our highest state of consciousness for answers and solutions. Painful but useful. Inconvenient but inevitable.
The journey to a new life begins with a new way of thinking. Wake up! Time is running out…
One way to get past your past and your regrets is to give your life meaning. Once you discover the meaning, the purpose of your life, you no longer remain the old you. The new you is born in the same body. It becomes a whole lot easier to shed your old tendencies as your newfound meaning becomes your guiding and driving force.
You kill whatever you cling to. For anything to survive, it must have a degree of freedom. Imagine if the skies held on to clouds, never letting them go. There would have been no rains, the oceans would have eventually dried up, and the planet would have ceased to exist. Nature sustains on the principle of impermanence. Awakening is to be at ease with your ever-changing life. It may not be easy, but it’s entirely doable.
Everything and everyone must ultimately perish. Separation from all that we love is not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’. It’s inevitable, only a matter of time. Our childhood, adolescence, youth, old age, all phases pass. Those who loved you deeply yesterday may loathe you tomorrow. The memories of the one who you loved deeply once, may only give you grief now. This is samsara – cyclical and transient.
We dream of life giving us a necklace of pearls when it’s actually planning to give us the meaning of our dream. This mismatch is the chief cause behind why most people are forever riding an emotional roller-coaster. They want permanence, some guarantee, when there’s none. The truth is: absolutely everything is transient; a passing phase.
In the fullness of time, the present moment must make way for the next present moment. The present must yield to the future. This ceaseless play of moments emerging and passing is what gives beauty to the unpredictability of our lives. It’s beyond comprehension or control. At best, you can live it, love it and rejoice in it. With gratitude. This is the path of peace. And peace, I may add, is the only real treasure. The rest are temporary acquisitions.
This world can offer you anything you fancy except permanence. Those who love you today, will grow out one day. No matter how stable and permanent anything may appear, it is going to wither away. Nothing here is designed to last. Forests burn, mountains move, rivers dry up, oceans retreat, glaciers melt, people die. However gigantic or miniscule, such as heat in fire or oil in olives, the inherent nature of all things perceivable is impermanent.
Suffering or sadness is not wrong or right. It just is. If you want to have any chance at going with the flow of life (and enjoying the process), it’s imperative to remind yourself that nothing is permanent, that suffering is okay. I’m not talking about mass suffering, such as children dying of hunger. That can never be okay. The strong should protect the weak. I’m referring to individual suffering. The type that makes us feel that life is worthless.
Whatever you seek from others, learn to give it to yourself first. To be selfless in love is to love the other person the way he or she wants to be loved. Start with yourself. Take responsibility. You won’t find yourself waiting for someone to knock on your heart’s door. Instead, you’ll discover that your heart is as big as the sky, it has no doors, it’s vast and has ample room for everyone.
you always draw your energy and inspiration from whoever is the centre of your life. In love, you become the one you love. If it’s a materialistic person, you’ll find yourself becoming increasingly materialistic too. If he or she is a spiritual person, you’ll evolve into a calmer person. If he or she is the restless or narcissistic type, you’ll feel restless and anxious yourself. If the centre of your life is beauty, divinity, compassion, God and such like, you’ll become an embodiment of that. Choose carefully.
We can’t develop an unconditional spiritual attitude without cultivating patience and selflessness.
A spiritual attitude basically means that we don’t always put ourselves at the centre of our decisions and actions. Maybe we don’t always have to look for what’s- in-it-for-me. Why must every generous action of ours be reciprocated? After all, if it’s truly selfless, then let it be just that – selfless.
Be patient. Give before you take, give a lot more than you wish to take. Nature will reciprocate. It never fails.
The degree of freedom you enjoy in life is directly proportional to your sense of responsibility. The price of freedom is responsibility. The freedom you gain with power, status, wealth, education and so on, lends to your shoulders a responsibility equally great. The more responsible you are, the greater freedom you can have.
What good is our freedom if we don’t use it to protect someone, to make them feel loved? Of what use is freedom if we choose to hurt the other person just because we can? True freedom is a sense of harmony. And harmony, in arelationship or a society, can’t be accomplished unless we act, speak and behave responsibly.
You must have a certain level of acceptance and love for yourself before you can be at peace with who, where and what you are, figuratively and materially. And, it’s not possible to love or respect yourself unless you are at ease, unless you live with a sort of carefree abandon.
remember who you were when you first arrived and reclaim the gift of true self.’
The world will not remember us for what we kept to ourselves, but what we gave away. We will not be honoured for what we could have done, but what we did. We are not respected for our potential, but our action. We are not valued for the intentions we have, but the outcome we deliver. We don’t feel good for what we can do, but for what we actually do. If that’s the case, which it is, we may as well reclaim our gifts and do our best. At least, we’ve got to try. Why just aim for the moon when you can land on it?
trishna is that insatiable desire, that futile search for permanence in what is inherently impermanent.
You can’t help someone see the world differently unless they are willing to change the story they believe in.
Change your story if you want to change your life.
Everyone we meet in our lives is on their own individual journey; we simply cross paths. The cure for loneliness, therefore, is not to find someone or something that keeps you engaged, happy or busy. It is but to find your centre of awareness and realize that to taste lasting happiness, we must turn inward and embrace the beauty of loneliness.
‘Sometime, somewhere you take something to be the truth. But if you cling to it too strongly, then even when the truth comes in person and knocks on your door, you will not open it.’
Denial or non-admission of our mistakes creates more baggage than anything else. The moment we gracefully accept our fault, we flush out of our system the emotions of anger (why did I have to be in that situation?) and guilt (why couldn’t I act differently?). No doubt that the incident may remain etched on your mind for a long time, but its recollection does not wreck your peace any more.
Call it our past, baggage, our shadow or anything else, the fact is we can’t really undo our actions. We can’t take back words we have already uttered or our undesirable actions. At the most, we can apologize, repent, regret or even heal over time. The truth remains that our past travels with us wherever we go. Only when we are in darkness, does our shadow merge with it. In such darkness, we may momentarily feel that we have no baggage, but that’s an illusion, because we have not gotten rid of the darkness. Instead, we have hidden ourselves from light.
We are beings of light and, therefore, this shadow is inseparable from our existence. What matters is not how long or dark our shadow is, but where it is: in front of us or behind us.
we must journey towards light with hope and compassion for ourselves and others. This is the only means by which to leave our shadow behind us. Forgive yourself for the mistakes of the past.
Be the light and spread light. Moving in the direction of a noble aspiration, towards goodness and kindness, is like walking into the light.
If you are going to put someone on a pedestal because they deliver a good sermon or because they are charming or knowledgeable, your chances of getting hurt go up exponentially. You may be mistaking a competent performer or a good marketer for a guru. They will turn you into puppets, they will utilize you to further their cause and they will exercise control over you just because you are letting them.
When what they say is not what they do, it’s wrong.
How you see yourself matters a great deal more than how others see you because your happiness and peace is dependent on your own honest view about yourself. And, by the way, in the end, it doesn’t matter whether one is seen as a thief or a yogi. In the end, both will go empty-handed. Everyone does.
Heaven and Hell offer the same circumstances and conditions. The critical difference is in the way the people treat each other.
If happiness is what you seek, begin with the premise that no one else can give it to you. Anyone who wants someone else to make them feel fulfilled, often ends up being only more discontent.
Other people in our lives are merely enablers and catalysts of the suffering we already carry within us. Suffering is another name for our inability to come to terms with life. When it comes to inner peace, the greater our acceptance and understanding of our circumstances and the people around us, the more peaceful we are.
Nature does not disappoint the one who is truthful, patient and faithful. The entire Universe conspires to pave the way for such a person. It connects you with the right person at the right time.
The one who leads a life of honesty is never outside the orbit of grace. Things may not always fall in place for that person, but they won’t fall apart either. If your intentions, words and actions are honest, you will radiate a divine glow, I promise. Your very glance will bestow peace upon others.
The lamp of bliss lights most gloriously in the heart of an honest person.
The river of life flows independently of one’s preferences. Whether you flow, float, swim or sink, it’s your personal choice.
Please know that one day it’s going to come to an end. Live your life like you love it and care for it. We really don’t have the time to spend on petty thoughts, emotions, grudges, resentment, negativity. And, if you think you do, think again. Make up or move on.
