Live. Love. Lead.

Another cool, crisp fall morning

When a bright day was dawning

Dark clouds came into the sky

Who was to live, who was to die

//

They ran into the burning buildings

They rescued as many as they could

For years they would suffer the pain

A nation stood transfixed by their good

//

Nineteen years is almost a generation

How does to those one explain

Who…

In the pillar of Indian spiritual texts that is known as the “Bhagavad Gita”, the teacher, Lord Krishna, in response to a question posed by his student, Prince Arjuna, says:

In the midst of a crisis, the greatest power that we humans have is the power of discernment – the power to think for ourselves, the power to separate right from wrong, truth from untruth…

As we find ourselves in the midst…

Day yields to night

Birds in homeward flight

Mourning bird waits on the fence

Soaking in sunset’s peace

Making her way to the feeder

Such patience in her being

She is almost always the last to eat

I walk towards the water

Startling cottontail — who jumps through the fence rails

He must know he’s safe

For he just sits there and looks at me sideways

The owls in the forest deep

They must have…

Swami Vivekananda first arrived in America to attend the “Parliament of Religions” held in Chicago in September 1891. His address at the parliament, began with the words – “Sisters and Brothers of America”. It is in that spirit that I share some of his gratitude towards America and its people today, July 4th 2018. Vivekananda attained final liberation on July 4th 1902.

My mission in America was…

I was not aware of the moment

when I first crossed the threshold of this life.

What was the power that made me open out into this vast mystery like a bud in the forest at midnight!

When in the morning I looked upon the light

I felt in a moment that I was no stranger in this world that the inscrutable without name and form had taken me in its arms in the form of my own mother.

Even so in death…

Protected: Goddess Gayatri, History of Gayatri Mantra

Goddess Gayatri and History of Gayatri Mantra Gayatri Devi is an incarnation of Saraswati Devi, consort of Lord Brahma, symbolising the “shakti” (strength) and “dev” (quality) of Knowledge, Purity and Virtue. Saraswati Devi is held to be the patronness of the Arts, being a poet and musician, as well as skillful composer. In the form of Gayatri Devi, with the blessings of Lord Brahma, she is…

I send #Thanksgiving greetings to all who share so generously of whatever they have with those who are in need.  I believe, through personal experience, that this is one holiday that represents the true ethos and heart of what is America – a giving, sharing, celebrating, welcoming people at their core – who took this stranger into their home – yes, literally – thirty years ago, sat me (and my two…

Healing America… 

Sharing with all of you  my thoughts as a non-partisan voter in the US Election – this had percolated through my heartbox, in bits and pieces, one stanza at a time, over the course of the day on the eve of the election… I let it brew some more, and now, after minimal editing, choosing to ‘set it free…’ / a poem, a prayer, a call for healing… and a bit long :)//  Beyond the sea of red, white and…

I did not promise you flowers blooming I did not promise you sun-shiny days I did not promise you paths straight or even I did not promise you years of not living apart I did not promise you that I would not leave before my time For I could not promise you what I did not have to give So I did what a Mother does best… I filled you with all the love and light that swelled within I sang to you all…

What are these magical clouds,  That the full moon often rides;  What is this faintly scented mist,  That trails her flowing strides… If dusk would pause her falling,  She would set the blossoms alight; The robins would stop and stare Till the dawn of tomorrow’s twilight.. She taught me to ask questions, So many answers I never knew; Her fingers combing my hair,  Shooting stars streaking in skies…

The blossoms of spring claim​,  They reach for me high;  With nature’s designs,  who am I to argue?  At dusk I rose,  drawing attention wide upwards the robins looked,  as homeward they flew; Stare not yet,  at my vista incomplete,  I need to work all night  With spring’s bold hue;  The sunset this eve,  lingered an extra while  Choosing colors carefully,  To match my silver and blue; If only I…

On Love, Truth and Suffering

“The object of Buddha’s meditation and his teachings was to free humanity from sufferings…” “But what was the path that he revealed to us? Was it some negative way of evading pain and seeking security against it? ” “On the contrary, his path was the path of sacrifice—the utmost sacrifice of love.” “The meaning of such sacrifice is to reach some ultimate truth, some positive ideal, which in its…

On VijayDashami and Spirituality

The nine day festival of Navaratri which celebrates the Goddess Durga and her many forms and incarnations, concludes on the tenth day of Vijay Dashami or Dasahra or Dussehra (22nd October 2015). Vijay means victory, and Dashami means, the tenth (Das) day (shami). This tenth day, which marks the conclusion of Navaratri, and the beginning of the twenty-day ‘countdown’ to perhaps the biggest…