From the Immortals of Meluha to Immortal India – in conversation with Amish

Shruti Bakshi speaks to bestselling author Amish Tripathi about a wide range of topics from his books to his writing process, to atheism in ancient India and current issues in India relating to religion, society and politics. As someone with vast knowledge about India’s past and ancient wisdom and who refuses to be pigeonholed as ‘left’ or ‘right’, Amish’s views are refreshing, insightful and enlightening.

Soldiers-Saints

Newsletter No.8

Dear LWP Readers,

It’s wonderful to see the LWP community growing week by week, sustained by the interest of you, the Readers as well as our gifted contributors – gifted not only in writing talent, but also in inspiration and vision and their ability to communicate the same.

As LWP is very much about you dear Readers, I would love to hear your feedback from time to time. Do share any comments to help us know how we’re doing and to help us know and serve you better.

As usual, the weekly digest is included further below in the newsletter.

(FYI, if you’ve been forwarded this email, you can sign up to receive these newsletters directly)

Soldier-Saints

This week, we concluded the three part series of an interview with Major General GD Bakshi on Soldiers & Spirituality.  You can watch Parts 1, 2 and 3 on LWP or on our YouTube channel.

The interview explored areas that have not been discussed much in modern media, namely the role of spirituality in the lives of soldiers. This is despite the fact that soldiers have one of the closest relationships with death, which would understandably serve as a strong natural impetus to enquire into the nature of life and one’s own mortality, the basis of spirituality.

The interview started with GD Bakshi telling us about his Guru Swami Parvananda Saraswati and his meditation experiences under the Swami’s guidance. Following a near death experience, GD Bakshi came to the realisation that an ascetic’s life was not for him and that he should return to his worldly life to fulfil his karma.

In Part 3 of the interview, GD Bakshi discussed the soldier-saint (sant-sipahi) tradition in India where the one who meditated, picked up the sword. He discussed the relevance of the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata in modern times and the importance of the teachings of the Gita as well as yoga and meditation, to hep soldiers maintain their balance and calm on the battlefield and overcome their fears on the frontline.

A soldier’s spiritual life is not much examined as spirituality is usually associated with peace. But that would be taking a very stunted view of spirituality which cannot really exclude any aspect of life. In intense situations like conflict and war, in fact, it should only become more immediately relevant and meaningful. We were lucky to have had the chance to speak to a soldier who is also well acquainted with spiritual traditions to be able to unearth some wonderful insights on the theme.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this interview so far – do continue to write in with your comments.

Weekly Digest

Here’s some other highlights from the past week on LWP (scroll down for more):

– LWP shared some insights on the significance of idol worship, an important part of Hinduism. Images, symbols and idols feature as an important part of the human psyche and emotional landscape and their dismissal in the realm of devotion is wholly misplaced.

– Dr Vineet Aggarwal discussed the place of ‘faith’ in modern times and it’s significance in the context of a belief in humanity rather than a belief in the superiority of one or the other religion.

– Beloo Mehra shared her reflections on the harmony of spaces. What is it that makes us linger in some places and not others? What gives harmony and space to spaces – physical and mental?

– Ranjan Bakshi shared his review of the book, Ten Sutras for a Great Life by RA Krishna

– Last Sunday, I gave a talk on Facebook Live, hosted by the Indic Book Club, on my book From Dior to Dharma as well as on the purpose and vision of LWP. You can check it out here.

As always, I look forward to your comments, feedback, suggestions and article contributions. Do share this with those you think may be interested so that they can also and join the wiser-living movement!

Wishing you a lovely Sunday wherever in the world you may be!

Warm regards,
Shruti Bakshi
Editor, the LivingWise Project

Soldiers & Spirituality – Part 3

The Mahabharata tells of a question asked to King Yudhisthira: “What is the greatest miracle in this world?”

King Yudhisthira replied: “Everyday millions of people die yet people think they will live forever”.

Soldiers, perhaps more than any other group of people in the world, are constantly aware of their own mortality. Does that naturally turn them spiritual, wanting to know what is beyond death? What does it take for a soldier facing death on the frontline to overcome his fears and do his duty (dharma)?

In India, the ‘sant-sipahi’ or ‘soldier-saint’ tradition has been a long standing one. How does spirituality help one conquer the fear of death and are yoga and meditation essential for soldiers to maintain their calm and balance on the frontline?

Ancient Indian epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata embody a fight for good over evil – how can they help us better deal with the violence and threats we face in modern times from groups who only aim to terrorise and destroy?

In this final Part 3 of the exclusive interview for LWP with General GD Bakshi explores these questions, marking the narrative with his own on-the-ground experiences that make his messages all the more alive and powerful.

In case you missed the earlier parts of the interview, you can find both Part 1 and Part 2 on LWP.

Hope you enjoy this video and don’t forget to leave your feedback and comments on Facebook and YouTube!

Soldiers & Spirituality – Part 2

Newsletter No.7

Dear LWP Readers,

This newsletter contains news about the much awaited Part 2 of the exclusive LWP interview with Maj Gen GD Bakshi.  As usual, the weekly digest is included further below.

(FYI, you can sign up to receive these newsletters via email every Sunday)

Important Updates

Here’s Part 2 of the exclusive 3 part interview with Maj Gen GD Bakshi on the theme, Soldiers & Spirituality

General Bakshi is well-known in India for his views on military and defence matters but in this interview, he reveals a very different aspect of his life – the mystic and spiritual. It’s GD Bakshi like you’ve never seen him before!

In case you missed Part 1 of the conversation, you can find it here. In Part 1, GD Bakshi spoke about his guru.

In this Part 2, General Bakshi discusses his experiences in meditation as a sadhak, which included experiences of ecstasy as well as a near death experience that had a profound impact on his life.

He also talks about his two questions to his guru for which the circumstances shaped themselves into answer. The first question General Bakshi asked was whether he should dedicate his life to meditation and spirituality or continue his career in the army. The second question was, what is the meaning of Adhidaiva, Adhibhuta and Adhiyajna, that are mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita where Lord Krishna says:

“O Supreme among the Embodied (Arjuna)! Adhibhuta is the basis of physical existence; Adhidaiva is the basis of astral existence; and I (the Spirit manifested ideationally, both macro- and micro-cosmically) am Adhiyagya.”

—The Bhagavad Gita 8:4, from The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita by Swami Kriyananda

Hope you enjoy this Part 2 of the interview and don’t forget to leave your feedback and comments on Facebook and YouTube!

Also, look out for the final Part 3 next weekend in which General Bakshi speaks more generally about the role of spirituality in the lives of soldiers and how the scriptures like the Gita and Ramayana are still relevant today.

See Part 3 of the interview.

 

From Dior to Dharma

I’m happy to announce that my book, From Dior to Dharma was reviewed in Creative India magazine this week. It’s always very interesting for an author to see the book through the readers’ eyes and this review was particularly perceptive. You can read it here.

Update: Check out my Facebook Live Indic Chat (with Indic Book Club) about my book.

You can buy the book on Amazon (also Flipkart in India). I’d love for you to read it and share your thoughts on it with me!

Weekly Digest

Here’s what else happened on LWP this week:

– This past Monday marked the start of the month of Shravan (or Sawan), the auspicious month dedicated to Lord Shiva. LWP shared some quick facts about the month. This year’s Shravan is considered to be especially important because the month starts and ends on a Monday, the day traditionally observed as Lord Shiva’s day.

– Joe Nazar, a yoga and Ayurveda practitioner gave us a brief introduction to the two sister sciences and provided some tips on how we can use yoga and Ayurveda in daily life.

Subhash Kak shared his poem Pura Tirtha Empul, the great Vishnu pilgrimage temple in Bali, Indonesia which illuminates through a confluence of the five elements.

– LWP shared 5 tips for happiness such as being aware of the present moment and letting things be! Check them out.

Last Sunday’s newsletter was a Guru Purnima special about how the guru helps us go ‘from darkness to light’ (tamaso ma jyotirgamaya). The words of Sri Ramana Maharishi were also invoked to inspire us on Guru Purnima day.

– As mentioned above, you can also now read the first chapter of From Dior to Dharma on LWP.

 

As always, I look forward to your comments, feedback, suggestions and article contributions. Do share this with those you think may be interested so that they can also and join the wiser-living movement!

Wishing you a lovely Sunday wherever in the world you may be and don’t forget to share your comments on the GD Bakshi interview!

Warm regards,
Shruti Bakshi
Editor, the LivingWise Project

Soldiers & Spirituality – Part 1 (Guru Purnima Special)

Here’s Part 1 of the much awaited interview with Maj Gen GD Bakshi – Like You’ve Never Seen Him Before!

General Bakshi is well known in India for his views on military and defence matters but in this interview, he reveals a very different aspect of his life – the mystic and spiritual.

In this Part 1, General Bakshi talks about his early spiritual influences and about his guru – a fitting topic for this Guru Purnima weekend. Enjoy and don’t forget to leave your feedback and comments on Facebook and YouTube!

(P.S. Sign-up for website updates to get posts like these directly by email)

See Part 2 and Part 3.

Coming Soon: Maj Gen GD Bakshi Interview & #RALLYFORRIVERS

Newsletter No.5

Dear LWP Readers,

There’s 2 exciting announcements to make this weekend so let’s get right to it! As usual, the weekly digest is included further down.

(FYI, you can sign up to receive these newsletters via email every Sunday)

Important Updates

Exclusive Interview with Major General GD Bakshi

I recently caught up with Major General GD Bakshi who, as those of you from India would know, is a very prominent and popular figure in current affairs relating to defence. LWP will be releasing my video interview with him which showcases General Bakshi as you’ve never seen him before! It will be a surprise for people to learn about his spiritual side and see him in the role of a seeker.

The video will be aired in 2 parts. In the first part, General Bakshi talks about his personal spiritual journey and his own guru whom he met when he was a young army officer trying to figure out questions about career and marriage but most importantly, life. This Part-1 will be released next weekend which happens to be marked by Guru Purnima (on 9 July), the day dedicated to gurus – being the day that the yogic sciences were first transmitted by the first guru, Adi Guru, Shiva, to humanity. The occasion therefore appears to be amply fitting to hear General Bakshi recount how he found his way onto the spiritual path and his learnings from and experiences with his guru.

Here is the first exclusive look at the interview promo which contains a sneak preview of Part-1!

In the second part, General Bakshi talks about soldiers and saints and the spiritual dimension of a soldier’s life. Relating the epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata to modern times, General Bakshi discusses the topics of courage on the battlefield (of war and life), global terrorism and what is needed in the world today.

Do look out for these videos on the LWP website and YouTube channel. To make sure you don’t miss any updates from LWP, I recommend you sign-up for our email notifications and newsletters and subscribe on YouTube!

This Exclusive Interview is now on LWP

LWP joins the Rally for Rivers

The second important announcement is that LWP has pledged its support for the Rally for Rivers initiative being led by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev of the Isha Foundation. Do watch and share the video below where Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev brings to light the desperate situation of our rivers in India (LWP gets no monetary benefit from the video views or any other part of this project).

You can support the initiative by spreading awareness about the cause (share the above and related videos, articles, etc.). Do also register a missed call at the following number; your call will count as a signature on a petition to save the rivers, to be laid before the government of India in October 2017.

Give a missed call to: 80009 80009

LWP will be sharing much more information and enthusiasm about the initiative in the coming weeks on our website and on Facebook. Also, we have previously published special articles featuring some of our rivers like Ganga and Narmada and will be doing more of this too. If you would like to contribute articles on this topic, do write in.

Weekly Digest

This past week, LWP featured some interesting articles:

– The Amarnath Yatra commenced  a few days ago, and will go on until 7 August. Given how little most people even in India know about this significant pilgrimage, we published a post summarising what it’s all about.

– LWP featured an exclusive interview with Swami Chidanand Saraswati of the Parmarth Niketan ashram in Rishikesh which many of you would know is an institution doing stellar social work in addition to holding one of the most beautiful evening Ganga aartis in the country. Swami Chidanand Saraswati talked about yoga being beyond religion and about PM Modi being a man of vision, mission and wisdom.

– Yogibanker Scott Robinson shared his experiences of being both a yogi and a banker which to some would seem a contradiction in terms. But as Scott says, it’s all about balance!

– An interesting insight into the tech and start-up world’s fascination for spirituality was also featured. From Steve Jobs’ deep appreciation for the book Autobiography of a Yogi and the popularity of the Kainchi Dham temple (Nainital) among tech titans, to some new-age start-ups encouraging team members to fast, Burning Man and ayahuasca, the tech world seems to love hacking spirituality!

– LWP shared a wonderful short and simple video by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev that explains the 4 paths of yoga. While the 4 paths of karma, bhakti, jnana and kriya appear to be opposed on the surface, a true yogi is only produced when these 4 dimensions of body, emotion, mind and energy find alignment. It’s amazing how Sadhguru JV manages to convey such timeless wisdom in a ~3 min animated video!

– Last Sunday’s newsletter, in case you missed it, discussed whether all the hullabaloo about shrinking attention spans is really valid. My take is that the attention span concerns are somewhat exaggerated and that the real reason why people can’t commit to content is not because their attention spans are impaired, but because of the democratisation of content which means that there is just too much out there and not all of decent quality! I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on this topic.

 

As always, I look forward to your comments, feedback, suggestions and article contributions. Do share this with those you think may be interested so that they can also and join the wiser-living movement!

Wishing you a lovely Sunday wherever in the world you may be and don’t forget to support our rivers!

Warm regards,
Shruti Bakshi
Editor, the LivingWise Project