Ritu S

Why is it that in spite of being surrounded by objects that provide us with security, worth and fulfilment, we find ourselves feeling insecure, inadequate and unfulfilled in life? To understand this, first we need to reflect on our relationship with things.

The actions we perform to fulfil our desires create our destiny. And as is our desire, so is our destiny. However, in the process of fulfilling our destiny we make demands on life which it cannot fulfil.

Irrespective of how we feel about it, the truth remains - we all must die, some day. There is no escaping this inevitable truth for which no cure has been discovered by the rational human mind.

So effective is the wisdom imparted in the Bhagwad Gita - when a desolate and dejected Arjuna refuses to fight the battle at Kurukshetra - that it is known as the fifth Veda. Here are 10 things about Krishna that make him a devotee’s complete God.

The phases of our life can easily be classified into favourable or unfavourable. The nature of our problems and the source of our unhappiness or contentment may vary but what remains constant is its cyclical nature. And yet, when we are passing through a phase, favourable or unfavourable, we assume it to be permanent.

Our mind is our world and we carry that world wherever we go or whoever we turn to.

Since childhood is an important part of our memory, as adults (parents in particular) it is our duty to provide warm and happy memories for our children to cherish and live by in life.

We must remember that demons co-exist with humans in society, but that doesn't mean they should be dealt the same hand.

Be it fame or fortune, power or possessions, it does nothing to quench the thirst we start out with.

A relationship flourishes as long as there is a balance between ‘give and take’ - whether the exchange is tangible (material) or intangible (emotional) in nature is irrelevant.

The human mind is capable of two kinds of knowledge - the higher knowledge, which is traditionally associated with religion and the lower knowledge, which is associated with various sciences.

The Chhath puja is performed in reverence to the Sun.

Sita, after being told that she should have killed herself rather than stay under the roof of another man and that her presence was no source of joy, rather she was a grit in the eye of her beloved, what must her Diwali, her homecoming be like?

Just as clothes don’t make a man; our fancy fittings don’t make our family background.

As humans, we are driven by our emotions. Our emotions surface out of our bloated sense of self, our ego. They make us greedy, angry, envious and ambitious.

The goddess led a battle against Mahishasura and eventually killed him with the trident (given to her by Shiva), thus fulfilling the prophecy that he would meet his end at the hands of a woman.

Our life comes to us in phases. These phases give us some stability and a semblance of the present. But at the end, we must keep moving on.

Our nature controls how we experience the world and also how we express ourselves in the world. Which is why, our mental heredity is just as important as our physical heredity, if not more.

When we sublimate our ego, we are able to recognise our connectedness to the whole, rather than seeing ourselves as a separate entity.

In Hinduism, Ganesh is also known as Vighnaharta - conqueror of obstacles and thus it is customary to take his blessings before initiating any new project.

When we find joy, in the very process of realising our potential, the outcome is magical which is beyond the verdict and validation of the world.

Since our consciousness is designed to forget the events of our past lives, when we suffer in the hands of fate in our present lifetime, it seems rather unfair.

If we can really be brave and have the courage to reflect and admit our mistakes, we are sure to make progress in life.

Existence reads our intentions, rather than our actions. It rewards us or deprives us in accordance with our intentions.