What is Homeopathy?

Reflecting on two homeopathic remedies I recently used, what struck me was how my thinking process had been completely altered since taking these remedies.

This may appear nothing short of miraculous, which it is, at least for me. Homeopathic remedies work at different levels of the human body and psyche, sometimes setting the tone for emotional healing before addressing the physical, and sometimes vice versa. At other times, it is quite possible, that a remedy given for one ailment, may cure another underlying problem, before addressing the issue it was supposed to do anyway.

These two were both single doses, taken several weeks apart. That is how some homeopathic remedies work. One single, usually high potency dose, which initiates the shift inside of you. Then you consult with the doctor again in about 6 weeks. This is the first step in my journey of healing from a personal issue in which the physical and emotional overlap. Hippocrates and several other Masters of the methods of healing, in fact all agree on this mind, body, spirit connection. Besides, if I wished, I could freely name what remedy I am using without any reserve regarding my privacy concerns for the nature of my ailment, because the same remedy will act differently on different people!

Homeopathy has been working on the basis of what is now fashionably called 'bio-individuality'. Bio-individuality, which is what we also learn about at IIN, recognizes foremost that it is 'the whole person' and not 'a' disease that is being treated! (At the risk of sounding cheesy, I want to say, homeopathy strives for Wholistic Unity).

Yet, it really should come as no surprise, because the remedies are after all, based on 'organic' materials, of which our bodies are also comprised. We are reduced to 'dhatus', or the seven tissues, according to Ayurveda, the oldest system of medicine in the world. The treatment of a disease in western conventional medicine, is primarily treating the symptoms, in homeopathy, the 'person' is treated, because that person is simply the host of the malady.

'Miasm', which is beautifully described in Dr. Mohinder Singh Jus' book, THE JOURNEY OF A DISEASE, as the "specific individual vulnerability", is the vital core that is addressed to restore health to the person, in mind, body, spirit. In fact, I recall someone refer to homeopathy as 'spiritual' medicine. As a user, I would agree with that being an apt description.

Essentially the homeopathic remedies, are ONLY of organic origin, made from plant materials, metals, and even animal parts. However, there could be different methods that are applied to ingredients including some normally toxic ingredients, that render them safe and potently effective as a homeopathic remedy.

Since homeopathic remedies are not 'man made' or 'synthetic', their constitution is organic. As is ours, and that of all the other plants and any animal species that ever walked on this planet.

Our relationship with everything that exists in nature, even animals influences us at both physical and emotional levels. We relate to these natural God given gifts through our tastebuds, sense of smell, sense of feeling through skin, feelings through emotion etc. Similarly, these remedies communicate with the intelligence of our bodies, and impact us at that core, near 'spiritual' level.

Coming next: Who and where are the Homeopathic doctors? 

Favored by the Famous, the Rich and the Royal: HOMEOPATHY

Homeopathy has long been favored by Royalty. King George, recently made famous in the movie, "The King's Speech", was also using homeopathy at the time he was being provided with Speech therapy, as depicted in the movie. (http://www.naturalnews.com/031556_homeopathy_king.html) This link provides an extensive information on Homeopathy and its Royal patrons.

Very few people know that Homeopathy still thrives in the world of the rich and famous, from Hollywood and Bollywood celebrities, to politicians and sports stars. 

Past and present British Royalty, and Middle Eastern Royalty, remain followers and Patrons of this very comprehensive system of medicine.  

England's most beloved Queen Mother, who passed away peacefully in 2002, "relied on Homeopathy Homeopathy all her life", in the words of Prince Charles. The Queen mother lived to be a healthy101 years. At the Chelsea Flower show exhibit of healing plants, while dedicating the garden (that he himself helped design), to the Queen Mother, "It seemed a nice idea," said Prince Charles. "My grandmother relied on homeopathy all her life. I thought that she would appreciate the purpose behind this garden." 

The garden now (includes) a small stone memorial inscribed with the words "In loving and devoted memory" flanked by the "ER" of the Queen Mother and the three-feathered crest of the Prince of Wales." (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1394345/Prince-dedicates-garden-to-Queen-Mother.html) 

It is a complete puzzle to me, as to why Homeopathy is such a mystery, almost a questionable protocol, to the very people it can help tremendously. It is you and I, the common person of modest means. Homeopathic remedies are extremely inexpensive and when properly stored, have a shelf life longer than a normal lifespan.

The most important and urgent need of the hour is to get this 'organic' and 'inseparable' sense, the knowledge of our relationship to these remedies, be known as common knowledge. Many of us have no idea what homeopathy is. 

Curious? Find out more: What is Homeopathy?  

Platform Nine and a half: Episode 2.

Platform Nine and a half Episode 2.

Totally unawares, once again I wondered into my Platform nine and half. This was a charming encounter, and it happened in the early autumn, in a small fishing village north of Amsterdam. 

We were in the Netherlands for a workshop, discovering the universality of existence, and our soul's purpose on this planet's journey. Some of us fulfill it, some of us lose the roadmap. Yet others find their purpose, but only after being lost for some part of their earthly existence.  

While our journeys are different, they are also intertwined in undercurrents, some collectively defined by happenings bigger than those we control. War and political disruption, or some natural calamity create circumstances that engulf large masses of humanity. Within that surge of happenstance, are small actions that we control and decide upon. So goes by the time, defined as one's life.

One of the topics at the workshop/ retreat was how we are all connected to one another, not just as a race, but as human beings. Of the several traits that bind us together, one is Man's spirit of innovation as a means of survival. Innovations that live long past their inventors for the benefit of all humanity. Being held in the Netherlands, the workshop presenter used a great example used to illustrate the point. It was the invention of the Dutch dykes and windmills. This innovation literally 'pushed out the oceans' and 'created' land for the Dutch to cultivate. 

"The Dutch have become very innovative when it comes to keeping out the water. They have built dykes, fortifications and last but not least wind and watermills to create new land. The oldest mill is a watermill that dates back to the eighth century. These techniques were used to pump dry hundreds of lakes and swamps and to prevent land from flooding. Today, windmills are characteristic of the Dutch landscape and a symbol of the Dutch struggle with water."

-From: http://www.holland.com/us/tourism/article/dutch-windmills.htm

and

http://www.holland.com/global/tourism/article/functions-of-windmills-in-holland.htm

After the completion of the Workshop, we extended our stay for another night, in an attempt to hold on to the Energy which can only be generated with so many well intentioned souls in the same space. One's heart beats to a calm, peaceful, contented rhythm, assuring us that all is well with the world, and if not, it has the potential. Solutions seem possible. 

There had been complete unity in thought and intention in that sacred space. The loving and calming peaceful energy is like an invisible fog, that envelops you in an embrace. We decided to stay on another night to hold on to the magic. 

The next morning found us in the said fishing village. We had dined here the previous night, and were back this morning to buy some smoked eel to take home. While we waited to be served, we eyed the different fish. Soon enough, a smiling lady offered us a taste of the salmon we had been eyeing, but were hesitating to buy. Of course it was delicious and we brought not just the salmon, but also the trout and the eel, being assured it would survive the two hours drive to Brussels. 

"Where are you from," she asked us. Usually, this means that they have either been to India, or there is an India story. "Florida" is my automatic response, as I quickly added, "originally from India."

"I have been to India", she told us.

"In 1977, with my husband, and we were in Bombay". 

"I got lost" she added. "One minute we were out for a walk, and then, he went another way and I could not find him." She had the 'look' on her face, as if she were reliving her story. 

"We did not have mobile phones in those days," she said laughingly. "Then I met a woman, and she asked me to sleep in her house. So I did." That was it, just like that. She met a stranger who took her home. She went.

"How did you and your husband finally find each other?" The surprise in my face must have showed.

"I just went to the airport, and he was there," she stated almost matter of factly. "Then we came home," she added. 

I did not ask her how long she stayed at the woman's place, or other details. Being away from India so long, my curiosity has ebbed somewhat, but it was enough to know, that clearly hers was a happy experience. 

She wanted to know if an encounter such as hers, would still be likely in India. "After all this time," because, "all the clever people who are doing computer work, and they have so much money?" 

Without wanting to shatter her fantasy, I told her possibly in the smaller towns, but one never really knows these days. I made a couple of trips to Bombay myself in 1977. The woman and I could have been in Bombay at the same time, under the same sky, maybe we passed each other on the street. Now we were meeting again?

She was amiable and clearly wanted to chat. We talked about being the generation that has marveled at  the birth of the Transistor radio, felt pride and awe at the moon landings, and now take for granted cell phones and every conceivable gizmo and gadget, that we use in our daily lives.

I had my own story to tell her about the kindness of strangers. It unfolded in 1978, a few days before Christmas. My daughter was just a baby and we were traveling to the UK. Our flight which took off from Delhi was the last to land in London, before the airport was closed due to inhospitable/ inclement weather. All subsequent incoming flights had been cancelled. 

London however, was not our final destination. It was Hull, in Yorkshire. The Humber Bridge was still under construction. If we could not fly out, it could be a slowfive hour car journey on treacherous roads. Fortunately, Aer Lingus operated the 30 minute flight on its small 8 seater  "The Gods must be crazy" surreal plane. 

Upon landing in Hull, we were quickly taken on board the ship we were joining there. The heavy snow and extreme cold were so bad that when I woke up the next morning, and ventured out on deck, I could see sharp edged and humungous chunks of white hard froth frozen into ice, bobbing on the surface of whatever it was we were floating on, because I could barely see the water. It was that cold.

The Humber river seemed to be quite choppy and nearly frozen like crude and dirty ice cream being churned in an angry wide blender. It was as if the North Sea (reputedly always choppy and constantly a source of ships' rolling and pitching) had come up the very river that flows into it. 

The ship was held up in port, due to maintenance requirements and for commercial reasons. They estimated a stay of over 5 weeks. Two days after our arrival, the ship had power supply malfunctioning and we had no heating in the cabins. While the off shore crew worked hard to restore heating, we surrounded our daughter's crib with bright high power light bulbs to keep her warm. 

The off shore Plumber charger, working on something else frequently went past the cabin as I kept the door open to avoid the loneliness of being cooped up on board ship. At times he haltingly glanced inside, with a hesitant  smile of acknowledgement. It was a little unnerving. The next day, he knocked at the door and of course, I let him in. He said he had been telling his wife, about the baby, and that there was no power on the ship. She had asked him to bring us home to stay with them till power was restored to the heating. It was just like that, a simple and direct invitation. That is how we met Eddie and Margaret. 

We still remain connected, I told the lady, as she smiled and nodded as if we had just shared a delicious meal. At the moment, we both met on a shared plane of consciousness. 

The world is full of wonderfully kind people. People to people, inherently we all want the same things for us, our families, our communities and in our lives. We are created to be good and noble, with the potential to 'push back the ocean', which the Dutch did, so more food could be grown to feed all the people. We were not meant to be the near cannibalistic creatures we have become, in pursuit of our greed. It is but only the goodness within us, that can make our life's journey worthwhile. 

At the end of this journey, the playing field is leveled, dust to dust. Only love survives. That was the lesson of the workshop. All we need to do is remember this fact. The rest would fall in place if we could simply base our actions on realizing that we are connected by virtue of being the most superior race. That is to be remembered, and that alone should matter, first and foremost. 

Why do some of us lose the roadmap then? Why do we stray from our highest potential and fall into the trap of deceitful behavior, some taking pride in being cruel and callous. Why the sham, and inauthentic living? Who are we trying to fool, when the first person to be fooled is ourselves. Why not discover our own Platform nine and half? Why not take a journey that will be one of continuous joy in companionship. Some of us are doing it already. They appear as angels, but are as real as you and me. Why instead do we contaminate the joys our journey can afford and make it the pursuit of tangibles? Will we ever know, can we not understand? 

My mothers family practices and traditions.

My mother’s first family also had a ritual of a morning ‘varjish’ (physical exercise) regimen for the men. This included a rebounding of sorts, bouncing on your heels, rolling your toes forward, bouncing back on your heels and on and on like that, for what seemed like forever to me, as they all stood in a line, rebounding away in their pajamas, (probably TMI) while they read the morning’s newspapers, taking turns reading the three different newspapers in three different languages. English, hindi and Urdu. Each newspaper was a cultural entity in itself. 

I now recognize this kind of rebounding movement, as something we also do in Qi-Gong, as a way to stimulate all the acupressure points (which are the same for acupuncture) and meridian channels that run to or from our feet. Mummy’s two younger brothers and father were sometimes joined by my Bari (literal meaning, older) Aunty, Mummy’s older sister.  The women, or my Bari Aunty to be precise, had a yoga routine, mainly floor poses/ exercises, of which they are many that are specifically considered beneficial for women.

On weekends there were the very welcome visits of the ‘maalish’ (massage) people; male masseurs for the men, and female masseuse for the women. So you can see my mum grew up with a whole host of holistic modalities incorporated into their domestic routine. You may have noticed however, that she was not necessarily an active participant in these pursuits. Like me, I suspect she was into a thousand things at the same time.

I loved Sunday mornings at my Grandparents’ home. I am so happy and utterly delighted that I was able to live with them from the time I was born, and through my formative years. It was such a wholesome way of life in a healthful atmosphere, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Remind me to write about specific rituals for different organs of the body, and the yogic practices of my Grandfather and Aunt, both of who were the most diligent and carried their on with their practices through to the end of their days. My Bari Aunty could read the newspaper without reading glasses for as long as I can remember.

Our Own Platform 9 and a half

Usually I credit my being of Indian (South Asian) origin, for attracting the attentions of holistically inclined folks, and thus being introduced to some new spiritual philosophy, book, health protocol or some other wisdom that stimulates, or fits right into my intellectual world.

Alternately, one could believe that we each have our own invisible antennae that pick up on people, who are prospective transmitters of such enlightening conversations. Usually, these explorations carry on well past pre-scheduled appointments, sometimes at the chagrin of our companions. Often, they delay us from arriving punctually to wherever we were headed. Such a sojourn as this is effortlessly carried out in the middle of a bustling restaurant, a grocery store, at an airport or on an airplane (happened to me on my last two flights) or just about anywhere we humans converge, or bide time waiting to converge.

It is like going into our own Platform 9 and half, to undertake that special portion of our life’s journey, which is destined to either impact us profusely, remain in our memory for a long time, or perhaps even change our course.

One such fellow traveller is Bill the Second, (more about Bill the First in a bit) who I met in our optometrist’s office.  We have had some illuminating, lively, absorbing, and enriching discussions since. On our last visit Bill the Second asked if I had read a particular book by Karen Armstrong. I was not familiar with her writing and had not heard of her, or the book. Once home I googled her immediately. The one thing to impact me instantly, was this quote from her:

“Discover what it is that gives you pain, and then refuse under any circumstances whatsoever to inflict that pain onto anybody else”

-Karen Armstrong.

I wrote it down immediately. Then rewrote it in a couple of other places, including on the back of one of my bookmarks, so I could read it periodically. Think about it. This one statement sums it up for me. It answers so many questions, and provides so many solutions. 

                                                           *********

Another sortie through our Platform 9 and half, led us to Bill the First. He was our neighbor in Sydney, Australia. The front door of his rental apartment was directly across from ours. The other three neighbors were owner-occupiers, but I doubt if anyone had ever socialized with each other, or even tarried to talk, until the advent of this Indian family’s arrival. That is what we Indians do, we converge on to a place, and effortlessly make everyone there our own. Or almost everyone, and in time their families, extended families and friends, become our friends too. 

While we did not make much foray into Bill the First’s family connections, beyond occasionally meeting with his two sons (he lived on his own), he certainly became an integral part of ours. It is interesting how that transpired. We actually knew of him, before we really knew him.

Mummy was visiting us from India, and as was her habit she went for long walks every morning. We lived close to a huge Park, alongside the Parramatta River. Mummy took two rounds of the Park, sometimes three. She would usually be gone for the better part of an hour. One weekend morning she was really late returning home. As usual her face was flushed, but today her eyes sparkled too.

Those who know her, know that my Mother is a whole other kettle of fish. Mummy is the most talented and most unique person I know. She is the Fountainhead of all of my intuitive and learned wholistic education. As I advance in the years, I notice her sanskars in my self, and even several of her traits, including her inherent trust in the goodness of people, which sometimes borders on gullibility.

In the early sixties, while going through a very rough patch in her life, my mother went on a ‘tea’ diet. It was necessitated more out of her untangling the complexities and hardship of personal crises than to lose weight, which she claimed to be the reason for her folly. As a result she messed up her appetite and digestion and says it was then that she became ‘allergic’ to medications. She was already allergic to fish, which caused urticarial break outs/ reactions to flare up. Too much tea now compromised her gut. Mummy has since not taken any chemical medications, not even an aspirin in her life. Not even a vitamin pill.

My mother switched to homeopathy and naturopathic intervention, whenever the need arose. Her focus on holistic therapies intensified, and she started to pay more attention to how her own mother used food as medicine. Some of it we was already implemented as a matter of family tradition, but now these culinary traditions were integrated into our lifestyle. More than culinary, it was also the massages, massage manipulations, rubs, poultices, herbal teas, etc.

After her retirement from government service, and as a daily practice, Mummy had created a regimen for herself - Sahaja Yoga based meditation, (to which she had been introduced by a dear, dear family friend from Bombay, Armaity,) acupressure and exercise. Then she fed the birds, whenever possible, watered her plants, and took one leaf each every morning, of homegrown basil and mint, and neem when available. Her first line of defense remains water therapy.

To get back to Mummy’s flushed face, sparkling eyes, and excited demeanor, we must revisit our Platform 9 and a half, and also pay homage to our ‘antennae’ that bring us life’s little and large joys in the guise of relationships, most fruitful, some not. Well, in this instance Mummy’s antennae, or perhaps Bill the First’s must have reverberated to bring these two souls to talk to each other, somehow, somewhere along the walking track in Meadowbank Park.

That day, she returned from her walk, exceptionally refreshed and rejuvenated. Good intentioned company will do that to you. She said she was delayed because they had stopped to talk, and she had continued on her walk after he left. She asked me if I knew a Bill, describing him to me. I did not.

Mummy excitedly recounted how they both discussed Dr. Ann Wigmore and the benefits of wheat grass, which in the 1990’s was not quite so fashionable. One had to wait for the boom of the Internet, the following decade’s favorite child, for the colossal revival of this and other holistic therapies. Bill the First knew a lot about wheat grass, and even Omega 3’s and enzymes and was using all of them, by way of foods. A chap, right up my mother’s alley. He later told us, that he had healed himself of his prostrate condition.

I can only imagine these two chatting away, like two sailors on an expedition to make new discoveries. Mummy would have told him about Sahaja Yoga and meditation, naturopathy, acupressure and water therapy. Mummy was always intrigued and extremely attentive whenever she met other people on journeys similar to her own. She could easily become quite voluble and animated in such discussion.

Mummy looked forward to her daily walks, because there were days when Mummy and Bill would meet again and with each meeting, renewed their acquaintanceship, and progressed in their exchange of views and news. I was very pleased for Mummy, because it provided her with the perfect mental stimulation on which she thrived. Even better that it happened at the start of her day. She was mostly home alone, until my son returned from school, as I was at work all day. Sometimes in the evenings we would go for a walk again, or I took her grocery shopping, but we never met this elusive Bill, which was surprising because if he walked here he obviously lived in the area, and we were a two street neighborhood.

Until one glorious September morning on a weekend, when she returned from her walk, I heard Mummy turn the key in our front door and call out to me, “Oh Veenu, Oh Veenu, hurry up, come here,” which remains her standard phrase to get my attention whenever she is excited about something. At the door stood my 72-year-old mother, as excited as a schoolgirl, with this white Aussie bloke, possibly a few years her senior, also grinning from ear to ear and smiling profusely in turns. A smile we would grow to love. This is how we first laid eyes on the, until then elusive Bill!  

That morning, they had finished their walk (Mummy walked longer) at the same time, and started to walk homewards together, probably too engrossed in the conversation to notice that they were walking in the same direction, and on the same side of the street.

I can only imagine their surprise, when they would have stopped at the entrance of the (same) building to say their Au Revoir. I’m sorry, but I just have laugh out loud here, as I imagine the incredulous look on both their faces! Was it shock, did they both laugh out loud as well, or did they both break into joyous smiles at the discovery that they lived in the same building. And then, on the same floor of the same building, and right across from each other!

So that is how Vimla met Bill, and how Bill the First came to be into our lives.

End of Episode 1. To be continued in coming installments of Our own Platform number 9 and a half.

Copyright© 2014 by Veenu Banga

The Seismic shift of Consciousness

There was a shift I felt inside me recently, in the last couple of days actually, that came about in the most uncanniest of ways. Like an earthquake, which is first felt physically and then registers, it was exactly the same. I felt 'it' first in my body (my mouth to be exact), and then it 'registered' like a gut wrenching stab in my subconscious. As it did then, it gives me goosebumps and sends shivers down my spine to even write about it.

So, what happened? It was on Thursday, September 4, 2014 that on an impulse I mindlessly pulled out a packet of 'junk' food and served myself the mixture of deep fried and spiced lentils, nuts, and assorted other stuff like rice flakes etc. I was not even tempted to eat it. Perhaps I was a tad hungry and wanted a nibble, but instead of the usual raisins, nuts or a banana, I just picked up this open packet. Perhaps because it was kept near the tea bags and I was debating whether I should brew myself a cup.

What is so appalling about this is? Just that I have not touched any of these things in months. No desire to either. Anyway, I scoop out a little and pop it into my mouth, and suddenly feel a shiver go down my spine. It tastes horrible and I want to spit it out. I don't, because it will be throwing 'food'. Next thing I hear in my subconscious, a very nasty remark that seems to resound in my ears like it was just being spoken. I had long forgiven, forgotten and moved on. It was a barrage of malevolence uttered years ago, in 2002, in a place of near sanctity. It came unexpectedly, like a stab in my heart. It was unsolicited, undeserved, hurtful, mean, and downright cruel, considering it came from someone who is traditionally supposed to be a protector.

I still do not know if the unexpectedness hurt more or the remark did. Imagine one goes to a familiar and beloved church or a family temple for respite, and the priest shows up. You look up to them with respect and humility. Without even flinching he suddenly berates you and almost throws you out of what you thought was a sanctuary. It stuns you to silence. Because you are under the roof of a higher authority, you hardly believe it. You slink into your inner reserves of stillness to preserve the sanctity of the surroundings. It was exactly like that.

I do not regret leaving the incident undisputed. If ever there is a circumstance to take the high road, it was this. When others are involved, who may be injured in the process of salvaging one's transient self respect, it did not seem worth it. It took me almost eight years to get over the incident, and in a flash, no sooner had the salt touched my tongue, than it came flooding back, with all its vengeance and violence. Nonetheless, it still took me a couple of hours to deflect it.

What I realized was my body revolting with this 'food' (not) just as my Spirit had then revolted at the poisonous dart of the barrage of thoughtless and callous words. So how did these two connect, twelve years later?

The US Geological Survey website (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/kids/eqscience.php) describes an earthquake thus:

"While the edges of faults are stuck together, and the rest of the block is moving, the energy that would normally cause the blocks to slide past one another is being stored up. When the force of the moving blocks finally overcomes the friction of the jagged edges of the fault and it unsticks, all that stored up energy is released. The energy radiates outward from the fault in all directions in the form of seismic waves like ripples on a pond. The seismic waves shake the earth as they move through it, and when the waves reach the earth’s surface, they shake the ground and anything on it.."

In my personal journey of striving to achieve the mind, body and spirit balance, like many of us, I too have been flirting with several forms of meditation. I use the word flirting, because you try to get to understand and know the process, without investing too much of yourself in its creed, until you are sure it is right for you. Despite the distance, and at the same time, your heart is involved in the liaison. So there is that tension and pressure building up, because you're not merely ships passing in the night, but much more than that, even if you eventually pass it by.

When you go deeper into meditation and you connect your front and back channels, it is in your Solar Plexus that the connection takes place. Your 'gut' so to speak, is where it all comes together. As you go deeper and stay in it longer, the Energy builds up, and you channel it, and thus you continue in your bliss. It is a very powerful force. You cannot jerk yourself out of it, without some 'seismic' activity. This is what happened to me that day. It was a shocking, disgusting, affront to all my hard work, my struggles to purify body, mind and spirit.

That first mouthful on my tongue was the 'seismic' activity. It was my body repelling the negativity of the food. It was not good for my gut, nor what my gut desired. It was not new to me, but it was like that bad, or rather, the worst of my memories, and my 'gut' instincts revolted. Like an earthquake, first in my body and almost instantaneously in my subconscious. It took me but an instant to come to this realization. I was secretly pleased, because it meant I was progressing in my spiritual journey and my body and my senses were able to harness my intuitive wisdom; well, intuitively!

Two days later, a Sahaja sister, Saumya, posted an extract from (H.H. Shree Mataji Nirmala Devi) Mother's talk in Delhi in 1976, on "Having a good tongue". For me, it was a sign. Coming from someone who embodies my mother for me, since my mother was indoctrinated into Sahaja and it became her regular practice. It was also confirmation of what I had felt. Coming as it did, through Mother's words, it was both humbling and heartening at the same time. A quiet Euphoria, quiet because it comes with much responsibility. You know that you must never revert back to your old decrepit, discarded ways.

So why I am writing this now, why am I sharing this very deep and personal insight about this experience of an uplifting shift in my consciousness, especially when I am usually silent about these things when it comes to my personal journey. I think it is because of Saumya's post and what it did for me.

Perhaps you have felt these 'siesmic' shifts in your consciousness, and in your inner world. It becomes my duty to pay it forward, so that you can revel in the advancement, and be propelled further towards the attainment of your goals. After all, can we move forward and onwards, unless we know we are on the right track, and getting results?

Copyright© 2014 by Veenu Banga

In Loving Memoriam of Sarjit Mama

"To Know him was to love him," Phil Spector was inspired by these very words on his Father's tombstone, to write the song, "To know him is to love him." For all of us who knew Sarjit Mama, it was the same. If you knew him, you loved him. There was no other option. My family, my children and the extended maternal family, were all blessed to have him in our lives.

It is hard to believe he is gone, and I'm not alone feeling this. Over two hundred other people came out today, June 5th, 2014 to pay their last respects and bid farewell to a good man, a great friend, and a remarkable human being. If the virtue Noble had to be personified, it would be embodied in Sarjit Mama. To even think of him, is to feel the love. He was a King among men, wealthy beyond riches because of his endless supply of giving and being there in your hour of need, and otherwise. Our hearts go out to my dearest Avtaar Aunty, and his three princesses, all of whom he loved dearly and was supremely proud of. Ameeta, Sangeeta and Vanita, are each special in their own way, and all of them have his goodness in them, nurtured by Avtaar Aunty.

Sarjit Mama's loving pride extended to his grandchildren, his nieces and his nephews and their families, all of whom today bid a final goodbye at the Antim Ardaas Prayer service in the South City Gurudwara in Gurgaon, India. Those of us far away, like my family and myself, his beloved friend and Mate Gurcharan and his family, cry our tears alone in distant lands, with no place to put down the heaviness of the grief in our hearts. 

Sarjit Mama remains as he always was, very special to me. They say you cannot choose your family, but he CHOSE us to be his family. He showed this in every way, every day, from the moment I was born. Before that he CHOSE to call my mother his sister, and he shared the rest of his own family with us. His family became OUR family. Who does that? Who has that kind of a heart? How many such people walk this Earth? This extended family embraced my children and my children in turn were rewarded to have someone like Sarjit Mama to love as their own. I know this to be true, having loved him, that is very important to have someone in our lives about whom we can think of in such a way. It renews one's Faith in humanity, in a world otherwise largely embroiled in lies, hypocrisy and deception. Evils, that were too afraid to even come near Sarjit Mama. 

So its goodbye today, our Dearest Sarjit mama. So tonight you will be the shiniest new star in the Heavens. I suppose the only way to see you again, will be to follow your good examples and embrace your virtues. Sarjit mama, among the many good memories you have left me with, there are also some Tangibles. Lest you forget, we had something very precious in common. See, with that thought, you made me smile amidst the tears flowing down my cheeks! You know what that is? Do you remember? It is the fact, that we both loved the same woman. And I loved her, before you did. You have to grant me that. I found my Avtaar Aunty first! She served you well and supported you in all your endeavors. She supported you in all your relationships, and made every house you ever lived in, a welcoming home and a place of refuge. In one of the darkest moments of my life, that refuge served me well, as it did several others. I just came, and I stayed. No questions were asked, no explanations required. Just comforts of a loving home, and they were mine, till I was ready to leave. The woman we both loved, in our own special ways, my dearest Avtaar Aunty, she loved you and served you till the very end of your days. Your goodness of Character, your noble and distinguished life, leaves her in high esteem in the hearts of all who you loved, all who knew you and in turn loved you. The love returned manifold.

I cannot say Goodbye, not when this heart beats having known the goodness of you. I am sure your Princesses feel the same, as does the rest of the family. 

To know him was to love hymn..He was love, it was his hymn..

With warmest and happiest memories made to last a lifetime and beyond.

Your ever loving,

Veenu

Copyright© 2014 by Veenu Banga