Luxury once sampled becomes a necessity

Though I have a traditional hand mortar-and-pestle (ammikal in Tamil), I hardly make use of it. For the morning rush hours of cooking, I automatically turn to my trusted mixer-grinder for making any spice pastes or chutneys.

No doubt, the taste and flavor of traditional grinding far exceeds that of a machine-ground chutney. And yes, traditional hand grinding is a good exercise for the arms and shoulders. But the time-saving and convenience of the mixer-grinder outweighs these benefits.

Luxury once sampled becomes a necessity.

Last night, I was narrating the experience of how TV evolved in the 80s and 90s - from black&white to colour, Doordarshan days, changing channels by pressing buttons on the TV, no way to skip intro/skip ad, no way to rewind or forward, no way to rewatch an episode, no way to pick and choose a movie to watch and much more. She was taken aback by all the "privileges" the 80s and 90s kids didn't have from a TV point of view.

Will we choose to go back to a single channel with fixed timings for programmes and movies like it used to be earlier? Very few might even consider that option.

Luxury once sampled becomes a necessity.

WFH (Work-from-home) was one such luxury and benefit we claimed from our employers in the 2000s when we were not so unwell, when we had guests at home or when we expected a furniture delivery in the middle of the day. Then came the lockdown and pandemic. WFH became the norm, work got done amidst the uncertain environment.

We realized how much time was saved by avoiding commute.

We also experienced more focus and attention when we were in the comfort of our home office/desk/ergonomic chair, rather than working in an open-office setup, next to colleagues taking Zoom calls with clients/team-mates from other countries/cities.

We felt relaxed to take a short break and make ourselves a cup of homemade milk chai or coffee.

We brought to the forefront our capacity to multitask and manage the mental load and responsibilities of various roles (employee, daughter, mother, father, son, etc).

We also noticed how the moment we stepped out of our work desk at home, we can be available to listen to the little chitchats of our kids rather than battle traffic and potholes to reach our homes late into the night.

Luxury once sampled has now become a necessity, especially for knowledge workers who have realized how a laptop and a stable Internet connection is all that matters to get work done.

It is an irony that the same tech founders and leaders who wish to improve quality of lives through technology are forcing employees to get back to office location.

"We deliver chips and aerated drinks in 7 minutes, but we want you to write the code/manage the product that provides this convenience by battling traffic woes for 2 hours everyday and be in our office location so we can be sure that you are working".

Productivity improves with Trust (& vice-versa).

Book Review: Kindle Life by Swami Chinmayananda

 I have recently started reading Swami Chinmayananda's books on various topics related to Vedanta. Chinmaya Mission prescribes a scheme of study to understand and assimilate the teachings of Vedanta. The first book in this scheme is titled "Kindle Life".

Written by Swami Chinmayananda himself, this book is a beginner-level guide that explains the fundamentals of Vedanta concepts in simple, lucid language. Organized in small chapters, one can easily read a few pages daily as part of the Vedantic study. This book introduces many concepts - the role of mind and intellect, Panchakosha theory, the trigunas, and their attributes, the play of Maya and its expressions, mind control, refinement of personality, the importance of scriptures, etc.

Swamiji explains how uncontrolled and excessive indulgence in sensual enjoyment causes the dissipation of one’s personality. 

“A successful man never allows his faculty of discrimination and judgment to be disturbed by the rising tides of his emotions”

He then elaborates on the pitfalls of desires and the difference between sublimation and suppression of desires. Happiness is an entirely subjective phenomenon and it doesn't exist in external sense objects. 

“If the joy is inherent in sense objects, then each object should provide the same quantum of joy to all those who come in contact with it”

The purpose of religion is to help one understand the higher values of life and realize the futility of sensual indulgences. Both philosophy (theoretical aspect) and rituals (practical aspect) are integral to religion, as they complement one another. Scriptures help to refine and chisel the intellect, thereby one gains mastery over the mind. 

Swamiji explains the importance of the head (intellect) and heart (mind) and classifies humans into four different personalities based on the dominance of the head/heart. Depending upon one's personality, the corresponding spiritual journey through Yoga (Bhakti, Jnana, Karma, and Hatha Yoga) is recommended.

“What” one meets in life is destiny and “how” one meets it is self-effort.

Towards the end of the book, there are three chapters that are based on his talks related to the role of Action. How to approach one's work and the three ways by which our energy gets dissipated are so beautifully explained.

If you are interested in Vedantic knowledge, "Kindle Life" is a perfect place to start.

Exam experiences

 It's the exam season for children across various schools in India. I just wrapped up my 2nd sem exams (MSc Yoga Therapy) last week.

At SVYASA (my Yoga University), we are asked to enter the exam hall 30 min before the exam start time.

We settle down on the floor by rolling a mat with an independent small desk in front of us. (Those who are unable to sit on the floor are allowed to sit on the chair).

We close our eyes and take deep breaths for 5 minutes.
We chant OM 3 times, followed by "Om Sahana Vavatu" Shanti Mantra.
We then do 9 rounds of Nadi Shuddhi Pranayama (alternate nostril breathing).

The answer sheets are then distributed, followed by the question papers.

This routine made us feel calm and peaceful (switch from stressful sympathetic nervous system to relaxed parasympathetic nervous system). The nerves settle down and we then start writing the exam.

As I wrapped up the exam schedule, the memories of my 10th/12th board exams and Engineering degree semester exams came up where the stakes were high. I remember we would enter the exam hall at the very last minute and within 5-10 minutes, we would start writing on our answer sheets.

Exam stress is real and many of us have exam-related nightmares even in our 30s and 40s. Reaching late for exams, forgetting answers, feeling blank, pens not writing properly - these dreams still haunt us! :-)

Not sure how the experience of board exams is for the children of today. But a few minutes to ground oneself - deep breathing, Pranayama and connecting with the divinity of one's faith - will help alleviate stress to a large extent. And children won't carry the exam samskaras (impressions in the subconscious) into their 30s and 40s!

Human Evolution and its Foundations

 Human evolution is a transition in our mental refinement. Our scriptures talk about this transition in two stages:

• Prakrta Purusha - unrefined person
• Samskrta Purusha - refined person

Prakrta purusha is a stage driven by our likes/dislikes. We lead our lives according to our whims and fancies. Young children (infants and toddlers) act according to what they feel like doing. They do what they want to do without any hesitation or guilt.

We then slowly transition to refining our personality and decide our actions based on what is proper. This transition coincides with the manifestation of our intellect at the subtle level and the growth of the cerebrum and nerve cells in our forebrain at the gross level.

Intellect helps us to reason, analyze, and think about the consequences of our actions before acting impulsively.

This transition from Prakrta purusha to Samskrta purusha is influenced by multiple factors - parenting, family values, childhood environment, right role models, value-based education, habits and routines, exposure to the right content, friends, community, etc.

In today's scenario, we see that this transition has slowed down. And in many cases, we notice that it is shifting backward.

Movies and social media influence youngsters to pursue actions based purely on likes/dislikes. Value education gets the least importance across the board - in family, schools, society, or access to role models. 

Herd mentality without questioning, YOLO mindset, peer pressure, instant gratification, and ignoring the calls of conscience are some of the repercussions we are noticing due to the lack of importance given to values.

Swami Dayananda Saraswati, in his book "Value of Values" states:

"A value is a value for me only when I see the value of the value as valuable to me".

Refinement of personality and character is built on the foundation of values.

There is no point blaming Gen-Z and Alpha kids unless we (the previous generations) establish the right foundation for them by setting the right example. 

Balance in our daily choices

 In Yoga asana practice, we generally do complementary poses together. For example, Ushtrasana (back bend) + Shashankasana (forward bend), 

Hasta Uttanasana (back bend) + Padahastasana (forward bend). We also ensure that whenever we do a posture on the right side, we immediately do the same on the left side. These are designed in such a way as to bring balance and harmony and prevent untoward, extreme stretching on one side or one group of muscles.

The same principle applies to our daily choices as well. But most of us seem to be ignoring or unaware of this principle. 

After a long, hard day of work with back-to-back meetings, highly stimulating conversations, and battling stress in the form of traffic, work pressure, and deadlines (sympathetic nervous system going on an overdrive), what do we do with the few hours that we get for relaxation and reset? 

We watch movies and OTT series with violent/gory action scenes.

We continuously swipe through Reels/Shorts before going to bed.

We play action-oriented video games - racing, fights, chases, etc.

We watch the news on politics and other world updates, where the discussions are anything but productive, where everyone shouts at the top of their voices.

We intentionally go to bed late by spending time on these activities. There is a term for this choice, aptly titled "revenge sleep procrastination".

The sympathetic system (fight/flight) is constantly activated. We don't prioritize those tasks that activate the vagus nerve and switch on the parasympathetic system (rest/digest mode). 

Sleeping on time, deep breathing, meditation, basic Pranayamas, gentle stretches, Yoga asanas, chanting, and listening to soft music - these are some of the activities to bring back balance in our daily lives. But sadly, only a few seem to value or incorporate these slow, winding-down activities in their routines. 

Why wait until the diagnosis of hypertension, diabetes, or hormonal disorders, before making changes? Let's prioritize our night-time routine to bring balance in our nervous system, breath and mind.