Anuradha Sridharan

Do you associate yourself with any of these traits? Fear of failure Fear of criticism Desire to be right always Conscious efforts to avoid situations that might lead to others finding fault Pursuing perfectionism Not being able to tolerate mistakes in oneself Avoiding risks High self-expectations All these traits are interlinked and often come together as a package. A person will often end up having more than one of these traits. These could be considered branches of the same tree. But what is the seed of this tree? Is it CONDITIONING ? Not really. Though conditioning plays a vital role in cementing these traits, it isn't necessarily the seed from which they might have originated. Conditioning - be it social, family, or peers - can be considered as the manure that nurtures this tree. Is it the EGO ? Not really. The ego is an enabler of these traits, but it doesn't necessarily create them in the first place. These traits take shape from childhood, even before the ego has a firm ...

  I took time to read this book very slowly throughout Feb. As I had mentioned in the book review of " Yoga for Women ", the third stage of life - Vanaprastha - is one of the topics I've been curious about. Karma Sannyasa is based on the same philosophy to suit the current reality, since abandoning our external life and retiring to the forest to pursue inner reflection - isn't practical in today's times. Sannyasa is a word that we are quite familiar with, which refers to complete renunciation. In Karma Sannyasa , the author recommends detachment as the basis. Detachment isn't indifference, but being able to remain unaffected in the face of trials and tribulations of life and maintaining a state of equipoise and balance. Some of the key principles that the author highlights about adopting Karma Sannyasa way of life are: Inaction in Action Maintain a balance between worldly life and inner life Continue with your duties and obligations relating to your Karma Deve...

 A mixed bag of emotions kinda day! Some that led to deeper questioning, some that led to wondering "why on earth do certain patterns keep repeating?". A surprise visit by a friend whom I'm meeting after 2 years cheered me up. Later in the evening, D called me to her room and said, "Mommy, let's draw together". Drawing, sketching, coloring, painting - These activities are quite scary for me since childhood🙂 I remember outsourcing my "record notebook" drawing work of Amoeba to my uncle in 5th grade🙂 Such has been my relationship with anything remotely related to art. D is my exact opposite, she loves all things art & craft. I usually give her some lame excuses to escape from drawing, but today, I consciously decided to "resist less" (remember the earlier post!). I went with the flow, she picked a kitty unicorn drawing tutorial video from youtube. We sat next to each other and started to sketch.  The next 30 minutes felt so connected....

 " The opposite of anxiety is TRUST " - I recently stumbled upon this statement and it gave me goosebumps. As I pondered over this statement, I understood this simple truth and how it resonates so strongly in my life and with my family members. I'm not an anxious person by nature, but the few times I felt this emotion, it was primarily due to a lack of trust in someone. Lack of trust is a learned trait through our interactions with certain people around us and our past experiences. If our close family members disappoint us, we find it difficult to trust others so easily. It takes time to build and nurture trust in any relationship. Some of us don't trust ANYONE whatsoever. This deep sense of mistrust leads to constant worry, doubt, and fear, leading to insomnia, high blood pressure, and severe anxiety. This eventually leads to continuous dependence on anti-anxiety pills. As we become older, the same thought patterns repeat and we get stuck in the rabbit hole of mistru...

"Try to experience the daily demands of life with the least resistance" - this statement surfaced up in my conscious mind while going on a contemplative walk a few days back. Our daily lives are filled with demands - from ourselves, our family, our workplace, traffic woes, and much more. Every such demand is an experience in itself. And our days are a summation of those experiences. Some experiences are memorable and pleasing, while some leave behind a bitter taste. Last week, I was tired one evening and we decided to order dinner. D was waiting and getting "hangry". The delivery person took more time than expected. After almost an hour, I called him to figure out his whereabouts. He was near my apartment and rushed to my doorstep. He insisted that he rang the bell multiple times, which we never heard, though we were sitting at home. He also sounded a bit aggressive, claiming that he had been trying to reach my number many times. He didn't listen to my arguments...

 En route to my primary school, there used to be this little Muruga temple. I used to stop there while returning home and offer a quick prayer. Along with his brother Ganesha, they have always been my Ishta Devatas. Chanting Kanda Sashti Kavacham regularly and visiting the temple nearby used to be a routine during my 9th-12th grades. I strongly believe in the power of this chant and have experienced its impact on my mental strength. Sometimes, I wonder if the lines of Kanda Sashti Kavacham have a similar interpretation as that of body scan relaxation/guided meditation. I had a small frame with a picture of Muruga that we bought from Thiruchendur long ago. The frame had rusted and I was looking to buy a new picture. While visiting Giri Stores in JP Nagar a few weeks back, I asked if they had a small picture. They brought me one that was slightly bigger than what I wanted. But the image of the Lord was so clear and beautiful that I couldn't resist. I was a bit concerned if the frame ...

 As we progress through our self-awareness journey, we sometimes tend to suppress or deny our unique personality traits when we are being "influenced" by external sources. Let me explain this with an example: From childhood, I've always been a doer. I love setting up to-do lists, and schedules, trying out multiple ideas and keeping my mind engaged. While doing my 9th std, I took up Hindi classes in the morning hours, though my school syllabus didn't include Hindi as a subject. I completed Prathmic and Madhyama levels because a kind Hindi Pandit offered the classes for free. I feel invigorated when I have a long list of things to do. It makes me feel energized when I'm dabbling with multiple projects (personal, home, and work-related). A few years back, I started to suppress this nature of mine, due to information that came my way. I got misled into believing that I evolved into a doer because of conditioning and social expectations. I started to make a few changes...

 Last weekend, we visited this beautiful Shree Ashapura Mataji temple (near Bannerghatta zoo). The evening Arathi was happening and it was such a blissful experience, singing the shlokas along with the small group of people who had gathered. Felt a lot of positive vibes and divine energy. The waxing moon on a clear sky, with Jupiter and Venus making themselves visible made the whole experience even more surreal. As a family, we go for a temple visit every weekend. We usually go to a temple nearby, but this year, we started to explore temples in and around Bangalore. On Jan 1st, we visited the Shrungagiri Shanmuga temple. It was crowded, being the special day, but the small climb up a flight of stairs and the darshan of Lord Muruga made it special. On Saturdays, I have set up a routine to visit the Hanuman temple and chant Hanuman Chalisa. Ever since I read the book Hanuman Chalisa by Devdutt Pattanaik last year, chanting the verses give me so much energy and strength. The vibration...