Anuradha Sridharan

 D and I walked to a nearby supermarket around 7 p.m. today. It was dark and there was less traffic on the road. We were walking on the side and all of a sudden, a premium sports car whizzed past us in a second, making a loud noise. The high speed and the terrible noise came all of a sudden. I lost my balance a little bit but I didn't fall. Both of us were shaken and shocked. We entered the shop and as I was trying to pick up a few things, the packets placed on the same shelf started falling one after another. I usually handle things softly but today, it felt clumsy and I couldn't explain why these packets were falling. This happened on two different shelves. After a few breaths, I felt better. We finished our shopping and returned home. We are energy beings. We radiate energy through our thoughts, words, actions, and behaviors. We also grab energies (consciously or unconsciously) from other sources - people, videos, news channels, social media posts, movies, series, etc. Let...

 A few months back, I was talking to someone who had recently joined the workforce after completing Engineering. During our conversation, he proudly claimed, "I never attended any classes. I would be outside the classroom most of the time but I would somehow sail through exams at the last minute". I didn't intervene or judge him. It is his choice to skip classes. But what worries me is that this trend of being "the drop-out", "the last bencher", and "the one who bunks all classes" is considered cool and aspirational. Not just that, some of them end up propagating (on their respective YouTube channels or social media pages) that they have achieved big in life after dropping out of school/college/university, etc. This is being glorified in movies to a great extent. Can one become successful in the eyes of society IF one drops out of college? Sure, why not? But such turnaround only happens to very few people owing to their specialized skills, ne...

Is there a character from a book, a series, or a movie that closely resembles your personality?  When you read about or see that character come alive, your mind or even your friends and family go, "That's exactly you!". Hermione from Harry Potter is the closest to my personality. And I see her in myself in all these years. I was participating in a test today and I raised my hand even before the teacher asked the question (I later realized it wasn't even a question!). It was a bulb-u (face-palm) moment, as I unleashed my inner Hermione! 😂😂 I exhibit many of her characteristics (knowingly or unknowingly), especially when I play the role of a student - asking questions, answering questions, preparing ahead, voluntarily asking for additional work, etc. I'm sure it would be annoying to a few in the class 🤣 A few days back, K made fun of me, "42 vayasaachu.....neeyellaam innum thirundhaveyilayaa?" ("You are now 42 years old, and you haven't changed...

  The body thrives on movement. The mind thrives on stillness. But in modern times, we are doing the opposite. This seems to be one of the main reasons behind most lifestyle ailments. Most of us are aware of the importance of the movements for the body. We track steps, train for marathons, walk, run, jog, swim, lift weights, do Yogasanas, etc. But are we spending adequate effort towards stilling the mind? Distractions are plenty. Inputs are overflowing through all senses. The mind is overloaded with sensory input. In the name of "Content", so much sensationalism is being created. We are always "wired", which makes our minds so "tired". Though our body and mind feel tired, we are unable to sleep OR we don't want to give them the required rest. Infinite scroll (a.k.a. doom scroll) gives us the feeling of relaxation at the end of a long day, but it only makes our minds more restless. Similar to tracking the number of steps, track the minutes(or hours) dur...

 When we work hard and achieve something, it feels more special. For every skill we intend to master, there is a Mount Everest / Kanchenchunga / Annapurna equivalent to reach. A few months back, I wrote about how making Vadai is like Mount Everest in cooking for me🙂 There are quite a few mountains in my asana practice journey as well. The Mount Everest is indeed Shirsasana, which I hope to reach someday! Shalabasana is one of my favorite asanas. I remember I was struggling with this pose in 2016 and on one September morning, I finally was able to do it. I also noticed over the years that whenever I go out of practice for a while or lose my strength/flexibility, I struggle to do this asana. So I use this asana as one of the benchmarks to measure my physical strength. Strength, stamina, and flexibility can be gained with consistent practice, but it is also easier to lose them when our routines get derailed. Consistency will help us to sustain the benefits gained for a long time. Pus...

  During quiet moments of life, our minds throw certain questions at us. No, it is NOT always "What is the purpose of my life?" These questions usually sound something like this: "Why did this situation happen to me?" "Why do I always get caught up in something like this?" "Why am I like this?" "Why is he/she like that?" "Why do I possess (or lack) certain qualities?" These questions are from our inner self, to gently nudge us to think about why we are who we are. Sometimes, we pay heed to those nudges and ask ourselves these deeper questions. But at most times, we ignore or distract ourselves, as these can get vague or uncomfortable. In her new book " Why We Are Who We Are ", Meetu Bisht helps us find answers to such questions. I read her first book " Living Spirituality " early this year. I found it very insightful as it clarified many misconceptions about spirituality.  In her second book, she takes us o...

 Have you ever observed yourself trying to stand on two boats? Straddle between two paths? Keep your feet on two different walls? Indecisive about which one to choose? We end up in such a state when we are unable to make up our minds on what we want. We also try to optimize, wanting the best of both worlds. We desire to progress in both paths at the same time, creating a lot of self-inflicted pressure. In such a scenario, we end up balancing 50:50 on both sides.  It challenges us.  It tests our capacities.  It prevents us from giving our complete self to either one pursuit. Then comes a point in life when one side starts to appeal to our inner self so much that we slowly start tilting towards it. The balance now shifts to 60:40, 65:35, and then 70:30, favoring one side over another. Your foot is still placed on the 30% side, but not quite firm. Even a tiny trigger can rattle you, forcing you to lose your balance. The trigger can be a slightly challenging situation, a...

  Today being a Saturday, K and I went to a Hanuman temple this morning. We had a peaceful darshan, full of divine vibes. I chanted Hanuman Chalisa there and it felt so blissful. Around the same time last year, I read the book " My Hanuman Chalisa " by Devadutt Pattanaik and posted a review of the same. After having understood the meaning of the lines, it became more comfortable to chant this shloka. In the last year, the habit of chanting Hanuman Chalisa has been a pillar of strength and support. Regular chanting of Hanuman Chalisa helps me feel more calm and relaxed. I also feel "supported" in whatever I need to do. One starts to feel Hanuman-ji's presence, which helps in experiencing increased mental strength and resilience. The feelings and effects one starts to notice after the regular chanting of Hanuman Chalisa cannot be expressed in words. The high "Vata" nature of me seems to be under control thanks to Hanuman-ji, who plays an important role i...

 ** Unpopular opinion** I have been a huge fan of Thalaivar since childhood. His movies, punch lines, dialogues, and songs are a constant "repeat-u" in all these years. I usually watch his movies in the theatre within the first 2 weeks. Watched Annaathe on the first day of release on Diwali day! Now that the required context has been set, let me talk about my experience watching his latest movie. Ever since the first song was released, it has been a disappointment one after another. I was hoping for a Thalaivar intro song but it was a dance song where thalaivar just popped in and out for a few seconds. When I saw the trailer, it didn't quite intrigue me. After the movie was released, many of my friends and family members watched it in theatres - Okayish reviews from them, some did say it was violent. Somehow I didn't feel as enthusiastic as I normally would be for a Thalaivar movie and decided to watch it on OTT whenever it lands.  The movie opened on Amazon Prime tod...

 Before we manage something, we first need to understand it. Be it our habits, lifestyle, or behaviors, understanding comes first before we start to take action. The same principle goes with mind as well. Our minds play such a crucial role in our day-to-day lives and choices. Yet, we invest very little time and effort to understand it. This book gives us a glimpse into the various facets of our mind. The author talks about the four components of the mind - Ahamkara (ego), Chitta (memories), Buddhi (intelligence), and Manas (lower mind). He then deep dives into each component - the characteristics, functions, and ways to manage them. Though these might sound theoretical, it is quite simplified and made interesting with relevant anecdotes and examples. The classification of mind based on perception range and the gunas were super insightful. I loved the doorway depiction of how the mind operates in the space between transcendental reality and material reality. This book is yet another...

31st August is declared as World Sanskrit day. Though I've been chanting Sanskrit shlokas since childhood, I never really got to learn the language - pronunciation, grammar, and meaning. It was neither part of the school curriculum (second/third language) nor it was given priority by family members. At the age of 42, I have now started to get interested and want to learn the basics. It was quite serendipitous when the thought of learning Sanskrit got intense and the very same week, a kind gentleman dropped off his son's old Sanskrit textbooks at my doorstep. Shlokas/Mantras produce a lot of positive energy vibrations when chanted using the right pronunciation. If one needs to go deeper and understand our ancient scriptures and spiritual texts, a good grasp of Sanskrit becomes extremely handy. There are enough resources available online for free. Learning for the sheer pursuit of learning without any external pressure (grades, marks, certification, etc.) is such a calm and peace...