Quest for life

Rule no. 12: There are more fake gurus and false teachers in this world than the number of stars in the visible universe. Don’t confuse power-driven, self-centred people with true mentors. A genuine spiritual master will not direct your attention to himself or herself and will not expect absolute obedience or utter admiration from you, but instead, will help you to appreciate and admire your inner self. True mentors are as transparent as glass. They let the light of God pass through them. In today's world, there are so many scandals popping up where so-called Gurus, babas and self-styled teachers are being exposed for various crimes. Recent case of Ram Rahim and the chaos it created with many lives lost and public property worth crores destroyed by faithful followers is one of the examples. The crimes these self-styled gurus commit, include from amassing enormous wealth to rapes and murders. Sometimes, I get amazed at how people are so devoted to such illiterate and fake gurus.

Rule 3: You can study God through everything and everyone in the universe because God is not confined to a mosque, synagogue or church. But if you are still in need of knowing where exactly His abode is, there is only one place to look for him: in the heart of a true lover. According to a popular belief in India, in Hinduism, there are 330 million Gods and Goddess (Choose as per your convenience 😄 ). The universe is full of things and people that will bring you closer to God. I always say that everyone is unique and hence everyone's way to attain God, Gods or Goddesses is different too. It's like getting relief from cold or a disease. Everyone gets cured in a different manner, some by doing nothing and letting nature take care, some by allopathic medicines, some by homeopathic, Ayurvedic, Tibetan, etc. and some simply by praying. Similarly one finds God in different manners through different means. I am born into the Hindu religion and hence it is easier for me to

Rule no-18:  If you want to change the ways others treat you, you should first change the way you treat yourself, fully and sincerely, there is no way you can't be loved. Once you achieve that stage, however, be thankful for every thorn that others might throw at you. It is a sign that you will soon be showered in roses. When do we want people to change the ways they treat us? Obviously, it is when they are treating us negatively. However, sometimes, we are the people who give others the power to treat us badly. There are times when others treat us badly because they have understood that we would not stand for ourselves. There may be many reasons for not standing for oneself. Sometimes it may be because we are trying to avoid a conflicting situation. Sometimes, it is just a lack of self-confidence and self-esteem and sometimes it's just our self-conception that is being percolated to others even without our telling them anything. Shamz says that there is no way that

Rule: 28       The past is an interpretation. The future is an illusion. The world does not move through time as if it were a straight line, proceeding from the past to the future. Instead, time moves through and within us, in endless spirals. Eternity does not mean infinite time, but simply timelessness. If you want to experience eternal illumination, put the past and the future out of your mind and remain within the present moment. Yesterday, I watched a movie called ‘Hello Zindagi’ that I felt had a half-baked concept of facing fears and leaving the past behind. However, there was a dialogue in it, which, seemingly common, has made an impact on some of my colleagues. It goes like this, "don't let your past affect your present to ruin your future". Actually, it is not our past that affects us but our interpretation of the past. We are usually so engrossed in reliving the past again and again that we stop living in present. And sometimes we are dreaming of future

Rule no. 10: The midwife knows that when there is no pain, the way for the baby cannot be opened and the mother cannot give birth. Likewise, for a new self to be born, hardship is necessary. Just as clay needs to go through intense heat to become strong, love can only be perfected in pain. "Love can only be perfected in pain". Can it be expressed in more beautiful words? Yes, I feel that love can only be perfected in pain because love is transformation. Transformation of the ego, perspectives, beliefs, relationships, goals and life itself. And, a change is always painful. Why is change or transformation or love painful? Old is known. They say it's better to have a known devil than an unknown angel. People do not want to leave their comfort zone, no matter how stagnant, rotten or uncomfortable it feels. Known things can be controlled easily. The mind doesn't let go of the imaginary control that one feels in the present circumstances, conditions and situations. Re

Rule 16:Real faith is the one inside. The rest simply washes off. There is only one type of dirt that cannot be cleansed with pure water, and that is the stain of hatred and bigotry contaminating the soul. You can purify your body through abstinence and fasting, but only love will purify your heart. What is real faith? Before my father died I thought real faith is believing in something that you trust with all your faculties. Believing that,  come what may, something that you have hoped for, will come true. Alas! Was I naive! I believed that my father will survive. I had so much faith in my own belief that I didn't even realise the gravity of his illness till the time doctor told me to call everyone as his condition is grave. And before I realised he was gone. It was a shock. I accepted his death calmly but it took some introspection and conviction to do so.  Life is slowly coming back to normal and it is only now that I am questioning faith. There was another fam

Rule no.7: Whatever happens in your life, no matter how troubling things might seem, do not enter the neighbourhood of despair. Even when all doors remain closed, God will open up a new path only for you. Be thankful! It is easy to be thankful when all is well. A Sufi is thankful not only for what he has been given but also for all that he has been denied. There have been times in my life when I felt despair. At one point of time, I was jobless, had a huge loan to repay, got my leg operated and was dreading that limping may become a permanent fixture of my walk. I tried my level best to be in good spirits, to find ways to keep myself engaged and to feel hopeful about future but at one point of time I couldn't keep myself motivated enough to remain happy and felt desperation and dejection. I can say from my own experience that if these emotions set in, the downward spiral is fast and bottomless. Luckily for me, it didn't last for long as I and my family and friends we