Tandem Jumping

Recently I took my cousins sky-diving. We live in an area which is very near to countryside. Due to that, we have at least 3 sky-diving centers within an hour's drive. So we drove up one sunny morning into the beautiful countryside, winding along vast open fields and little villages. We reached the sky-diving center, which looked more like a family business. There was a lot of sky-diving equipment in one room, and a lot of mobile homes behind the hangar.

The instructor made us go through the paperwork where we basically absolve them of all responsibilities. A boring video followed explaining how exciting yet dangerous this sport is. Then, we got really smart looking jumpsuits to wear & take pictures in. Finally, we went outside looking for our airplane which would take us up to 10000 feet. We heard loud whirring sounds from behind the hangar, stirring up excitement. But when the airplane came into our view, apprehension took over the excitement. The plane was only slightly bigger than a minivan, and the pilot was an old gentleman wearing just an undervest & flappy shorts. My cousins and I looked at each other, unsure of whether to hand over our lives to this situation.

Hope overcame our apprehension, and my sister mustered courage to go first. She crept up on the floor of the one-seater plane where the only seat was occupied by the vested pilot. She was made to sit on the floor under the flight control panel. The instructor holed up behind her, trying to make her enjoy the upcoming fun. Revving up the engines, the pilot started taxiing into the fields. With a very short run-up, the plane was up in the air. It kept gaining height as it flew in circles over our heads. Reaching about 10000 ft where the plane looked like a small speck in the sky, they made the free-fall jump. What was about 40 seconds to us on the ground, felt like eternity to my sky-diving cousin. Pretty soon, the parachute opened up and they sailed over the winds for about 6 to 8 minutes before landing right in front of the hangar.

She was almost deaf when she walked up to us. The wind had knocked out her ears. My brother started suiting up for his jump while she recovered. After about 10 minutes, when she finally got some of her hearing back, I asked her, "were you scared when you jumped?" Her reply was almost music to my ears. "I was not afraid because he was with me", she replied. Wow! She was not scared in her 10000 ft jump into the open sky, just because the instructor was with her all the time. She was not alone up in the sky... someone was with her in tandem.

I looked up 'tandem' in the dictionary, and it said: "having two things arranged one in front of the other". I never knew the beauty of this magnanimous word before that epic moment. Tandem! Yes... I am not alone. I do not feel afraid when I am not alone. I have someone with me in tandem... always! He is with me and since He has arranged Himself behind me, I do not see Him. Yet He is the power behind every thought and deed of mine.

I can enjoy the jump only if I know that I am tethered to Him. I do not have the parachute, He does... and I am tied to him. That's how I can enjoy tandem-jumping. That singular thought absolves me of all my worries. I do not have to worry about which strings to pull. He does that for me, while I enjoy the treasures that lie yonder. All I need is complete, unwavering faith in Him. That is all I need from my side. Everything else is provided to me by Him - the jumpsuit, the harness, goggles, earplugs, the airplane, the parachute, even the instructions, and most of all: His own companionship... all I need to do is hold His hand, and JUMP!

Have a Nice Day

Have a nice day!

Do we not hear this so often? Every time our eyes meet someone else's on the road, in our office, at the grocery store or just about anywhere... We instinctively go "How are you doing?" replied with an equally mechanical "Good! How are you?" while our feet continue on their path.

Just in case, we do stop to have a conversation with a familiar face, we end it with a 'Have a nice day!" and "You too!". Day in & day out, we exchange these pleasantries, majorly without our conscious brains involved. Today however, I got jolted by an answer, which on the face seemed pretty similar and routine, but it was different. When I walked away from someone at the water-cooler with a 'Have a nice day!", he replied with a "You do the same!". I almost stopped... not because it was an answer other than the regular, but because it had a different connotation. Or so I felt!

'Have a nice day' has a pretty passive undertone to it... like, I get to have what the day gives me. But the verb in "you do the same" is a lot more direct and action-oriented. It tells me that I can do something about it. I do not need to meekly accept whatever treatment the day metes out to me. This thought is very enabling and energizing.

But what can I do? Do I have the power to create my own day? Can I really make it nice even when it is not... which it usually is? There is so much happening in and around me, and hardly is there a thing which is in my control. How can I do something about my day when I am not able to choose what happens to me and my world? How can I have a nice day?

It is true. There is so much in the world around me that I cannot change to my liking. If there is snow, then there is snow, and I have to clean it off my car & my driveway. If it rains then it rains, and I have to walk through puddles of dirty water. If there's traffic and I am stuck, then I am stuck. If I have a mean boss or warmongering colleagues then that's the way it is. If business is slow, then it's slow. Life is constantly sending things our way, and so many of them aren't things that we like.

So, the question still persists... how do I make my day nice? The answer lies in a combination of physics and meta-physics. Sir Newton proclaimed in his 3rd law that 'every action has an equal & opposite reaction'. While it may not be true for all of physics, this postulate holds the key to my problem. It is the reaction that matters. What happens is beyond my control, but how I react to it, is always in my control. I can choose to react in the way I want. I can either give an 'equal & opposite' reaction or do it a bit differently. The best way to make our day nice, is to react gracefully. Grace, I would say, is the beauty of life. It is grace that makes a dance beautiful. It is grace that makes speech beautiful. It is grace that makes giving beautiful. Grace added to anything makes the latter beautiful. So why not my reaction, and why not my day?

Let life throw anything at me, I will catch it gracefully. Let life ask me questions, I will answer gracefully. Let life line up challenges my way, I will live upto them gracefully. Let life even send me joys, and I will enjoy them gracefully. It is the reaction that makes all the difference. I can choose to have a nice day irrespective of what lies around the corner, just by spicing up my reactions with a little bit of grace. The spicier, the tastier!

And where do I get this grace from? From my Father. Just pick some from the constant showering of His unending grace.You will never run out of it.

So the next time someone gives you a "Have a nice day", say "I am, and you do too!"

Cheers!

cup or bucket ?

I was giving a bath to my 2 year old today morning, and he was playing with the water in the tub. He would put the plastic mug in the bucket of water, get some water in it, and then throw it around or on himself. Then he would refill the mug with some more water, and throw it around. It was fun to watch the exhilaration on his face every time the water was splashed around. His laughs were pretty loud & emphatic every time.

And then I decided to tease him. So I took the bucket away and poured a huge chunk of water into his mug. And then what happened was striking ! Due to the sudden weight of a lot of water, the plastic cup almost fell off from his hands. He barely managed to cling on to the now-heavy cup of water. After a futile struggle, the cup fell down, the water drained away and the incident was over. But my mind kept thinking about it. Isn't it true for all of us?

We, as human beings have a limit to every aspect of us, be it intellect, physical strength, mental strength, riches, skills, stamina, whatever we can think of. We all try to grow and achieve more than we have today. And the growth happens gradually (for those who really work for it). But inside of us, we keep wishing for growth to happen at the earliest possible. Body builders want muscles bulging out in weeks, weight-losers want instant weight-loss, people keep buying lotteries every day hoping to strike it big, school students want to finish school early and get to college — whatever be our goal, we want to get there quick.

But if we receive beyond what we can hold, then our plastic cups would fall down. If we do not have the ability to hold together what we receive, then we would not be able to retain it even though we get it rightfully. There are countless stories of lottery-winners who turned bankrupt pretty soon after receiving their winnings.

Revered Pandurang Shastri Athavale mentions many times in his discourses that one of the names of God is "One with a thousand hands". If such a God were appeased, and decided to give us gifts with a thousand hands, we would not be able to bear the gifts that we would receive. And similarly, if he decided to take back with a thousand hands, we would nothing left."

The point is that before asking for or wishing for anything, we need to check whether we are capable enough for what we are asking, and if not, then the gift will be a curse instead than a blessing ! We would rather have a little water in our cups and enjoy the bath, than get a bucketful and lose all of it ! And when we have just enough water to play, then it is always refilled by our Father so that our play goes on!

Tabla Lord

I have been watching a lot of Indian instrumental videos recently, and one thing that came to my observation was the role of the tabla. Usually, the tabla is considered as an accompaniment instrument. You have the sitar, sarod, santoor, violin, dilruba, jaltarang, and even the flute as the primary instruments whereas the tabla accompanies these instruments at almost any concert or recital. Tabla is also the default & necessary accompaniment at vocal recitals and classical dance styles like Katthak. Though tabla has been popularized beautifully by the likes of Ustad Alla Rakha Khan and his prodigal son Ustad Zakir Hussain, it still maintains a lower profile than almost every other instrument.

Though inconspicuous, the tabla is one of the most significant instruments at any recital. It is the tabla which sets the pace of any recital, and it is the tabla that maintains the rhythm of any song or rendition. Any song sounds beautiful only if it follows a certain rhythm. In general, beauty is a function of mathematics, especially aural art. So tabla, though not prominent or noticeable, is the silent but significant constituent of any beautiful composition. Without a well-defined rhythm as is set by the tabla, any composition would not sound beautiful.

And that is where a tabla is exactly like God. God is not prominently visible in our life. He always stays in the background, never seen, never heard of. Always remaining incognito, He makes us feel that "we" are doing everything. He is there, but doesn't make Himself conspicuous.

Yet, He is the one who sets the rhythm of our life. Like the tabla, God is the rhythm in our life—silent yet significant. He accompanies us in every endeavor yet remains hardly noticeable. In the absence of His rhythm, our life would not be beautiful. In fact, without the rhythmic heartbeat that He maintains so well, existence itself would be in question. He sets the pace & rhythm of our life and sustains it as well. The more rhythmical our life, the more beautiful it feels. In fact, yogic practices like pranayama make our breathing patterns so rhythmic, that their practitioners not only live longer but an internally beautiful, peaceful and fulfilling life. 

Rhythm is the key to a beautiful life since rhythm is a function of mathematics, and so is beauty. Our life would truly be a beautiful composition if the prominent functions of our life are well-aligned with the rhythm set by God. Education, intellect, profession, family, social, economic or political activities etc are the prominent instruments in our life. Even with the best of abilities to play these instruments of life, if we do not follow the universal rhythm, our rendition will not sound charming. We need to listen to, recognize and follow the Cosmic rhythm, for our lives to be beautiful.

Another important lesson that the tabla gives (and so does God), is that even though the tabla has its own individuality, and an independent significance, it's always working hard to enhance the beauty of other instruments. By virtue of this fact, its own beauty is multiplied manifold.

Thanks a lot, dear tabla, for giving me this wonderful inspiration— inspiration to be grateful for this divine rhythm, and inspiration to be an instrument in enhancing the beauty of others !

little arpan... big anubhuti...

Sharing a very intimate experience with all of you...

One morning, I was sitting near my 6 month son who had recently learnt to get up on his knees. He would get up on all his fours, and keep rocking himself all day. While rocking on his fours, he accidentally sat up. That was the 1st time he actually SAT, and I was so very happy to be present at that time.

Immediately, I went down on the floor & sat next to him lest he might fall down. He was swaying dangerously from side to side & I was ready to catch him. He was just about managing to hold himself up in between the sudden imbalances. But I didn't hold him. It was only when he was actually falling, did I catch him & prevent the crash. Sometimes, I even allowed him to fall when the crash wasn't too big.

This incident left a deep impact on my mind. I think this incident happens not in only childhood but keeps repeating all through our lives. Only the context of falling keeps changing. Many a times, we do not know that we are falling. We try our level best to keep ourselves up, reach higher, move forward and in that process, lose balance. Most of the time, we manage to keep our balance but not always. At all times, God is always watching, sitting right next to us, though we do not know. He does not hold us all the time, but watches quietly & feels happy about our efforts. He even lets us fall sometimes when the fall is not too big; and only when we lean too dangerously, does He grab us & put us back on track.

But we, in our ignorance, start cursing Him in the process of our imbalance. We start questioning His existence and/or His love, at the slightest of misfortunes.
He is watching, and will surely hold us but only when we sway too dangerously.

• He is always there, exactly as I was with my little son.
• He desires your growth with your own efforts, exactly as I want for my son.
• He is ready to do anything for you, exactly as I am for my son.
• He is madly in love with you, exactly as I am with my son.

This was my big anubhuti from little Arpan that morning.