Heartfulness Magazine - October 2022 (Volume 7, Issue 10)

Mental

Emotional

Heartful

Adizes

Heartfulness

CREATIVE TEAM

Editorial Team — Elizabeth Denley, Vanessa Patel, Kashish Kalwani, Christine Prisland, Animesh Anand

Design & Art — Uma Maheswari, Lakshmi Gaddam, Ananya Patel, Pramiti Ramachandra, Arati Shedde

Photography — Heartfulness Media Team, Andrea Piacquadio

Writers — Ichak Adizes, Sanjana Ayyagari, Colleen Chulis, Daaji, Karishma Desai, Guila Clara Kessous, Stanislas Lajugie, Mahek Pathan, Upama Rajasekhar, Radhika Rammohan, Madhusudhan Reddy, Théophile Strebelle

Support Team — Balaji Iyer, Liaa Kumar, Karthik Natarajan, Ashraf Nobi, Jayakumar Parthasarathy, Arjun Reddy, Jatish Seth, Nabhish Tyagi, Shankar Vasudevan

ISSN 2455-7684

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EDITOR Neeraj Kumar

PRINTED BY Sunil Kumar

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Copyright © 2022 Heartfulness Education Trust. All rights reserved.

How to Demonstrate that We Care?

Dear readers,

Mental health is our biggest pandemic, as an ever-increasing number of people are affected by anxiety, depression, and loneliness. The pressure of vulnerability and competition take their toll, let alone the stresses of poverty and uncertainty. The other day, a dear friend told me that there are children in the UK going to school with “pretend lunchboxes,” eating their erasers because they have no food.

So our October edition emphasizes the role love and care can play in our well-being, and the well-being of the environment, and we share some insights into how to maintain balance in times of stress, loss, or helplessness. Théophile Strebelle, Mahek Pathan, and Stan Lajugie focus on self-care for mental wellbeing; Madhusudan Reddy looks at success despite failure and disappointment; Colleen Chulis, Guila Clara Kessous, and Ichak Adizes explore mental and emotional wellness at work and how it impacts leadership; Karishma Desai discusses intergenerational wisdom with the example of her relationship with her grandmother; and Upama Rajasekhar presents educational methods for holistic education. Radhika Rammohan reflects on the importance of both inner and outer ecology, through her experiences in both sustainable organic agriculture and yoga; and Sanjana Ayyagari shares a photo essay on simple practical ways to become a better leader.

This month, Daaji offers us two very practical articles – one on the emotional wisdom of the Heart, and the other on preserving and caring for water.

We wish you a peaceful Mental Health Day on October 10, The editors

DAAJI

Daaji is the Heartfulness Guide. He is an innovator and researcher, equally at home in the fields of spirituality, science, and the evolution of consciousness. He has taken our understanding of human potential to a new level.

THEOPHILE STREBELLE

Theophile is a lawyer. He worked in finance in Paris and New York for 15 years and now lives in Chamonix, France.

MAHEK PATHAN

Mahek is a psychologist at the Turning Point Rehab, Surat, India. She holds a Master’s in Forensic Psychology, London, has worked at Birmingham Prison, and after practicing CBT at victim support NHS, UK, she moved to India.

STANISLAS LAJUGIE

Stanislas is a civil servant of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of France. He has worked in many countries and enjoys making meditation fashionable wherever he goes. He has developed a course on the science of meditation for universities and corporates.

MADHUSUDAN REDDY

Madhu is a long-time Heartfulness practitioner and trainer, who works at Kanha Shanti Vanam in PR and security, and as a personal secretary to Daaji. Earlier, he worked in the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh’s office and has won numerous award in public service.

COLLEEN CHULIS

Colleen is the Regional Vice President of Sales, Regulated Industries, SAP SuccessFactors, USA. A mother and businesswoman, Colleen lives with her husband and three children in Charlottesville, Virginia. She is deeply committed to diversity, inclusion, and equality.

ICHAK ADIZES

Dr. Adizes is a leading management expert. He has received 21 honorary doctorates and is the author of 27 books that have been translated into 36 languages. He is recognized as one of the top thirty thought leaders of America.

contributors

UPMA RAJASEKHAR

Upama has been a Heartfulness practitioner for over 33 years and is a meditation trainer, an NLP practitioner, a quantum speed reading trainer, a quantum healer, and a Brighter Minds facilitator who has trained more than 3,000 students. She is a special educator, MDA and Davis method.

GUILA CLARA KESSOUS

Guila was appointed UNESCO Artist for Peace in January 2012, in light of her commitment to promoting and defending human rights through art. She has taught at Sciences Po, Harvard University, Boston and Oxford Universities, University of Geneva, and the St. Petersburg Conservatory, amongst others.

KARISHMA DESAI

Karishma is an author, speaker, entrepreneur, and wellness coach. She is a licensed Heartmath™ Resilience Trainer, Certified Breathwork Instructor, Meditation Trainer, and a practitioner of Heartfulness for over 2 decades.

RADHIKA RAMMOHAN

Radhika practices and teaches yoga for therapy and optimal health, having studied with Saraswathi Vasudevan at YogaVahini, Chennai, India. She is a co-founder of the reStore organic shop in Chennai and has a deep understanding of the issues in modern food production and consumption.

Sanjana is a medical student and photographer based in Houston, Texas. Being people-oriented, she is always listening to people. Her focus is to take care of people, not cases; capture memories, not click photos. She also enjoys spending time with friends and family, traveling, and listening to music.

SANJANA AYYAGARI

INNER PEACE

IMAGINE:

Sit with closed eyes. Imagine you are being drawn deeper into the place of peace and stillness in your heart. Rest there for a little while.

self-care

FINDING PEACE of Mind

THÉOPHILE STREBELLE has worked as a lawyer in Paris and New York for 15 years. His busy work schedule was taking a toll on him, so he decided to take a break and is currently in India. Here he shares with us how a practice of meditation helped him break the thought pattern that was driving his life.

For most of my professional life, my main concerns have been productivity and efficiency: how can I execute the maximum number of tasks as perfectly as possible in a minimum amount of time? My days started with a list of things to do and my life energy was used to execute them. My reward for that was an ephemeral feeling of accomplishment. Every day would start with a new “to-do” list. I was doing what I had been taught at school, and then at work: executing what people were expecting from me.

After years of living this way I could see an improvement in my profitability but none in my wellbeing. The number of things that I “had to do” was increasing. My mind was pushing for more action every day.

One day, I started to seriously question this never-ending push for action and achievement. Where is this drive coming from? Is this way of living a part of my nature or only the result of my education?

To find out, I made a radical change in my life. I stopped

working. What would happen to my mental state if I had nothing to do? I organized my life in a way that I had zero obligations. No work, no social interactions. At that time I was thinking that this decision would instantly erase my mental loops and bring me immediate balance and calmness.

Things didn’t go that way. At all. I first started doing things that I have always wanted to do. Spending time in nature, in creative activities, reading books, and learning new skills. I was enjoying these activities and my

mind was stable and focused while performing them. However, while I was inactive and at rest, my mental activity was still very strong and my thoughts were all over the place. There was no improvement in my overall wellbeing. I was fulfilling my desires but nothing had changed. Worse, the activities I was doing were stimulating me so much that the lows felt lower. I was not satisfied.

It felt like the changes I had made to my existence were not right.

I was looking for guidance when a friend of mine suggested meditation. I thought I had nothing to lose and was willing to give it a try. This is where the real change happened. I got introduced to the practice by a trainer and right after the first session I slept profoundly, like I had not slept

in a very long time. I remember being surprised by such a quick change and decided to give a serious and disciplined shot to the practice. I started meditating every day and at fixed hours. At first, my mind was still racing, and my thoughts were altering my ability to concentrate. Slowly, session after session, I started noticing small changes. My mind was getting clearer. My focus

during the day was increasing and the number of thoughts was decreasing. I was not feeling any urge to feed my mind with multiple thoughts. At the same time, I realized that some thoughts were signals to the changes I had to make in my life. Some others were unimportant and I could let them go.

Then, in a very subtle way, the space that had been made available in my mind started to fill with a sense of calmness and balance I had never experienced before. I had learned how to remain unmindful of my thoughts so that they did not affect or trouble me. That state became so precious that my will for growth became a priority. It triggered an almost vital motivation to deepen my practice and put my thoughts at the service of the expansion of my heart.

Today, after a few months of regular practice, my mind has become clearer than it has ever been my entire life. My focus has increased. I feel lighter. I found the courage to make decisions I had avoided for many years. I feel transformed, anew, and refreshed. I know better where my priorities are, and what is right when I make decisions. This practice has been a time- and life-saver. I know that today I found the perfect tool for growth and a guide toward peace, my heart.

Illustrations by ANANYA PATEL

It triggered an almost vital motivation to deepen my practice and put my thoughts at the service of the expansion of my heart.

Thriving after Addiction

MAHEK PATHAN explores the physical, mental, emotional, and social impacts of addiction on individuals and their families. Mahek is a psychologist with the Turning Point Rehab. She holds a Master’s degree in Forensic Psychology and has worked in the UK prison system. After practicing CBT at victim support in the NHS, UK, she moved to working in clinical psychology in Surat, India.

The Personal and Social Impacts of Addictive Behaviors

People suffering from addiction experience many different life complications. When they start abusing drugs and alcohol on a day-to-day basis, they have physical health complications, such as liver cirrhosis, heart problems, lung diseases. I have seen clients coming in who have lost a crazy amount of weight, because of daily consumption of drugs and alcohol.

There are also a lot of mental health issues, like depression, anxiety, substance-induced psychosis, where they experience hallucinations or paranoia. I see people experiencing PTSD, posttraumatic stress disorder, as well. Alcohol and drugs actually have a very great impact on both physical and mental health.

Addiction also leads to spiritual bankruptcy. I have seen clients who have been raised in a decent household, never lied, never cheated, never done anything

wrong, then once they become addicted, they lie to their parents, and steal money from their homes. It creates a lot of problems with interpersonal relationships among family members.

I have seen people getting violent, physically aggressive, abusive, and negligent after abusing alcohol and substances. Even when they are not abusive, they have a role to play in the family, and negligence can also have a severe impact. Addiction is a family disease; if it impacts an individual, it impacts the entire family.

When clients complete a rehab program, it’s better if they stay in the recovery phase for some time. But it’s very difficult for their

families to believe that they are recovering. When a client goes home, family members often say things like, “Look what you’ve done.” This adds to their problem, especially for those suffering from PTSD. It’s very complex. It affects the entire family dynamic. As Dr. Deshpande says, “Love, care, and empathy really work wonders for the entire family.”

The Role of Rehabilitation

Addiction is a chronic disease. It is something that must always be managed as long as one is alive. As soon as the clients admit they need treatment, there are different forms of therapies available.

Rehabilitation seems to be the best treatment program, because it helps not just to physically abstain, because the substances are not available, but also provides a safe space for the person. Rehab is a place where there is motivation, and where a counselor is always available.

After the detox comes counseling sessions, group therapies, and family counseling sessions. Even after the client has completed the rehabilitation program, support groups and meetings really help. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), EMDR, hypnotherapy, etc., also work wonders. Even after a client has completed a rehabilitation program, regular counseling sessions will help them understand deeper inherent feelings, thoughts, and processes.

People who are addicted usually suppress their feelings. So, we teach our clients to express their feelings in a healthier manner so that they don’t have to depend on

substances to deal with them. I think this helps to maintain their recovery for a very long time.

I also understand that addiction is actually about personality. It’s not about the substances. A lot of

people use drugs for recreational purposes, but only certain people get hooked. An addictive personality has the tendency to get hooked, so they also find substitutes for the substances as well. For example, if they try to leave alcohol they may get hooked on cigarettes. I have seen a lot of clients who have actually changed their addiction to something more positive, for example, social work. They engage and engross themselves in something that is more rewarding and has a positive outcome on their lives.

Illustrations by ANANYA PATEL

We teach our clients to express their feelings in a healthier manner so that they don’t have to depend on substances to deal with them. I think this helps to maintain their recovery for a very long time.

Stress

STAN LAJUGIE is a consular officer. He has been a Heartfulness meditation practitioner and trainer for over 15 years. He specializes in corporate programs. Here, he shares with us how meditation can help us beat stress.

Iam sure everyone knows what stress is, yet I would like to propose the following definition: stress is a state of mental and/or emotional strain due to external or internal circumstances. It doesn’t mean that stress is negative. Actually, we need stress. But we only need positive stress, the good stress.

We call this positive stress “eustress.” Responding to positive stress helps to increase our focus and concentration, our capacity to engage and perform well, and even create a feeling of satisfaction and happiness, since we are performing well.

The problem starts when we are exposed to very high levels of stress or for very long periods of time. Then, eustress becomes

distress, and it is harmful. Before understanding how distress is harmful, let’s look at the different types of stress.

Types of Stress

The first type of stress is the “to do list.” It is when we feel the pressure to complete a certain number of tasks in a limited timeframe. Remember post-it notes?

The second type of stress is caused by a sudden accident or fearful event. It may be dropping a cup of coffee, bumping into someone, or a car accident.

The third type of stress is due to deep fear or trauma – perhaps a serious sporting accident, a war, the loss of a loved one, abuse, etc.

The cause of the trauma does not even have to be a real physical event. Many are symbolic, like meeting your boss, seeing your dentist, the fear of speaking in public, the fear of being abandoned, the fear of not being loved, or the fear of being judged by others.

The fourth type of stress is the fear of not being able to cope with the increasing speed or bombardment of life. We are exposed to more demands, more responsibilities, more noise, fewer resources, less time, and less money. And we are expected to have a smile on our face all the time!

We are often continuously exposed to multiple types of stress, resulting in a chronic stress

SELF-CARE

condition, which is very harmful to our well-being.

Stress, Health, and Wellbeing

Research shows that people who are stressed are less likely to have healthy eating habits and to exercise, and are more likely to smoke. According to the American Institute of Health, 75-90% of all visits to the doctor are for stressrelated problems. The American Institute of Stress estimates that work stress accounts for 52% of stress, 28% is from personal problems, and the remaining 20% is from juggling between personal and professional lives.

No wonder the WHO has declared stress as the epidemic of the 21st century! The European agency ESENER has reported that 79% of managers are concerned about stress in their workplaces, but fewer than 30% have procedures in place to deal with the psychosocial risks. The most common causes of work-related stress are job insecurity (72% of respondents), long working hours or excessive workload (66%), and being bullied or harassed at work (59%).

Forty-three percent of the costs due to stress are direct: sick leave and accidents. Fifty-seven percent are indirect, such as brain drain –

all the intelligent people leaving the company. Another interesting phenomenon is “presenteesm.”

The employee is there, sitting behind his desk, but they are not performing!

The Problem

There is no magic pill you can take to remove stress, but I believe that there is a simple solution for this big problem. It is in understanding the biology of stress, and then

using simple techniques to reverse the process.

When our senses capture and identify a significant threat, we adopt the fight-or-flight response, which is triggered by the amygdala in our midbrain. Then there is a chemical reaction, which has three consequences:

First, the blood of the viscera is pushed to the periphery – to the limbs – to boost the energy in the arms and the legs, to “fight or fly.”

It also means that the inner organs are now living on their own energy reserves, which are also limited.

Second, the immune system is on hold. Therefore, we have a higher propensity to fall sick, especially in stressful moments.

Third, the blood in the brain moves to the more primitive parts, especially the amygdala, rather than the prefrontal cortex, which is dedicated to rational thinking, analysis, and decision making.

To put it in one sentence: My brain CEO goes AWOL! I am simply unable to think. Not because I don’t have the intelligence, the knowledge, the expertise, and the experience, but because my brain is not in a position to think! Research from Yale reports that continuous exposure to high levels of stress also affects our memory.

The Solution

The simple technique of Heartfulness Relaxation can help.

By relaxing all the limbs of the body, we return to a neutral and natural state of functioning. We focus on the heart, which brings a state of psychophysiological coherence – coherence between the mind and body of the person –which is optimal for functioning.

By connecting with the heart, we also establish heart–brain coherence, which is very conducive to higher cognitive activities, according to research.

But the benefits of meditation are much greater. The research of Dr. Richard Davidson also shows that people who are stressed develop brain circuitries similar to people who are depressed. They are related to the right prefrontal cortex. These people tend to

always focus on the negative, ruminating on the same types of thoughts. In contrast, happy people and meditators develop brain circuitries related to the left prefrontal cortex, which plays a critical role in emotional intelligence. They are able to disregard negative information and keep their attention on the activities they choose.

To sum up, stress is very much a part of our daily life, affecting our physical health, our brain functioning, and the way we think. How healthy are our choices in how we use it and respond to it?

Illustrations by LAKSHMI GADDAM

By connecting with the heart, we also establish heart–brain coherence, which is very conducive to higher cognitive activities, according to research.

inspiration

ACCEPTANCE

IMAGINE:

Sit comfortably and close your eyes. Dive deep within your heart, let the heart’s natural acceptance spread through you. Let that state of acceptance expand.

Emotional Wisdom

DAAJI explores the 5Cs of the heart, and describes how a meditative practice can support emotional wisdom and well-being.

Wise people from the most ancient times till today have valued the qualities of loving kindness, compassion, resilience in times of hardship and suffering, peace, and wisdom. In fact, these are all qualities associated with the heart.

Most of us wish to improve our emotional well-being, along with our ability to communicate with others, develop healthy relationships and lasting friendships, share and support others in our communities, contribute to society at large, and overcome prejudice and judgments. These basic life skills are a gauge of our emotional and social wisdom, and they require heart. It is the heart that brings us this level of happiness.

Our mental capacities also need refining, so that we better handle mental challenges, but science has shown us that this will only

happen once we have reached some level of emotional balance where the brain can function in creative, problem-solving ways. We reach a state of integrated flow in which the mental functions are guided by the wisdom of the heart.

Tragedy arises when we separate the heart and mind. For example, when a child is taught at school to a very high academic level, but has poor emotional and social skills, they can then use their mental abilities for all the wrong reasons, such as criminal activities. This happens when the mental is developed without the support of the emotional and social. When we read about the lives of people known for their great minds, like Ashtavakra, Patanjali, Plato, Aristotle, da Vinci, Newton, Swami Vivekananda, Ramanujan, Einstein, and Bohm, we find that they have paid attention to the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of living.

These basic life skills are a gauge of our emotional and social wisdom, and they require heart. It is the heart that brings us this level of happiness.

The foundation for mental, emotional, and social intelligence lies in the spiritual realm, and when we don’t nurture it, the other three cannot develop so well. Spiritual wisdom is a function of our level of awareness, our perception, and our responses, according to the degree of expansion of our consciousness. Is it closed, narrow, limited, and rigid, or is it open, expansive, unlimited, and flexible? The more open and expansive, the greater the spiritual intelligence.

What determines whether it is narrow and rigid or expansive and flexible? Essentially there are two things:

1. The first is the amount of mental and emotional baggage we are carrying from the past. The heaviness that accumulates creates filters that distort perception and limit the flexibility of our mental processes. We stay stuck in past repetitive patterns and associated emotions. When this heaviness is removed, then perception and mental processes are untethered from the past restrictions.

2. The second is the focus of our attention. Are we only focused externally on material existence, or do we also give some time in our daily schedule to the inner world? Our emotions are inside us, our social skills are inside us. If we are only looking outside, how will we develop EQ and SoQ?

The purpose of a spiritual practice is both – to remove mental and emotional baggage and also to take us to the Center of our being, the source of our spiritual intelligence, the soul. In yoga, we speak about the three bodies – the physical body, the subtle body, and the causal body or soul.

Physical Body

Sthoola Sharir

Subtle Body

Sookshma Sharir

Consciousness (Chit)

Mind (Manas)

Intellect (Buddhi)

Ego (Ahankar)

Causal body/ Soul

Karan Sharir / Atman

In a spiritual practice, we work from the inside out, from the root cause of both the problems and the solutions. That means we work with consciousness.

Heartfulness practices take us on an inner journey, and that journey starts in the heart. Here we develop the 5 Cs of Contentment, Calm, Compassion, Courage, and Clarity, which are the foundation of our mental, emotional, and social intelligence.

Clarity

Confusion to Clarity

Courage

Fear to Courage

5Cs

Foundation of our mental, emotional, and social intelligence.

Calm

Restlessness to Peace

Compassion

Passion to Compassion

Contentment

Desire to Contentment

With the letting go of past patterns in our consciousness, the layers of heaviness associated with desires, wishes, disappointments, shame, guilt, worry, resentment, etc. are removed layer by layer. We become balanced and content, light and carefree.

The first step is to awaken an inner interest, otherwise why would we do these practices in the first place? What stimulates this inner interest? Generally, it is the need for self-care and selfimprovement. We are not satisfied with our level of well-being. We feel the need to change, so we look for a method to help.

The second step is to take up a meditative practice, and in Heartfulness the journey starts at Chakra 1 of the Heart, on the lower left side of the chest area. As the heaviness is removed from this chakra and our inner focus takes us deeper, the outcome is Contentment.

How is this possible? With the letting go of past patterns in our consciousness, the layers of heaviness associated with desires, wishes, disappointments, shame, guilt, worry, resentment, etc. are removed layer by layer. We become balanced and content, light and carefree. We are able to release our

expectations and demands. We are no longer slaves to our desires and wishes. This is the first step.

The second step happens when the journey moves to Chakra 2 of the Heart, also known as the soul chakra, which is located at the lower right side of the chest. Here we explore a different inner world, leading us from restlessness and anxiety to peace. It is here that we master the art of Calm, as we explore the soul’s influence on our lives. Meditation moves us deeper into that realm where we feel connected with everything in the universe. We develop a strong sense of belonging and community, and we feel so peaceful.

Then the journey moves to Chakra 3 of the Heart, also known as the fire chakra, which is located at the upper left side of the chest. Here the inner work leads us from anger and hatred to love, from selfcentered passion to Compassion. We learn to master the fiery emotions that propel us forward.

At the fourth step, the journey moves to Chakra 4 of the Heart, also known as the water chakra, which is located at the upper right side of the chest. Here the inner work leads us from fear to Courage and resilience – the ability to bounce back no matter what life throws at us.

The next step is the integration of these four stages. Because of the Contentment, Calm, Compassion, and Courage that have developed at Chakras 1 to 4, we move from confusion to Clarity at Chakra 5 of the Heart, also known as the air chakra, at the throat area. Our heart becomes our guiding helm, and we are able to listen to its wisdom.

Now the intelligence of the Heart is active, and we develop confidence and trust in our abilities. Our creativity blossoms with the continuing expansion of our consciousness through this heart journey. The result is emotional wisdom, which is a boon in any life.

Success Let Be Yours

MADHUSUDHAN REDDY shares some ideas on how to approach our goals so that they become more achievable. He also explains a way to respond to success and failure.

Victory and success are melodious events in everyone’s life. Success can be understood as a smile emanated from the innocent strings of our heart. The perennial freedom we experience in life is a clear symbol of success.

Sheer hard work and determination are glittering reflections we can observe from the history of successful people. Despite many challenges, they overcame all their problems and remained as a mountain amidst the sea. They could withstand the pressure of turbulent waves and reach the destination of success.

The American industrialist, Andrew Carnegie, joined the steel sector as a laborer at 11 years of age and rose to the top level. He also helped 100 other people to become billionaires. His determination helped others grow. A famous musician once received a standing ovation from the audience, who surrounded him afterward to share its appreciation. One lady approached him and said that it would have been marvelous to have had such skill bestowed

upon her by God. The musician replied, “It is not an impossible task, nor did I bring it along with me at birth. Practice with focus for ten years and you will become a perfect musician like me. The only thing required for this is practice.”

So, invest hard work to give shape to your dreams. We can excel if we put in hard work. If we fail to reach the expected results, we can try to refine our efforts, introspect upon our mistakes, and see to it that they do not recur in future. We move forward in the direction of attaining our goal.

If there is no chance to improve the results, we can tutor our mind that we are benefited only up to this extent. If that is done, we prevent the experience of depression. We remain energetic despite half-baked attainments.

Phased efforts will yield good results. Put in all-out efforts and leave the result to God. Fill your heart with this feeling, as thinking about the results will consume valuable time.

Working hard is good, but the source of that hard work is thought. Fill your mind with good thoughts, and you are bound to receive good results.

Work hard, and believe in hard work to achieve your goal. When the results come, don’t club your analysis with the elements affecting the work. Defeat is also a lesson. There is no need for overwhelming joy upon success and depression upon failure, nor a need to attribute them to other factors. Real victory lies in receiving success and defeat with equal breath.

Don’t waste minutes, because many minutes make an hour, hours make days, days make months, and months make years. Wasting time has its own adverse impact on performance. Utilize time properly and become victorious.

Working hard is good, but the source of that hard work is thought. Fill your mind with good thoughts, and you are bound to receive good results.

There was once a person who was very frustrated in life. He reached

Delhi Railway Station filled with depressive thoughts that death was the only solution to his problems. Because his train was late, he turned his attention to a bookstall, and in his loneliness he noticed one book. He thought, “Let me finish reading this book before I leave this world.” He selected a page randomly from that book, and as he read he found a change – his feelings and face were bright. A magical power surrounded him. His joy knew no boundaries.

That journey to his village began shaping him into a great personality. This person, who went from ground zero to become a great social activist, was none other than Anna Hazare. He received laurels by developing his village as an example to other villages in the world.

Do not focus too seriously on failures. They are quite natural. They add beauty to life. How can we imagine life without failures? Struggles give us strength. Where is the melody of life without these struggles? Do not feel belittled by failure. Try a thousand times. Even then, if you come across failure, try again, so that success is eventually yours.

Illustration by LAKSHMI GADDAM

Feel your goal as your life, and think deeply on it. Invite dreams on it, work on it, and try to fill every muscle and nerve of your body thinking about your goal. That creates a path to success.

All the power of the universe is within you. We close our eyes with our own hands, then cry that darkness exists. Be aware that darkness does not surround us. Simply remove your hands so that, right from the beginning, you can experience the illuminated world. There is no darkness.

We label ourselves as worthless, weak persons. Do you know how many capacities, innumerable strengths, and potential magics are embedded within you? Where is the scientist who knows our full human potential? Only a microscopic part of it is hitherto seen. So don’t try to degrade your personality. How will you come to know how much more is yet to surface? Behind you, there is a sea of power. Those who realize this become victorious. Visualize the process of evolution from an ameba to a human being. Who created this? Is it not your own self-determination? Still, do you say that your self-reliance is without any power? The strength that brought you up to this level can further improve your personality. The character that strengthens your selfdetermination is a quintessential element.

We all aspire for one thing in life, victory. We do not invite defeat in either our intellectual or our spiritual paths. But only a few

taste the flavor of success, though everyone invites victory. Some of us experience middle-level success, while many experience defeat. First, decide what you want to become. Then, put in your all-out efforts. It is important to note that mistakes are committed by everyone, not only the people who experience defeat. The defeated ones leave the work at a point where they observe it to be critical.

We may commit mistakes now and then with the sheer ambition of reaching the goal successfully. Such mistakes have no impactful effect on us, because we never think they won’t come in our way. We have witnessed and studied many wars in history. The armies experienced defeat on both sides. Successful persons are always above the feeling of victory or defeat.

To achieve success, you need focused direction, effort, and self-determination. Success is yours if you fix the trajectory of your focus and your journey. Try to understand and realize what you want to achieve. Find ways and means to reach that goal. You can reach it no matter how big it is. Divide the goal into sub-goals and allocate definite timeframes, whether one week or one month, and complete the tasks. Then you will come out victorious.

Suggestions:

If you wish for success and victory in life, first fix your goal. Then, try to achieve it.

The very basis and foundation for success is to notice the prioritization of work in your daily life.

Target your arrow toward the Sun. You may not reach that level, but your arrow reaches a point by exceeding your expectations. You will become successful beyond your imagination.

Feel your goal as your life, and think deeply on it. Invite dreams on it, work on it, and try to fill every muscle and nerve of your body thinking about your goal. That creates a path to success.

Do not fear great dreams. Great dreams give great results. You cannot build a big house while planning for a small house.

Strive hard, so your goal is easier to reach, whether it is money, love, knowledge, or studies. The only requirement is sheer hard work, an iron will, and strong determination.

Infinite power, boundless enthusiasm, abundant courage, and bundles of patience are required. You can achieve anything if you possess these crucial features. Don’t turn backward, go forward.

Eagerness to achieve the goal is a kindling factor. Till the goal is reached, all possible ways and means should be found.

As cheese is found in milk, and fire is found in wood, so courage and spirituality are found within you.

Focus seriously on the process; mere attention to the goal is insufficient. Awaken the sleeping subconscious. Witness that it is awakened with self-shape and image. Once it leaves its inertia and starts working, your mind will magically be filled with joy, focus, sanctity, power, and strength.

ARESEASONOFGIVING?

IN ANOTHER’S SHOES

IMAGINE:

Close your eyes and imagine a person with whom you are struggling. Feel connected with your higher Self, a place of acceptance and compassion. Honor the other person’s higher Self. All ill will between you is dissipating like vapor. You are smiling at each other.

The Kids Are Going Crazy!

COLLEEN CHULIS talks about mothers as role models for girls to be strong and free spirited. The world fell in love with a little girl mimicking her mother at work in a video that recently went viral. The 8-yr-old’s impression of her mother working reminded the world how hilarious, but stressful, working around children can be. Colleen, her mother, is the regional vice-president, SAP Success Factors for Regulated Industries, in North America.

Alot of people have now seen my oldest child, Adelle, thanks to the video that went viral! We live in Charlottesville, which is a small town in Virginia, home to the University of Virginia. My husband coaches the men’s soccer team at the university, and it’s a wonderful place to raise children. I have been in business or sales since graduating from university, and I’ve gone through many ups and downs in life, as a human, a woman, and a mother. I would love to share the lessons I have learned.

Navigating the pandemic

I feel very lucky that no-one in my immediate family was affected by the pandemic, although I have friends who were terribly affected. Both my husband and I were able to keep our jobs and we are very thankful. But it also reminds us to really give back as much as we can to those who have not been so fortunate.

The pandemic brought about an interesting change for us, because typically my husband goes outside to work, and I am more working from home or traveling for work. During the pandemic, my husband couldn’t go to the office, so he became the main parent to all the learnings, to all the teachings, the cooking etc. We went from seeing him just at dinnertime and bedtime to him being here 24/7.

I was really focused on work, because I am in sales, so we were meeting our customers, trying to understand them and how was Covid affecting different kinds of industries. What could we do to help our customers? We stopped focusing on selling to make sure that customers were okay. I spent a lot of time glued to my computer. The kids were home and everyone did well.

After the pandemic, I started seeing everything from a different point of view. For example,

I was really focused on work, because I am in sales, so we were meeting our customers, trying to understand them and how was Covid affecting different kinds of industries. What could we do to help our customers? We stopped focusing on selling to make sure that customers were okay.

swim team meets have started up again this summer. In the past, I was always thinking, “Oh gosh, it’s Wednesday night. It’s swim team meet. It is so long or so hot ...” Now, I can’t wait till Wednesday! It definitely changed my perspective. It made me focus on what is important.

Work-from-home and kids

It’s very hard working from home, and it’s especially hard on kids. I think that’s why everyone thought the video was so funny, because almost everyone could relate to it. That is exactly what it looks

like in my house. I am trying to get my work done, or I am on a video call, and my child needs something. Children always need something – they want the TV channel changed, or they want to go outside, or whatever. Even if you have a babysitter, they still want a parent. I still laugh when I watch it – my daughter does me so well! She knows exactly how to mimic me.

Work from home has become the new normal. Lots of companies are going to adopt the hybrid workplace. Not everyone needs to go into the office every single day and do the crazy commute, and I don’t think they should. But we do need to figure out what that possibility looks like and what the new home looks like.

Seeking help

I am so grateful to my husband for doing so much. It was something we talked about a lot even before we got married: “I am going to be a working mom. Are you okay with that?” I knew who I was, and I didn’t think I was likely going to change all of a sudden. I didn’t want to be baking during the day, which many of my friends do. I would not have loved that.

I think it’s important to ask for help when you want to. I have a therapist I speak to once a month. Early on in my sessions with her, I told her how guilty I felt that I rarely cook at home. She said, “Why would that make you feel guilty? Are your kids healthy? Do you spend time with them?”

“Yes, we always sit together, but we are always bringing something home: its pre-meal or pre-cooked.

It’s just basic stuff.” She said, “Well, it’s you who thinks that you have to cook the food for your own children. It doesn’t matter if you don’t cook it. You still feed them healthy food, you spend time with them, and you sit with them during dinner time. Take that pressure off yourself.”

I would recommend you explore the reason you feel bad about something. There is a way to be easy on yourself. I think we all want to be perfect, we all want to have the beautiful packages for friend’s birthday parties, but it’s okay if we don’t. I realize I was doing to that to myself, I was making it harder on myself. I was

I think we all want to be perfect, we all want to have the beautiful packages for friend’s birthday parties, but it’s okay if we don’t. I realize I was doing to that to myself, I was making it harder on myself. I was feeling guilty when I didn’t need to. That was certainly freeing for me.

feeling guilty when I didn’t need to. That was certainly freeing for me.

If you’re a single mom in the workplace, and you have the choice to be flexible, do it! You do not have to be at work exactly at 9 a.m. You can start work at 10 a.m. I think it’s important that women are really looked after by employers because our lives don’t fit into a box sometimes. I understand that there are certain professions that won’t allow that luxury, for instance, if you’re a doctor, you have to be there at 9 a.m. But if there is any possibility, if you can find a company that understands, it’s helpful.

My company is very flexible and trusting, and I need that. It is important to me, and that is one of the reasons why I am here.

Parenting with enthusiasm

Everyone strives to be happy, but it’s really hard to stay happy always. In fact, I think if you strive for happiness, you will probably get the feeling that you haven’t hit the mark. At least that is how I feel. I am not naturally happy all day long, but I find joy in moments. That is what is really fun to look for. It’s the little things that make me happy – a cup of coffee in the morning, taking a bath in the evening, reading a book, being with my kids.

I had to figure out the things as a mother that I just didn’t like to do. I think a lot of parents don’t allow themselves to say, “I don’t like to play, or I don’t like to craft, or I love to craft but I don’t like to play.” I decided I wanted to do the things that really made me happy, because the kids were going to see that.

I can sit and craft all day, I love going on walks, I love reading books, I love cuddling on the couch and watching a movie, and I love throwing a ball. I became

aware of where I found joy as a parent, and tried to do more of those things, rather than feeling guilty about saying I am not going to play that. It sounds like a little thing, but you spend a lot of your time with your children on the weekends, so try to find joy like this.

I look for the little moments. Even if I have had a really hard day, a really long stressful day, I look back and think about that one thing that made me laugh, or a really nice text message from

a friend, which I will save. To me, that is finding joy versus just trying to be happy all day long, which is very hard to do.

The video

It was exciting. It was crazy to see the numbers flying. People were texting, “She’s had a million,” “Oh, my God, she’s had 3 million,” and this was on LinkedIn, not YouTube or TikTok. It was so awesome to see all the comments from around the world. I had to translate many of the comments because people from around the world liked the video, even when they didn’t understand what she was saying. They could understand what was going on.

My daughter was very normal about it. I don’t think she even thought about it much. A lot of friends said, “You really need to get her to acting classes,” but she really loves sports. I think she has natural acting ability.

There were also many negative comments posted on the video, e.g. “You should be a better role model!” but it felt that I had an army of people behind me. Whenever someone put a negative comment, there would be ten people responding, “You don’t know what you are talking about.” Everyone defended me without me having to do anything.

A few of them said, “You should look at what you are doing with your time; your daughter is obviously craving your attention.” Well, my daughter was acting in the video, while I was filming her. She was poking fun at me. I was laughing at it. It was not a cry for help. Of course, I could give her more time; I am a working parent!

On the other hand, I do find my kids to be very intentional, so of course it made me think, “Are they right? Am I a bad parent? Shall I give them more time?”

There were other people saying, “This makes me feel sad,” and “Poor girl! Mom’s priorities are incorrect.”

I thought, “You have no idea, you are just commenting on a tiny video clip. So, I can’t really take you seriously.”

I thought how strange it was for people to comment on someone else in such a negative way. It doesn’t add any good to the lot. We have to find a way to peace, and to remind ourselves of that.

It is interesting that there are so many images of little girls applying lipstick, dressing up in their mom’s

high heels, and pretending to walk down the aisle. You can picture that image. But there are not many images of little girls pretending to be mom at work, with business contacts, on the computer. It’s not the image people are used to seeing, but it is reality for me.

That’s why it resonated with so many people. They wrote incredible things to me, paragraph after paragraph, on how it made them feel, or reminded them of

when they were a working mom 30 years ago. I have saved all these, and one day I am going to put them into a book. It’s on my to do list. It really did create a strong reaction in so many people.

To listen to the full interview with Colleen, go to https://heartfulness. org/webinar/glow-webinararchive/modern-motherhood-andwork-life-balance/.

Subtle Skills for Authentic Leadership: HEARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

GUILA CLARA KESSOUS is a member of Harvard University’s affiliated Institute of Coaching, the UNESCO artist for peace, and an art therapist. Here she writes about the recent paradigm shifts in leadership and how present-day leaders require subtle collective skills rather than being superhumans.

In recent years, we have challenged the narrow vision of a leader as someone “strong, knowledgeable, and a great communicator,” someone who can leverage their expertise to mobilize and create followership. Behind this heroic fantasy leader stands a human being who has spent their life accumulating knowledge, without worrying too much about its application and, especially, without worrying about relationships. For a super-leader, managing relationships is the manager’s prerogative (those nice facilitators who spend their time

managing ego conflicts). So as soon as the leader faces the reality of also being a manager, trouble starts.

Without managerial skills, a leader is not really up to the task. Even the most technical management position involves crossfunctional interactions with other departments, and connections with other teams.

The key to success in this delicate transition from controlling leadership to equitable management is behavioral skills,

particularly the so-called “subtle” skills.

From Ego to Eco

The word “subtle” derives from Latin and refers to two notions:

1. Something difficult to perceive, and

2. Finesse and delicacy in realization.

Subtle skills are twofold: if they are difficult to perceive because of their intangible nature, they are

also highly accurate and incisive for those who can apply them.

Let’s take the example of an executive expert promoted to a managerial position. When an organization uses the function of management, it means either “management of” or “management over.” Panicked by the new level of coercive power they have, the executive often seeks refuge in the skills they acquired during their years of study, however, this is not what is expected of a leader, who must not only inform which direction to take (a GPS can also do that) but also be the direction.

Here is the subtlety: those who follow will no longer follow the information, but will seek to emulate a leader. They will be inclined to follow someone who knows how to use emotional intelligence and relational management to utilize the power of the collective.

This is what Professor Otto Scharmer presented in his Theory U at MIT, highlighting the five necessary stages of collective intelligence: observation, perception, being present, crystallization, and deployment to bring about a stage of collective consciousness.

The subtle skills required by the new manager are to meet the team, listen to the directions of the different participants, and understand what directional synthesis is proposing about the concerns of the system by comparing them with the reality of the market.

Theory U is based on the success of the collective synthesized by the sagacity of an open-minded leader to be completely present to others. “New leaders will have to be able to drive attention on change without driving too much attention on themselves,” said Ronald Heifetz, director of the

Harvard University Leadership Education Project. Subtle skills invite us to shift from egocentricity to eco-centricity; they reflect a greater maturity of leadership compared to a topdown pyramidal system.

New Leadership Subtleties: How to Systematize Enthusiasm and Embodiment?

The most remarkable subtlety happens when leadership is paired with concepts that seem to be at odds with a traditional view: progressive leadership, emotional leadership, situational leadership, and benevolent leadership. Spiritual leadership is the best example of two juxtaposed notions, because any form of spirituality is suspect in the management sphere, immediately evoking a religious figure who wants to lead their flock like a guru. And for the followers of spirituality, the word “leadership” distorts the very essence of a transcendental idea, so much so that the implied resonance of profitability is offending.

Spiritual leadership is an apparent paradox because it brings the material and the immaterial together, but there is a genuine craze for the term in business nowadays and it can be explained by the need to include more subtle

criteria among the indicators of managerial success.

Far from being an incursion of religion into the corporate sphere, spiritual leadership explores an “energetic” dimension of governance, with the concept of followership no longer subject to a simple technocratic hierarchy, but instead to a charismatic figure

who embodies its messages. First mentioned by Professor Louis Fry at the University of Texas, this approach to leadership insists on the importance of intrinsic motivation through the leader’s values, attitudes, and behavior. It is based on a schematic model in the form of quadrants, just like emotional or situational intelligence.

As with presencing, the starting point is always a leader’s awareness of their relationship with self, which allows them to be fully available to build cohesion through three main components: vision, hope and faith in the future, and benevolence toward others.

There is a growing interest in France in spiritual leadership, thanks to the debate on enthusiasm and incarnation. Both enthusiasm and incarnation imply a transcendental relationship based on a charismatic rather than an intellectual energetic presence. Therefore, the subtlety is to understand the importance of self-giving in a leader who wishes to inspire followership. Selfgiving is fundamental to spiritual leadership.

The subtlety is to understand the importance of selfgiving in a leader who wishes to inspire followership. Self-giving is fundamental to spiritual leadership.

Leadership at Heart: Heartificial Intelligence

Self-giving does not mean “forgetting yourself in others.” Today’s leaders cannot afford a sacrificial posture that is lost in a kind of wild empathy. Instead, it involves a heart-to-heart resonance with followers, which allows them to better understand the ecology of their system.

It involves the principles of Social Permaculture and the Symbiotic Economy, linking intellect and personal responsibility to the collective. As Isabelle Delannoy advocates in The Symbiotic Economy, it is based on the symbiosis of human intelligence, the power of ecosystems, and tools. The leadership challenge is in finding the right balance to regenerate them instead of exhausting them; to create a system that works without burning out either the leader or the followers. This is also what Gunter Pauli advocates when he talks about the Blue Economy.

How to apply this level of subtlety to the very heart of inspiration at the corporate level? How to re-consider what we think is at the bottom of the ladder in our systemic worldview and, instead, make it the engine of a humanistic recycling economy?

In this sense, the leader and the follower are two sides of the same coin in a circular economy. Restoring a person’s pride can have benefits for everyone in the system since all are intimately connected. This is what we call leadership from the heart: not only human and benevolent leadership but also courageous leadership of being oneself in front of others, and especially for others.

Could this subtle Heartificial Intelligence save leadership from the dehumanization of Artificial Intelligence, while we wait for leaders to have an NFT rating? This is highly possible!

Illustrations by Мария Гисина

Age, Time, & Wisdom

DR. ICHAK ADIZES addresses the topics of aging gracefully, family health, and the role of the extended family unit for stability, wisdom, and mental well-being.

Iremember a time when being old was honorable. Old people were respected. Others would get up from their seat on a bus or train to give them a place to sit. No one interrupted them when they spoke. There was honor and rituals of recognition of their worthiness as the older generation. Old people were the Elders, the wise.

When I was a child, only eighty years ago, I used to kiss my grandfather’s hand and he would bless me, putting his hand over my head. At the dining table he had his chair that no one else would sit in. It was his reserved seat. When he took a nap in the afternoon, everyone would walk on tiptoe and whisper not to wake him up.

Being old meant being wise and knowledgeable. The elder made

the rules of the house, and since being old was so respected, there was no need to try to hide your age by dressing like a young man or woman. Children used to pride themselves in the way they treated their parents at home. Grandparents were not a burden, they were an asset. They helped around the house and conveyed family traditions and stories to the grandchildren. There was continuity that provided stability and nourished mental health.

But this is all changing. Being old is no longer something to be proud of. On the contrary, old people are seen as stupid. They forget things, perhaps losing their acuity to the creep of Alzheimer’s. They do not shave evenly, have age spots on their skin, and can’t walk well. They do not know how to operate

the computer, the TV, or even drive well. People shy away from them. The respect, the honor, and the recognition are all gone.

The elders used to live with their children and enjoy their grandchildren every day. Rather than being visited once in a blue moon, they were part of the family. Now the older generation is discarded as a useless burden, sent to an old age home to wait for death, cared for by people they do not know. It is not love or a sense of obligation that drives those caregivers; it is a paid service.

There is a Jewish prayer that says, “Do not discard me in my old age. I took care of you when you were young and helpless. Be with me at my old age when I am feeble and weak and in need of love

more than ever.” In the Western world this is only a prayer. Retirement homes are ubiquitous, and expensive. Why do older people spend so much money on retirement homes? What choice do they have? Who else will take care of them? Being old means having the problems that come with aging, and someone needs to help.

Where are the children? Scattered around the nation or the world. Maybe they call sometimes – on a birthday, perhaps. Some old

people refuse to leave much, if any, of their assets as an inheritance to their children. For them children were not an investment, they were an operating expense. At the Passover Seder dinner, as my children and grandchildren were seated around the table, singing and laughing, I realized how lucky I am. I have the respect and the love I cherish so much. They told me that there is no way they would let me go to a retirement home. They are for me and with me until my last breath. I am blessed. What is my biggest achievement in life?

Not my books. Not my balance sheet. It is my loving family. It should not be taken for granted.

Just thinking and feeling, Ichak Kalderon Adizes

This blog post was featured in the Huffington Post on June 8, 2016. https://www.ichakadizes.com/post/ old-age-over-time.

heart is melting when you connect with others; nothing more is required.

YOUR

The Beauty of Elders

KARISHMA DESAI writes about her grandmother, and what we can learn from the elder generations.

When I count my blessings, I count my grandma twice. I am so lucky to have her around. Shantaben Dave is in her late 90s and resides happily with her loving family in Kolkata, India. Her spirits are indomitable.

When I was a child, and even now, when I meet my grandma I rush to express my love with my hugs, kisses, and cuddles. She looks at me in utter despair, thinking, “Why is such a display of love necessary?” She comes from a generation when love was not expressed in that way. I never understood this as a child. It was only later in life, when I started the Heartfulness practice, that I learned to appreciate the phrase, “That which is sacred need not be made profane.” To my grandma, her children and her dear ones are sacred, and her entire life is an expression of her love for us.

Despite never having attended school, she was our first teacher. She was not educated; it was her sheer eagerness to read spiritual

texts that made her teach herself to read. She made sure that all her children completed their education, so they did not have to face the challenges she had faced in life.

She taught us important life learnings through folk tales, delivered in a very local dialect, which added to the whole experience. Even now, when my children and I visit her, we gather around her feet and attentively listen to her stories, which have simple lessons. Her devotional songs and stories of love for God kindled an inner search in me, which eventually led me to pursue the Heartfulness way at the age of 18. Her engaging folk tales always aroused feelings of love, appreciation, devotion, joy, service, care, compassion, honesty, courage, etc., all of which helped me greatly to shape my adult life.

Her teachings are not restricted to storytelling, but also exist in her resilient actions. She is a role model and displays all

the qualities I aspire to have. Despite having lost several of her loved ones – including her spouse, children, and a grandchild – we have never seen her morose. Even in her late nineties, she tackles challenges easily and encourages everyone to keep moving on with a smile and be grateful for what they still have.

Her memory is very sharp. She can still sing songs without reading their lyrics. She can recall the events from when my mother was born (my mom is 75!). Her life possessions can be packed in a small handbag,

To my grandma, her children and her dear ones are sacred, and her entire life is an expression of her love for us.

and yet she is most generous in showering us with gifts when we visit her.

I can never forget a moving conversation I had with her a few years back. We were concerned about a relative who was diagnosed with dementia and could not even remember her name.

I expressed my concern to my grandma: “What will happen if you develop dementia and forget us all?”

At this open expression of concern, my grandma instantly and lovingly reassured me that I need not be worried. She explained to me that since this relative had no one to talk to, she forgot who she was, “whereas

I,” she proudly explained, “can never forget myself because you all remind me of who I am.” She was happy to share that everyone around her loves her. Even her many grandchildren around the globe call her often and connect with her. “How can I ever forget myself when I have so many loved ones reminding me of who I am.”

Her simple reassurance brought tears to my eyes as I thought about all those grandparents who do not have such deep connections as this.

I live oceans apart from my dear grandma, but I hold her tight in my heart. I send her love and continue to feel close to her.

Most importantly, I call her every now and then to remind her of what she means to me.

I request the readers to join me in a positive intention for the happy, healthy, and joyful life of all the loving and selfless grandparents and elders of the world who have shaped our lives for the better. We have all learned so much from their generation of wisdom, love, courage, and generosity. It is now the time, more than ever, to shower them with love and care, and never let them forget themselves.

Illustrations by PRAMITI RAMCHANDRA

We have all learned so much from their generation of wisdom, love, courage, and generosity. It is now the time, more than ever, to shower them with love and care, and never let them forget themselves.

UPAMA RAJASEKHAR is a Brighter Minds trainer and Heartfulness trainer. Here she shares some thoughts on future educational goals and today’s children.

Recently I spent three days with the most humble school principal and six of his students during their recent visit to Kanha Shanti Vanam. I am so grateful to witness, develop, acknowledge, and expand my thinking and ideas. I was shocked, surprised, hopeful, and grateful to learn from them.

What made them stand out? I feel that right brain education is the answer. I employ quantum

techniques as well as utilizing the subconscious mind. I believe that teachers and parents must work on themselves first. Once they’ve tested these techniques in their own lives and are convinced of their potential, they can then utilize them with joy and confidence with children.

Children sometimes have difficulty accessing their unlimited innate abilities because of a negative self-image in their subconscious.

Education can liberate children from anything that limits their mental potential. If a parent or teacher can eliminate these negative impressions and allow children to discover the innate power within themselves, they will be able to make use of their talents. This self-transformation is an essential element of being an achiever. Children raised in a heart-based program become sensitive, wise, passionate, curious, loving, and kind human beings.

What more can we wish for?

Today’s child is a wonderful, magical mixture of sense-abilities. In the past 30 to 40 years, science has unlocked the door to the infant mind, giving parents rational proof that their children have genius-like learning abilities during their formative years. As a mother and a teacher, I am encouraged to do all that I can for our children, in the hope that the knowledge they gain and the positive learning habits they form during this time will influence and enhance their learning and quality of life forever.

The relationship between love, the mind, and the brain

The mind makes the brain work, and love makes the mind work.

If you respect your child as an individual and show them your love, recognize their existence, and praise them, their mind will be relaxed and they will be able to use their true potential. If you pay attention to your child’s mind and their right brain, they will change, grow, and be easily able to acquire knowledge or information. This is because you were able to ignite a fire within them to learn and absorb. This applies to both parents and teachers.

The left brain is trained through knowledge-based education, whereas the right brain has rich potential abilities because it resonates with the cosmic energy. The purpose of the right brain is to process resonance, images, mass memory, and high-speed processing. The right brain can be

cultivated by using techniques like sensory perception and memory games.

The 21st century is the era of the right brain. It is important for education to integrate intelligence and intuition, body and mind, rational thoughts and feelings. Fostering these combinations is the true goal of education.

By planting the seeds of music, math, spoken and written languages, science, art, culture, and more, early in life, your child’s mind will have a rich subconscious library of information. They will naturally crave to learn more about the world around them, eagerly building this growing library. And when high-quality input is combined with joyful play, imaginative exploration, and critical thinking activities, both hemispheres of the brain are stimulated, resulting in an incredible whole-brain acceleration.

Future educational goals:

Inducing hidden human potential.

Enhancing the well-balanced development of body and mind.

Nurturing sensibility.

Instilling creativity.

Promoting a deep sense of spirituality.

In the near future, I hope that we will develop curricula that educate children to be able to carefully understand their ego, the true nature of the universe, and the meaning of life, rather than simply learning facts and gaining knowledge. Parents and teachers can aspire to understand the nature of a child’s mind in order to unlock true potential and allow it to develop holistically.

This is my perspective to share, and my joy to impart – the truth about the children of today and

their impact on our future. Let us encourage humankind to become like little children. Only after doing so, we can finally come to understand the traits of this new generation and resonate with them.

Today’s child:

 Picks up information at an incredibly fast rate. They are wired to continually gather data and connect or link it to what they already know.

 Is a multisensory being who can absorb information through more than just their five physical senses.

 Seeks clarity and balance.

 Blossoms in a joyful, stimulating environment that meets their individual needs.

 Brings mental images to life. They can see these images clearly, three-dimensionally, with all their senses. They have the ability to imagine, invent, and create a positive future for all of us.

Today’s children are all around us. All it takes is a little bit of effort on our part to see them with an open mind, a listening heart, and a willingness to see.

Once we combine what we know about the current generation with effective, gentle, playful learning methods – allowing their unique geniuses to unfold – we need to ask ourselves: how do we evolve in order to successfully raise and nurture today’s children? When we answer this question completely, we will genuinely affect the whole world in a positive manner. In short, we all need to rise up.

Pray for the soul of this world.

THE WORLD

3 natural ways to harness THE POWER OF WATER

DAAJI gives 3 simple ways to harness the power of water, using examples from Kanha Shanti Vanam. He also shares a vision for social and educational reform, so that we can maintain the purity of water on our planet Earth.

Solution 1: Soak Pits, Canals, and Charcoal

We started harvesting water and planting trees at Kanha Shanti Vanam toward the end of 2015. We didn’t have a lot of water, and so we weren’t doing very well until 2018, when we really learned how to store and preserve water. That’s when things got exciting.

We started building soak pits across Kanha. At the bottom of

these pits, we put about two feet of charcoal. Without the charcoal, the water rushing into the soak pits can remain dirty, and the underground water quality spoiled. With charcoal added, the water that percolates to the bottom of these pits is relatively pure.

Charcoal is a magical thing. Most reverse osmosis (RO) filters use charcoal. Even the most expensive cars today – Mercedes, BMWs, Audis – use charcoal filters.

ENVIRONMENT

Charcoal is also used in medicines because it absorbs everything, including toxins and pollutants. Ten grams of charcoal has the surface area of one acre of land, or 43,560 square feet – that’s a huge amount of exposed area that can be utilized to absorb pollutants.

Once a pit is full, water flows into the next pit, and then into the next, and so on. All around these pits, there are plants and trees that absorb some of this water. Ultimately, the water end ups in ponds, and all of the six or seven ponds we have at Kanha are interconnected.

You will be surprised to see some canals here filling with water from the outside roads, like the main road that connects us with the next village. The village water runs everywhere, undirected, so we have directed it into a canal. Across India, highways pass through villages. Those highways are full of water, especially during the monsoons. That water can benefit farmers if every farmer can build a small canal, starting at the highway, creating as many pits as they would like to have along the canal. They can then put charcoal in those pits to purify the water. To obtain charcoal, they need to burn their crop waste to 10%, and leave it in those pits. The farmers can use this pure water for themselves and their cattle.

Solution 2: Irrigation from Mountainsides

Another way to harvest water is to collect it from mountainsides during the monsoon rains. In southern India, the monsoons comes from the West, and so when we compare Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Kerala is much greener. In Kerala, you feel you’re really in “God’s Own Country.” It rains so much more as the clouds dump their rains on the West side of the mountains, the downside being

flood problems and soil erosion. Fertile soil is washed away and ultimately ends up in the sea. In contrast, the East side of the mountains receive very little rainfall.

I might have a solution. It’s not magic, but both states could benefit from it. We could create a water canal, with the top on the Kerala side, and the bottom on the Tamil Nadu side. At the base of the canal, we can create ponds – as many ponds as we need.

Rain-fed area of the mountain

Dry area

One inch of rain over a 1000 sq. ft. area would amount to 600 gal of water or 2280 L. One acre of land will generate 44,000 L of water. So, for a mountainous area of X square feet, multiply X by the inches of rainfall, and multiply that by 600 gal. Then multiply by 3.8 and you will have the number of L of water. Based on the number of L you arrive at, you can dig as many water pits as you need while keeping the mountain green.

Solution:

Rain-fed area of the mountain

Water channel

Shallow water bodies

Dry area

Solution 3: Rain Guns

We use rain guns at Kanha to help our rainforest survive during the hottest months of March, April, and May. These guns don’t need to be used a lot. Five minutes, three times a week, and they maintain our forests really well. The solutions are simple.

Creating Awareness

Until 1970, India had sufficient water. After the ’70s, the water tables started falling because free electricity meant people pumped water out of the ground

indiscriminately. It hasn’t changed much since then. Now we need to find other ways to motivate people to get pure water for themselves, for their herds, and for their crops – water that is not from the ground.

We need to let people know that the more they dig water from the ground, the more salts will come, and the more their soil will become saline and less productive. They will have to put more and more fertilizer. When the water is purer, everyone can survive well and with better crops.

This issue is more about the role of a social and civil society, rather than water awareness. Take water pollution. What is the point of storing water if it’s going to be polluted? We are also worried about soil problems, but the main problem to be addressed is how to put a stop to the problem of water pollution.

Why would an industrialist discharge waste into public waters?

We all know it is greed – more money, more profit, ignorance. The same is true for air pollution. But what is behind this greed and ignorance? Yoga says all our

activities are controlled by our mind. If we are not able to regulate our heart and mind, we are a burden on this planet.

Our planet is victim to mad people who are ruling countries and have power in their hands in the form of money. Greed for gains has made them sacrifice the moral divine laws. They sacrifice all that is good. It is not that they don’t have a heart: they have a heart, but greed takes over. And all of us pay the price. By disregarding this creation, the nature that we see, we are disregarding the creator. And eventually, we will all pay the price for remaining witnesses. We have to take these matters into our hands.

Recently, I was with the Minister for Water in Jabalpur, and we were talking about water problems. He loves the Narmada River, and he said, “Daaji, the problem is created by the ashrams and temple people. Wherever I go, they dump

their waste into the river.”

I said, “You are a Minister, why don’t you do something?”

He had no answer for that, because he also knows there are repercussions, so I offered him a solution.

When I was running a chain of pharmacies in New York City, if a dog relieved itself on the pavement outside your store or somebody threw a Pepsi can, you were not responsible for it. But if a sanitation inspector saw that your pavement was not clean, he would give you a fine of a $100, no arguments. He would come with a camera, take a photo, and show you, saying, “This is in front of your store. It is your pavement. You are responsible for cleaning it.”

So, I told the Minister, “Let’s do something like this,” but unfortunately, the more laws we create, the more avenues we create for corruption. That is the danger

we are facing in our country: more laws, more inspectors; more inspectors earning more money from law-breaking citizens.

So, unless the mind and the heart are regulated, there is no solution. The inspiration must come from within that, “I must do something about my surroundings.” We are offering solutions for every little thing: for air pollution, one solution; for the water problem, another solution; but let’s go to the root of it. If we can solve the root problem, we can prevent many problems, and we can also solve many problems.

Education begins very early. Let children learn all these things. Teach them how to segregate waste, how to process waste, and how to preserve water. I am reminded of a video of an “aware” monkey. Some of you might have seen it. In a village there was a running tap and nobody turned it off. But the monkey did!

Let’s see what we can do together. We can bring a lot of farmers, a lot of villagers, a lot of village heads, to start with in our ashrams across India. Many such locations can be made use of. They are not only for yoga and meditation, but also for many social activities that can uplift our nation and our planet.

Unless the mind and the heart are regulated, there is no solution. The inspiration must come from within that, “I must do something about my surroundings.”

ecology Inner and Outer

RADHIKA RAMMOHAN is a yoga practitioner and therapist with Yogavahini, a school in the tradition of Krishnamacharya. During the Yoga4Unity Program 2022, she shared her experiences of how yoga has helped her to refine her inner and outer environments. She also offered us some tips on how to deepen our own holistic well-being.

Ihave always been involved with the idea of holistic health. My first concern was environment and health, then I came to yoga three decades after that. And when I did, I realized that holistic health goes far beyond food.

I was always drawn to the idea of being able to connect directly with the food I ate with as few intermediary steps as possible. When I lived in the USA in the mid-1990s, I saw packaged, massproduced, and processed foods. I felt uncomfortable about using chemicals for increasing yield or quality without reverence for the land. It felt intuitively wrong.

So I sought out and started buying organic foods from smaller retailers, who were not selling popular or branded items. This was also the time when genetically modified crops (GMOs) were being introduced in the USA. For instance, dairy cows were given rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormones) to increase milk

production, and in Wisconsin, where I lived, there was activism against this. I always bought milk from dairy farmers who did not use rBGH.

At that time, food production and policy were skewed toward corporate interests, at least in the West. I started volunteering at an organic farm and doing some gardening, and I was shopping at cooperative natural food stores. Eventually my interest in food and food systems led me to care for a broader set of issues: land energy, regeneration of the environment, and human rights. I started reading books like Small Is Beautiful by F. Schumacher, and a few by the Indian environmentalist Vandana Shiva, and they helped me envision solutions. I also became associated with an NGO in the USA called Association for India’s Development.

Once back in India, a friend and I started a community-based organic store, called reStore in

Chennai in 2008. To this day, it remains an active place, a center for direct farmer support, local and traditional foods, zero waste, etc.

I was very busy and was running into difficulties in my ability to work with people. I realized I didn’t understand my mental patterns very well, or what was leading to the difficulties I had dealing with the world. I wanted to find a quieter space for myself from where I could understand myself better and the world better. This brought me to studying yoga. I did not want to only be a practitioner, but also understand the philosophy behind it and understand the yoga sutras. So I joined a yoga teachers training program.

The program led me to the affirmation that the Hindu tradition is really a holistic view of the universe, which is made up of the 5 elements or bhutas – akasha (space), vayu (air), agni (fire), apas (water), prithvi (earth). Everything

ENVIRONMENT

is essentially made up of these basic elements.

In the last few generations, we have been leaning toward a reductionist view of life. We break down everything to its atomic or molecular structure, which is very practical, but in doing so we miss the interconnectedness between things. It’s not so evocative to say that you and I are made of the same elements, so we reduce it to a very atomic level, rather the level of the pancha bhutas.

We are not so very distinct from each other when we look at it this way. Any sense of competitiveness is reduced when we lose this sense of individual distinction. This is how I’ve seen yoga and sadhana bringing our minds to a quieter location that increases our sensitivity and lets us reflect. That’s also how I feel yoga helps us develop environmental sensitivity.

Yoga influences the way I handle relationships, which includes with other beings and the environment, and, of course, my work. Earlier, I thought of health in a very physical sense, and I related it mostly to food and exercise. But mental, emotional and spiritual well-being is actually the space we act from, and where our deepest aspirations come from. Very often we don’t get in touch with that core.

My way of thinking has shifted to inside-out. Our ways of relating to ourselves and to the world are mostly programmed or habituated. In yoga, it is about leading to a quieter mind that is able to witness itself and see from where these actions arise. Yoga is for everyone, including people with busy lives, with a family, etc. Yoga isn’t about the asanas or pranayama alone. It doesn’t have anything to do with a mat. It is about principles like satya (truth) and ahimsa (non-violence). So, while having a regular life with children, pets, and other people around me, if I can make sure that my interactions have the qualities of the yamas and niyamas, then the residue I leave behind in each of these interactions will be minimal. That is the practice of yoga.

So, even if you come to yoga for physical exercise, you will naturally gain more sensitivity. Hopefully, after finishing your practice, you will reach work and be able to see the behavior you are upholding in your workplace. Or coming home to your kitchen, maybe the way you are interacting with your house help, or someone else. Hopefully some of that stays with you, and you are able to say, “What am I doing here?”

Adding yoga to ecological campaigns is a wonderful idea. When we see environmental injustice, damage, or inequality, and we are not able to do very much about it, it can lead to a lot of anger. Being stuck in that anger is not very conducive for good activism. We might turn into angry activists who people love to hate. It’s not very efficacious.

In yoga, it is about leading to a quieter mind that is able to witness itself and see from where these actions arise. Yoga is for everyone, including people with busy lives, with a family, etc.

When what we are practicing is contributing to some kind of quietness, and we’re able to see everything around us with a little more compassion, then we are definitely in a good place. It gives us a happier way to wake up in the morning, compared to saying, “Oh, the climate has not changed, abuse has not changed, and injustice has not changed.” Then it’s not a happy way to wake up.

I hope that yoga teachers impart to their students not only the knowledge of the asanas, but also the deep, transformative potential of the practice. Krishnamacharya once said, “The location for a yogi ought to be shantam.” That is equanimity – not in

the sense of being unable to respond appropriately to different situations, but to respond from the space of shantam. To bring out whatever is appropriate –anger, courage, wonderment, love, compassion – but not to get carried away with it. To come back to the equanimous location.

It is difficult to practice yoga for a short time and expect your problems to be solved. You need to dive deeper. As a teacher, that’s my aspiration – to help my students take their practice deeper, to understand their minds and their yoga, to study some texts, to understand the underlying foundations behind what we are teaching them.

For others, I would say get involved with a community or sangha. Study together. It could be a formal teacher training course. We can create communities of practitioners who learn from each other and take their practice deeper.

I think it’s important that we have some way of knowing if what we are practicing is transformative. If we can sense that we are more sensitive today than yesterday, we can say we are progressing. It’s a sense of refinement. If we are not feeling that, it’s okay, but we have to keep trying and learning.

Photography by HEARTFULNESS MEDIA TEAM

Integrative Approach to

and

In peacefulness, my heart is opening to its creative potential.

WELL-BEING THROUGH CREATIVITY

Everyday ways you can be a BETTER LEADER

SANJANA AYYAGARI shares some everyday images of ways to be more aware, take care and responsibility for self and others, and build community. All this leads to becoming a better leader.

Education

Today, young people are revolutionizing the world by educating themselves on issues pertaining to society as a whole. They are conversing with each other, whether over email, social media, or in person. While they do not always find all the answers to their questions, they are enriching their minds and preparing themselves to face the challenges ahead.

Environmental Consciousness

Young people are striving to limit the negative impact of their existence on the planet. Everything from metal straws, reusable grocery bags, and recyclable materials have become staples in their households and their mindset is governed by the goal of leaving the planet in a better state than it was when they arrived.

Health and Well-being

Health and well-being are no longer a series of quick schemes to get fit and be ready for the next Instagram post, but rather a lifestyle adopted by young people to feel their best from within. Whether it be yoga, meditation, lifting weights, or simply staying hydrated, this generation is prioritizing feeling good physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Community and Camaraderie

At times it can be isolating to be part of a generation that is going through a lot of self-doubt and creating their own path to living a fulfilling life. But young people have realized that it is always better to collaborate and not compete. By coming together as a community, this generation is not only better equipped to navigate the obstacles of their individual lives, but also to redirect their collective journey and create lasting positive change.

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THE HEARTFULNESS WAY by DAAJI

In this inspiring text, you will discover a special collection of meditations that awaken the depths of human potential and initiate a mystical inner journey. In this process, the heart becomes a perennial source of wisdom and guidance to help you navigate life’s twists and turns and lead a life more connected to yourself and others.

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From the bestselling author of The Heartfulness Way and Designing Destiny DAAJI Kamlesh D. Patel

The Wisdom Bridge

Daaji in The Wisdom Bridge offers nine principles to guide you, the reader, to live a life that inspires your children and your loved ones. These principles are important references for parents, parents-to-be, grandparents and caregivers to create fulfilling and happy lives. They will not only help you enrich the lives of your children and raise responsible teenagers, but pave the way for an inspired life and resilient bonds in your family.

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It is both an inspiring and practical resource the parents will refer to often as they care for their children.”

- JACK MILLER, Professor University of Toronto and author of The Holistic Curriculum and Whole Child Education

As the old African Proverb states, "It takes a village to raise a child," you can now consider Daaji part of your family's village.”

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‘a timely book that families will benefit from, including my own."

- PULLELA GOPICHAND, Chief National Coach Indian Badminton Team, recipient of the Padma Bhushan

Whether it’s music or life, what matters is growing self-awareness. I impart this lesson through the flute, and Daaji does this through his teachings.

- Pt. HARIPRASAD CHAURASIA, internationally acclaimed flautist, teacher, and winner of multiple awards and recognitions globally

‘I find the wisdom in this book enlightening.’ - CLANCY MARTIN, Professor of Philosophy, contributing editor, Harper’s Magazine