Caring friends,  

We are deep into a very snowy winter here in DC. Everywhere you look there is a beautiful, smooth, white covering. We try to let the long darkness and the barren grounds and trees seep into our consciousness knowing that the mind will be pure and ready for the coming bloom whose seeds wait dormant in the cold, hard earth. Perhaps such an attitude of hope in renewal is not possible in places of endless sunshine or nine months of midnight.

In these evenings of early sunsets one's thoughts are drawn towards the spirit who is awake in the darkest hours of the night and is deeper than the unseen depths of space beyond the stars. When you sit quietly in your home and you can hear every swinging of a door on its hinges and creaking of the floorboards sometimes you feel like you can hear the footsteps of the beloved as her feet softly, softly, softly touch the ground as silent as snowflakes settling on the soil at night. 

Sankar 

Random thoughts (29)
2/11/03

1. Our weaknesses and problems start to fade away as soon as we see them, like darkness dissipating before the morning sun. All it takes is to recognize them for what they are, to be aware of them. Our natural tendency is to deny or to be blind to our own flaws, be they congenital, lifelong flaws or new ones that arise when latent tendencies and dormant genes start to express themselves in reaction to the environment. 

[That simile about darkness and light was lifted from a movie of Wim Wenders that I saw on the IFC channel,"The End of Violence." One of the best movies I have seen lately, poetic in dialogue, majestic in its visual imagery, and epic in its depth and reach. Bill Pullman gives a very fine performance, probably his best (he is one of my favourite actors). It is also one of the best movies I've seen that is set in L.A. You'll understand better what I wrote about L.A in the previous rt if you see this movie]

2. It is extremely important to give benefit of doubt in our daily interactions with people. Often we don't communicate fully what we feel in our words and body language. Misinterpretation of a very minor nature often leads to major misunderstandings and destroys friendships. We need to always leave a wide margin for error.

3. I am more and more convinced of the power of positive thinking. To think of positive thoughts every moment smacks of self-hypnosis. But what is reality? We constantly live in a fictional world when it comes to ourselves and others, because of misunderstandings and underestimations. Also it is easy to dismiss it as being simplistic. But thinking positively each moment takes a tremendous amount of discipline and vigilance. If we observe our thoughts for even five minutes, we could see how we are reacting, not acting. I read a while ago in the interview of a marathon runner, his secret of success: "It is simple. You just keep putting one foot in front of the other." Thinking positively for even half the time makes one energetic, happy, peaceful, and more giving.

4. When I do my regular prayers, most of the time I ignore some of the mantras. The other day I was suddenly struck by the number of Vedic prayers that beseech the Gods for physical strength and energy. Hindus seem to have gotten away from that during the past several centuries. If one does not have physical strength or stamina or a naturally pure, blessed mind and innate spiritual character to compensate for it, then the mind becomes very vulnerable to self-deception and also too weak to concentrate on anything, among other things. A few teachers like Vivekananda have spoken of its importance. The pursuit of truth needs a strong body and mind. 

5. I found the following amusing name for a certain variety of a very common vegetable at Fresh fields last friday: Russian banana. Shouldn't be hard to guess.