We often hear the phrase "I am not the doer"...but it can be hard to understand as one might feel if "I am not the doer" then who is?
Next step would be 'Aham Brahmasmi/Tat Tvam Asi/Thou Art That/(أنا الحَقيقة) I am the Truth"..all a tad bit hard to grasp.

May be we can visualize that we are piloting a plane and we pilot it to the destination we think we should land...but now it gets interesting! Hijack!
Yes! Hijack!
Let the plane be hijacked by The Universal Consciousness/Higher Power and we surrender everything to it and the plane lands in the destination the "Hijacker" decides.

Initially we might be unsure and fear the "Hijacker" because we are not used to our "ahamkara" being just a passenger.

Then when the plane lands we feel save once again and the "Hijacker" tells us "This is your Captain speaking..thank you for letting me hijack the plane, I hope you enjoyed the journey"

Summary : We are not the doer. We didn't fly the plane yet it landed.

*** for the Non Dualists who feel that the plane,the hijacker and the passenger is one and the same, kindly fly in another airlines!😜

Anyway, the word for the day is प्रतिगृह्णाति (pratigRhNAti) which means Hijack.

Wham! - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (Official Video)

Sanskrit sentence for the day.

निर्गमनात् पुर्वं माम् उत्थापय ! 

nirgamanAt purvaM mAm utthApaya !

Translation : Wake me up before you go- go !

Frank Sinatra - My Way Lyrics Video

Imperative and Potential Mood.

Let's take a look at the usage of Imperative and Potential Mode in a famous shloka for general well being of everyone in this world.


ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः
सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः ।
सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु
मा कश्चिद्दुःखभाग्भवेत् ।
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

Aum sarva bhavantu sukhinaH
sarve santu nirAmayAH
sarve bhadrAni pashyantu
ma kaschid duHkhabhAgbhavet
Aum shantiH shantiH shantih.


Translation:
Aum, may all be happy
May all be disease free
May all witness auspiciousness
May no one endure suffering
Aum Peace Peace Peace


This shloka uses the  प्रार्थना लोट् लकार ( Imperative Request Mood) and the विधिलिङ् लकार(Potential Mood)  hence we observe the usage of the word "May" in English.

This  प्रार्थना लोट् लकार ( Imperative Request Mood) and the विधिलिङ् लकार(Potential Mood) reminds us that we are not in charge and we can only humbly make a request to God/Higher Power/Universal Consciousness for our request to be processed  and God willing it would be approved.

As much as we think that we could have things our way, in reality we do not really have the power to think "I did it my way"

Heal the World

लोकः स्वस्थं भव !! ( lokaH svasthaM bhava !!) (Heal the world !!)



This classic masterpiece stands the test of time, much better than any sermon by the modern you tube Swamijis.

The lyrics of this song written by the late Micheal Jackson are the most effective words for Healing the world.

Heal the World

Michael Jackson

There's a place in your heart
And I know that it is love
And this place could be much
Brighter than tomorrow
And if you really try
You'll find there's no need to cry
In this place you'll feel
There's no hurt or sorrow

There are ways to get there
If you care enough for the living
Make a little space
Make a better place

Heal the world
Make it a better place
For you and for me
And the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough for the living
Make it a better place
For you and for me

If you want to know why
There's love that cannot lie
Love is strong
It only cares of joyful giving
If we try we shall see
In this bliss we cannot feel
Fear of dread
We stop existing and start living

The it feels that always
Love's enough for us growing
So make a better world
Make a better place

Heal the world
Make it a better place
For you and for me
And the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough for the living
Make a better place for you and for me

And the dream we were conceived in
Will reveal a joyful face
And the world we once believed in
Will shine again in grace
Then why do we keep strangling life
Wound this earth, crucify its soul
Though it's plain to see
This world is heavenly
Be god's glow

We could fly so high
Let our spirits never die
In my heart I feel you are all my brothers
Create a world with no fear
Together we cry happy tears
See the nations turn their swords into plowshares

We could really get there
If you cared enough for the living
Make a little space
To make a better place

Heal the world
Make it a better place
For you and for me
And the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough for the living
Make a better place for you and for me

There are people dying
If you care enough for the living
Make a better place for you and for me

You and for me

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Michael  Jackson

Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive (Official Music Video)

Spiritual practices and a false sense of Immunity from diseases.

Today we would touch upon an important and often neglected aspect of mental health.
Often many "spiritual" people who engage in regular meditation,chanting of mantras and adherence to yoga etc feel they have a protective shield (कवचम्)(kavacam) around them and think that diseases can not harm them.

This is a very dangerous mindset and we need to remember that the goal of spirituality/meditation/chanting/yoga is not to give us superhuman abilities but instead instill in us the ability to make better decisions.

Let's read two verses from Patanjali Yoga sutras today which talks about sense and sensibility.

प्रत्यक्षानुमानाअगमाः प्रमाणानि ॥७॥
pratyakṣa-anumāna-āgamāḥ pramāṇāni ॥7॥

Insight arises from direct perception, conclusions, or learning that are based on reliable sources. ||7||

विपर्ययो मिथ्याज्ञानमतद्रूप प्रतिष्ठम् ॥८॥
viparyayo mithyā-jñānam-atadrūpa pratiṣṭham ॥8॥

Error arises from knowledge that is based on a false mental construct. ||8||

So how do we apply these two sutras during a Covid-19 pandemic?

1)Use insight from direct perception/conclusion/learning that are based on reliable sources!
So its clear that we have to be evidence based here.
Through direct perception we can notice how lethal Covid-19 can be when it invades the human body.
Then, make sure our sources of medical information are from a reliable source and refrain from filling our minds with non-evidence based information.

2)Now lets look at the other stanza which talks about error arises from knowledge that is based on a false mental construct.
Here is where we can be our own source of "delusion".
During a pandemic do NOT think that one is IMMUNE from a disease just because one is spiritual.
NO! That's not how the body immune system works.

If we feed our mind with a false mental construct that we are protected by spiritual practices, we tend to neglect the basic precautionary methods employed for protection of self and others.

We can continue our spiritual practices/chanting/yoga etc BUT do not forget to practice :

a)Hand washing with soap/water & hand sanitizers
b)social distancing
c)stay safe at home

Spirituality as clearly stated in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is pure logic for well being of Mind,Body,Soul and Staying Alive!

Cliff Richard - Forty Days, 1960

चतुर्विंशातिः दिननानि 40 days!!!

Let's learn some logic today.
I am sure we have the heard the word अशौच (ashauca) before.

It means impure and usually most cultures practice a 40 day अशौच period after a death/funeral and even after childbirth.

So why चतुर्विंशातिः दिननानि (caturviMshAtiH dinanAni)( 40 days)?

Now it gets interesting! Because its purely a medical reason and not a superstition.

Isolating a person for 40 days used to be practiced in ancient times to prevent spread of disease and also to protect a vulnerable person from disease.

40 days after a funeral is to protect general public from a house that had a funeral in case the cause of death was an infective one.

40 days of isolating a woman who delivered a baby is to protect her getting infections from outdoors and others.

More facts! The word Quarantine too is derived from the 40 day concept.

The famous ancient  Persian scholar of medicine Ibn Sina(Abu Ali Al-Hussein Ibn Abdullah Ibn Sina)  used to apply the 40 day principle of isolating people to prevent a chain of transmission of infective diseases.

He called it the Al-arba'iniya(The Forty).

Traders from Venice then took back this information to Italy and the practiced it there too calling it Quarantena(The Forty) in the Italian language and the word Quarantine in English is derived from the Italian word Quarantena.

There you go, its finally all science and not superstition if only properly understood.

Billy Idol - Dancing With Myself (Official Music Video)

Best song during a MCO!(Movement Control Order)



मया सह नृत्यामि (mayA saha nRtyAmi) Dancing with myself.

अस्मिन् समये अन्येन सह मा नृत्य !!!( asmin samaye anyena saha mA nRtya) At this time don't dance with anyone else!

गृहे एव वस!!! (gRhe eva vasa!) Stay put at home!