It is said that the world is a mirror of our thoughts. If we are happy, everything around us looks happy and cheerful. If we are sad, the world looks grey and morose.
Whatever an artist, builder, painter, sculptor, engineer, coder… creates, is created twice. Once in his mind, and then for real. If we create beautiful things in our minds, think beautiful thoughts, watch beautiful shows/theatre/movies, our minds shall be peaceful. Vice versa is also true. We can create the world we wish to live in. When our thoughts are good, our character shall be good.
I was watching my granddaughters create a palace with Magna-tiles. They were fantasising about what the rooms should look like. What intrigued me was that they were building homes for Hanumanji and Ramji, not for themselves. They often take on the roles of Ramji, Luv, Kush, Krishna… in their pretend-play. I realised that this is because they often watch animated Ramayan or Krishna cartoon strips. Whatever you watch or read is what stays in your subconscious memory. If you watch a romantic movie, you hum those songs. If you read a thriller, those scenes play on your mind, and you may even dream of yourself in similar situations. You can choose what you want to put into your mind.
We recently had the opportunity to watch the theatrical performance of ‘Humare Ram’. The play was beautiful beyond words. What really moved me was the deep interpretation of incidents documented in the Ramayana and their relevance in the contemporary world. Much emphasis was given to speech. The right pronunciation, intonation, body language, expression, etc. Everything was executed to perfection.
The peace on the face of Rahul Bhuchar, who portrayed Bhagawan Rama, told a beautiful story. All artists were reciting dialogues pregnant with deep meaning, over and over again. It is said that if a single drop of water from a stream falls repeatedly on a rock, even the rock gets a dent in it. These artists were repeatedly bathing in the sea of emotions created by the powerful script. And they were offering the same opportunity to the audience. Everything seemed to be in perfect rhyme and rhythm. There are just 26 letters in the English language. There are 52 Aksharas in the Hindi Varnamala. But countless words stem from them. The script writer had done a stupendous job. The artists had outdone themselves. The beautiful thoughts in the minds of the scriptwriter, director, artists, etc., permeated the minds of the audience. The experience was hugely immersive.
After the show, Ashutosh Rana, the artist who portrayed Ravana, said that he was always amazed that in each audience, though people came from different backgrounds, they appeared to belong to the same gotra… because they reacted to the performance in a unified way. The present-day audience, of which we were a part, was able to absorb and assimilate the messages potent in the silent pauses that the artists took while orating. He was appreciative that the audience could hear and read between the lines. His observation left a mark on my mind.
The Hindu calendar is dotted with festival dates to celebrate and sing the glory of God and remind us to keep our minds attuned to prayers and connect with the Divine being. In earlier times, all celebrations, for newborns, birthdays, anniversaries, new businesses, etc., were centred around prayers and offering gratitude to God. Today, especially in the affluent sections of society, these milestones centre around parties. Parties, where there is loud music, alcohol flows like water and junk food is consumed like there is going to be no tomorrow. The party warms up late in the night and goes on till the wee hours of the morning. The sad part is that the “gratitude and the thank you” part has been tossed out of the window.
Chaitra Navaratri shall begin on March 19th, 2026. It is a time to worship the feminine aspect of Divinity. Many of us sow Jou (barley seeds) in our homes and worship the Divine Mother in her nine forms during Navaratri. Shiva or Parmatma is the invisible, male part of divinity. Prakriti (nature) is the visible, feminine part of divinity. For those who do not believe in worship, I’d say this is a time to revere and offer thanksgiving to Prakriti for all its bounties. Divinity is present in the trees, birds, soil, humans and in each atom of the universe. Is there anywhere or anything in which God is absent? The yearning to connect begins with the correct orientation of the mind. Navaratri pooja focuses on purifying the mind.
I remember when my children were toddlers, one day they were reciting a poem learnt in school, “Head, shoulders, knees and toes…” Listening to them, my father-in-law commented that in their time, this was Haathi, Ghoda, Palki, Jai Kanhaiya Lal Ki. And now, we have reached the mantra of “Wallet, glasses, keys and phone”; that’s what the staples are now! That’s what the mind thinks about all the time…
I am reminded of what Sri Sathya Sai Baba said: “Where there is righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in character; Where there is beauty in character, there will be harmony in the home; Where there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation; Where there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.”
Isn’t peace in the world what we need most today? The present situation in the Middle East stems from the lack of righteousness in the minds of some. This brings misery to all those affected. People in the war-stricken areas live in constant fear of dying or losing their nears and dears. The news reports the dead in numbers. But behind each our dead, there would be a grieving family living through the pain of losing someone they loved. A school was bombarded recently, in which more than 150 girl children and staff members died. It was heart-rending to see the line-up of coffins as they were carried for burial. All because there is greed and the absence of righteousness in the hearts.
And as time is passing, greed seems to be growing. But where will this lead mankind? Every material acquisition gets left behind when we die. Yet greed has no end. As we get on in years, let us focus on the purpose of our birth. Should the focus be on material things or on connecting with God and spending our time, energy and wealth in doing good karma?
Let’s focus on the fact that the purpose of life is to live a life with a purpose. Let’s find our purpose. With God as the centre of our lives, there is endless hope. But without God, life would have a hopeless end.
I read somewhere: ‘The demon is always within. The goddess is always within. The battle too, is always within. And so is the triumph of one, over the other. Which one, over which one? That choice is also, somehow always within!’
Let us choose wisely. Happy Navaratri!
