Category: Consciousness

The Purpose Of My Soul

This poem written by Anirban Saren is about discovering a key lesson in life from a brief but quite special experience.Happiness is the goal.

I saw you struggling from across the tables,
McDonald’s cleaning lady was one of your labels,
But beyond all names you are still special,
Until you’ve achieved your goals please never settle.

I saw someone came to help you,
Maybe a friend or colleague whom you knew,
Good people do exist in this world,
To believe in goodness, let that be my final word.

I saw my bubble tea was ready to drink,
And as I started to consume and think,
I lost sight of you,
But your memory is something I hold to.

I saw the beauty of life in your memory,
Sometimes I get lost in this reverie,
Then I realize being happy now is life’s only goal,
We never spoke but this realization from you to me was the purpose of my soul.

-Anirban Saren

Thanks for reading this line! It means a lot.

How My Illusions of Anger and Misunderstanding Are Removed By The Bhagavad Gita

The author writes about how reading the Bhagavad Gita helps him overcome the illusions of emotions like anger, misunderstanding, etc.

The Bhagavad Gita helps me overcome illusions of anger and misunderstanding and more.

Yesterday I was very angry with my sister. 

I was feeling angry because she comes to my bedroom and sleeps in it because it’s tidier than her bedroom.

She goes back to her bedroom at night but yesterday I felt very possessive of my bedroom.

So I felt angry even minutes after she went back to her room.

But then I started reading the Bhagavad Gita.

And I read a couple of chapters, and my anger was dispelled fast. 

Because when I read the Bhagavad Gita, it reminded me of the real goal of life.

It gave me clarity and I felt balanced and calm.

I also performed some of the psychological and breathing techniques that I learnt from NIMHANS.

And it helped me.

But the Bhagavad Gita was a real help.

My anger and possessiveness were illusions. They were not real. They were born of misunderstanding.

Sometimes I wonder why I didn’t read the Bhagavad Gita earlier.

Because if I had read it earlier, I would not have dropped out of the science stream after school.

But now there’s no point regretting it.

I need to use everything I have and not feel sorry for myself.

It’s never too late to change. 

And now that I have the dispeller of all illusions — The Bhagavad Gita, I can relax.

I am thankful I read Bhagavad Gita.

Thank you for reading this line! It means a lot.

Bhagavad Gita: Significant Changes In My Life

The author writes how the Bhagavad Gita is changing this life and how a healthy level of doubt is necessary and alright.

I’ve been reading the Bhagavad Gita and I already see changes in my life.

Bhagavad Gita : Story Time

I recently started cooking lunch and dinner. 

Earlier me and my sister used to order lunch and dinner from restaurants.

But now I cook them.

Although I order the curry and side dishes, I prepare the main staple dish.

I cook rice or rotis. And order vegetable or chicken curry.

And I also know that my psychiatric medication has a big part to play in this.

But I also think the Bhagavad Gita definitely has a part in causing these changes in my life.

I feel more grounded and am sleeping better.

I’m having less problems waking up early or sleeping early.

Religion

The Bhagavad Gita is a Hindu scripture. But I’m not a Hindu, I’m an Adivasi(Saridharam- truth religion).

But I find that reading the Bhagavad Gita helps me a lot.

I can relate to Arjuna from Chapter 1 itself.

Doubts

Sometimes I doubt if indeed the Gita is the word of God. Or whether Gita is true.

And I think it is good to doubt to some extent.

I don’t need to have blind faith. I need to challenge the Gita and experience its truths for myself in real life.

Conclusion

I need to treat it as a manual but the real realisation would only be possible if I act and actually “assemble the parts” or “attain spiritual realisation” or “moksh” by following it.

So yeah I’m reading the Bhagavad Gita and this journey never ends because unless one attains “moksh”, there’s no stopping.

Thank you for reading this line! It means a lot.

Expressing My Gratitude To God(part 1)

The author writes a short gratitude letter to God for being there with him ALWAYS.

Dear God,
I refer to you with many names through many religions. I remember you through my heart. And I want to express my gratitude through this letter.

I’m reading the Bible, the Bhagavad Gita, etc. and I am in love with you. I want to thank you for everything that you’ve given me in this life.

And I don’t know if there is rebirth or not, I just know that this present moment is all I got. There’s no past, no future, only this moment.

Thank you for this moment, for being with me for the times I can and can’t remember. 

Thank you for giving me loving parents, good siblings, good friends, good education, good health, an intelligent brain.

I don’t know if good things will continue coming to me in the future but I know you’ll always be with me.

I want to thank you for my seeming weaknesses because they taught me to go to you for strength.

Thank you for my natural strengths because they taught me to believe in myself. 

God, you are great. This creation of yours is amazing. Earth is amazing.

All the good things, good people, nature, etc. are beautiful.

Thank you for creating the ugliness in the world because they teach me to remember you for hope.

I want to express my gratitude to you for being there with me ALWAYS.

And thank you reader for reading this line. It means a lot.

Yours loving,
Anirban

You’re not special

I had read a book called “The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck” by Mark Manson.

There the author writes about how entitlement or thinking that we’re special is the cause of our problems.

It is a deeply healing book and opened my eyes to the real meaning of the Bhagavad Gita.

I’m not an authority on spiritual texts, so I’ll only share my opinion.

I felt there’s a relationship between Mark Manson’s book and The Gita.

Maybe Mark Manson didn’t read the Gita. But I feel that way for some unknown reason.

For example from Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2 verse 47 as little as I understand, it tells us to do work but be detached from the results.

I feel that Mark Manson also wants to say this through his work.

Why am I saying this? Why am I writing about Mark Manson’s book, The Bhagavad Gita and concepts of entitlement?

Because I feel it reduces our suffering.

It releases us from the idea that we must do something great. That somehow we’re special.

Sometimes it’s wiser to be humble and down-to-earth.

No life is ordinary.

Where I’m right now, I will meet my psychiatrist and psychologist in a few days and I feel like I should be treated in a special way.

Will that happen?

Nope, not going to happen.

I am getting a lot better. I have healed a lot from my mental health issues like bipolar disorder, psychosis, social anxiety, etc.

But my situation isn’t and never was special.

I’m glad you read this line. Thanks a lot!

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Writing, music, and my mom

What strategies do you use to cope with negative feelings?

I write poems and listen to sad songs(when I’m sad) to cope with negative feelings.

Honesty my repository of activities to do when feeling negative feelings is pretty small.

When I say negative feelings, I mean anger, hopelessness, sadness, apathy, fear, shame, etc.

Emotions

Here’s what I do when I feel these emotions –

Anger–

First I remember the words of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa who said ” যে সয় সে রয়, যে না সয় তার নাশ হয়।” It means in English,”He who tolerates, is able to withstand, He who does not tolerate, gets destroyed.”

Then I stay away from the person I am angry with.

Then I start listening to sad songs and writing.

Hopelessness–

When I feel hopeless, my mother is my savior. She talks to me all the time.

My mother (মা), maa, is my best friend.

Writing doesn’t help in this department. Nor does sad songs.

Sadness–

I listen to sad songs. I guess I write only poems when I feel sad.

Apathy–

Apathy means not feeling like doing anything or “indifference”.

In these case, I ask myself,”What am I interested in learning/doing now?”

Usually it’s some computer skills unrelated to my academic studies.

But it gets me out of my negative feelings.

Fear–

I call my mom because I have no friends.

No sad songs or writing helps though.

Shame–

Shame, self-hatred, etc. are horrible feelings which I feel when visiting some of my relatives’ places.

It’s truly horrible.

They make me feel like I better hide under a rock and disappear for the next 20 years.

They compare me to my cousins and uncles.

They say things that has utter insensitivity to my mental health issues. They don’t understand and they don’t want to understand mental illnesses. Period.

I don’t visit them much. That’s how I cope with shame.

Conclusion

So that’s a lot of combinations of- writing,music and my mom.

I hope I never outgrow these three gifts of my life. May I always love writing, music and my mom (মা).

Well this script is Bengali, our local Indian language in Kolkata, India.

Thanks for reading!

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Dear friend, does God exist?

Dear friend,

God exists.

God is not some entity or idea.

God is inside you.

God is inside your friends and enemies.

God is inside a stranger.

God is empathy.

God is sympathy.

God is the truth.

God is your friend.

God is.

God is when you hold on to nothing anymore.

God is when you let go of your expectations.

God is when you love yourself.

God is when you accept yourself as you are.

God is when you remember to even once chant his name before giving up. And he shows his miracle.

God is when you prioritise your well being before “success”.

God is your best friend.

God is there.

God is there with you always.

God exists. Believe.

-Your friend

To experience the beauty of existence

The author reflects on their mission to experience the beauty of existence rather than conforming to societal expectations. They emphasize the importance of mental over physical beauty, valuing philosophy, art, and personal growth. Their goal is to integrate these passions into their life, relationships, and future business, creating a meaningful legacy.

Daily writing prompt
What is your mission?
View all responses

My mission isn’t exactly written anywhere yet. Not even in a journal somewhere.

But it’s clear in my mind.

I want to experience the beauty of existence.

Let me explain.

I never liked the rat race. Study, college, job, MBA, better job, business, marriage, children, old-age. What else?

It’s just a giant conspiracy against us to not do what we are meant to do.

To experience the beauty of existence right here, right now.

Beauty of existence

My definition of beauty starts with the mind.

Physical beauty is ok but it’s not permanent.

Mental beauty is more permanent than physical beauty.

Philosophy, maths, accounting, video editing, programming, art, stories, novels, etc.

For me these and other similar things are beauty.

Not the physical aspects, but the mental complexities and journey of growth that these skills bring inside a person.

Be in the world, but not of it

I want to start a business, do MBA, marry, have children, be old and die.

But my mission, that is my purpose in life, is to experience the beauty of existence by making philosophy and math and novels and programming and so on a part of my life.

I want to make my business around experience the beauty of existence.

I want my MBA journey to show those activities.

I want to marry a person who will help me experience philosophy, math, novels, etc.

I want to teach my children these things.

And when I am old and on my death bed I want to smile while reading a good philosophical novel.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this blog post. Please like and comment your opinions.

By the way I am late. I realize that. I generally post on Mondays but because I had been struggling with my mental health lately, I am late.

I am glad you stuck around and read this line. Thanks a lot!

The Secret Which Can Reduce Your Stress Consistently

Don’t know how to deal with stress? Which activities to do to deal with stress in a healthy way? 

Read this blog post to know the secret to reducing stress in a healthy way.

Lately I have been doing meaningful, useless things to reduce stress. 

I have been regularly writing something unrelated to what I consider useful. And it’s helping me reduce my stress.

I feel more relaxed and able to focus on useful things more. I am able to overcome my procrastination more easily. Not only that, but I am also able to feel more connected to my passion for spirituality and philosophy. 

How exactly do I do it? 

Well, I started writing poems. Mystical poems, to be more specific. I have written one on this blog site. You can check it out here.

I think the key for me is to do useful things when you are bored with doing useless things. And to do useless things when you are stressed with doing useful things. 

And usually useless things don’t take much time. And if they do, it’s easier to break them in parts to do later because they are not “useful”.

I am currently experimenting more with it and I think there are only a few meaningful, useless things for everyone.

You can also look at it through the lens of doing what you are passionate about. But I like to call it useless. 

After all, when a passion becomes a chore, it can feel stressful and procrastination can occur in spite of you having passion for it.

I think everyone has multiple passions, and so the “useful” passion which one does as a career choice can be complemented with more “useless” passions which are not your career choice.

The point I am trying to make here is that this works for me, and it is something I wanted to share with you.

Also, do check out the poem I wrote on mysticism here.

Thank you for reading this blog post, and please share this post and comment-

How do you deal with your stress?