Category: Spirituality/Personality

Memory

Everything in life ,becomes a memory ,over time. Our childhood is memory today and so is our youth and for many of us ,our adulthood and work life. It is a fact that ,everything in life ,has a shelf life. Just like every product has a life and the expiry date is generally printed on the product packing itself, so are our life spans.

What is alive and real in front of us today, becomes a memory sooner than later. We cannot stop this aspect of life. However, what is in our hands ,is what we do ,so that our memories are cherished by us and others ,in our lives.

If we were a good student and did well in academics, sports or cultural activities, we may be remembered for our accomplishments ,in whatever field we excelled. If we were a well behaved child and disciplined, people will remember us as a role model ,for other kids.

On the other hand, if we were known for our antics and misconducts, we may leave back a negative foot print , for future generations. So, it is a reality ,that our memories are not built on air. Our memories are frozen through our actions of today ,for future generations ,to recall and remember us.

If we do well and behave well, people remember us for our success and our kindness. If we squander our lives and ruin the lives of well wishers, not many would like to recall, what we did in our past. Our actions will always sketch our memories and not our imagination.

Let us realise today ,that what we do today ,is what people will remember as memory, in the future. We may have committed many mistakes in our lives, as all of us are human. But ,we have an opportunity every day in our lives ,to rewrite history or if I may say, create memories for the future.

We have heard of transformed dacoits, who turned a new leaf and led a life of virtues. We have heard of academically poor students, who have become successful in life ,through their hard work and focus, to achieve whatever they wanted ,in their lives. We have heard of successful sports persons, who have not even completed their schooling ,but have become world champions ,in their respective sports.

We need to decide ,what memories we want to leave for our children and future generations. What we do today ,is the mirror of our future for the next generation. We need not spend much time regretting any past actions, which we are not proud of. But, we have an opportunity at any stage of our life to create memories for the future ,through great deeds today.

Let not the past, colour our future. Let the past be learning -lights ,for the present and guiding compasses ,for the future. Our actions are in our hands and we cannot blame the environment or our family, friends or colleagues for them. If we succeed, we can take the credit and if we fail, the responsibility is squarely ours.

So, let the journey of creating memories for the future ,start today with our actions.

S Ramesh Shankar

31st May 2025

Liberalism of Hinduism

I am a born Hindu and am proud to be one ,always. In my personal view, Hinduism is one of the few religions in the world, which is very liberal and open ,in its thinking and preachings.

Since my birth, I have never been forced to follow any rituals. We have never been ordained to visit a temple nor offer our prayers in a particular way. Of course, like all other religions, Hinduism also has a rich history of written and unwritten scriptures like Vedas and Upanishads but nothing is imposed on us ,as individuals ,by our parents or elders.

We have full freedom to follow any prescriptions or define our own way to God . this is the best part I love about our religion. We have never been restricted to visit other religious places or even follow the good things of other religions, as Hinduism believes, in letter and spirit, that all religions are different pathways ,to the same destination – God.

A prayer, which I offer in the morning ,after I get up and at night ,before I sleep, simply translated states, –

“ May all sentient beings be at peace,
may no one suffer from illness,
May all see what is auspicious, may no one suffer.
Om peace, peace, peace”

It transcends religions, nations and all boundaries, which human beings have defined for themselves.

This month I undertook a long spiritual yatra ( journey), which we commonly call “Gaya shradham” in Hinduism. In this journey, we start at Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu, India where we do a ceremony for our forefathers on the sea shore and collect sand and take it Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, and immerse it at Triveni Sangam, the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers.

We then perform rituals at Prayagraj and collect water from Triveni sangam. After completing our rituals at Prayagraj, we go to Varnasi and do ceremonies at five banks of the Ganges river, considered the holiest river ,according to Hinduism in India.

Then, we proceed to Gaya and do “Pinda dana” or donating rice balls as offerings to our forefathers. The interesting aspect of these offerings is that we offer to our parents, if dead, forefathers, relatives, friends and even enemies, teachers, Gurus, known and unknown people and even animals and other living beings who have died and been known to us.

Finally, we return to Rameshwaram with the sacred water from Triveni Sangam and do abhishekam ( holy bath ) of Lord Shiva at Rameshwaram, followed by some rituals ,to end this journey.

It is believed that all departed souls may get “Moksha” or salvation, if we pray for them this way. What I loved about these rituals is that it does not discriminate between humans and other living beings and goes beyond religion, colour, caste or faith.

In spirit, Hinduism embraces all religions as different pathways to God. The routes may be different but the core belief is that the destination is the same for all of us. The basic values of respecting parents, teachers, Gurus, friends, elders etc. is enshrined in the Hindu faith.

Dr Radhakrishnan, former President of India and one of India’s greatest philosophers wrote a book called – The Hindu way of life “. It beautifully explains how Hinduism is a way of life and not a religion, per se. Of course, there could be fanatics in each religion, who tend to interpret religion in a narrow way and mislead millions of followers. But a true Hindu will always respect all religions and enable co-existence with these basic human values.

Long live the liberal Hinduism.

S Ramesh Shankar

25th March 2025.

Basic learnings from Buddhism

This week I visited Bodhagaya, the place where Gautama Buddha got enlightenment and Sarnath , the place where he gave his first sermon to his disciples . Bodhagaya is near Gaya in Bihar and Sarnath is just on the outskirts of Varnasi in Uttar Pradesh. Two other places of significance in Buddha’s life are Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha located in Nepal and Kushinagar, near Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, where Buddha left for his heavenly abode.

All places associated with Buddha or Mahaveera are serene and peaceful and you can feel the echo ,of your inner voices, as you walk around these places. My trip to Bodhagaya and Sarnath, made me realise ,how Gautama Buddha simplified spirituality for the common man.

I inferred there simple things to practise every day ,from what I read, saw and experienced ,as I walked around. The first was to “Be grateful” for all that we have in life. The second learning was to “Be human” to fellow human beings and all other living beings around you and the third learning was to “Be helpful” to everyone – all living beings, in whatever ways you can.

I am not suggesting that these are inferred from the writings of Gautama Buddha but my own inspirational learning ,from my visits ,to these high energy places. As I went around Bodhagaya, I realised how grateful I need to be to my parents, elders, friends and well wishers for everything, I have in life.

I realised ,that losing one’s mother after 5 days of birth and being brought up by someone else ,can be painful. I lost my mother at 23 and felt I missed something in life but I did spend 23 years of my life with my mother, as compared to only 5 days which Gautama Buddha did.

The second insight, if I may say ,was that ,we need to “Be human” to fellow human being and animals, alike. As I entered the Mahabodhi temple at Bodhagaya, I could see a tree full of birds singing and welcoming us ,into the temple. The sound of the birds taught me ,of how Gautama Buddha may have been kind even to the birds and animals around him . they are welcoming his guests even today, with melodious music from nature.

We possibly are born human and then “inhumanness” creeps into us ,as greed overtakes our needs. We become competitive in life and are wanting to race ahead ,even at the cost of other human beings or living beings. This makes us inhuman ,to say the least and worser still , in our behaviour and actions.

The last learning from within was to “Be helpful” to others ,in all ways possible. We in India ,in our villages ,are generally helpful always. As we migrate to towns and cities, we become self-centred and forget that service to mankind and living beings ,is Godliness. I realised today ,that Buddha made us realise ,this basic tenet in life.

Each of us may have our own personal beliefs and religions, which we may follow. Each of us may pray to God in our own way and that is perfectly fine. But to remember ,that serving other beings is the ultimate prayer to God , is a big insight.

I think, over the centuries, we are lucky to have people like Gautama Buddha to be born on earth and remind us of the basic principles of life and living. Let us rekindle our conscience today and try our best ,to live these basic principles in our own lives.

Let the spirt of Buddha transcend any religion, we follow in life. After all, all religions lead us to the same goal in life.

S Ramesh Shankar

25th March 2025