Category: Spirituality/Personality

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

Believe before you pray

I was a very religious person from birth ,till I lost my parents in quick succession ,by the age of 25. I had just started my career and life was shattered, with the loss of my mother at 23 and father at 25.

I used to visit a temple every week and followed all rituals zealously ,till that tragedy engulfed me. I stopped going to a temple and all rituals I was following in the past.

I asked God – “Why me and what wrong did I do ?” I always had dreamt of taking care of my parents ,in their old age. I have achieved whatever little in my life and work ,only because of them. So, I thought the minimum I could do was to take care of them and they live with me for the rest of their lives, post retirement. But, this was never to be!

This incident broke my belief and I refused to pray. It took me almost two years ,to get back on the rails. I slowly treaded back to normalcy. I realised ,that there are some things in life in your control and many things , beyond your control. Birth and death, are two things determined by God. When and where we are born and when and where we will die, is pre-destined by God. We need to accept this ,as an unavoidable reality of life.

I did and then moved on ,in my life. I realised ,that I had done what I could ,as a dutiful son ,to take care of my parents. What happened to them ,was beyond my control and I could not prevent ,their premature death. But life goes on. I have a family to take care and I also had the opportunity ,to be be grateful to the people, who supported me in this difficult phase of my life, for the rest of my life.

I started focusing on my family and my career. My children did well in their education and my spouse supported me, unconditionally. My career took a positive trajectory and I could achieve, whatever little I had dreamt of ,in my career.

I moved from one city to another and everywhere ,my family supported me. My kids underwent the hardship of shifting schools and cities and never complained. My wife was always around ,to support me in all my decisions ,of life and career.

Today, if I look back, I started believing in my self. This belief made me realise that the super power beyond us ,decides for us ,on certain matters and we cannot control it. I believed ,before I started praying again.

Now, I define my religion as service to humanity. I did my job with utmost integrity, took care of my family to the best of my ability. I supported my friends, who enabled me during my crisis in life and even today am grateful to them for what they did for me. I can never repay their debt in monetary or non monetary ways. I can only pray that God give them good health and happiness always.

It is important first to believe and then to pray. If you do not believe, it is better not to pray. It is like a player believing in oneself ,before putting her best foot forward. If she does not believe in herself, she can never give her best.

So, let us believe, before we pray from today.

S Ramesh Shankar

20th Jan 2025

Ten life lessons from the “Kailash Manasarovar Yatra”

  1. The journey is as important as the destination: I had a dream of visiting Kailash Manasarovar for many years but it remained a dream for long. When I undertook this mission, I realised that the journey is as important as the destination. You can admire all aspects of nature as you tread along the mountains and rivers and when you reach Kailash, you realise that the road to the destination is as as beautiful as the destination itself.
  2. Physical fitness is not good enough to make it: I have been going for a walk every day for more than three and a half decades. I also practise yoga every day for more than a decade but this physical regimen was not good enough. You needed emotional and mental fitness to undertake this yatra. We met a few Everest climbers, who were gasping for breath and needed oxygen to survive in this yatra.
  3. Spritual calling is essential to make the trip: About three months back, I had contacted an agency in Bangalore and even on phone they rejected our candidature since my wife has a history of arthritis, bronchitis, cholestrol and BP. I did not want to undertake this yatra alone, leaving my life partner behind. But three months later, a family friend called and this time the tour organiser assured us that we can make it and I would call it a spiritual calling indeed. Today I have returned from the yatra to Kailash Manasarovar , along with my spouse.
  4. A confluence of body, mind and soul : The challenges of the yatra tests you physically, mentally and emotionally. I have never been admitted to a hospital in my life nor taken sick leave anytime in my career. But during the course of this yatra, I had high altitude sickness and was having diarrhoea/vomiting for three consecutive days and was drained out. I recovered from this illness just as we reached Manasarovar lake and was fit to undertake the yatra. A fit body supplemented with a focussed mind and a pure soul, possibly enables us to achieve this mission.
  5. We understand what a luxurious life we lead in our every day life, as we experience minimum comforts during the yatra: In life, we take most things for granted.-A good night’s sleep or clean toilets or a long journey by car. But, when you undertake this yatra, you trek, you take a horse, you walk through landslides and spend sleepless nights too. Sometimes you share rooms with many more people and have to also share washrooms. This is when you realise how lucky we are ,on a day to day living.
  6. Acclimatisation is the key to the yatra: We move from 3000 feet at Bangalore to 5000 feet at Kathmandu and gradually ,go up the hills , to reach a peak of about 16,600 feet. This climb is made gradually , so as to enable the body to acclimatise to the high altitudes. There is less oxygen in the air and the temperature keeps falling too. Our ability to adjust is the key to our success in life.
  7. Adaptability and flexibility keeps you ahead: We want everything in life ,our way. This yatra teaches you the basic lesson to adapt and be flexible to achieve your goal. You are not sure, when you start the yatra ,as to what is in store for you. It could be rain, sun or landslides along the way. Our intermittent stoppages may change and hotels booked ,may not be of use ,as we may be late or early. So, our ability to be flexible and adaptable makes us realise our mission.
  8. Change will be constant in life: The Kailash yatra teaches us this basic lesson that change is constant in life. Many things may not go as planned. Our flights may get cancelled, our route may get changed due to inclement weather, our immigration may be challenging experience ,spreading to hours of wait and so on. But as long as we are willing to embrace change as a way of life, we are sure of achieving our goal post.
  9. Focus on the mission – rest will follow: We need to be focussed in our goal in life. This yatra taught us that ,as long as we are clear and focussed in our goal and are willing to take on the challenges along the way, the mission could be accomplished. If we lose focus and give up along the way, we may return to the base camp, without accomplishing our goal.
  10. Gratitude to God and all elders is essential: Last but not the least, at every stage of the yatra, we need to be grateful to God and all elders ,for providing you all the basic essentials in life, in abundance. This yatra makes us realise that real happiness in life is the product of gratitude and contentment in life ,always.

Let the journey of self discovery continue for all of us ,forever.

S Ramesh Shankar

19th Sep 2025