Connection...Communication...Relationship!

 Sunday 26 Oct 2025.      Day 23325

 

Every connection that we have in every moment, however insignificant, is an opportunity to evolve. Seemingly inconsequential connections, e.g say you are due to fly to another city….. a cab driver on the ride to the airport, a person in the waiting area at the boarding gate, folks around you in the transit bus to the aircraft, people seated around you inside the aircraft, your cab driver at the destination….all of them afford an opportunity to really connect.

The brevity of the connect, the fact that it may be just a once-in-a-lifetime connect, however pre-occupied one may be in many other thoughts……the fact that the connect is there, is indeed an opportunity.

It may be impractical to engage in deep conversations with all such connects. However, the basic respect to another human, a smile and a nod, a simple gesture of appreciation, a recognition of their own journeys in their Life, a non-judgemental acceptance of who they are at that moment….all these can be / should be practiced.

If you cannot row the oars of their boat, it is ok. You can at least be a little puff of wind in their sail. Or at least not be the anchor that weighs them down. Our life is just an immense opportunity to add value to everyone and everything around us. We draw the present moment into our Life. It is there for a reason. The reason is “to evolve”. We either use the opportunity to its fullest or let is drift past us. That is our free will in action.

With those who are in your closest and innermost circle, anytime when communication becomes strained, it hurts badly. All attempts at overcoming egos, demonstrating genuine humility, making the first-move to start communications etc may be rebuffed. When all attempts at seeking to help are shunned by the other.

Painful indeed.

Intense empathy, deep listening, lots of introspections and soul-searching, all these are needed in plenty. Gentle persistence. Openly expressing one’s feelings and emotions.

Using this impasse itself as an opportunity to learn and evolve.

Only when open communication thrives can there be a possibility of relationships. The strength and nature of the relationship depends on the richness of the communications.

∞       Make every effort to CONNECT

∞       COMMUNICATE genuinely and with empathy

∞       Build every RELATIONSHIP

Life is nothing but a sum total of all the relationships that we have nurtured and added value to.

 

Live Life To The Maximum!

LIGHT….Light up your Life!

 Sunday 19 Oct 2025.      Day 23318

The festival and celebration of Light! Deepavali!

"Lead, Kindly Light, Amid the encircling gloom" is a hymn with words written in 1833 by John Henry Newman as a poem titled "the Pillar of the Cloud", which was first published in the British Magazine in 1834, and republished in Lyra Apostolica in 1836.

It is a plea for divine guidance during times of uncertainty, confusion, and spiritual doubt. The "Kindly Light" represents a higher power, or God, and the speaker asks to be guided "one step at a time," not needing to see the distant future, only the immediate path forward. The poem reflects the human experience of vulnerability and the need for faith and trust in a higher power to navigate life's challenges.  

We seek Light in our LIFE and also have the tremendous ability to be the light in others lives too.

"Tamasoma jyotirgamaya" is a Sanskrit phrase meaning "Lead me from darkness to light". It is the second line of the Shanti Mantra from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and symbolizes the journey from ignorance to knowledge or from confusion to clarity.   

• Darkness (Tamas): Symbolizes ignorance, confusion, and the lack of knowledge or spiritual awareness.
• Light (Jyoti): Represents knowledge, truth, clarity, and spiritual enlightenment.
• Meaning: The phrase is a prayer for guidance to overcome inner darkness and achieve enlightened understanding.
• Context: It is often part of the full mantra, Asato ma sadgamaya, which includes the request to be led from untruth to truth and from death to immortality. 

As we navigate through our brief existence of around 33000 days in this lifetime, we seek guidance from the Grace and Abundance that is all around us. We seek to boldly walk forward, with the light showing us the next few steps. We boldly venture forward with belief and faith, exploring our life to the fullest.

For, all that we can really do is strive in this very moment. With amazement and wonder of the whole of creation around us, being very open and willing to face whatever comes up ahead.

May this Deepavali festival make us fully receptive to this divine light.

May we have the courage to plumb into our deepest inner selves and probe the darkness of every limiting belief. Burn away every lingering doubt.

May we also be a torch that burns itself bright and shine the light onto every piece of creation all around us.

May the light enable each of us to spread joy, love and laughter all around us.

Happy Deepavali.

Be at your brightest!

Live Life To The Maximum!

Mentoring......a way of BEING.

Sunday 12 Oct 2025.      Day 23311

 

In our interactions in various settings with other people, we are normally focused on the transactional aspect of the relationship between us and the other person. 

The emphasis is more on “what do I get out of this interaction”. Am I extracting the best out of this interaction for myself? Very rarely does one look at what we are delivering to the other. The “taking” gains more emphasis than the “giving”. 

At least a more evened out expectation, focusing on a win-win, would be more enriching for the relationship. 

If we truly trust grace and abundance, we could operate from a more impactful perch. We could look at the specific interaction as an opportunity to evolve. Use the opportunity to propel one's purpose by leveraging our gifts. Live the moment more powerfully, showing up with the best version of ourselves. Give unconditionally, knowing fully well that what is due to us will come our way, for sure. 

Why search for one's “purpose” when the true purpose is to really live life to the fullest? Make the experience of each moment most profound. Raise our perception of the essence of each moment to the highest levels. Life is meant to be lived in the most grandiose manner. 

When we look at every person and see the real human within that person and make our best effort to enable that human to tap into their fullest potential, we would have truly lived our life well. 

In a sense, we have to make each moment of our life a MENTORING moment. For that is what a true mentor does.

We operate at the best version of ourselves and enable everyone to tap into their fullest potential. 

 

Live life to the maximum! 

P U R P O S E

 Sunday 05^th October 2025      Day 23304

On Wednesday I wrote about always “Asking Why”. Essentially always being aware of our deepest motivations for doing anything. For seeking to always widen our impact beyond us and ours to ALL.

Today, I write about Purpose. One may think that these two posts…one on WHY and the other on PURPOSE may be very similar. Let us see how it pans out.

From our early childhood, we embark on many small journeys within the larger journey of one’s Life.

We get into a school: In order to learn the 3 Rs and other basic essential knowledge.

We get into a high school or college: In order to learn some specialised knowledge, like Arts, Science, Commerce.

We then get into a university: In order to graduate with a degree in that specialised stream of knowledge.

So essentially from Age 4 or so till 20-21, we are mainly focused on learning. Now, we could either do the bare minimum, skim the surface of the curriculum, gain passing qualifications OR really dive as deep as possible and pass / graduate from each level with honours. Additionally, we could also take on many extra-curricular activities like sports, explore hobbies, engage in debates / elocutions / theatre, arts and drama etc.

Then onward to a career or profession where we strive to “make a living” and at times ignore the aspect of Living Life. Address the unidimensional work/career sphere and miss out on the oher dimensions of Life.

Matrimony, forming our own small family, engaging with our communities, giving back to our society… all these stages follow…. And we stride forward, with every single day bringing us closer to our last day here. Remember that one has approximately 33000 days here. That is it.

We always have a choice: Whether to bide our time in each of these stages doing the bare minimum or squeezing every bit of experience from every moment.

It is important that we realise that our time on the planet is very limited and, in every moment, it is not time that is slipping away but our life that is draining away.

We could either live superficially or live profoundly. This is the choice that we have. This is our free-will at play.

When we come into this planet, we have all been given a gift. A present. And in each present moment, we have the choice of living life as profoundly as possible. We came into this life empty handed and we shall depart empty handed. We entered whimpering and crying. We can go out with a loud guffaw and wholehearted laughter.

The “purpose” therefore is just this: To learn to live profoundly in every moment.

I urge everyone to Live Life To The Maximum!. 

Why?

Wednesday 01^st October 2025    Day 23300

When we embark on any initiative in any sphere of our Life, we spend a lot of time figuring what we want to do, how much effort it would take, when is a good time to start off etc.

The most important thing however, is to ponder on is WHY we wish to do what we want to do?

And the WHY should be all encompassing. Meaning, not just looking at what that activity does for ourselves e.g.” what is in it for me?”, but also looking at what is the desired impact on others. A selfless perspective.

When the main outlook in Life shifts to “what impact do I want to leave on everything around me in my limited duration of Life?”, one would be prompted to think of our impact on others, for everything that we do.

The past weekend I was in a dialogue with a successful entrepreneur, who is eagerly looking at new opportunities for his own life and for the business activity that he has created over the past 12 odd years. What should he pivot his existing enterprise to? What should he venture into as new business opportunities? What should he do with his personal life?

For each of these questions there would be clear answers to a powerful WHY? All the answers to these WHYs would indicate to us what impact he is wanting to leave on the planet.

The 5W and 1H framework is a method for gathering information by asking the six fundamental questions: What, When, Where, Who, Why, and How.

A clear emphasis on the WHY would explain our deepest motivations, recognise that everything we do has an impact on the interconnected whole. And when we shift away from our perspective of the self and include the WHOLE into our perspective, our answers would be more meaningful.

Why do I wish to pivot away from my present business?

Why do I wish to start any new business / businesses?

Why do I wish to get married?

Why do I wish to buy a premium, high end car?

And so on…..

 

Live Life To The Maximum!

 

Personal Transformation

 

Thursday 25^th September    Day 23294

 

This Sunday I will be away from Coimbatore, working with the MD of a Company in developing his Personal Transformation plan. That is a three-day event 1-0-1 between 27^th and 29^th, with travel days on 26^th and 30^th. I would be on lockdown mode for those three days and hence the Sunday 28^th will not be accessing the internet for posting content.

Hence this advance post on a Thursday instead of the usual Sunday.

I want to share my experiences of engaging with & preparing someone for their own personal transformation.

Individuals who are professionally very successful oftentimes need to address two vital aspects:

1.       Are they really cognisant of the multi-dimensionality of LIFE or are they focussed intensely only on their profession / work / career? Are they ignoring some very important aspects of their Life? If they are indeed aware of all dimensions of LIFE, are they taking an inventory of themselves and evaluating how they stack up on each dimension? Are they having a clear plan to address all dimensions? 

2.       Are they aware of the immense potential that each of us possesses and are they committed to tap into their fullest potential? Do they aspire to “Live Life To The Maximum!”?

In the case of this individual, business success has been very good. An enterprise that he has created from the ground up, delivering great service to clients on a B2B basis. Eben though he is uncomfortable of a few other aspects of his Life, it took him six months of time to really commit to seeking help from a Mentor. In my view, it was probably a question of “Do I really need help?” more than a lack of trust in a Mentor or a mentoring process. If one has the awareness of missed opportunities and also a desire to see change, the act of seeking help is another milestone / tipping point that one needs to cross.

The process of lifting anchor is the most difficult. Once that is done, starting the engine and sailing forward is relatively easier.

And once the transformation journey commences the next hurdle to cross is the genuine willingness to look into the mirror and addressing stark realities. Overcoming one’s disillusions, removing the mask that we have been comfortable with as a way to navigate through life thus far, willingness to walk on newer unexplored paths, trusting the change partner. All important ingredients to make the transformation journey happen!

Looking forward to working with this very successful individual over this weekend. Deeply grateful for the grace and abundance that will surely enable us to work together on this critical transformation.

Live Life To The Maximum!

The Power of Pause !

 

Sunday 21^st September   Day 23290

 

In today’s fast paced and dynamic world, a huge emphasis is given to speed, velocity and momentum. Getting many more things done, quicker, faster. Time is at a premium really.

If we look at Nature closely, it may at first appear very static. But for the wind and the swaying trees, rustling leaves, the waves in the beaches, ripples on the lake, the drifting clouds and the flying birds etc, everything appears static and rooted in its place. But in reality, LIFE energy is throbbing in each blade of grass and in every tree trunk.

The cycle of day and night is a daily experience that we all have. The night in between two days, when everyone (at least most of us) settles down for a much-needed rest is a recovery and reenergisation phase. A pause.

Between every inhalation and exhalation there is a subtle pause.

Between every heartbeat and pulse there is a gentle pause.

Between every seasonal change Spring – Summer – Autumn – Winter, there is a gentle pause and a shift.

Between Uttarayana and Dakshinayana there is a pause.

A pause can be very subtle and may tend to get ignored if the observation was only on the main event. Like breathing for example, we may think that it isa two stage process oof just Inhalation and Exhalation. But when you look closely there are two pauses in the fullness of breath and in the emptiness of breath. It is the pause which gives a sense of impetus to the next step.

As we go through our daily routine and our weekly / monthly calendar schedules, we look at the main events listed on them. We prepare and gear up for each such event.

Do we plan and prepare for a pause?

When we take a vacation or a holiday, which is a kind of pause, we do plan well for it. But after the pause are we really energised and pumped up or are we dead tired? Do we stack up so much into a holiday / vacation that we get weakened and tired at the end of the vacation?

How can we really leverage the pause? Can we use every pause to reframe / relax / rest / redirect / rethink / repurpose / renavigate our Life?

Can we welcome the next moment consciously and not compulsively? Can we use a pause to deepen our consciousness?

What exactly is our state of BEING and what is the impact we want to leave on the planet?  Can we look at LIFE in totality, even though we know the brevity of Life….just around 30000 – 33000 days if we are “lucky”. In this limited quantity of LIFE, can we enhance the QUALITY of every moment that is yet to come?

Can we really Live Life To The Maximum?

Can we use every pause to re-calibrate?

Can we look deep into the journey that we are on and enrich it so much during every pause. For that infinitesimal moment during a pause can we take our eyes off the destination and look at the journey deeply?  

Every machine / vehicle has a maintenance / service PAUSE. Every human has a medical check-up as a health pause. Oftentimes these pauses are forced upon us because of past neglect. Can the pauses be more conscious and planned out so that our journeys are richer and we get tom travel to many different destinations?

Live Life To The Maximum!

 

Naadam Naadam Sarvam Naadam !

 

Sunday 14^th September   Day 23283

A few days back our son Vishal, added me as a joint member to his Spotify account by modifying his account from a single user one to a double user one. And we hooked up a Blaupunkt sound bar and bass speaker to the living room space.

Since then, listening to various forms of musical notes has been a deeply moving experience.

Various genres: Sufi, Flute, Jazz Instrumental, Classical (Mozart, Vivaldi etc), Sitar, Ghazals, fusion (groups like Agam, Thaikoodam Brigade), Old Bollywood classics, Country Music, Jethro Tull. Simon & Garfunkel, Meditation, Violin, Chants (MS’s Suprabhaatam, Vishnu Saharsnaamam, Lalitha Sahasranaamam), Sounds of Isha, Rudram Namakam Chamakam etc etc.

What does music do to me?

It moves me deeply when I close my eyes and try and listen deeply only to the sounds and vibrations. It makes me more meditative. It makes me rapturous to see the creativity and artistry of the musicians.

Music “zones” me and makes me aware of the flow. It personifies grace and abundance to me.

I feel the music in my body, in my whole being, not just in the ears.

Sometimes it prompts me to search for the lyrics and understand the meaning, sometimes it is just the beats and the rhythm, oftentimes it is just the overall experience oof the music that shuts out the noise in my mind and the noise from the world outside.

Like today morning I was listening to an album of Agam. And the number Manavyalakinchara.

"Manavyalakinchara" translates to "Won't You Listen, O My Mind!" and is a composition by the Carnatic composer Saint Thyagaraja, asking one's own mind to listen to the secrets of Lord Rama's compassion and the wisdom of the Vedas. The lyrics highlight Rama's divine compassion and his human incarnation as a guide to righteous conduct, urging the mind to understand these truths to attain peace and bliss. 

I am not the Body. I am not the Mind. I don’t want to control the Mind. I want my Mind to stay focussed and unidirectional. I want my Mind to be my best friend. Not a slave, not a master.

Amazed by how technology can bring all the music in the world to your fingertips. All for a small monthly subscription.

Planning to invest in a small home theatre system at the new home in Srivari Trisara where we would relocate in 2026.

Music in the background when I work, music in the room when we are going about the daily chores, music at bedtime to soothe our minds and awaken our subconscious mind.

Music that makes me appreciate the Sounds of Silence too. Music that makes me tap my toes, swing my body, makes me emote, makes me connect into my deepest self.

Music that is not too obtrusive. Music from all over the world. Music at one’s fingertips. Deepest gratitude to be able to have this in my life.

Let there be wonderful music in everybody’s life.

Oh Spotify !!  Play on, Live on.

Live Life To The Maximum!

Profoundness of LIFE

 

Sunday 07^th September   Day 23276

 

Life is full of infinitesimal moments stitched together.

In reality, every moment is what we pull into our Life. Our past actions, thoughts, words, deeds etc have a cause-and-effect relationship and the ensuing moments are really opportunities to learn and evolve.

It is up to us, our free-will at play, as to what we do with every experience that comes our way.

How can we absorb each experience to its fullest and relish the profoundness of each moment? How can we take a deep scuba dive and not just snorkel / swim at the surface?

We do have our sensory perceptions and we have to make fullest use of these five senses. Beyond these five physical senses, there are ways, very subtle ways, by which we can enhance our perceptions of each moment. How do we make our internal energy system so very intense that we are able to sense everything to its fullest? How do we keep our own antenna, our meru-dhand, our spinal column attuned to the frequencies around us? How do we obliterate the distinction between the self and the surroundings? Be in perfect alignment with everything around us. See things as they truly are and not with the lenses of our perception coloured by our past experiences.

People use the terms like “live every moment”, “be in the zone” etc. But in reality one can only be in the moment.

You may remember the past and imagine the future, but you can really BE only in the present.

Whether one is savouring a dish, or enjoying an orchestra or opera, or any real-life moment, we can work upon ensuring that we are totally immersed into that experience. Bringing utmost one-pointed focus to the moment. Not allowing any distractions from the mind and the body. Ekagratha. No multi-tasking. No judgement. Just absorption.

Knowing fully well that this moment is Anicca….impermanent…..every moment is truly momentary.

In today’s fast paced world, our mind and body are buffeted by numerous distractions and stimuli. Learning the art of single-pointed focus is what will help us give complete single-pointed focus. Ekagratha.

Recognising that “I am not the Body, I am not the Mind”, allowing us to tap into our true self at our deepest core. Practicing the art and science of meditativeness helps us maintain and enhance our single pointed focus. And then “responding” to every moment with fullest consciousness and zero compulsions.

A life lived well would mean a life lived with the richest profoundness of each experience. The metric is not of wealth, fame, popularity etc. The true metric is how profound has your life been in totality?

Yoga is just that….a union of the self with the rest of the cosmos. Eliminating the boundary that we create between self and rest. It is the same universal life energy that throbs within us as praana as is there in every being around us….be it germ, insect, bird, animal or human.

Incorporating relevant practices into our daily routine, we can constantly work upon enhancing our alignment with the universal energy around us. Thereby enhancing the profoundness of each moment of our Life.   

 

Live Life To The Maximum!

Johor Bahru (Malaysia) & Singapore

 

Sunday 31^st August 2025     Day 23269

 

SCOOT the low-cost arm of Singapore Airlines is what I took on 23^rd Aug late night 2320 hrs from Coimbatore to Singapore. This is a round-trip flight that originates in Singapore at 2020 hours, comes to Coimbatore by 2220 and returns back at 2320. Plane is clad in the bright yellow colours of the Scoot brand.

A full flight, quite comfortable even though it is a no-frills flight. DigiYatra does not support international flights (as yet) so even though one does web check-in, the boarding pass is issued manually at Coimbatore. Scrutiny of Singapore e-visa and baggage weight and off you go.

The cab service in Singapore Changi airport is extremely professional. You land up in a queue, you are guided to the waiting taxi cabs in separate bays, you get in to a metered taxi cab with clear display of the amount. Reached Royal Plaza on Scotts Hotel, did my morning kriya, had a shower and changed for the transit to Johor Bahru. Had Tea and Kaya Toast at Toast Box (@ ION Orchard). Atul and I took a taxi cab to Queen Street Bus Terminal Ban San Street. Met Sophia and Irish there and the four of us took a taxi cab from there to Johor Bahru, at 1130. Reached Woodlands Checkpoint at 1203 hrs, took 30 minutes to clear immigration and cross the border into Malaysia. Left the Checkpoint at 1230 and reached Larkin Sentral at 1250. Shanthini from Bunge picked us up at 1311, went to her home at Lorong Rubi, met her parents and her son. Had lunch at Ashoka Curry House between 1339 and 1442, dropped off excess food back at Shanthini’s place, headed off to The Westin Desaru Coast Resort. Reached at 1613 hrs and checked in. Rested till 1820, headed off to Els Club Desaru Coast, Ocean Course, to check on the event hall setup. Then headed t the Lotus Seafood Restaurant with the Bunge Mentors and had a pleasant dinner. The team made special efforts to arrange for vegetarian items for Atul and me. Rested the night back at Westin Desaru Coast resort.

Had a great Day 01 on 25^th Aug Monday with the Bunge team. Had 05 Mentor Clinic sessions from 1440 till 1700. Barbecue dinner and drinks that evening with Mentors and Mentees and Paul Ayrton and photo shoots too. Started Day 02 0n Tuesday 26^th morning with 06 Mentor Clinic sessions at Westin Desaru Coast itself from 0800 till 1100. Headed to Valley Course resort and had one Mentor Clinic Session there (Wendy) at 1130. Had lunch there and headed back to Westin Desaru Coast. Showered and checked out at 1406. Innova cab from there to Singapore Changi. Reached Woodlands Checkpoint at 1547, cleared immigration at 1630. Reached Changi Airport at 1655. Travelled through Jewel, shopped there for Victoria Secret perfumes and Chocolates and boarded plane at 2011. Landed at 2230 IST and reached home at 2257.

27^th Ganesh Chathurthi at home. Modaks and Kozhakattais. Went to Inhouse Medicare with VS in the evening. Very upset with poor hygiene levels there. Complained to Abrar and other staff members.

28^th serviced Grand Vitara at 5820 kms. Activated Spotify account.

29^th LuLu shopping in the afternoon. Night Sleep music.

30^th VS’s 31^st birthday . Visited PSG GRD Museum with IITM Kovai Chapter folks. Great place indeed.

31^st Tried Erode Idli Kadai. Simple couple. Made a living with just steamed Idlis for 18 years! Fresh soft idlis for ₹ 5 each! Simple lunch at home. Set up the Balupunkt speakers and connected Spotify on Thathi’s phone 8940022133. Dinner at home with sevai, rice, idlis etc. Listened to Cliff Richards, Simon & Garfunkel and Vivaldi as we did some income tax work.

Another blissful week went by!

Live Life To Then Maximum