Rebirth of Perception

Night Sky, Eye of God
March is a month of rebirth, of spring, of blossoming and flowering. It is also a month in India where you play with color, you have huge bonfires to celebrate the arrival of spring, and maybe in these bonfires, you can throw in all the darkness of the winter months. So, it is again, a rebirth.
Can we have a rebirth of perception? Would you agree with me if I were to say, “perception is each man’s personal viewpoint, and his way of viewing things?” But this viewpoint, or perception, can be changed, that is called a shift, through meditation, insight and also, imagination. In this space today, I am writing about ‘to be blessed,’ is a daily gift, an opportunity, that God gives us, but we do not see it, we go to churches, temples, etc., we go on pilgrimages to collect blessings and merits, when this facility is at our doorstep.
One morning, my car stopped at the traffic lights and a little beggar boy knocked on the glass of the car door, asking fro alms. I made a grimace, tried to shoo him away, and thought to myself, “My day is ruined.” Imagination knocked at my brain. “Imagine, if you were that boy!” My heart filled with gratitude and I thanked the Lord that here was I, enjoying the comforts of life, with everything to be grateful for, and here was this boy, who had nothing.
I looked at him with an attitude of gratitude, and I looked into his eyes, and I found in them, the light of compassion and joy. My day was made, at meeting this boy, feeling gratitude and joy in my life. The sacred touched me.
Next day, I met the boy again. This time, I wanted to give him a gift, but of course, I couldn’t give him money, he would use it for all the wrong things! I was the moralistic, rich man, who took paperclips and pens and writing paper from the office, but the little beggar boy had to be the keeper of morals.
I had taken a packet of biscuits to give to him and when he knocked on the window pane, I handed the biscuits to him, he gave a whoop of delight, cart wheeled and thanking me, ran to the other side of the road. My day filled with joy at his delight. “Thank you, Lord, for giving me this fantastic experience.”
On the third day, I met this boy again. And this time, I wanted to share my love and energy and I wanted to trust him to use my money wisely for his happiness. His cup was a temple of God into which I was going to put my cash offering, my small tithe. I dropped the coins into the cup, he looked at me with so much love, the energy we exchanged was so charged with the Divine and his words of “thank you” touched my heart. God sent me a message, “Did you know that you can buy blessings for two rupees every day?”
All this never happened. But, at a satsang one night, somebody asked the teacher, “Why has God made beggars?” This question is asked so often. At that moment, my imagination held sway, my perception changed, and my mind gave birth to this story. Today, in this Divine space, I want to share this story with you. And I too, am going to buy blessings every day, would you like to join me?

Who's Way?

Husbands and wives are always quarreling over the fact that, "You always want your way!" and the reply is, "But you always want your way!"

How do we solve this impasse?

Maybe this story will help us in understanding the nature and needs of men and women.

Lord Shiva and Parvati, a celestial couple, living in the abode of Gods and Goddesses, were having a discussion one day. Parvati wanted to attend a puja at her father's home, even though she and her husband had not been invited to it. Lord Shiva explained to her that it was bad manners, to attend a function without an invitation, even though the function was in her father's home. "That home today is not your home," he said.

Parvati, a typical woman, willful and always wanting her own way, argued and insisted that they should go.

In the end, she decided that even if the husband did not go, she was going to attend the puja. Lord Shiva warned her there would be serious consequences to this visit of hers, but she insisted and departed.

With her went an escort of Shiva's disciples. When Parvati reached the puja, no one greeted her or spoke to her, she was given the cold shoulder, except for a lukewarm welcome from her mother. To her horror she discovered, there was not even a seat for her husband in the gathering of Gods and dignitaries.

No woman can bear her husband to be insulted in the father's home, so Parvati cursed her father and to teach the family a lesson, jumped into a sacrificial fire and died.

There was a commotion, a war, Lord Shiva had to intervene, Parvati's father had to pay the price, all because of the willfullness of a woman.

From this story, it is said and explains the nature of the woman who always likes to have her own way. But what about the husband?

The way to approach him is through his ego. Letting him know he is the hero in your life, he is the provider, his home is your shelter. You do not belong to your father and brother anymore, they are not your heroes. The husband agrees to everything the wife wants, the wife believes that her husband is the wisest man in the world, who loses, who wins? And the impasse is broken.

Since we have given advice to husband and wife, parents who choose a husband for their daughters and women who choose for a husband for themselves, please remember, that very often a girl wants a handsome man on her arm, so that he can be the envy of her friends. Please choose wisely.

Valentine's Day advice!

Jihad for Love

Jihad: 1-any vigorous, emotional crusade for an idea or principle, for love.
2-a holy war undertaken as a sacred duty by Muslims.
One day I was listening to a radio program, and unfortunately I came at the tail end of it, so all I heard the speaker say was that "why could I not be a Jihadi for love?"
Earlier on, I had heard a couple of sentences, how he had training in Jihad to be a terrorist and had done what was demanded of him, but in the midst of everything, it came to him, that if he has to fight a war, to save the world, why should he not call himself a Jihadi who fights the war of love?
And his battle will be Jihad for Love.
Is this the kind of battle all of us want to fight? Is this the kind of mindset we would like anyone and everyone to have? This statement is very profound, because all the time the terminology, terror, terrorist, terrorism, is being shot in our environment, and we do know that in today's age, love and unconditional love is the need of the earth. So let us all be Jihadis for love.

Sacred Exchange in the Tenement

The marriage takes place, the couple comes home, the bride's new homewhich is an 8 by 8 room, a 4 by 4 kitchen, a common bathroom and toilet, shared by the family.

The family consists of mother, father, bride, groom, and two younger children. One elder daughter is married and visits quite often with her three children and husband.

Is the marriage consummated? No. The bride and groom just exchange glances and do not even the privacy to talk to each other. Desperate, the groom thinks of a plan. He buys movie tickets for the whole family, sending them away to the theatre a little early, saying he and his bride would follow, as they had some shopping to do on the way.

At last, privacy, heaven in each other's arms, but there is a knock on the door.

An ailing aunt has arrived from the village. All his plans are foiled.

Nowadays, life is not so tragic, because young couples do go on a honeymoon, but we don't know about the consummation part.

Very often, the groom sleeps in the kitchen, he has bed space all to himself and in the middle of the night, surieptitously, the bride sneaks in to the kitchen and heaven is found.

Who wins, who loses? This is a team effort for love.

The Power Game in Wedlock

In marriage, it is often found that the partner with money is the boss, and the authority is automatic. Can we beat this?

Let me tell you stories, both real and from the movies. A cousin of mine got married, he must have been about 30 years old, so too the bride, who was also a post-graduate. The newly married couple, with his parents who were my aunt and uncle, and the rest of his siblings, with their partners and kids, came to have lunch at my house one day.

There was a charged electrical atmosphere in the living room where we all sat. The boy's sisters and the nieces were teasing the bride and bridegroom, getting them to sit together on a small couch and act as loving newlyweds.

However, the bride would have nothing to do with this, and very demurely flounced around the room, keeping her husband at bay. And of course, disobeying the dictates of the inlaws, an unheard of thing, but establishing her power.

There were many whispers and talk in undertones that the marriage had not been consummated and everytime he went near her, she would rush up to her mother in law's bedroom, plaintively crying, "He's doing something to me! He'se doing something to me. What is he doing to me? Hide me, save me!"

Well, once again, the story has a happy ending. The marriage was consummated, a happy marriage, loving couple. But, she admitted her mother had taught her to play the game, saying that the power set up in a marriage is very important and the woman only has sex on her side. So, delay the consummation but at the same time flash yourself attractively in front of the husband, so that his desire builds up and when the marriage is consummated, it will be a gift from you to him. Because, you have not handed over your sexual power to satisfy his momentary lust.

And as the leader of the daily sexual ritual you will be the leader, without hurting his feelings.
The Same Story Seen in a Movie
In some countries, marriage and its consummation, is a very public "within the family" event. There is a lot of hype, and a lot of excitement built up, about the consummation and the happiness that can result from a good sex life.

Before the wedding, the women sing many songs and through innuendo and jokes, excite the bride and bridegrooms' feelings that something wonderful awaits them. I suppose you could say this is the one way sex education in taught?

The bride's body is prepared for this sacred exchange, with massages and ointments and all the things would make her glow and her scent be an awakening for the senses. The wedding takes place and the bride is not allowed near her husband for the first two or three days, due to certain ceremonies, visits to her mother's home and the underlying idea that the sex consummation should be an act of well rested bodies. Then, the preparations begin.

The girl is given a glass a milk to take to her husband when he is in his bedroom, but she has to leave the glass of milk there and come away. Maybe even smile at him from the door. This goes on for a couple of days. And then one night she is beautifully prepared with oils and scents, ornaments and flowers, and goes in with a glass of milk and has been given instructions to pleasure and enjoy the pleasure. The sacred exchange takes place and there is great rejoicing.

Today's human beings have no time for this, and an act which is sacred can be done in the back seat of a car, fumblingly in a movie house, and that which could be the biggest gift a woman gives a man becomes ordinary and a matter of gossip in the men's locker room. Who wins? Who loses?

Sequel to the Two Blogs Below

Nothing Neck Downwards..Sequel One
An old lady long dead and gone praised herself for not succumbing to the devil of lust by swearing, "Nothing neck downwards!" Do you know what she meant? I can not ask here, who wins who loses, because with her, according to her, her husband was also a partner in this crime.

The Toothless Bride ?..Sequel Two
If the bride had no teeth, would there be takers? Once again, who wins, who loses?

I Wore Boots on My Wedding Night, Did You Wear a Black Nighty?

Eons ago, I met a newly married young couple who related a true story to me, even though I was a stranger to them.

The young couple had been married for two weeks and were on their honeymoon, but the young bride spent the whole one hour I was with them trying to convince me that there was no hanky panky in their relationship todate. She was as pure as the white snow, due to her wily safeguarding techniques, short of wearing a chastity belt.

She did not take into consideration the fact that her husband was too much of a gentleman, too kind, too gentle and maybe just plain scared, to demand his conjugal rights. This is her story.

On the wedding night, she changed from all of her bridal finery into three or four pairs of tights, ski pants, trousers, a couple of shirts on top, an anorak, a trench coat, gloves, socks and boots. The only uncovered part of her body was chin upwards.

She could have worn a detective hat but thought the better of it.

The wedding night wore on and on and the boots never came off. But once again, we can call this a success story, and ask, who wins, who loses, because two children were born in wedlock. The marriage was dull, unsuccessful...but the prodginy a success. Who won, who lost?

Mama, She's Biting Me!

MAMA, SHE'S BITING ME is the story of a marriage that should have failed, but succeeded.

There was a family of five children, all of them well educated, rather well settled in life, except for the youngest son...who was dim and odd, and possibly with latent homosexuality. But, this part of his development was not acknowledged by anybody.

Being a conventional family, there was great pressure on this boy to get married and after many refusals, he succumbed to the pressure and the wedding took place. Came the wedding night, the bride in all her gaudy finery, waited on the bed, as a sacrificial lamb, in the bedoom. He, swinging his body, and making helpless hand gestures, scrambled up to the terrace of the home and slept in his usual bachelor bed, next to his mother.

The bride waited. The relatives waited. And the hush in the home waited. Nothing happened.

After 5 days, the situation became desperate, and the mother of the groom had to intervene for the sake of family reputation. She locked the bride and bridegroom in the bedroom, admonished her son and still, keeping her blinkers on, came away.

Next morning. The groom hammered and hammered on the door. When the door was opened, he rushed out of the room, bleary-eyed, disheveled and screaming loudly, "She smells! She stinks! She's got bad breath. I've been cheated. How could you all marry me to a woman with rotten teeth?"

Face was saved, the bride was hauled to the dentist and all of her 32 pearly white teeth were pulled out, under the guise of gum disease and rotten teeth. The 20 year old girl turned into an old woman with sunken cheeks, resembling his mother. So, how could he make love to his mother?!

The marriage was never consumated.

The story has a happy ending, because some years later, the eldest son in law of the family, who was kept on a sexual diet by his wife, went to this young-old woman, who lost her virginity and hoorah! Became pregnant by him. A son was born, there were celebrations, three facts were celebrated:

the loss of her virginity, her husband's reputation to be able to father a child and of course, the newborn baby. The fates laughed.

This event took place 70 years ago and can we say, who won? Who lost?

Welcome to OpenTruthBox

This way the truth! No more rosy lies! The Truth Box is Open.

For too long we have lived in a world of lies, and have choked upon the untruth, holding the poison in our throats. Lord Shiva has declared this sacred space open for all of us to express and say what has never been said before.

This is the time for transcendence and transformation, and we cannot live in the world of lies anymore. Speak the truth and save the world. Here is your space to change the world and your chance to express, to say, to write, to share all the pain and joy in your lives.