Kalyug

So in your books, what is it? Is it cool to be religious? or necessary or a ritual?

I grew up in a house, where I woke up to the smell of agarbati. The bell goes nonstop for 3 min until you finally decide to give in and wake up on that Sunday too.

There is, always a belief, I just didn't like the system.

maybe because it was forced? or I think it was just about convenience.

As a kid, I felt that the under-the-table money offerings, milk, prasad, all of this is cool when you are giving it as return gifts for all the good things that happen to you, but to get things done it's just a bribe. The movie OH MY GOD might have had a little effect on me.

Eventually, It was accepted and decided everything is fair, until in limits, and one can always decide their own limits. Waiting to see what more I grow into. Two years back, until my parents left abroad for work, I was never the first person facing rituals and responsibilities.

Many things happened, destructing study plans, and collapsing life plans, a year was just me getting used to the new life and the next was re-aligning personally. I think it's the phases that they talk about in the books and movies, They happen. You question your purpose, and then re-align and live them until the next breakdown.

Self-growth & realization being my teachers, I Learned to look at things from as many perspectives as possible. Asked myself what would baby aarya want now, would she have liked having adult aarya around? and she would have wanted "Be the person, that you would have wanted". And then the only reason I believe in love is because of the way I love.

And then things changed. (NAZAR TEEKA THU THU THU)

Not that god helped me in any way physically, it was me who woke up every day and did whatever, but yeah, there was this peace, and I understood that the peace came from accepting life as it was, changing what can be controlled, and letting go of the rest.

I was never a person not even a child to have lists for requests and wishes, I vaguely remember 2-3 things that I genuinely had cried for. Call it a privilege for which I am grateful. I think one of them was coming back to Bombay and settling, I give Sai Baba the credits, the other being 10th STD boards, because apparently, that was a big deal lol, and a third evident one was once when both my parents got really sick.

One day my dad asked me, what do you ask for when you pray, and I said I don't really ask anything, I asked him back the same question. For which he said, I say, "LOKA SAMASTHA SUKINO BHAVANTHU" It's a Sanskrit verse, which means "may everyone, in the whole world, be happy.” He said, not everybody is capable of asking for themselves, so we ask for them. And I think that changed a lot for me.

Whatever gives you peace dost. As open we are to the thought of live and let live, I think it's also the boon of the generation, we are a good religious bunch, but like with logic. Fair?

Incomplete love like Rukmini, complete like Shiv Parvati, destroying the evil like Kali, blessing with knowledge like Saraswati, adoring your parents like Ganpati, looking over like vishu, and above all playing right like Krishna,

Anyways, Until next time, I think it is to be soft is to be powerful, Naya phool thodne se behtar gira hua uthalo, the challenge is to be disciplined with freedom, it's good to be scared it means you still have something to lose, In Whatever drama life may cast you, play your part well.

Namaste, Aarya,