“I don’t know why they say “you have a baby.” The baby has you.” ~ Gallagher

Karmically speaking, that’s precisely what happens. The karma that you have bound throughout your past lives determines which form you embody in your next life (human, elephant, ant, etc..), your social status in that form, how long you will live for in that life, and of course who your parents will be and who you will be brought up by. So when you become a parent, it turns out that the baby does actually “have you” rather than “you having a baby”.

In the early hours of yesterday morning, 19-Apr-2007, Mik (contributor of Living Jain) and Shraddha Parekh brought into this world a new bundle of joy. This child must have racked up quite a bit of punya (positive) karma from his past lives to have parents who can give him the guidance to realise his own true bountiful nature. Baby Neil Parekh, welcome to the Cynergise family!

“Turn your mind away from things which are not permanent.”
- Buddha

What will stay like that forever, and what will never be the same again?

What is your tolerance for change? Do you realise that even you, as a person, are physically changing every single moment? For you to function, for you to stay alive, there is a massive amount of change taking place within you, as is happening in everyone that’s around you.

So it’s apparant that you have a pretty high tolerance for change. When you spend some time with your friend, I don’t see you freaking out or running away. People are changing all the time and you can handle it - see!

Some things are permanent and the rest will come and go. The next time something changes, the next time you have a joyful experience, the next time something doesn’t go as planned, or the next time you encounter the unknown, remember this: even this will change.

“You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.”
- Abraham Lincoln

If my grandfather was still alive today, we’d have all gone round to visit him in the evening, to enjoy some cake, have a cup of tea, and spend some quality time together as a family.

All those years back, Bapuji kept the traditions from our long list of ancestors going, and those very attitudes are embedded deep within me. One of his strongest qualities that I remember witnessing as I was growing up was “take care of the people around you, your community”.

What are the qualities that your grandparents have left behind for you to embrace? Happy birthday Bapuji.

“We’ll meet very soon, Rhea. Do you know why? Because this life is very long, even if we don’t have enough time.”
- Hum Tum, hindi movie, 2004

Fact is, we’ll keep meeting each other, over and over again, during this life, and in the next, and the next, and the next. So what’s the point in missing someone when they leave? What’s the point in getting depressed over someone leaving our life? Focus in on making the most of the time you have together today. Tomorrow they may go - big deal!

“The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention…. A loving silence often has far more power to heal and to connect than the most well-intentioned words.”
- Rachel Naomi Remen

“The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, serenely, divinely aware.”

- Henry Miller

“Baatein bhul jaati hain. Yaadein yaad aathi hain. Words may be forgotten. Memories are eternally cherished.”
- Yaadein, hindi movie

The words spoken in haste today, will most certainly be forgotten in years to come. The quality of time you spend together with someone today will have a lasting impact on how you come together in the future. True memories are never the words you exchanged or the movies you’ve seen or the places you’ve visited. The truest memories reside deep within our consciousness, for them to resurface at the moments we most need them for the strength to move forward through the harshest challenges of life.

Take stock of what you experience in your everyday life. What are your actions, and are they contributing to the well of strength that you’re building to take care of you in your time of greatest need? Or are they actions that numb you and distract you from what appears to be a tough life? With the mass of distractions that surround us in our day to day life, how are you going to ensure you tap into the gaps in between the distractions, and really only build those memories that you can one day count upon?

“I can’t carry all my rocks. So I put some in my socks”
- I Love Rocks, by Molly Bridger and Michael Chesworth

This fun little book, titled “I Love Rocks”, teaches six year old kids how to read with expression. It tells a story of a boy who finds rocks of all shapes, sizes, colours and textures. He is fascinated by the variety of rocks he comes across. On one page, he found so many little rocks and wanted to take them all with him, but he couldn’t carry them. If you found loads of little rocks and couldn’t carry them, would YOU also put them in your socks?

If I was this kid, I’d reconsider my options! Yes, I could carry the excess rocks in my socks. However, a consideration would be: what am I really going to do with all these rocks? Do I really need to carry them or will they just weigh me down? Can I swap them for something better? Can I give them away? Can I return them to their rightful owner?

What are the excess rocks in your life? What are you accumulating too much of? What would you be willing to put a limit on? What would you feel cool about passing on to others today?

“And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.”
- The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran

Some of the best moments I’ve had in my life have involved sitting opposite just the right person in a restaurant or cafe, be they a client, a friend or a random stranger, in the depths of the city, or by the tranquillity of a lake, immersed in authentic spirit enhancing conversation, and comforted with a hot drink.

In those moments, individual identities merge, egos are suppressed, and personal agendas vanish. Nothing matters in that very moment, other than to explore unchartered territory that exists within our own humble core. That is very much the “deepening of spirit” that Kahlil Gibran writes about.

As this new day begins, the penultimate day of the working week, who will you select to have that authentic conversation with, and where will you hold it? By the lake, at the cafe, or next to the office coffee machine?

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”
- Jesus Christ

As Jesus was being nailed to the cross, he prayed to God that all those involved in the crucifixtion be forgiven. His tears were not due to his physical pain, but they were tears of deep compassion for all those around him.

Likewise, when Bhagwan Mahavir practised ahimsa, supreme non-violence, he took great care to not even harm an ant. This wasn’t due to some prescribed philosophy - it was simply that he would have felt the pain and anguish of the ant, and that’s what resulted in such great care with his thoughts, spoken words, and actions.

So as you look at the five vows that a Jain takes - ahimsa (non-violence), aparigraha (non-acquisition), asteya (non-stealing), satya (truthfulness), and brahmacharya (not indulging in sensual pleasures) - consider them as merely indicators about how to behave. That’s all, just indicators.

Then take a deeper look within yourself, and behave from that place of right vision. By tapping into your wonderful unique essence, recognise the true impact your actions have on yourself and everything that’s around you. Commit to doing the right thing - you’ll always know what the right thing is when you get out of your own way!