Also by Suresh M. Deo Lightning Bugs Seamless Generations Dewdrop Twinkling Stars Holdall Copyright 2014 by Suresh M. Deo Published by: Suresh M. Deo Contact: [email protected] 1231 Scarlet Drive 6/A, Vrindavan (2) C.H.S. Addison, IL 60101 Panchavati, Pashan Road U.S.A. Pune (M.S.) – 411008, INDIA Font: Geneva Size: 12 pt Editing : Deepak S. Deo Cover and Sketches : Vikas S. Deo, Usha Deo 2 This book is dedicated to my wife Usha and our three sons Deepak, Vikas and Sagar. Also dedicated to the Life Energy that enables us to soak up vast amount of information and impressions from our environment to enhance our vision. Through self introspection, the information gradually condenses into wisdom that enables us to discover ourselves in the dynamics of the ever changing universe. 3 Introduction Holdall was an older version of the modern sleeping bag. Stitched out of canvas, it was commonly used in India for travel. Symbolically, Holdall is the flexible storage of personal experiences during the journey of life. It also represents a global village platform to give an all-inclusive dimension to a thought. It is not the intent of this book to prove or negate any thought, but rather to represent those thoughts that are readily understood and acceptable to everyone, irrespective of ethnic origin. It is these thoughts, when embraced by the global village, that become self enriching experiences for us all. With the opportunity to experience this ever changing and wondrous life, some thoughts progressively surface. Simply intellectualizing a thought often raises more questions. It seems more fruitful to experience and embrace a thought; much like a child embraces a parent. Some of these thoughts have found expression in the following pages of this book. Coming straight out of the University, I was applying for jobs that interested me and noticed that each one of them required the applicant to have some work experience in industry. I had none. That made it difficult to write a resume to impress the potential employer. Now, several decades later I don't have a need to write a resume to impress someone, not even myself. In this new mood and mode of life, I have ventured into writing just for the heck of it, which has 4 unconsciously taken the shape of Holdall. Holdall is a biography of conscious awareness. In the journey of life we observe and soak up the world around us. We watch with interest and awe the chirping sparrow, the eagle flying high in the sky with a bird’s eye view of the world beneath, the uninhibited kingdom of diverse living species, the beauty beneath the still waters of lakes, the beauty of the rising and setting sun and moon, the ebb and tide of the sea waves, the ferociousness of Tsunami and volcanic eruptions as well as the the mass, mess and beauty of humanity with its innumerable modes of interactions with each other and Mother Nature. It seems that irrespective of our individual location on planet Earth, the local environment that nurtures us becomes the unwritten scripture through which we draw the wisdom of life. Each individual is like a twinkling star in the sky, which occupies its own unique space and has a story of conscious awareness to share. This book is trying to communicate with the common Man in each one of us that is silently but consciously seeking individual connectivity in the broader context of our lives, while realizing that we are an integral part of the Universe. Grab my Holdall and travel! That was me traveling then. Now our children travel only with a Backpack! A true spiritual seeker who explores the full dimensions and immense 5 possibilities of life travels with no luggage or baggage. Suresh M. Deo 6 From this page onwards, feel free to open this book to any page and dip into its thoughts. Each independent title represents a thought of the moment that is eager to be experienced before absorbing or trashing it. 7 Wings of Thought Give your thought the freedom of a bird and watch where it flies. On a Father’s day when our whole family had assembled together in Fremont, CA at Mohnish Harisinganey’s residence, we let a Helium filled balloon free from its string and watched it rise slowly upwards. The balloon made of silvery foil was clearly visible as it reflected the rays of the setting sun. Gradually, the gentle wind guided it up and away. Our eyes fixed on the balloon, we kept on watching as it bobbed farther and farther away from us, looking smaller and smaller until it disappeared from our sights towards the horizon. We could only bid a friendly bye to the balloon with a touch of sadness. 8 Kite Interesting experiences in kite flying during childhood string interesting memories. Initially as the kite struggles to lift off in the air, the string tied to it needs to be pulled and jerked gently to help the kite rise and lift itself. Once the kite catches the wind, it begs for more and more thread to rise higher and higher. Similarly, a child also asks for more and more freedom to rise and climb on its own. The parent of a very young child learning to fly a kite subconsciously holds the thread just to make sure that the child is playing within a safe distance. The kite merrily frolics in the sky as long as you let it. When the sun begins to set, the parent rolls back the thread, signaling to the child that it is time to return home. The child grudgingly but obediently complies. The thread holds the kite at one end and ensures a durable bond between the child and the parent. While living in Baroda, India during 1957-58, I had witnessed with joy the Festival of Kites held during the spring season. 9 On that day, the sky is filled with thousands of kites expressing their own pleasure of freedom. While flying the kite and sensing the kite’s constant enthusiasm for managed freedom, the human spirit also seeks its own self-uplifting freedom. 10 Memories Childhood memories seem to get permanently etched and integrated in the foundation of individual consciousness. These include the pleasant and the unpleasant, which affect the pattern of life that follows. Old memories are sometimes blocked and later revived but cannot be destroyed. Psychiatrists, Psychologists, and Psychics try to unravel and resolve the effects of memories. As the sun sets, the shadows of our memories become longer. Memories of good old times make us feel happy. But simultaneously, we feel afraid and lonely because some of the people with whom we have shared the good old times are not alive now. When we feel lonely like this, we feel a vacuum in the stomach and then it is difficult to lie down comfortably. A deep breath inhaled to vent the vacuum provides relief. Then a realization dawns that breath is what connects us with everybody, past and present. 11 Unscrambling the Oblivious There seems to be a time and space in which the seemingly oblivious becomes obvious. It is like a fog that clears with the rising sun’s delicate rays. Nature prompting, it is ultimately the individual’s experience that reveals. A piece of writing becomes an evergreen epic only when and if it invites open inquiry. Every individual transitions through various levels of inquiry ranging from intellectualizing to experiencing life and ultimately unscrambling the oblivious. That is when the seemingly oblivious becomes obvious. 12 A Word A spoken word is a vibration that resonates in the ear like the string of a musical instrument. Resonation of a string depends on the sensitive touch of a musician’s fingers. The evolution of a language seems to have followed the sequence of first imitating the sounds of nature, then speaking words and connecting them to form or give shape to a thought. Initially in the absence of written language, assembling thoughts and words together in the form of poetry seems to have been the most preferred way to recite and pass it on to the following generations. Most ancient scriptures in Sanskrit, Pali, Greek and Latin are in the form of poetry. Poetry has an enormous capacity to condense and encapsulate thoughts, which can be opened up and expanded later as desired. Subsequently, etching writing on stones, writing on dried barks of trees and leaves, paper, and finally electronic media has brought us into the 21st Century. Pertinent knowledge is soaked up in the consciousness of Man. Ultimately, the usefulness of a word lies in the experiences it enables. A Sufi poet sings and dances in ecstasy experiencing a fusion in love that removes the duality between a lover and the beloved. This is not the love depicted by Hollywood and Bollywood on the movie screen. A self-enlightened Master silently and effortlessly experiences 13 vibrations that remove the duality between creative force or energy and its creation. Tuning into its rhythm and vibrations, the Master experiences the word Universe. No word of any language can ever surpass the wisdom that silent introspection enables to experience universal consciousness. Just as silence seems to be a silent or frozen vibration, introspection seems to be a vibration without a word. Each one of us is born free and has full responsible freedom to entertain a word or toss it out of the playground of life. Some words and their vibrations enslave us, whereas others set us free. Words such as Spirituality, Guru and Universal Consciousness seem to be vibrations within us.