Look Within.......Connect with "YOURSELF"......!!!

Hi all !!
Here's my latest article published in the February 2012 issue of "The Focus Global Reporter".

This is very much in line with my book "You Connecting With.....YOU!!" published last year. We are all so busy tied up in our respective hectic schedules that we have no time to .....forget "stand & stare" and "watch squirrels hide their nuts in grass" but also no time to spend time with "OURSELVES", no time to look "WITHIN" .

We go all out to connect with others but in the process forget to connect with "OURSELVES". Probably, if we try looking "WITHIN", we may find more peace, success & happiness, than we ever will find by looking without.

So, begin this New Year on a note which propells you "WITHIN YOURSELF", deeper and deeper. Go right ahead and ......before logging into your Rediffmail & Gmail & Yahoo mail accounts , pray, log into "YOUR OWN SELF ! And, don't be surprised if, in all probability you find many more unanswered mails in this "YOURSELF" -mail account than you would in any other accounts.

You may find a large number of questions in this "YOURSELF"-mail account which need to be answered immediately. When you answer each of these questions, you may be unravelling the deep mystery that is YOU "WITHIN YOURSELF" !!!!!

So hurry, don't delay knowing "YOURSELF" !! for that is the most important task and also the most crucial one for you ...!! Go Pierce The Dense Dark "BLACK FOREST" .......WITHIN !!!!! //best//mg


The “Black Forest”….. Within
Manisha Gupta

Driving through the beautiful Black Forest (Schwarzwald) region of Germany, it was amazingly awesome to look at the dense dark forests on either side. The bright sunny afternoon’s golden rays lit up the tree-tops, but below that one could see only darkness. Surprisingly, not even the brightest of the sun’s rays could pierce through the thick jungle. No matter how long the sun shone or how bright it’s light, it could at most only brighten up the tree-tops, while the huge forest below lived in total darkness. Even during a snowfall, the top of the forest is covered with the soft white snow, but the interior remains pitch black. This is depicted in the typical Black Forest cake.

This drive through Schwarzwald set me thinking. Isn’t a human being exactly like the Black Forest? On the outside, you may be calm, cool, soft and serene as the snow clad trees or chirpy and bright like the sun-lit forest, but the interiors are as dark as the Black Forest. What can pierce the darkness within yourself? Do you get to see the real person within you? Do you try to look for it in earnest? Probably, the answers are in the negative. Reason- Well, where is the time.

You spend life’s hours connecting with family/friends/colleagues through the mobile/internet, depressed if you don’t get through. When in all probability they may not be so desperate to hear from you. But have you ever thought of connecting with yourself? With ….YOU? Have you ever tried calling …..“YOURSELF”…???

Have you tried to pierce the “Black Forest”….. within yourself…?? That may be the golden ray of happiness!! And what better occasion to begin this journey within you, than the New Year….!!

ManishaGupta©2011

'Agony Path'.....????????

On the children's insistence about not missing a Hrithik Roshan movie,and in inspite of us resisting spending a Sunday watching blood & violence, the children won and we finally did go and see "Agnipath". but alas it proved to be an "AGONY PATH".......!!

As usual,

the good only shed tears
& the bad men everyone fears

and as if this wasn't enough
there was more & more gory stuff !!

I wonder why the film had so much violence.

why does one go to watch a movie?...for entertainment, for leisure, for happiness i believe. while you have Pizzas delivering happiness at home in 30 minutes, cars giving you keys to happiness, houses being built to provide you happiness, coke allowing you to "open happiness".... and drink it too, many other products offerring you this important ingredient of life ....HAPPINESS, then why, pray tell me, do film makers want to take away all the happiness of spending a beautiful Sunday watching a great movie??

why can't we have movies also, which give us happiness ....in some form or the other....you know visual, mental,spiritual whatever form?? atleast we should be saved from travelling on the 'Agony Path' ....!!!

Nayaa Saal Mubaarak !!!

Nayaa Saal Mubaarak !!!, Purani Yaadon ke Saath....


नया साल पुरानी यादें.....................



फिर आ गया है नया साल
पुराना साल जा चुका है
उसके साथ....
उसका पुराना दिन जा चुका है
और उसकी रात भी

पुरानी सुबह चमक कर खो चुकी है
पुरानी रात जाग कर सो चुकी है
पुरानी धूप थक कर ढल चुकी है
पुरानी बारिश हो कर बह चुकी है
पुरानी सब चीज़ें खो चुकी हैं

पुराना बादल बरस कर जा चुका है
पुराना खयाल थक कर रुक चुका है
पुराना वक़्त हार कर लौट चुका है
पुराना आंसू रो कर चुक चुका है
पुराना दर्द बेहाल हो जा चुका है
पुराना सब कुछ छूट चुका है

और .......
नए साल की नई सुबह
नई सुबह की नई धूप
नई धूप की नई गर्मी
नई गर्मी की नई तपिश
नई तपिश की नई अनुभूति
नई अनुभूति की नई नवीनता

नये साल का नया बादल
नये बादल का नया आवारापन
नये आवारापन का नया अंदाज़
नये अंदाज़ का नया बरसता पानी
नये पानी का नया स्पर्श
नये स्पर्श का नया एहसास
नये एहसास का नया नयापन
सब कुछ ही नया है

लेकिन ..............
फिर भी ....

पुरानी कोई याद शायद बाकी हो
पुरानी कोई सोच शायद बाकी हो
पुरानी कोई आदत अभी बरक़रार हो
पुरानी कोई खुशी शायद अभी बाकी हो
पुराना कोई गुस्सा अभी कहीं बाकी हो
पुरानी कोई हँसी अभी कहीं दबी हो

नया दिन नई रात
नया साल नई बात
नई धूप नई छाँव

नई बारिश नया बादल
नई खुशी नया ग़म
नये साल की नई बारिश
नई बारिश की नई छुअन
नई सुबह की नई किरण


कितना भी सब कुछ नया हो.....

लेकिन ..............

इस सब के बावजूद

पुरानी चमक
पुरानी थकन
पुरानी चुभन
पुरानी आस
पुरानी खुशी
पुरानी याद

पुराना गुस्सा
पुराना रिश्ता
पुराना दुख
पुराना ज़ख़्म
पुराना कुछ

...........सब कुछ अभी बाकी ही है

और वही तुम वही हम
और वही ज़िंदगी भी अभी बाकी है

काफी कुछ अभी बाकी ही है................

मनीषा

Guide Yourself....through life..!!!

is there a guiding light when you are lost in the jungle of life ..???????

depends.....depends on whether you can "See" that light.
so, if you are lost....in life...and need a guiding light, it is up to you to be able to track that light and help it guide you.

so everyone could be your "GURU", that is IF you can learn something from him.
it is actually, entirely up to you yourself. if you see a Guru in someone, he CAN be the desired light.

so actually, it is upto you to place someone in the category of a Guru. it is actually you yourself guiding yourself....through this maze of life.

so go right ahead and find your guiding light !!!//best//mg

The Happiness Plumber.........????

can a plumber be the cause of your happiness?? well, read on (my latest article published in the December-2011 issue of "The Focus Global Reporter") to find out...//happy reading//best//mg



Need a Plumber……..for Happiness !!
Manisha Gupta

What do you do when your bathroom drain is clogged? You probably take a vacuum pump and start pushing it hard, harder… still...harder….. What happens in the beginning? The harder you push, the dirty water inside the pipeline along with all accumulated trash comes out, towards you. The further you try pushing, the further distance the dirt spreads outward from the drain. It may even soil you.

Now you’re left with only two options. One, you give that one last push before you finally give up. If that does the trick, you’ll notice the water suddenly starts flowing down the pipes. This is signaled by the quickening, spiraling circles the water makes at the drain mouth. It is also accompanied by the gurgling sound it makes, while flowing freely through the line. The drain is finally cleared, much to your comfort.

But if that last push still doesn’t do the job, then what do you do? Simple, silly! Call the plumber. He has all the equipment including that special pump, wire, pipe and what not. He assesses the situation and accordingly uses the appropriate tool to clear the blockage. Most of the time, that special pump, which can go deep within the drain right to the bottom, can fix the problem. He pushes at this pump when it has gone right inside the drain. Gives it four or five hard jerks and Viola! The drain is cleared. At other occasions, he may make use of the other implements.

Now think about your choked emotions through the pipeline of your heart and stagnant thoughts in your mind. When you try to push hard at these with the intent of clearing them, in the beginning, they seem to come out towards you, with much greater force. After you have tried your best to clear this heart-line and mind-line, and the problem still remains, all you need is a heart-mind- plumber. He knows the tricks of clearing your heart and mind of the emotional and intellectual baggage that is clogging the line.

Once this done, “your” drains are clear and this is signaled by the quickening, spiraling circles your emotions and thoughts make over your heart and mind, while they go with the flow of life. And, of-course, you can actually hear this clear feeling …….in your happiness.
So, don’t delay if your emotional drain is choked. Go right ahead and call the ….Happiness Plumber…!!

ManishaGupta©2011

Expiry Date of Relationships...!!

experiences just made me wonder if relationships in this world come with expiry dates..???

do relationships last only as long as the people involved have something or the other to take from each other? in fact, that brings in the question of the base of relationships on this earth. do people make relationships with others only if and when they want something from the other person? only when each has a need,a purpose, an agenda? can relationships not take place if there are no agendas involved? if the need for the relationship is just a simple social or emotional need to know people and remain known to them.

do such relationships exist? and if they do take birth, then do they last forever? well, deep thinking gives me the logical answer as a big "YES". because, this kind of a relationship is perhaps the purest form. where the people concerned are only interested in the emotional need for the relationship. but, life's incidents & experiences depict otherwise.

people today have become so selfish that the general trend is of relationships with
defined agendas. and so it lasts only as long as the the mutual agendas are satisfied. even if there happen to be people who don't have agendas while forming a relationship, others see "hidden" agendas and keep presuming or rather expecting that sometime or the other, the person is going to ask for a favour. and that is the reason he is continuing with a particular relationship.

at other times, people may not remember a particular relationship till the time they seem to "need" something from it. and then suddenly, they want to revive it, only till such time that their agenda is satisfied and then again they disappear into oblivion, only to resurface again for another agenda.such relationships that are based purely on agendas/selfish motives of getting work done, are not true relationships actually in the first place. and they do have an expiry date.

but, does that mean that any relatiopnship that takes birth in this world is looked at from this "agenda coloured eye"??

actually, the world has changed so much today, or rather people have changed, that since nobody calls anybody without any work/motive, one tends to see all relationships with a coloured eye.

The other way round too is true. people don't seem to recognize someone at certain ocasions, though ofcourse they may know the person very well. and it is pretty shocking to have people who know you well, just walk past you, as if looking through you, with not even the remotest sign of recognition. and the same people, who don't or didn't recognize you in public/at certain times, may "appear" or "pretend" to be the best of friends with you when alone or at places where nobody knows them.

and if there happen to be such "abnormal" people existing, who do recognize you and want to keep the relationship going,inspite of "no agendas", you firmly "see" a motive behind it. sadly, then you are unable to recognize the few pure relationships, ones that exist only for the sake of relationships and nothing else!!!

but ofcourse, you need to have that insight and that feeling and that "emotional intelligence" to grasp such a relationship!! and for that you also have to see it without any "filter" of any colour.
//best//mg

True Enlightenment...!!

Hi all !!
am finally back after a long time.

i don't know how many of you read the Times of India supplement "Speaking Tree". i just read the article “Unlearn to Learn” which appeared in the "Speaking Tree" of November 6, 2011.

I totally agree with this thought. In fact it is such a coincidence that I had arrived at the same concept through life’s experiences and have written about it in my book “You Connecting With ….YOU!!” (YCWY) published sometime back.
Here are some relevant quotes from my book.

“This enlightenment, what I have come to realize, is nothing but unlearning everything you learnt. Sounds stupid, isn’t it? But think deeply. And, I am no “Guru” or something trying to teach. This realization has dawned on me as a result of different incidents and happenings in life. Because to live life in the true sense, you need to unlearn all that you had learnt and what is left after that is your actual knowledge gain. So in a way enlightenment can be equated to emptiness, but one that came only after extensive learning.” (chapter 9- YCWY)

“Keep learning but a stage will come when you have to begin unlearning everything you learnt. But this does not mean that all the learning accumulated by you throughout life was a waste, because this stage of unlearning will never come if you have not learnt enough. It is as simple as you will not know what an empty glass is till you have filled it and seen what a full one means. Once it is full, you can empty it out and refill it with something else.” (epilogue- YCWY)

“Then, having made that space free, you could add your new form of learning, the higher form, where you begin to understand life better.” (epilogue- YCWY)

//best//mg