Ekta | wisdomekta

  After many years of dwelling a life-in-guilty, I uncovered that all the guilt in my world was nothing but an outcome of over-exaggeration and over-thinking!! If you had asked me five years back about my " priority list " … it looked something like this- My old equation= Family (including friends) + Work + Chores + Other (including self-care) I was always tough on myself and the self-deprecating feelings like " I'm not doing enough for my kids/ partner/ parent /friends/job. What is wrong with me? " used to constantly nag me. I was full of self-doubts. I was the biggest critique of myself. The notions of self-gratitude were equivalent to selfishness in my life’s dictionary. After loads of ( bitter ) experiences, I found that this guilt trip is not personal to me. Most of us are suffering or have suffered from guilt at some point in life. The beginning of this infamous jaunt probably lies in our socialization. Across societies, we have been socialized for thousa...

ebooks vs real book (image- internet) As far as I recollect, I have forever been a bookworm . Give me my books, a mug of coffee and leave me at the beach- THAT IS MY DREAM. Books give me solace when the going gets hard. Opening up hundreds of worlds as the pages flip, books are a secret door to an undiscovered place. Whenever my love affair with reading is talked about, I have been confronted with a particular question– ebooks or real books ? And my constant retort to this inquiry is- A book with great content is my certain requirement. It does not make a difference whether the pages are flipped or swiped!! With ramifications of the Covid pandemic and delivery constraints, e-books have turned out to be my recent favorite format of reading. However, the glamour of reading from the physical book is never-ever dying on me. To me, the excitement of getting an e-book instantly vs sitting tight on the door waiting for the arrival of a physical book is like the taste of sugar and spice- both...

Memories- Birthday with supreme God Gifts (my kids) !! Disclaimer- This is an emotional note of my learning till date and my way of paying heartfelt gratitude to all beings in my life. It is my birthday morning. And I have just finished re-re-read of this amazing book “The pursuit of Happyness” by Cris Gardner. Every birthday this-great-modest-book read has turned out to be a personal tradition. It helps me re-evaluate and re-affirm my life with the thought - I CAN DO ANYTHING! Today while sitting in far-fledge-never-thought-type-place at Assam and in utterly quiet time, I just can't stop thinking of the passage from this book- “The future was uncertain, absolutely, and there were many hurdles, twists, and turns to come, but as long as I kept moving forward, one foot in front of the other, the voices of fear and shame, the messages from those who wanted me to believe that I wasn't good enough, would be stilled.” From being an obedient daughter, loyal wife, sincere employee, ...

  Picture of book cover from internet Disclaimer- This book review is majorly a self-contemplation. The personalized meaning derived from the book vis-à-vis life experiences. The quotes are used directly from the book . “People do act against their moral convictions and this is an unhappy fact about ourselves”. The Difficulty of Being Good: On the Subtle Art of Dharma tries to answer the frequent confronted questions- ●        Why be good when being bad is considered to be cool? ●        Why do bad habits shine over truthful acts? ●        Why believe in Dharma or Adharma of the act? ●        Is a "bad person" always bad? Does not the "good" occasionally become bad? ●        What’s the point of being a bigger person?? Gurcharan Das tries to find meaning to the word Dharma in this book through the Sanskrit epic Mah...

After watching Jeff Orlowski’s documentary- ‘The Social Dilemma’ which explored the impact of social network on human minds and behavior, I recollected customary childhood words of caution of my father- DON’T EVER BELIEVE ON ANY STRANGER. NOTHING IS FREE IN THIS WORLD. DON’T GET BLURRED BY THIS EYEWASH. ALWAYS USE YOUR COMMON SENSE . This documentary beautifully bells one of the superactive cats which have professed most of our active time i.e. screen time. Other pre-existing cats like television drama series, endless (sometimes senseless) broadcasting on news channels, story filled newspapers, sale advertisements, etc. have been a-bit successful in trying to numb our senses for centuries, but this super active cat has penetrated our lives at the deepest level and is influencing the whole generation. The network has spread its matrix in all spheres of our lives. It is altering our reality and generating phantasm, sucking our precious time, feeding on our energy, and ult...

  Disclaimer - This book review is majorly a self-contemplation. The personalized meaning derived from the book vis-à-vis life experiences. The quotes are used directly from the book. Sri M, a Padma Bhushan award recipient, is the author of this “spiritual fiction” book. He is popularly known as a ‘practicing yogi’. His ‘otherworldly’ life journey and the story of ethereal awakening at Vyasa Cave is definitely worth going over ( a write-up for next time ).  Shunya A Novel- is set around a man who appears out of nowhere in a sleepy little neighborhood in suburban Kerala. He calls himself Shunya, the zero. He is a-man-of-no-religion. People start calling him –Saami. He settles into a small cottage in the backyard of the local toddy shop. Here he spins parables, blesses, curses, drinks endless glasses of black tea, and lives in total freedom. On rare occasions, he plays soul-stirring hymns on his old, bamboo-reed flute. The mysticism, magical realism, spirituality, ...

Disclaimer - This chronicle is derived from my personal experience. Please be spirited while reading this and Keep an Open Mind. The last twilight caught me ignorant and lead to an experience that resulted in an eye-opening revelation. It was a long-distance call from my sister-from-another-mother that ended in thirty minutes. With initial Heys’!! and Hellos’!!, and a little discussion on Kangana Ranaut’s twitter statement and C+ situation, the next course of chit-chat was- Workplace. Guys, believe me, it was a just-the-genuine!-simple!-whatsUpinyourofficelife type question.  But unknowingly my office-inquiry detonated all her dormant emotions. She talked about “him” incessantly. Those 15 minutes’ were in stark resemblance with Pyar Ka Panchanama Scene (Bollywood Movie). The gist of that non-stop-boss-saga is relatable with lyrics of one of the songs by Swift Taylor (Singer)- I'd be a fearless leader I'd be an alpha type When everyone believes ya What...

  Holocaust Survivor Victor Frankl in his book ‘Mans search for meaning’ stated: (Check my Book Review on the book)  A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life. He knows the “why” for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any “how.” Covid situation have us struck hard. Living in fear seems to be new normal. Questions like whether any hard work means anything to anyone or even to me? Or childhood lessons of speaking honestly are still relevant!! I asked myself “Imagine this was your last day on earth and you could write down your last article with something meaningful and important to pass on, what would it be?” Thoughts of lying on my death bed, family around me awaiting the dreaded moment, whilst I, nonchalantly uttered the last few words that would render me of value to the world. The precise words would then ...

  Disclaimer - This book review is self-contemplation of book’s content. The personalized meaning derived from book vis-à-vis the current Covid scenario. The quotes are used directly from book. Where has true emotional warmth disappeared? Why are we all indulged in our own selfish modes and drama? Why the real approach of living is in switch off mode? Hey, don’t judge. The air may be gloomy with C+ virus but spirits are not. I am not pessimistic. And no… I am not nagging. But don’t we all wonder for the reason of our existence. Our sayings and actions don’t match. Sometimes, they are on totally different dimensions. The talks of hearts have lessened. The ears are filled with assumptious noises. The warmth of eyes shrieking cold gaze. We are living as if we are immortals. This current situation urges us to once again become HUMAN. Man’s Search For Meaning (book) is a beacon of light which helps peeping into soul. It rejuvenates meaning of life.  Soul-opener ...

Covid times may sometimes be frustrating but it is teaching the best lesson of practicing  "Patience". Here is one short Zen story. A rich man, fond of felines, asked a famous Zen ink painter to draw him a cat. The master agreed and asked the man to come back in three months. When the man returned, he was put off, again and again, until a year had passed. Finally, at the man’s request, the master drew out a brush, and, with grace and ease, in a single fluid motion, drew a picture of a cat—the most marvelous image the man had ever seen. He was astonished; then he grew angry. “That drawing took you only thirty seconds! Why did you make me wait a year?” he demanded. Without a word, the master opened up a cabinet, and out fell thousands of drawings—of cats. My learning from this - Excellence is a function of time and practice. Don’t rush: Those of us who are always pushing hard, running up the mountain, may reach the top first only to realize we forgot to enjoy the cl...

Ever wondered how it is possible that what we once thought long ago comes back and gives us that feeling of déjà vu. How the smallest of things triggers a flash of memories that we didn't even know existed and makes us nostalgic? They say that the smell is the first thing we forget and amazingly it is the first thing that instantly connects us with the memories of the past when again encountered upon. Like petrichor never fails to bring the childhood back when the scent of dust after rain sends us to those evenings when going out and playing was the most religious thing to do.Those late nights when sleep betrays and we are lost in a reverie, involuntarily glaring at the moon which somehow entraps us into its illusive beauty throwing us back a couple of decades... almost making us believe that life is still so full of wonders to be explored and opportunities that we can still exercise again. The early morning scenery which blissfully takes us away from the reality into a ostensible ...