1)What is the soul? 2)What is social acceptance?

I don't want to get philosophical or preachy right now, but there is a saying in the upanishads(okay, I just know three stories/incidents from them, and have read them not in Sanskrit, but in English) which has really struck a chord in my heart. Of all the motivating quotes we hear, such as 'My day will be great', 'life is a mixed bag' etc. only some will actually serve the purpose. But(and according to me there is nothing wrong in beginning a sentence with but) sayings/anecdotes not superficially meant to inspire you are the golden gems you will carry with through life. Most of us stil remember the way the 'thirsty crow' drank water. We remember the way we have traversed through the jungles where Kalia stayed to the kingdom of Vikramaditya. After crossing the 'fairytale' stage, we remember things such as Yama's questions to Yudhishtira, Birbal and Tenali Rama's wit and humour. Some of us may have read 'Tales from the Upanishads of the Amar Chitra Katha series. Coming back to the point from the upanishads, what really is the soul?

Take a walnut or any fairly large-sized seed. Break it open. What is inside the seed apart from the hard outer covering? There is just 'nothing'. There is that same nothing inside mangoes and grapes and apples. Why is in then that one mango is different from another? Take anything breakable for that matter. A glass broken will yield glass pieces. What is inside them? Millions of protons, neutrons and electrons swimming within them. What is inside the proton? Eventually, they all are made up of the same thing-'that nothing'. The same way, the human soul cannot be seen, but it is that 'nothing'. In some great humans, their soul is visible through their actions. The 'nothing' manifests itself externally. Though this is explained in the Upanishads as a way to reach the 'Supreme Brahman', in today's life, though it may not visibly say' life is great', it does, in some way say that life has to be purposeful. This nothing is the soul. The all-pervading soul. When anyone reads about the Upanishads, they will feel it is 'dry'. Even I did at first. But when you consciously try to understand thehidden meaning, it fills your heart with some new meaning. It gives a new direction to your life. Honestly, let us admit it, apart from claims of saying that religion is 'dry' and that life consists of only 'Shopping, hanging out, eating, chilling', we do return to these great texts some time in life. There is just a perception that reading anything about religion and spirituality written by our great Vedic scholars is 'uncool'. Who decides on the coolness meter of a human being? Nobody knows. We do not want to turn to Indian spirituality for wisdom and guidance. But, the manjority of people go around proclaiming that they read 'The Secret' and 'Beyond the Secret' and 'The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari' with pride because that will give them social acceptance and status. What does 'Secret' actually say? It says one thing in three hundred pages, that you will obtain whatever you want by dreaming about it and really wanting it. Nothing against 'Secret', but Bhagavad Gita says three hundred things in one page. Each verse has a different meaning. People don't even read the Bhagavad Gita translated into English. Why this treatment to anything Indian? We think yoga is 'uncool'. We think 'pilates and cardio' is the way to go.nobody wishes to learn Bharatanatyam/Kathak/Kuchipudi. Jazz and salsa are the rage. Nobody wants to learn Indian classical music. It is 'western music' these days. Violins,santoors and mridangams are considered passe. Its about strumming the guitar in front of all the crooning girls. Personally I feel aiming for social acceptance is passe and being something you aren't is passe. When people try singing English songs in that American accent, it makes them look like a 'person in the middle of the Indian and the Atlantic Ocean.' Going Western is not some credible thing people are doing. It makes them look and seem foolish. Let us proudly say that we have read the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Let us sing Indian classical music and play the violin and dance the bharatanatyam. Deep down, we all are Indian. That 'nothing-ness' in ourselves is the Indian essence. Let us show it to the world.



'Because the lives we lead and the paths we tread
are the joys that we find,
Because the thoughts we have and emotions we feel
are mirrors of our mind.