Why There's Still Nothing Like Great Mornings

In India the early morning hours, called Brahma Muhurta, are considered auspicious for new initiatives and great beginnings. Even otherwise, there’s something in the morning air that takes you to another level of exalted existence—provided you can shake off the sleep and be up and about this side of 6 a.m.

I used to be an early bird but, somewhere along my worklife, I metamorphosed into a night owl. Even so, every once in a while I chirp up at a respectable morning hour.

Recently I got up around dawn, took one final yawn and, freshening up quickly, made for the nearby park that’s my usual walking heaven.

The moment I found myself in the middle of a grassy patch with peepul, margosa, and ashoka trees, I paused to take it all in. The beautiful, green landscape. The cool breeze. The sound of koels, barbets, mynas.

Sitting down on a bench, I listened. Above the sweet din of birdsong, my ear caught the curious cry of a black kite. I have often wondered at the onomatopoeic symphony that so closely resembles the Hindi name of the raptor. It goes like this: “Chee-eel, chee-eel, chee-eel.” The kite was making slow circles up in the air, probably looking for its first catch of the day down below on the ground. Or maybe it was eyeing me, reciprocating my curiosity!

My attention was diverted by a unique buzzing chorus that was growing in loudness and intensity. I wondered whether it was a swarm of crickets, grasshoppers, or some other insects making those shrill noises. In all probability, they were a bunch of male cicadas out on their annual short sojourn out of the mud, attracting females through what’s called “stridulation.” Later on, when I searched the web, I came across this beautiful article  by Ramya Coushik on the whole shebang. The Britannica entry throws in some amazing tidbits, too (like, each of the 3,000 species of cicadas has a distinct sound; or that they can contract their tymbal muscle, responsible for those screeches, 120 to 480 times a second!).

But let’s not lose our wings in entomology—back to the park and the morning.

Having noticed all that natural drama around me, I did some stretches and settled down to meditate. Most often, I meditate in my room but exercising or meditating out in the open, green surroundings is remarkably different. Your lungs are fuller, your mood lighter, and your spirits higher. Gratitude and love flow more easily from the bottom of your heart.

On this particular occasion, I didn’t have to wait long before I eased deeper into a state of peace and equanimity. I felt healthier and more agile, even though I was barely moving.

When I opened my eyes, the benign sun was just appearing on the horizon. It was the middle of summer but there was still an hour or so before the day would lose its cool to the ferocious glare of the sun.

I surveyed the park before getting up to leave. The crowd of people to make good on their jogging and exercising self-promises had grown. Dog-walkers were jostling for track space with slow-moving uncles and impatient athletes. Not far from where I sat, a group of yoga enthusiasts were folding up their mats. It was apparent from their echoing banter that they had had a good session.

On my way back home, I saw the city wake up in an outburst of laziness and bustle. Reluctant folks bringing milk and groceries; long-distance commuters hurrying up to the nearest metro station, trying to avoid the dust from the mighty sweeps the street cleaners made with their witch-brooms; cows munching on leftovers they shouldn't be eating for producing healthy milk; the neighborhood elder shouting North India's most common salutation as he passed the next house or shop: “Ram-Ram ji!”—each one playing their usual part in the forward march of the day.

Just another great morning in the ongoing drumbeat of time.

Falling in love with amaltas in the mad heat of Delhi

Amaltas on a road divider in Delhi: Photo by Sanjay Gupta

 

When people say, “May heaven's choicest blessings be showered upon you”—a  popular wish, spoken frequently at weddings—they could be visualizing amaltas, also known as “the golden shower tree.” 

This yellow beauty wears multiple monikers. Indian laburnum and Cassia fistula (the botanical name) are fairly well known. Somewhat less common, but more significant from historical and health points of view, are Aragvadha (meaning disease killer) and Rajavriksha (the royal tree)—both of which find mention in Charaka Samhita, the oldest Indian treatise on Ayurveda.

There are several other names, too. But I'm particularly fond of amaltas and how easily it rolls off your tongue with a lyrical feel: amal-taas.

Different parts of this tree provide different medicinal benefits. It is said to have anti-inflammatory and laxative properties, and is useful in arthritis and skin diseases, among other ailments. Killer of diseases indeed!

For me, amaltas represents soothing drops of nectar sent from above for the benefit of parched souls. Especially for Delhiites sweating it out in the scorching days of May and June.

The signs of delicate yellow on slender, otherwise-nondescript branches of the medium-sized tree begin to appear in April. Come May and the golden shower works its magic everywhere. On trees planted along traffic dividers. In clusters across city parks. In fortunate folks’ backyards. Just about anywhere.

Take one look at the pleasant flowers twinkling invitingly and the heat that has been oppressing you relents a bit. Pause a little longer to drink their blessings and a cool reassurance percolates in your being.

In the sweltering afternoons of harsh city life, the relief that sightings of amaltas bring to me—and countless others I'm sure—is immense. The yellow petals, swaying in the wind, make your spirit soar and put the bounce back in your step.

Trees remain Nature’s most benevolent, most visible marks on a rapidly deteriorating Earth. Let’s give a shout-out to one of their most lovable manifestations.

“Love you, amaltas!”

Why Meditation is the Crown Jewel of Yoga and How You can Benefit

Around 300 million people are said to practice yoga worldwide. It may seem a huge number but it’s less than 4% of the global population of 8 billion. The folks doing meditation — which is an integral part of yoga — would be far fewer.

For me, these statistics matter a lot. Because I’m a strong advocate of yoga, especially meditation. And as a fairly long-time practitioner (10+ years of meditation every day), I want to say a few things about what meditation involves, and why I think it’s the best gift of yoga and why every human being on the planet should do it — regardless of country, belief, or social status.

According to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, meditation or dhyana is the stage between dharana and samadhi in what the sage called Ashtanga or eight limbs of yoga. So one begins to focus on a single object in dharana and when that focus becomes smooth and uninterrupted, it becomes dhyana. Drawing upon my own experience, I can say that meditation makes you feel full of peace, joy, and contentment: after a “successful” session, your physical pains and mental anguish melt away, and a supreme sense of calm and blessedness takes root. (With more practice and sticking to it regularly, success comes more frequently and naturally.)

Most people largely relate to yoga and are more familiar with its third limb, asana — the numerous body postures that bring balance and health to the practitioners. Unfortunately, only a few know about or practice meditation.

Here I would like to highlight dhyana or meditation as something that is very simple and accessible (simpler and easier to follow than asanas for most people, I’d say). And if practiced regularly by a sufficiently large number of people, meditation can bring about a profound change not only in their own mental and spiritual wellbeing but also in the overall health and sustainability of our planet.

What has meditation got to do with the Earth’s sustainability, one might wonder?

Let me briefly recount how our mind works and how meditation can help.

The human mind is a constant cauldron of thoughts good and bad. It is a fantastic, majestic contraption, no doubt — one that has left every other species behind in controlling and dominating the space and resources of the planet. From using tools to innovating in industrial technologies to the current boom in artificial intelligence, humans have used their minds to an absolutely complex and remarkable degree. They have created innumerable products to make life more comfortable and devised countless ways to “spend time” for pleasure.

Alongside the good parts, however, a lot of “badness” has gone unfiltered to create all sorts of havoc: pollution, inequality, hunger, war, and disease. So much so that we are at a precipice, looking at disastrous possibilities for the human “race” (pun intended).

This chaos and impending disaster is reflected not only at a global level but also at multiple levels — regions, countries, cities, societies, and families are struggling to deal with it. Ultimately, it boils down to the individual level.

So, when an individual — you, me, everybody — sits down to meditate for a few minutes each day, it helps them deal with this internal chaos. Closing our eyes to the external world for a few moments and looking inward with peace and calm can help nurture our thoughts in the right direction. Meditation helps us reset our intent for being in this world and heals our relationship with fellow humans and creatures. It allows us to question our inner selves as to what is it that gives us real joy, real happiness? What is it that makes our life worth it? What is the meaning of it all? Why do we do what we do?

With our breathing calm, our body at rest, and our mind attuned to the inner voice that otherwise gets drowned in the daily noise of external exigencies, meditation opens up great possibilities for peaceful, better answers to our turmoil.

[Those new to the “process of meditation” my find this post I wrote a few years back useful: How to sit down in meditation.]

Imagine the change that millions of meditating souls can bring about! Change that is peaceful, positive, and “progressive” in the truly meaningful sense of the word.

You don’t have to listen to me — but please do listen to your inner voice. Do spend some quality time each day with your own self: meditate.

Namaskar and happy meditating :)

How about SLMs - Small Language Models?

 

Image by BNP Design Studio

I know large language models, LLMs as they are called in AI circles, are all the rage these days. But lately, I’ve been thinking of SLMs — small language models.

Not that I’m the first one to think small in this way. For example, when people are angry with each other, they prefer to speak in SLMs.

Exhibit A: The husband has a mere twitch of the lips when the wifey stops him right there. “Shut up! Don’t say a word!” [I wanted to flip the gender stereotype here and wanted the hubby to be saying the shut-up command, but something told me it wouldn’t fly, so I shut that thought out.]

SLMs are especially popular with other (often better) animals than humans. A coo-oo, clack-clack or screech often does the job better than voluminous human speech.

And then, sometimes, the smallness of some models becomes so infinitesimally small that no words — and hence no language, not to speak of models — are required at all.

A sharp look in someone’s direction, a press of the hand on a shoulder that needs pressing in a certain way, or a shared moment in silence is all that is needed.

Sometimes I wonder what’s going to happen with so many towers of LLM babble being created and business models being built on top (models atop models, huh?) We might even be drowning in a frothy alphabet soup without digesting a single letter.

And just as I was going on further with this post, a voice hit out at me from somewhere: “Time to shut up now!” (Thankfully, it’s my own goddamn brain and not a Neuralink implant freaking out.)

I looked at my analog watch and felt happy to see the second hand moving, regardless of what’s going on in the world.

So, Have You Decided to be Happy Today?

 

Today is the day you can be technically happy, regardless of where you live in the world. Yes, it’s the International Day of Happiness.

We just got off celebrating International Women’s Day. And before we could relax, there’s this Happiness day!

It seems the modern world can’t do something unless there’s a day assigned to it: You, here, take this day, do this or that!

Shall we return to the same old sadness that has pervaded our lives all through the year—minus the one day we are talking about?

IMHO, we should celebrate these days on ALL days: Women’s Day, Men’s Day, Choose-Who-You-Want-to-be-Day, Earth Day, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Parents’ Day, Children’s Day, Environment Day, Health Day, Joy Day, Forgiveness Day, Friendship Day, No-Enemies-Day, No-War-Day! And oh, by the way, No-Day-Day!!

Plus, of course, any other day that makes you really, really happy 🙂

Tell ya what: forget the date. Celebrate the day. Today. Then every single day.