The Shine

You shine behind 'India Shining,'
unnoticed by many, but not by all.
The boats cruising the backwaters
leave your unread signature,
unclogging the arteries of Kerala.
                                                           By Rajkumar Reghunathan

I was asked to write about unconscious evil. But why such a subject if we are all interested in Love and Light? Because we unknowingly use it unconsciously. I only speak from my own personal spiritual experience. If you test it out for yourself, you may notice some of the same things that I'm writing about. This is a blog about spiritual healing from my insights. How much Good is good enough?

Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary has a lot to define as evil. a : morally reprehen...

Being here on this earth, and living in these bodies is such a privilege, because they aren't really ours. They are on loan—like a library book, or bowling shoes, or roller skates. We must take care of them. We've been allowed to be here to learn lessons during our time on this lovely earth. And part of our task is to keep track of what we learn. And this is why we carry a tool box, because if a page gets ripped, a wheel falls off, or a shoelace breaks, we have the right tools to fix it. ...

How can you know what is going on inside of other people if you barely know what is going on inside of yourself? I write this at the risk of bending a few egos here and there. But it's the truth. Many times we make assumptions about people, or judgments, or assessments, And this does not necessarily mean that they are accurate—but our mind registers this as a “fact.” And I know that some of my dear readers “have it all figured out” and “know it all.” Sometimes I still know it a...

The other day I asked God to fill me up with his wisdom. This isn’t an unusual request for God. Actually, I begged like a child. Things in my life had become funny—like something needed to change. I live an Indian existence, so differently from my family in America. My values are so God focused, that sometimes the only things that I can talk about when I Skype home are gardening...

The other day I forgave someone for something that caused a deep sadness inside of my heart, a lingering pain, even though we had had an “everything is fine now” status for years. Afterwards, I noticed a considerable change. I was more relaxed, and felt happier (even still) than I have been. We can have an intellectual knowing of forgiveness, but when it comes down to it, the feelings and the thoughts that come from the heart are the main substance of our existence. I'd pret...

When the world is spinning around me with all of its hurricane-like symptoms, I remain calm. Sometimes I sit in the eye of the storm here in India, and God keeps me safe. I sing a song, recite spiritual text, and keep the other elements far away from my heart. I don't think about the “not good.” They are just symptoms. This is the kind of world that I live in, where all challenges and burdens turn around for the Good. Everything is good in my world. Even friends and family who are h...

Today I swept the yard early. It had just rained the night before. More bright yellow leaves from the star fruit tree behind our house have fallen with the water, and the wet sandy path around the house is sprinkled with purple jacaranda flowers and neem leaves. The familiar tropical scent when it rains fills me up with joy.

The sound of sweeping is the first thing that you hear early in the mornings in India. It is like a sacred movement of energy, putting one's life into order, an...

Today I was cooking in God's kitchen. I cook every day. This is no ordinary kitchen, it's God's kitchen.  Everything in it belongs to God, and humans have the job to apprentice with God. This kitchen is like a laboratory. It is here that we create the sweet sauce of life. In this creation we are offered free will to make whatever we please, and that includes quite a menu. With God as lead Chef in this kitchen and guardian angels as assistants, we have all kinds of tools to create at wil...

Tomorrow is Onam, a holiday celebrated worldwide exclusively by the people of Kerala. Onam includes all religions, and is a state holiday. This is my favorite holiday, because it reminds me of Christmas and Thanksgiving at the same time. Onam is a harvest festival that celebrates the abundance that God has given us. We give clothing or money to our family members and employees, or to people who perform services for us—such as our fisher woman, our trash collectors, and our coconut harvester...