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Qui-Gon Jinn (Star Wars)

Focus

R. Sriram has been working as a Yoga teacher in Germany since 1988. For years, Sriram taught under the guidance of Sri T.K.V.Desikachar at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Chennai and contributed to the development of the institute.

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R. Sriram

<h4><strong>R. SRIRAM has been teaching Yoga since 1977. He is a disciple of T. Krishnamacharya and his son T.K.V.Desikachar, and he now lives and teaches Yoga in Germany. During the Yoga4Unity 2022 program, he conducted a masterclass on breath as the link between body and mind. Here are the first two parts of this wonderful masterclass.</strong></h4><hr><p><strong>About Mantra and Breath</strong></p><p>The word “mantra” is about speaking, producing a sound. But it is not just producing a sound, as you are also listening to it. A mantra only has strength and only becomes powerful if you chant it <i>and </i>listen to the sound that is being chanted.</p><p>It is both the voice as an instrument of the body, a <i>karmendriya</i>, an action organ, as well as hearing as a sense organ. Both go together. What is special about chanting is that you are coordinating the words, coordinating the sounds, making sure that the flow of the word, the sounds, is beautiful and unstrained. It is almost like you are modulating the breath when you chant. So chanting a mantra well is equivalent to good breathing.&nbsp;</p><p>Looking at the breath itself, when you do conscious breathing, what we call Ujjayi in Yoga, you not only use the throat to produce the sound but you also listen to it. Ujjayi is not about producing a big sound, nor is any other breathing technique in Yoga. It is about producing a reverberation that you can listen to. It is reverberation plus listening, as is the case of mantra.</p><p>Therefore, breath is very close to mantra. It brings a spiritual quality to something very mundane, like an Asana practice, where we are “merely” moving and adjusting the body.</p><h4><strong>Tuning the Trunk</strong></h4><p>Coming back to Asana practice, if you are doing Trikonasana or Sirsasana or Veerabadrasana, try to breathe slowly and consciously. Where is the sound coming from? It is coming from your trunk. Your trunk is very important, not just your throat. Without your chest –the expansion of the chest giving it strength, and the air in the chest reverberating – the sound will not come.</p><p>Whether you are breathing or making a sound, you are using the whole trunk. When you do a posture, whether it is a headstand, a Samasthiti or a balanced posture standing on one leg, you are mainly using the trunk. The leg is just supporting the body. It is always about the trunk in Asanas, as the trunk is like an instrument. It is like a veena or sitar, or any instrument that you tune. You are tuning it with the breath and the sound you produce, not with some sort of muscular external adjustment and alignment.</p><p>Make sure the tone or the tune of the breath or sound that emanates when you are doing a posture is correct, has the right reverberation.</p><p>So, when you go into Trikonasana, focus on your trunk. The trunk is in a diagonal twist posture, so let it feel like a tuned instrument. It doesn’t matter if your hand is a little bit this way or that. Don’t worry about unnecessary details. You are not doing gymnastics, you are not doing Western physical training, you are doing something about the trunk, about the Merudanda as we call it in Yoga.</p><p>To discover more, please enjoy the masterclass at:</p><hr><p>&nbsp;</p><hr>

Breath as the link between body and mind

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Rabindranath Tagore

The meaning of life

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Rachel Carson

The balance of nature

Rachel has an M.A. in Classical Studies and an M.Litt. in Ancient Cultures and lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. She works in social media and marketing, and in her spare time is a volunteer for Heartfulness charities.

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Rachel Nelson

<h4>
    <strong><span style="color: #995ca5">RACHEL NELSON</span>
        works in marketing and social media. And yet here she challenges the way it
        is infiltrating our lives, changing workplace norms, how we see ourselves,
        and how we live our lives.</strong>
</h4>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<p>
    I was searching for a job during the pandemic. One of the first things I was
    told was: Have a social media presence. It will improve your chances of being
    hired. Employers want to see who you are as a person. They want to see your
    private life to know how you might act in your professional life.
</p>

<p>
    This felt like a huge invasion of privacy. It would neither have been possible
    nor acceptable before social media. Why should an employer see what goes on in
    my life outside of work? Why would a prospective employer base their decision
    to hire me on the front I show on social media?
</p>

<p>
    I was told to comb through my social media accounts, check if there was
    anything an employer might find objectionable, and make them as professional
    as possible. Having grown up when social media was for connecting with
    friends, the transition from a personal, generally private network to the
    public sphere has meant scrambling back to see if I posted anything stupid as
    a fourteen-year-old. Who didn’t?
</p>

<p>
    I first got Instagram when it was only two years old and still essentially a
    photography app. There was no concept of influencers, and social media was as
    separate from work as home life. I still use Instagram primarily as a photo
    gallery, a place to store memories, and it has been private almost as long as
    I have had it. I have never been bothered about having followers, so the
    switch from this mindset has been a difficult transition.
</p>

<p>
    In the past decade, social media has become a ubiquitous presence. It is less
    of an individual choice and more of a societal obligation. When getting and
    maintaining a job relies in part on an online presence, saying no to social
    media is a difficult decision. Its role in our professional lives means it is
    also difficult to turn off from work. It is even worse since the pandemic and
    working from home, culminating in a state where we can be contacted any time.
    Through our phones, we are constantly alert to notifications. This
    alert-feedback makes it incredibly difficult to relax or “turn off” from both
    work and social obligations.
</p>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<div class="block-image">
    <figure>
        <img decoding="async" width="700" height="382" alt="socialmedia_obligation2" class="lazyload has-img-center"
            src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/socialmedia_obligation2_700x382_58c5ac44c0.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T07:11:24.372Z" />
    </figure>
</div>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<p>
    As someone who works in marketing, I have four separate social media accounts
    per platform on my phone at any one time (not including my own personal
    accounts), all of which give me constant feedback. While many people get a
    separate phone for work, the obligation to keep it on and nearby, in case
    someone needs to contact us, still remains. And so, the feedback also remains.
</p>

<p>
    The second aspect of social media obligation is that of the uncalculated,
    unpaid labour which goes into a social media presence for work purposes. We
    are expected to contribute to the conversation on platforms like Twitter and
    LinkedIn, to keep up with trends, promote our work, and promote our successes.
    Employers look to see if a LinkedIn account is up-to-date and relevant, or if
    it has been left to stagnate. For many of us, these tasks are performed in our
    time off. They are unpaid, and often time-consuming and stressful.
</p>

<p>
    It creates an enforced, performative element in which people feel as though
    they have to put on a front which is not true to their lives and
    personalities. All we end up seeing are curated snippets of that person’s
    existence. We are not seeing the reality of the person; we are seeing what
    they want us to see. This results in a culture where everyone appears to be
    doing well at work, progressing, and thriving. Others feel as if they are
    stuck, less successful, and less able to juggle work and other aspects of
    life. It is the professional equivalent of seeing social media influencers on
    yet another trip to a country half-a-world away, while you’re stuck at your
    desk at home, having forgotten what fresh air smells like.
</p>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<hr />

<h4 class="has-text-align-center">
    <span style="color: #995ca5">Social media creates an enforced,<br />performative element in
        which people
        feel<br />as though they have to put on a front <br />which is not true to
        their lives and personalities.</span>
</h4>

<hr />

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<p>
    Professional use of social media is not all bad, and many people enjoy using
    it. There are some jobs that might not require a LinkedIn account as much as
    others – a farmer, for example. Farmers might have Instagram accounts in which
    they show snippets of their daily lives. This can be interesting and
    informative, as it presents insights into the lives of others and can be an
    amazing way to equalize and to connect us, showing a common human experience
    across borders.
</p>

<p>
    It is when social media is not a choice, particularly when there is pressure
    to present a perfect life – whether for work or personal use – for fear of
    being seen as less competent, that we may feel constantly on show or watched.
    This level of scrutiny can produce the feeling of being hunted, activating the
    fight or flight response. This evolutionary survival mechanism served us well
    in the past when we would either overcome danger or be killed, because either
    way the problem disappeared. Now, the alert-feedback of social media acts as a
    trigger which does not disappear. So, neither does our stress.
</p>

<p>
    This takes us to the third issue, the blurring of lines between social media
    as a hobby and social media as a job. For individual creators, artists, small
    businesses, or anyone who wants to be seen but doesn’t have a lot of money to
    pay for advertisements, social media can be anything from a casual marketing
    tool to a lifeline that brings in their only income stream. As social media
    grows, however, more and more people are turning their own lives into their
    product. They use social media to catalogue their day, their house
    renovations, their trips around the world. Through advertising and
    sponsorship, they make money from it. While there is nothing inherently wrong
    with this, the impact of having your life become your product, your social
    media become your marketing, and your attention always jumping to work through
    the easy access of your phone, will begin to take its toll on your ability to
    relax and step away from social media and work.
</p>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<div class="block-image">
    <figure>
        <img decoding="async" width="700" height="382" alt="socialmedia_obligation3" class="lazyload has-img-center"
            src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/socialmedia_obligation3_700x382_aa510b0627.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T07:12:37.330Z" />
    </figure>
</div>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<p>
    This is the point in an article where the conclusion drawn would usually be
    along the lines of “ultimately it is up to you how you use social media,” but
    we are now seeing that this is not the case. Many people are advocating for
    reduced social media exposure, or even getting rid of it all together, but
    with it so prevalent in our jobs and lives it is hard to reduce it, even when
    we want to.
</p>

<p>
    We are starting to see where the next evolution of social media is taking us.
    With a focus on online living and virtual reality, it already sometimes feels
    like we spend more time updating people about our lives on social media than
    actually living them. As social media becomes a normal part of existing in
    society, we need to think about how we are expected to use it, and how we wish
    to do so.
</p>

<p>
    Please share your own experience and viewpoint on this topic at
    <span style="color: #a78001">contributions@heartfulnessmagazine.com</span>
    or in the comments.
</p>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<hr />

<h4 class="has-text-align-center">Illustrations by ANANYA PATEL</h4>

<hr />

When social media becomes an obligation

Radhika practices and teaches yoga for therapy and optimal health, having studied with Saraswathi Vasudevan at YogaVahini, Chennai, India. She is a co-founder of the reStore organic shop in Chennai and has a deep understanding of the issues in modern food production and consumption.

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Radhika Rammohan

<h4><strong>RADHIKA RAMMOHAN is a yoga practitioner and therapist with </strong><i><strong>Yogavahini</strong></i><strong>, a school in the tradition of </strong><i><strong>Krishnamacharya.</strong></i><strong> During the Yoga4Unity Program 2022, she shared her experiences of how yoga has helped her to refine her inner and outer environments. She also offered us some tips on how to deepen our own holistic well-being.</strong></h4><hr><p>I have always been involved with the idea of holistic health. My first concern was environment and health, then I came to yoga three decades after that. And when I did, I realized that holistic health goes far beyond food.</p><p>I was always drawn to the idea of being able to connect directly with the food I ate with as few intermediary steps as possible. When I lived in the USA in the mid-1990s, I saw packaged, mass-produced, and processed foods. I felt uncomfortable about using chemicals for increasing yield or quality without reverence for the land. It felt intuitively wrong.</p><p>So I sought out and started buying organic foods from smaller retailers, who were not selling popular or branded items. This was also the time when genetically modified crops (GMOs) were being introduced in the USA. For instance, dairy cows were given rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormones) to increase milk production, and in Wisconsin, where I lived, there was activism against this. I always bought milk from dairy farmers who did not use rBGH.</p><p>At that time, food production and policy were skewed toward corporate interests, at least in the West. I started volunteering at an organic farm and doing some gardening, and I was shopping at cooperative natural food stores. Eventually my interest in food and food systems led me to care for a broader set of issues: land energy, regeneration of the environment, and human rights. I started reading books like <i>Small Is Beautiful</i> by F. Schumacher, and a few by the Indian environmentalist Vandana Shiva, and they helped me envision solutions. I also became associated with an NGO in the USA called Association for India’s Development.</p><p>Once back in India, a friend and I started a community-based organic store, called reStore in Chennai in 2008. To this day, it remains an active place, a center for direct farmer support, local and traditional foods, zero waste, etc.</p><p>I was very busy and was running into difficulties in my ability to work with people. I realized I didn’t understand my mental patterns very well, or what was leading to the difficulties I had dealing with the world. I wanted to find a quieter space for myself from where I could understand myself better and the world better. This brought me to studying yoga. I did not want to only be a practitioner, but also understand the philosophy behind it and understand the yoga sutras. So I joined a yoga teachers training program.</p><p>The program led me to the affirmation that the Hindu tradition is really a holistic view of the universe, which is made up of the 5 elements or <i>bhutas </i>– <i>akasha</i> (space)<i>, vayu</i> (air)<i>, agni</i> (fire)<i>, apas</i> (water)<i>, prithvi</i> (earth).Everything is essentially made up of these basic elements.</p><p>In the last few generations, we have been leaning toward a reductionist view of life. We break down everything to its atomic or molecular structure, which is very practical, but in doing so we miss the interconnectedness between things. It’s not so evocative to say that you and I are made of the same elements, so we reduce it to a very atomic level, rather the level of the <i>pancha bhutas</i>.</p><hr><hr><h4>In yoga, it is about leading to a quieter mind<br>that is able to witness itself a<br>and see from where these actions arise. a<br>Yoga is for everyone, including people a<br>with busy lives, with a family, etc.</h4><hr><hr><p>We are not so very distinct from each other when we look at it this way. Any sense of competitiveness is reduced when we lose this sense of individual distinction. This is how I’ve seen yoga and sadhana bringing our minds to a quieter location that increases our sensitivity and lets us reflect. That’s also how I feel yoga helps us develop environmental sensitivity.</p><p>Yoga influences the way I handle relationships, which includes with other beings and the environment, and, of course, my work. Earlier, I thought of health in a very physical sense, and I related it mostly to food and exercise. But mental, emotional and spiritual well-being is actually the space we act from, and where our deepest aspirations come from. Very often we don’t get in touch with that core.</p><hr><p><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/inner_outer_ecology2_700x378_f5ff63af47.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-11T07:27:18.206Z" alt="inner-outer-ecology2">&nbsp;</p><hr><p>My way of thinking has shifted to inside-out. Our ways of relating to ourselves and to the world are mostly programmed or habituated. In yoga, it is about leading to a quieter mind that is able to witness itself and see from where these actions arise. Yoga is for everyone, including people with busy lives, with a family, etc. Yoga isn’t about the asanas or pranayama alone. It doesn’t have anything to do with a mat. It is about principles like <i>satya</i> (truth) and ahimsa (non-violence). So, while having a regular life with children, pets, and other people around me, if I can make sure that my interactions have the qualities of the yamas and niyamas, then the residue I leave behind in each of these interactions will be minimal. That is the practice of yoga.</p><p>So, even if you come to yoga for physical exercise, you will naturally gain more sensitivity. Hopefully, after finishing your practice, you will reach work and be able to see the behavior you are upholding in your workplace. Or coming home to your kitchen, maybe the way you are interacting with your house help, or someone else. Hopefully some of that stays with you, and you are able to say, “What am I doing here?”</p><p>Adding yoga to ecological campaigns is a wonderful idea. When we see environmental injustice, damage, or inequality, and we are not able to do very much about it, it can lead to a lot of anger. Being stuck in that anger is not very conducive for good activism. We might turn into angry activists who people love to hate. It’s not very efficacious.</p><hr><h4>When what we are practicing<br>is contributing to some kind of quietness,&nbsp;<br>and we’re able to see everything&nbsp;<br>around us with a little more compassion,&nbsp;<br>then we are definitely in a good place.&nbsp;</h4><hr><hr><p>When what we are practicing is contributing to some kind of quietness, and we’re able to see everything around us with a little more compassion, then we are definitely in a good place. It gives us a happier way to wake up in the morning, compared to saying, “Oh, the climate has not changed, abuse has not changed, and injustice has not changed.” Then it’s not a happy way to wake up.</p><p>I hope that yoga teachers impart to their students not only the knowledge of the asanas, but also the deep, transformative potential of the practice. Krishnamacharya once said, “The location for a yogi ought to be shantam.” That is equanimity – not in the sense of being unable to respond appropriately to different situations, but to respond from the space of shantam. To bring out whatever is appropriate – anger, courage, wonderment, love, compassion – but not to get carried away with it. To come back to the equanimous&nbsp;location.</p><hr><p><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/inner_outer_ecology3_700x378_840fdddf15.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-11T07:28:35.323Z" alt="inner-outer-ecology3">&nbsp;</p><hr><p>It is difficult to practice yoga for a short time and expect your problems to be solved. You need to dive deeper. As a teacher, that’s my aspiration – to help my students take their practice deeper, to understand their minds and their yoga, to study some texts, to understand the underlying foundations behind what we are teaching them.</p><p>For others, I would say get involved with a community or sangha. Study together. It could be a formal teacher training course. We can create communities of practitioners who learn from each other and take their practice deeper.</p><hr><p><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/inner_outer_ecology4_700x378_8ad0ab2e90.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-11T07:29:58.318Z" alt="inner-outer-ecology4">&nbsp;</p><hr><p>I think it’s important that we have some way of knowing if what we are practicing is transformative. If we can sense that we are more sensitive today than yesterday, we can say we are progressing. It’s a sense of refinement. If we are not feeling that, it’s okay, but we have to keep trying and learning.</p>

Inner and outer ecology

<p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(68,68,68);">Dr. Rahul Mehrotra is an experienced cardiologist with an academic career spanning more than two decades. He possesses a sharp intellect and is keenly interested in managing various cardiac ailments optimally utilizing different investigative modalities. He is currently the Chief of non-invasive and clinical cardiology at Artemis Hospitals.</span></p>

RAHUL MEHROTRA

Rahul Mehrotra

<h4><span style="color:#333399;">RAHUL MEHROTRA s</span>hares his experience as a busy cardiologist who also loves bird-watching and meditation.</h4><p style="text-align:justify;">It has been more than a decade now that working as a cardiologist, watching birds around my house, and practicing meditation have gone on side by side. There seems to be a whole world to explore in the field of medicine, in the realm of birdlife, and in the world inside us. All it requires is tuning in.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">As I go to my terrace and hear the bird calls, spot them with ease and feed them, I realize I am becoming better at it. Discoveries are made: the white eyes, the tailor birds, the spine-tailed green bee-eaters informing us of the much-awaited monsoon rains, and many more.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Birdwatching and meditation are not two separate hobbies. Along with my professional and family life, they are part of a whole, complementing each other. If my meditation makes me calmer, it also makes me more perceptive of the happenings around me. I more meaningfully observe the birds go about their daily business. I realize the value of being regular in feeding them, ensuring the bird feeder and the water bowl are never left empty.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Their biological clocks work perfectly. Birds are there at the same spot and the same time every morning to have their breakfast. How simple a life they lead! The same food over and over, happily accepted. The same schedule – waking up at dawn, flying for food, a whole day of chirping, resting, moving about and going back to rest. In the rainy season they go hungry at times, yet they are happy when it rains: the small puddles on my terrace serve as the house sparrows’ bathing pools!</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Acceptance comes naturally to them. I should learn from them.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">They do not horde or worry for the future. Is that plain stupidity or instinctive faith in the provider? They live in the moment, meeting their needs diligently, with alertness. How do they learn to make the perfect nests? By instinct. With what instincts are we humans born? What is our innate nature? To be peaceful, calm, grateful, joyous and perhaps responsible for the rest of creation.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Birds seem to have so much time during the day. Do they overeat? I wonder as I prepare a lecture on heart disease and the obesity epidemic that is engulfing the world.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Why do I feel so much at ease when I meditate?<br>I am with that eternal, original me, who does not require any of the props, the sensory inputs. The birds are perhaps in that state all the time, with their original selves, at ease, as they were meant to be.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">It is all there inside us, all around us, provided we take interest and tune in.</p><p><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/tuning_in2_657e25d409.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-06T05:59:47.440Z"></p><p>&nbsp;</p>

Tuning in

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Rainer Maria Rilke

The journey within

Earth’s intelligence

Inner potential

Rajesh lives in Delhi, India, with his wife and two daughters. He has been a photographer since 2007, and also runs a Bed & Breakfast. He loves taking photographs of the beautiful natural scenery and peoples of the Indian subcontinent, including Spiti in the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, Pushkar in Rajashtan, Bhutan and Nepal. Nowadays he is travelling regularly to the northeast of India, working on photographic projects in Nagaland, Arunachal and Assam.

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Rajesh Menon

<h4
    id="h-rajesh-menon-is-a-wildlife-photographer-and-environmental-conservationist-living-in-north-india-here-he-shares-some-ideas-for-solutions-to-the-animal-human-conflicts-that-are-apparent-in-all-regions-of-the-world-today">
    <strong><span style="color: #d7a929">RAJESH MENON</span>
        is a wildlife photographer and environmental conservationist living in North
        India. Here he shares some ideas for solutions to the animal-human conflicts
        that are apparent in all regions of the world today.</strong>
</h4>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<p>
    Recently I heard the news that a man died in Spain, gored by a bull during one
    of the country’s popular festivals. Such headlines make me wonder, “Are we
    playing God with Nature?”, “Are we the reason for all the chaos in the world
    around us?”, “Are we knowingly looking for a reason external to us?”
</p>

<p>
    Things back home in India are not rosy either. Down south, elephants are burnt
    to death for entering human settlements. Wild animals are electrocuted for
    entering human settlements. Elephants are run over by trains as they try to
    cross the railway tracks in Assam. Tigers and leopards are poisoned for coming
    too close to us. I could go on and on.
</p>

<p>
    I spoke to my forester friends, and they shared some useful insights about the
    other side of the story: The number of little children who die every year,
    grabbed in front of their mothers by leopards that prowl near human dwellings;
    poor farmers who face the wrath of wild boars destroying their crops. These
    are genuine issues that a few face, unlike the multitude of city dwellers. One
    for the team, as they say. A team that has no clue about the daily wars the
    poor farmers face to stay alive each night. There are farmers and tea-estate
    workers in the North-east and the South of India who face the wrath of wild
    elephants. For them, it’s work during the day and fending off wild animals at
    night, without sleep. But then, how many of us are aware of these conflicts?
</p>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<div class="block-image">
    <figure>
        <img decoding="async" width="700" height="394" alt="" class="lazyload has-img-center"
            src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/animal_human_conflict2_700x394_fc880e6d9f.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-07T11:49:27.359Z" />
    </figure>
</div>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<p>
    Let me come straight to the point: Are we the solution providers or are we the
    problem?
</p>

<p>
    What is the reason for our existence? Is it just to make money, have a good
    time in life, procreate, fend for the kids, and make them as irresponsible as
    we are? In the name of society, do we drag down all things that encounter us
    as we travel to the doors of heaven? As my friend says, “Are we the worst
    parasites on this earth, gobbling away everything that comes within our
    reach?”
</p>

<p>
    It is said that we humans are the best form of life on Earth, and that even
    the gods have to descend to Earth and take human form to evolve! Another dear
    friend enlightened me with references to Indian mythology, where the gods
    descend with weapons in their hands, so they do not have to face us humans
    unarmed. What is it then that makes us so proud of our race? Are we in sync
    with Nature? Do we live in harmony and with love?
</p>

<p>
    Recently I was witness to a very beautiful scene of harmony in the wild, in
    the Corbett Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand. While on the Jeep Safari, I saw a huge
    tamarind tree with langurs (Semnopithecus entellus) on the branches and
    spotted deer (Axis axis) below. The langurs are famous for alerting the deer
    about the presence of tigers and other carnivorous animals. In this particular
    scene, the langurs were also feeding the deer. They were plucking the tamarind
    fruit they were relishing and throwing them down for the deer to eat. The deer
    were happy to oblige! No claims of superior or inferior being. I was so happy
    to witness this pure magic of love and harmony.
</p>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<div class="block-image">
    <figure>
        <img decoding="async" width="700" height="394" alt="" class="lazyload has-img-center"
            src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/animal_human_conflict4_700x394_d7eb5a5283.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-07T11:51:03.981Z" />
    </figure>
</div>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<p>
    There is too much to say about animal-human conflict. As far as I see it,
    there is no conflict on the part of the animals. They cross over to human
    settlements for easy means of food, because we have encroached on their
    territory. We have built our railways and roads on the animal-crossing
    corridors. We have multiplied so fast that we don’t have enough space for
    ourselves and we conveniently forget about the other species on Earth. I
    recently saw a beautiful caption with a picture of a deer crossing the road:
    “The deer is not crossing the road. We are crossing it’s jungle.” It makes you
    think.
</p>

<p>
    Harmony and love are all we need to deal with each other. Since when have we
    given value to a piece of paper and made it our god? Since when have social
    status and egos taken over? We still have time to correct our trajectory and
    go in the right direction. The question is: Are we willing to?
</p>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<hr />

<h4 class="has-text-align-center">
    <span style="color: #d7a929">Harmony and love<br />are all we need to deal with<br />each
        other.</span>
</h4>

<hr />

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<p>
    Let me leave you with a success story of a group of volunteers in Assam. Their
    name is <em>Hati Bondhu, </em>which translates to “elephant my friend.” They
    operate in Chapanala, in the Nagaon district of Assam. The place is an
    elephant corridor and that has led to many animal-human conflicts.
</p>

<p>
    They convinced the local farmers to cultivate the land between the forests and
    the villages. They have created a beautiful pond and large paddy fields and
    other food crops on 200 <em>bighas </em>of land (1 <em>bigha</em> = 14,400
    square feet). The twist to the story is that they cultivate these lands
    <em>for the</em> <em>elephants</em>. The pachyderms have their fill, drink and
    swim in the pond, and go back to the jungle without disturbing the villagers.
    They haven’t had any conflicts during the past two years.
</p>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<div class="block-image">
    <figure>
        <img decoding="async" width="700" height="394" alt="" class="lazyload has-img-center"
            src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/animal_human_conflict5_700x394_7190085b61.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-07T11:52:26.167Z" />
    </figure>
</div>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<p>
    He mentioned that it was not a cakewalk. Educating the local village tribes
    was the hardest part. During the pandemic, the local farmers have come forward
    and contributed. Fear for their lands has now turned into care for the
    elephants. Both are happy. Now they are the ones empowering the project.
</p>

<p>
    Kudos to this great initiative by <em>Hati Bondhu</em>and the amazing
    volunteers! The call of the hour is for more such genuine efforts with harmony
    and love in mind. How to spread more awareness and seek the help of local
    farmers and villages to resolve these conflicts? May the human will to take
    the right initiatives prevail!
</p>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<div class="block-image">
    <figure>
        <img decoding="async" width="700" height="394" alt="" class="lazyload has-img-center"
            src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/animal_human_conflict3_700x394_3e6977ddc3.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-07T11:57:17.959Z" />
    </figure>
</div>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<hr />

<h4 class="has-text-align-center">Photography by RAJESH MENON</h4>

<hr />

The animal-human conflict

<hr class="vertical-space1">
<h4>Photo essay by <span style="color: #106610;">RAJESH MENON</span> from the national parks of India.</h4>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<p style="text-align: justify;">I was born in the land of elephants, Kerala. Not a festival goes by without the
  elephants decorated in their full attire. When I became big enough, I came to know that my grandfather was the
  manager of the local zoo. I had never met him as he had passed away before I was born. But I was in awe of him when
  I came to know how much he loved the animals in his care.</p>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<div class="row">
  <div class="col-md-12"><img decoding="async" class="lazyload w-100 h-auto"
      src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/a_prayer_for_their_survival_1_img_83f4894c5e.jpg"
      alt="a-prayer-for-their-survival-1-img">

    <hr class="vertical-space1">
    <p></p>
    <p><img decoding="async" class="lazyload w-100 h-auto"
        src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/a_prayer_for_their_survival_3_img_a72d8e5319.jpg"
        alt="a-prayer-for-their-survival-3-img">
    </p>
  </div>
</div>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<p style="text-align: justify;">As I grew up, I noticed that the elephants were forced into submission by their mahouts
  for the festivals. What mental torture and physical agony they must have gone through to satisfy us humans!</p>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<div class="row">
  <div class="col-md-6"><img decoding="async" class="lazyload a-prayer-for-their-survival"
      src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/a_prayer_for_their_survival5_img_a231727231.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-31T13:06:45.455Z"
      alt="a-prayer-for-their-survival5-img">
  </div>
</div>
<div></div>
<div>
  <hr class="vertical-space1">
</div>
<div></div>
<div class="row">
  <div class="col-md-6"><img decoding="async" class="lazyload a-prayer-for-their-survival"
      src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/a_prayer_for_their_survival3_img_8eb5e7ccbe.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-31T13:07:17.214Z"
      alt="a-prayer-for-their-survival3-img">
  </div>
</div>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<p style="text-align: justify;">The passion to see them in the wild, where they truly belong, slowly took shape when I
  began photography. Somehow, through my photography, I wanted to convey their beauty when they are truly in their
  natural habitat.</p>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<div class="row">
  <div class="col-md-12"><img decoding="async" class="lazyload w-100 h-auto"
      src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/a_prayer_for_their_survival_2_img_0a8b916b27.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-31T13:13:08.423Z"
      alt="a_prayer_for_their_survival_2_img">
    <hr class="vertical-space1">
    <p></p>
    <p><img decoding="async" class="lazyload w-100 h-auto"
        src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/a_prayer_for_their_survival_6_img_70348879c7.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-31T13:15:02.580Z"
        alt="a-prayer-for-their-survival-6-img">
    </p>
  </div>
</div>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<p style="text-align: justify;">My favorite place to watch elephants in their habitat is with my dear friend Sreekumar,
  in the Sholayar Jungles on the border of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. They never ever felt threatened by our presence and
  always let us view them with their dear ones.</p>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<p><img decoding="async" class="lazyload w-100 h-auto"
    src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/a_prayer_for_their_survival_7_img_f9123e1074.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-31T13:16:34.479Z"
    alt="a-prayer-for-their-survival-8-img">
</p>

<hr class="vertical-space1">
<p style="text-align: justify;">The national parks I visit to see tigers, deer and sambhars are the Jim Corbett
  National Park in Uttarakhand, and Ranathambore in Rajashtan. To view rhinoceroses I like to visit Popithara in
  Assam.</p>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<div class="row">
  <div class="col-md-12"><img decoding="async" class="lazyloaded w-100 h-auto"
      src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/a_prayer_for_their_survival_8_img_fb5ae3b53d.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-31T13:17:09.153Z">
    <hr class="vertical-space1">
    <p></p>
  </div>
</div>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Like spirituality and meditation, waiting is the chief quality that one needs to
  develop to observe and photograph wild animals. They will reveal themselves and let you be joyful. Carry them in
  your heart with a prayer for their survival.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"></p>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<p></p>
<hr>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">Photo essay by&nbsp;RAJESH MENON</h4>
<hr>

A prayer for their survival

<hr><h3 style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:#d9794a;">A PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY</span></h3><hr><h4><span style="color:#008000;">RAJESH MENON</span> is a photographer from Delhi, who specializes in images from nature. Here he shares some of the beautiful birds of Kanha Shanti Vanam, the 1,300 acre property near Hyderabad, India, that is the international headquarters of the Heartfulness Institute. It is also a green sanctuary.</h4><hr><p><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/birds_of_kanha3_45ae49590c.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:53:01.853Z" alt="birds-of-kanha3">&nbsp;</p><hr><p style="text-align:justify;">It all began with Daaji announcing retreats in Kanha Shanti Vanam during the pandemic. Keeping COVID-19 in mind, everyone who visited Kanha during this period was required to do a two-week quarantine, which could also be used as a spiritual retreat. Registering for the September period, a dear friend and I decided to drive to Kanha from Delhi, for reasons of safety.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Right after the quarantine period, Daaji asked me to photograph the birds of Kanha. One thing that still baffles me is how he knew that I had come prepared with a 600 millimeter tele zoom lens.</p><hr><p><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/birds_of_kanha2a_463e199504.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:53:02.198Z" alt="birds-of-kanha2a">&nbsp;</p><hr><p style="text-align:justify;">So began my wonderful journey into the life of the birds in Kanha. Five years ago, it was a barren dry land. The place has been totally transformed and is now a thriving ecosystem of trees, shrubs, herbs and organic farms, including rare and endangered species, rainforest trees and medicinal gardens.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Following the birds around Kanha, I discovered their daily routine. The tiny and the mighty all have a daily routine. It was beautiful to be one with them, following them, observing them, inspired by their total surrender to all other natural forces.</p><hr><p style="text-align:center;">&nbsp;</p><hr><h5 style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:#008000;">So began my wonderful journey</span> <span style="color:#008000;">into the life of the birds in Kanha.</span> <span style="color:#008000;">Five years ago, it was a barren dry land.</span> <span style="color:#008000;">The place has been totally transformed and is now</span> <span style="color:#008000;">a thriving ecosystem of trees, shrubs, herbs</span> <span style="color:#008000;">and organic farms, including rare</span> <span style="color:#008000;">and endangered species, rainforest trees</span> <span style="color:#008000;">and medicinal gardens.</span></h5><p style="text-align:center;">&nbsp;</p><hr><hr><p style="text-align:justify;">The best observed were the Shikra falcon couple, who shared a neem tree. One interesting fact about falcons in general is that the female of the species is bigger than the male. The hunt of the black-winged kite showed me just how concentrated its approach was. The little tailor birds, sunbirds, bulbuls and the weaver birds were also fascinating.</p><hr><p><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/birds_of_kanha4a_f46c6544fc.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:53:02.162Z" alt="birds-of-kanha4a">&nbsp;</p><hr><p style="text-align:justify;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/birds_of_kanha6a_ecc2465642.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:53:26.755Z" alt="birds-of-kanha6a"></p><p style="text-align:justify;">&nbsp;</p><hr><p style="text-align:justify;">I shared great camaraderie with my fellow photographers on our early morning trips following the birds. Brotherhood is made forever.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">A word of caution: It is not easy to leave Kanha. The songs of the birds will charm you to come back. I am counting the days when I can be back in Kanha again.</p><p>A dear friend, who is an avid birdwatcher, mentioned that there are now 70 species of birds in Kanha. I have only seen and photographed around 30 species, so naturally I can’t wait to see the rest!</p><hr><p><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/birds_of_kanha5a_ac57b52681.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:53:01.942Z" alt="birds-of-kanha5a">&nbsp;</p><hr><p style="text-align:center;">&nbsp;</p><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Photographs and article by RAJESH MENON</h4><p style="text-align:center;">&nbsp;</p><hr>

The birds of Kanha

<hr><h3 style="text-align:center;"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:hsl(30,75%,60%);font-family:Avenir,sans-serif;"><strong>A PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY</strong></span></h3><h4 style="text-align:justify;"><a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/contributors/rajesh-menon" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1E51A4;font-family:Avenir,sans-serif;"><strong>RAJESH MENON</strong></span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:hsl(0,0%,30%);font-family:Avenir,sans-serif;"><strong> is a nature photographer and artist based in Delhi, who travels to some of the most beautiful and remote parts of India to celebrate the wildlife of the southern Asian subcontinent. Here we showcase just a few from his portfolio of the birds of the Himalayan foothills, Delhi, and Pondichery.</strong></span></h4><p style="text-align:justify;">&nbsp;</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Great_Indian_Hornbill_5309cfb815.jpg" alt="Great Indian Hornbill.jpg"><figcaption>Great Indian Hornbill</figcaption></figure><p style="text-align:justify;">&nbsp;</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/painted_stork_4fb36ef87d.webp" alt="painted-stork.webp"><figcaption>Painted Stork</figcaption></figure><p>&nbsp;</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Oriental_Pied_Hornbill_6c73329087.jpg" alt="Oriental Pied Hornbill.jpg"><figcaption>Oriental Pied Hornbill</figcaption></figure><p>&nbsp;</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Black_rumped_Flameback_c7fa8509de.jpg" alt="Black-rumped Flameback.jpg"><figcaption>Black-rumped Flameback</figcaption></figure><p>&nbsp;</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Black_Stork_3a38a40d0c.jpg" alt="Black Stork.jpg"><figcaption>Black Stork</figcaption></figure><p>&nbsp;</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Red_billed_Blue_Magpie_01276b6155.jpg" alt="Red-billed Blue Magpie.jpg"><figcaption>Red-billed Blue Magpie</figcaption></figure><p>&nbsp;</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/White_breasted_Kingfisher_4_2d9e9f9400.jpg" alt="White-breasted Kingfisher 4.jpg"><figcaption>White-breasted Kingfisher</figcaption></figure><p>&nbsp;</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Purple_Swamphen_2686ab5322.jpg" alt="Purple Swamphen.jpg"><figcaption>Purple Swamphen</figcaption></figure><p>&nbsp;</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/black_crested_bulbul_c9870f1ba0.webp" alt="black-crested-bulbul.webp"><figcaption>Black-crested Bulbul</figcaption></figure><p>&nbsp;</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Painted_Stork_2_b82a0de622.jpg" alt="Painted Stork 2.jpg"><figcaption>Painted Stork</figcaption></figure><p>&nbsp;</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Coppersmith_Barbet_3f7859c1d3.jpg" alt="Coppersmith Barbet.jpg"><figcaption>Coppersmith Barbet</figcaption></figure><p>&nbsp;</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Crested_Serpent_Eagle_Juvenile_11207d4c7b.jpg" alt="Crested Serpent Eagle_Juvenile.jpg"><figcaption>Crested Serpent Eagle_Juvenile</figcaption></figure><p>&nbsp;</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Gray_capped_Pigmy_Woodpecker_fb0b12af2e.jpg" alt="Gray-capped Pigmy Woodpecker.jpg"><figcaption>Gray-capped Pigmy Woodpecker</figcaption></figure><p>&nbsp;</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Paradise_Flycatcher_1_dd6c95a142.jpg" alt="Paradise Flycatcher 1.jpg"><figcaption>Paradise Flycatcher&nbsp;</figcaption></figure><p>&nbsp;</p><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;"><strong>Photography by RAJESH MENON</strong></h4><hr><p>&nbsp;</p>

Birds of India

ralph-waldo-emerson.webp

Ralph Waldo Emerson

A course of action

Rama earned her Ph.D. in Bioorganic Chemistry from Texas A&M University. She teaches Biology at Southridge High School and Chemistry at Columbia Basin College in Washington State, USA. She is the mother of two adults, a Heartfulness Trainer, an artist, and a freelance writer. She has worked at the  Pacific Northwest National Laboratories as a Murdock Partners in Science Fellow and was selected to represent Washington State as a 2022 NEAF Global Learning Fellow.

Rama-Devagupta.jpg

Rama Devagupta

<hr><h4>DR. RAMA DEVAGUPTA explains how prayer can help us develop love and compassion for all humanity. She encourages us to take up universal prayer as an experiment and observe the effects.</h4><hr><h3>The world I foresee</h3><p>As a mother, the only thing I dream of for my children is that they always work on developing a good character and continually refine it to serve humanity to the best of their ability.</p><p>As an educator, the only thing I dream of is that my students go out into the world and become the torchbearers of beautiful human qualities – benevolence and compassion, empathy and humility, selfless love and kindness, gratitude, and grace. No matter what field of work they choose – agriculture or business, pottery or teaching, art or craft, law or politics, science or engineering – I dream that each and every one of them becomes a distinguished servant leader in their chosen profession and strives to make this world a better place.</p><p>Every once in a while, I wonder: How can we adults embody the qualities to become role models for our youth? How can I rise above my own individual fears and prejudices? How can I continue to become more and more loving every day?</p><p>Being human, I know that it is not easy. I need to rise above my own individual weaknesses and learn to see the love and kindness that is hidden in all. Even in the midst of pain and suffering, unpleasantness and chaos, I must continue to pray for all without excluding anyone. All this is inner work and, without a doubt, it takes time.</p><hr><hr><h4>As an educator, the only thing I dream of&nbsp;<br>is that my students go out into the world&nbsp;<br>and become the torchbearers of beautiful human qualities&nbsp;<br>– benevolence and compassion, empathy and humility,&nbsp;<br>selfless love and kindness, gratitude, and grace.</h4><hr><hr><h3>Universal Prayer</h3><p>Have you ever felt like me? If yes, I invite you to consider the Universal Peace Prayer from the Heartfulness practices, where all are invited to become silent agents of change by devoting ten to fifteen minutes every evening praying for the good of all humanity.</p><p>Although I am still striving to become regular with my own individual practice, which seems to wax and wane with time, I am grateful to share that this practice has helped me during all the phases of my life.</p><p>If many of us do it from our respective time zones and geographical locations, a necklace of care will continuously circle planet Earth.</p><p>Sit anywhere, at 9 p.m. your local time, and make these positive suggestions, taking time to open your heart.</p><p><i>All sisters and brothers throughout the world are developing intense love and devotion,&nbsp;</i><br><i>and faith is growing stronger in them.</i><br><i>All kinds of distractions faced by our country and our globe are going away.</i><br><i>May this entire Earth be engulfed with peace and love.</i></p><p>Try it for one week and experience for yourself what inner changes, if any, take place. Whenever I take the time to pray in an authentic manner, it has always worked for me – in my tiny little universe – by clarifying my thoughts and softening my heart towards myself, my family, my students, and colleagues, and all fellow beings.</p>

An experiment in prayer

Ramnath is Professor of Economics and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru. His areas of interest include business and society, economic reforms in transition economies, spirituality and selfdevelopment, leadership development, outsourcing, and creativity and innovation.

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