Vaishnava Jana To

"Vaishnava Jana To" was Mahatma Gandhiji's favorite Bhajan that was played in his daily Satsangs. 

Sat means truth and sang means company, together Satsang means being in the company of the truth. In Satsangs, people unite through music, meditation and wisdom. Those days when there wasn't electronic media, connecting people across India and keeping them united for a single cause was managed through daily Satsangs. That is the power of a Satsang.

Fast forward to now, Indian Ministry of External Affairs took the effort of spreading this message across the World by uniting singers from 124 countries for the rendition of this bhajan. The result is simply beautiful. Watch it here: 

Written by a poet Narsinh Mehta in Gujarati, the bhajan outlines the qualities of someone who can call themselves a Vaishnav, though with a broader outlook one can see that it applies to any human. Even if we could aim at following a tiny percent of these, it would make a huge difference in our day to day lives.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaishnava_Jana_To

Making a choice

Often I get into cross roads where I have to make a choice: is this the right thing for my son or not? The question gets more complicated, sometimes, when I have a strong preference for or against something.

If it is good for him and I also like to do it - no worries, the answer is clear. Go for it.

If it is not good for him and I also don't like it - again no worries, don't go for it.

The confusion comes in the other 2 cases:

It is not good for him, but I have a strong liking for it. For eg. he is more right brain types and I want him to become an Engineer. DISASTER. Something that needs to be avoided.

Lastly and most importantly, it is good for him, but I have a strong dislike. For eg. he likes playing with a neighbor's kid and it is good for him, but the neighbor and I fought and the heavens have fallen down. Here, it takes a lot of courage, commitment and what not to let him still do it. And if I did it, I really did something for him. Something worth cherishing and feeling proud of oneself.

When I am at crossroads, many a times this analysis helped me get to the answer quickly.