Vasudha Jhunjhunwala

Q) How can I be authentic in my role as an anchor while talking about people who were good in art but messy and muddled otherwise?

ANS) Vasudha Didi – There are four things:-

1. Role and You – You are not your role. You perform your role and come out of it. The role of an anchor is not you. And so you may not agree with the personality of your client and may not want to follow him/her for life lessons but still play the role of an anchor for their show.
2. As you grow on spiritual path, you will realise and maturity will happen to you to see life in its totality. Different personalities also have a place in the whole and have are playing their roles. Beyond good and bad, shoulds and should nots..Everyone is conditioned according to their life lessons and they perform based on those conditioning of their mind that we call samsakara. Even that personality was an outcome of those samskara. None of us are perfect and all of us have flaws.
3. Reminding oneself of this will bring compassion and you will be able to appreciate the positive qualities of that person. If you really care to be authentic – Do a little more detailed study and see what good things your prospective client has. Not necessarily award winning but those things which seem significant to you. And talk about those things that inspire you about them.. but this will require more effort.
4. If you still disagree with the character, then you have choice to deny anchoring for that person politely even if it has commercial gains. Ultimate choice is yours.

Q) Should I increase my resources or reduce my business because the demand is increasing and we are falling short on time?

ANS) Anchoring is also a business in which you are providing service. If you want any business to grow, you will have to make investments on required resources from time to time. Otherwise you will burn out and all other roles and responsibilities will get impacted. Also, when you come back to the business in that burnt haalat, you will not be able to do justice to business also. Business is all about taking calculated risks. Without the capacity to take risks a business cannot grow. This is an answer from the role of a business woman that I play.
And As a sadhak -The spiritual path empowers us and gives us confidence. That spirit in us is undefeated. The more one identifies with that spirit inside the more risk one can take because fear vanishes naturally with that identification of one with one’s immortal spirit.

So there is really no escape from taking risks. Allow yourself to fail. And be ready to take another risk even after a failure. Life is a beautiful exploration of one’s capacity. Which may remain unexplored if one chooses not to take risks. Every exploration is filled with risks but that’s the fun of it, Isn’t it!

Self reflection

Love is not equal to the amount of attention one draws from others. Love is equal to the attention one has for One’s self.

Demanding love from other destroys love,
Being in love with oneself draws back love of the entire universe.

Irony is we do not grow beyond being a kid who is seeking attention of other always.. thinking attention = love

Vasudha Jhunjhunwala

अचाह से बल;

अकिंचन से सहजता;

अप्रयत्न से प्रेम;

मिलता है।

– Gurudev Sri sri Ravi Shankar ji

A devotee shared that Gurudev shared these pearls of wisdom yesterday. And I sat up to ponder. Here is a reflection of what I understood of this..

“अचाह से बल मिलता है।”- “चाह” का होना इस पल को अपूर्ण कर देता है। यह सोचना कि भविष्य में कुछ और होगा, तब जीवन पूर्ण होगा। इसका मतलब है कि हम अपने स्वभाव में नहीं हैं। लेकिन जब हम स्वभाव में होते हैं, तो पूर्णता होती है।“यह पल पूर्ण है” का भाव होता है। ऐसे व्यक्ति को कोई हिला नहीं सकता और न ही लालच देकर लुभा सकता है।

“अकिंचन से सहजता मिलता है।”- अपने स्वभाव में हम सहज होते हैं। “मैं कुछ हूँ, खुश हूँ” यह दिखाने का प्रयास नहीं होता। अकिंचन का अर्थ है स्वभाव।

“अप्रयत्न से प्रेम मिलता है।” प्रेम में प्रयत्न नहीं होता। माँ बच्चे को बिना प्रयत्न किए ही अपने प्रेमवश सब कुछ देती है। हमारा स्वभाव ही प्रेम है, और प्रेम में प्रयत्न नहीं है, बस स्वभाव है।

Swa + bhav – the most beautiful state, childlike..

Vasudha Jhunjhunwala

As we celebrate Uttarayan today let’s pray that our life force also moves upward…

My reflection for today –
What can be achieved in life is only limited by the boundaries of my small mind. Which the mind creates around the infinite power (that is me) and this small mind restricts my efforts.

Defeating the small mind and being reminded of that infinite power within me and giving my best to life this very moment.. Again and again and again.. Is the upward movement of life force “Uttarayan” in true sense, isn’t it!

May our life force move upwards with the movement of the Sun. A very Happy Sankranti to all.

Regards
Vasudha Jhunjhunwala

Defer kindness not,
this moment will never come back..

Earn love by an act of love,
this moment will never come back…

Ashes we will be hate others not, this moment will never come back..

A picture on the wall I will be and with it hopefully a warm memory,
this moment will never come back..

Shun the bitterness shun the past right now,
this moment will never come back…

Vasudha Jhunjhunwala

Like dust covers objects our past experiences (more traumatic) cover our memory. The light of the self is obscured and the memory identifies with experiences and one may think “ I am a victim”. And then we mirror Victimhood in our life. What a loss.. As if an Elephant thought he is an Ant and wasted a lifetime feeling itself so small like an Ant..

Lord Rama never held his mother Kaikeyi responsible for his fourteen years of Vanvaas. How many challenges did he face, unimaginable, isn’t it! He was wise, and he had a larger vision of life, he knew it was part of the play and she was just a pawn, playing her part. On his return he refused to enter Ayodhya without receiving blessings from mother Kaikeyi…

Being aware – Life is absolutely fair. All in my life is my own Credit/Debit Balance, my own Karma. Being grateful that I paid my debt in the past (that traumatic experience)
Knowing It’s a new moment, to meditate and remember again who am I, not a Victim for sure, Not an Ant for sure.. rise and shine the light within, dropping the memory of the past. Dust must be cleared, it’s soon Diwali time, let’s prepare for Lord Rama’s homecoming. Lord Rama Who is the light within my Heart.. 🎈

In service with Joy
Vasudha Jhunjhunwala

Every Indian should watch this film to know the unparalleled might of a lost freedom fighter named “Vinayak Damodar Savarkar” .. who was so powerful that he could make an entire British empire tremble with sheer utterance of his name… so much so that the Britishers wrongly sentenced him for Kala Pani (double life imprisonment in Port Blair) for having him so far away from them that they never had to deal with him again.. but even the thick walls of prison could not stop this great freedom fighter..

Savarkar was a smart strategist. The Britishers ruled upon us very strategically, by breaking our beliefs in our rich cultural history and mocking upon everything that was so real to us, they made us emotionally weak. It was like cutting down the roots of a tall tree so that it falls down. And so we needed someone educated and intellectually capable to challenge this enemy, a strategist like Savarkar. He was both Intelligent & fearless, he chose London itself to headquarter his fight against the unjust rule of Brits. So that he could learn from the enemy himself how to exactly counter him. While in London he Studied British law to challenge them for their unjust actions using their own laws. He attacked the enemy from multiple sides .. from one side through his books he inspired many other freedom fighters..so that our broken belief in ourselves could be brought back. He used the power of his pen, and his books to inspire citizens. On the other side he also supported Indian freedom fighters militarily by sending them guns from England. And later a recipe for manufacturing bombs. Which enabled our freedom fighters to create fear in our enemies minds.

If it wasn’t for brave heart heroes like Savarkar, Bhagat Singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad, Subhash Chadra bose and many others like them who took the path of weapons, freedom of our country would not have been possible.. so to give the entire credit to one philosophy of Gandhi ji is a great exaggeration. But isn’t that the 90% we learned in our school books, that the Gandhian philosophy got us our freedom..

How come the Indian History text books conveniently omitted Veer Savarkar from the chapters which talked about the freedom struggle of India? Why did Veer Savarkar did not play a significant role in nation building in the independent India despite his invaluable contributions towards freedom movement ? Why was he put behind bars for hundred days in Independent India? Why was he wrongly framed for Gandhi Ji’s murder?? Many questions have arisen in my heart after watching this film .. how much we Indians have been numbed to our own past.. ? did our country really become free of the intellectual slavery in 1947 or some other rulers continued to rule upon us in garb of false morality & ethics to suit their own interests .. ??? Questions to ponder upon for all of us..

Grateful to Randeep Hooda the writer, director and producer of this film for bringing to life one of the bravest forgotten freedom fighter of India. We owe it to our present and future generation to know and get inspired by our real history. Whitewashing history for me is the greatest crime because Itihaas means – “narrated as it happened” and only then it can be referred to look and learn from.., isn’t it!

Every Indian citizen “Do watch this movie” , we owe it to Veer Savarkar.

Satyameva Jayate. (High time Indians live by this core value)

Yes! Peace is possible. Yes! Unity is possible. Yes! We can celebrate different cultures. Yes! We can coexist. Yes! Humaneness first. These are a few statements that form my experience of the World Culture festival 2023 that I attended recently at Washington DC. Which over a million people from 180 countries attended at the National Mall in Washington. A total of seventeen thousand Artists presented their diverse cultures through their music and dance forms. In a divided war torn world what an amazing solace this celebration was, like a breeze of cold air in a hot desert, or like a laser beam of light in the blinding darkness that illumines.. this festival was more than just any other event for me..

Because this event provoked some important questions – “what are we humans here on this planet for? Is it to fight over our differences, or are we here to fight for our survival, or to protect our individual faith? Are one of these the purpose of human life…. but these are extremely primitive beliefs, and we call ourselves modern, don’t we!

Of course we are different from one another – in gender, in colour, in faith, in thought, in belief, in culture but can we not live in harmony despite these differences .. Think about it- aren’t we within our small family all so unique and distinct from each other- in our likes, dislikes behaviour etc, but somehow that is acceptable to us. Than why can we not accept each others diverse nature in our bigger family ..

The ambassador of peace- Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar ji made a statement at Capitol Hill by organising the World culture festival. That we are indeed a “One big human family”. Despite our differences we can live in harmony with each other.

This event created a loud and clear sound of peace, it was the voice of universal love. And that this voice of Unity is more powerful than the noise of any war got stated in it’s magnanimity. What a beautiful vision that Gurudev manifested. Magical it was, simply magical ..

More power to this voice of peace. And to him for he not only believes in goodness of people but also has the power to bring us together. Gurudev’s message on this occasion- “If the mind is serene and calm then there is peace. Let’s commit ourselves on this occassion to bring happiness in society and wipe tears, that is humanness. We belong to one family”

Meditation brings peace in the mind. Gurudev led a meditation for one million people together. And that sound of silence that got created was very very powerful . Peace radiated from all hearts. And collective prayers rose like a huge wave rises in the ocean.

And my prayer was- Let every culture prosper, let Human race really grow in oneness. Let the voice of peace roar on our planet. Let us respect life in all its expressions. As every expression adds to the beauty of our “Human family”.

How freeing was that, can’t express in words!

I am going back home with an expanded consciousness and with the belief that -Peace will prosper beyond all odds. We are indeed one in spirit. And that inner spirit which is universal which expresses in our hearts fully will also bring us together as human family in future through many such celebrations.

In hope & gratitude

Vasudha Jhunjhunwala

This project did not mean being in courage zone, it meant being in absolute faith, faith in the higher power which governs this creation. Because that which is beyond the capacity of a human is a miracle of God. Thank you God/Guru for the gift of faith, that you will never let me fall.

Average time for executing such a project is minimum 75 days. This project got executed within 30 days. Less than half the time. The stakes were very high and there were no scope of errors or of backing off. Whenever there was a great roadblock during the project, we chanted Guru Pooja, and somehow the obstacle got cleared. And we witnessed a miracle manifest at every step..

A miracle defies logic. And absolute faith manifests miracles.

Jai Shri Hanuman 🙏