September 17, 2025

And what the heart holds is often shaped by the state of our mind. We don’t see the world as it is. We see the world as we are. There’s a story from the Mahabharata that captures this truth beautifully. Guru Drona once sent Yudhishthira and Duryodhana on a mission. Both searched far and wide. The world reflected back to them what they carried inside. Duryodhana’s envy painted everything dark and he could not find any goodness, while Yudhishthira’s compassion revealed light in everyone and he failed to find any evil around. The same world, two different realities. When I think about this, it reminds me to pause and ask: Am I projecting my own fears, biases, or doubts on others? Or am I choosing to see the strengths, possibilities, and goodness that exist all around? In leadership, relationships, and life — what we see in others is often a mirror of what we nurture within ourselves. One powerful way to influence the mind is through the breath. Sometimes, shifting our perception doesn’t start with others — it starts with a single, conscious breath. Patanjali, in the Yoga Sutras, says: “Yogas chitta vritti nirodhah” — Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind. When the breath is restless, the vrittis (thought-waves) grow stronger — we project doubts and flaws on others. When the breath is calm and steady, the vrittis subside — and we begin to notice the inherent goodness within and around us. Whats the quality of your breath ? Are you inhaling strengths and exhaling the flaws ? Allowing the flow of breath to manage the flow of thoughts? As life is breathtakingly beautiful ! By the way — I host a biweekly 30-minute virtual Pranayama practice.If you’d like to experience how breath can steady the mind and shift perception, you’re most welcome to join.

Finding Meaning and Purpose Until I undertook coach training, I had never paused to reflect deeply on meaning and purpose. As a yoga practitioner, I had studied yogic philosophy and glimpsed Vedanta, yet the Western framing of these questions was new to me. In the West, “the meaning of life” implies that life must have a definable purpose—often treated as a puzzle with one right answer. In the East, the focus shifts inward: less about meaning as a definition, more about realizing the nature of reality and the Self. As Shankaracharya reminds us, life simply is—its depth is to be experienced, not explained. Here lies the gap: the West looks outward, asking What should I do?—career, vocation, achievement. The East looks inward, asking Who am I?—emphasizing self-discovery. I’ve come to see it this way: when the West asks “What is the meaning of life?”, the East replies, “First, know who is asking.” And what about true nature? At the deepest level, traditions like Vedanta say it is the same for all—pure awareness. Yet it expresses uniquely in each of us, like the same sunlight shining through different stained-glass windows. The essence is universal, but its colors—our gifts, vocations, and ways of being—are distinct. Coaching, to me, bridges these two worlds. It invites us to know our true nature and let it flow outward in service. In serving others, we discover meaning. In knowing ourselves, we find peace. Together, they bring inner happiness. What’s your take—do you resonate more with “What should I do?” or “Who am I?”

In a recent conversation with a mind mastery mentor at Ceekr what stays back with me is that Knowledge is certainly not equal to Wisdom. The regular practice of reflection and the application of the knowledge to internalize the learning is what contributes to the thriving growth mindset.  It all started with the annoying question about why people don’t do what they know they need to do for themselves ? If all information and answers are available then what stops people from taking the right action and make their lives beautiful ? Move from being Stuck to unstuck ? The coaching support lets people access their intellect and draw answers. Still …What comes in the way ? Why is it so hard for us to look within for change ? What holds knowledge from not converting to the wisdom? 3 points !! 1. We Judge ourselves and others !! And it merely distracts us. 2. We are conditioned to be in a certain way, and change brings threat to the identity. Eg. I am tenacious hence asking for any help is beyond my ego to process. 3. We are creatures of habit. Comfortable with familiar. Majority of us are aware of the benefits of exercising, but not everyone would act on it. “Also we must realize that only the future is in principle unknown and unknowable, which means that all habits, defenses and coping mechanisms are doubtful and ambiguous since they are based on past experience. Only the flexibly creative person can really manage future, only the one who can face novelty with confidence and without fear. I am convinced that much of what we now call psychology is the study of the tricks we use to avoid the anxiety of absolute novelty by making believe the future will be like the past.” Abraham Maslow “Towards a Psychology of Being” This tendency to project the past onto the future is a survival mechanism, or do you see it as a limitation we should transcend? Future is not like the past. Everything is changing and resisting change, maintaining status quo feels comfortable aswell stuck. Every day, we show up as a slightly different version of ourselves—our energy, emotions, and circumstances shift. Yet, we often assume we’re unchanged, facing life’s challenges in the same way. This assumption can hold us back. To move through life effectively, we must check in with ourselves. Mindfulness isn’t just about being present—it’s about recognizing change, honoring it, and adapting accordingly. Real stability—the kind that fosters resilience and growth—comes from flexibility, not from relying on outdated maps to navigate new terrain. This applies to all of us. The question isn’t, “Do I already know this?” but rather, “What’s different today, and how should I respond?” The journey isn’t just about reaching the destination—it’s about becoming the person who can navigate any path that lies ahead. Stay present. Stay adaptable. And keep checking in, reflect and implement BECAUSE knowledge( INTELLECTUAL & ACQUIRED) ≠ Wisdom (ASSIMILATED & APPLIED). If you find such subjects intriguing and pique your interest, I encourage you to get in touch with me. It could be for educational reasons, pure curiosity, or the urge for more growth. Thinking-provoking conversations and perspective-making will be held in order to establish an internal leadership style.

Let’s talk about Doing Yoga. I hear often rather everyday .. Let’s DO Yoga !! Ranu AAP Yoga Karao 🙂 I want to ask them How do they DO Sleep ? Silly ! isn’t ? The Question is grammatically wrong! The Sleep Ensues. When one tries to sleep hard it takes longer to fall asleep. The sleep happens as a result of surrender. Similarly Yoga is a state that ensues. Meditation ensues. We don’t do Yoga and meditation rather it happens as a result of surrender. In sleep we are not aware. In meditation we are aware. Its a restful yet aware state of being. The Ashtanga yoga tradition offers 8 limbs to inculcate the yogic routine. Yama (moral discipline) Niyama (observances) Asana (physical postures) Pranayama (breathing techniques) Pratyahara (sense withdrawal) Dharana (concentration) Dhyana (absorption or meditation) Samadhi (enlightenment or bliss) When these steps are followed with consistent discipline then the Samadhi happens over the period of life times. There are always the exception to the cases. Some are born with the pre work as the impressions of the work done in the previous life times thus with much less efforts they are able to arrive. So, ideally considering the kind of vasanas we (Modern Junkies) have none is arriving over night. But as we Practice and Live our Yama/Niyama Do Asana and pranayama Reflect to be a Pratyahari Sit for Dharna/Dhyana Finally slip in to Samadhi/Meditation through the natural progression of the practice . Apart from this to make the entire journey fruitful there are few must acquire enablers. Like doing regular physical practice (Asana/Pranayma), Nourishment, preferably Satvik Food, Keeping Good company, reading, learning, reflection and ensuring deep rest regimen. The consistency is also over rated as nothing remains consistent and there are fluctuations that are part of living. So factoring that persisting nonetheless is the secret receipe to develop YOGA as a way of life. If there’s one thing to be sure of though, it’s that yoga (8 steps discipline and consistency) offers us a way of life that can be much more transformational than DOING a 60-minute yoga class once a week….

Being a Yoga student and a teacher equanimity is my personal favorite and keeps me sane in an insane world. It doesn’t mean that I seldom loose my balance rather I loose it often and am aware about it. I have my journey and my own lessons. There are personal rituals that help me reinstate my balance every time I drop it and take little long at times to reclaim it. Since the space of equanimity is sacred to me I by default begin to coach my clients too to achieve the balance and equilibrium. We all have polarities within and we naturally embody duality from the moment we are born. The conscious qualities become our first nature and the subconscious ones remain in the shadow. Together they make us whole. One of the principles in coaching is wholeness. The client is whole and is constantly moving towards a fuller experience of their wholeness. Coaching taps the power of being in a place of wholeness honoring all that is present, while holding the space for all that is yet to emerge. Likewise there are many traits within us as we thrive in the material world. So there is praise, there is blame and one can’t escape the two. What does one do? We are always seeking praise and running away from blame and so on and so forth. The behavioral or circumstantial dichotomy in everyday life is an indispensable part of daily juggle. Well, there is an answer and that is to develop a mind of equanimity. Yoga certainly helps in developing the sense of balance. The numerous body functions and mechanisms work in harmony to keep our balance. The balance allows the stillness which when practiced consistently brings enhanced focus, clarity and joy. The consequences of imbalance are also obvious and known to all. A hard working leader with deep-seated values and intense focus on delivery might develop an antagonistic mindset. This may bring tough engagements with peers and can become a ground to compare area of work with others. Such attitude might present one distant and intense, not easy to relax with. What if someone carries a strong belief that the workplace focus should be on fulfilling responsibilities and delivering successful outcomes ? And also believes that home life and friendships are separate and private. Such a person may accidentally make the peers feel inferior and incompetent. Then a perfect imbalance at play can give rise to unpleasant ambiance making it difficult for all involved. Developing a sense of balance to enrich working relationships so that one remains authentic, true to own self can be just win-win for all. The insights and experiences that may stem from the space of balance helps a leader  navigate troubled times, guide others, and choose intentional transformative changes in one’s own lives, lifting the lives of others, organizations and structures one lives and works with. Becoming one is not easy. It takes efforts to develop habits to give energy to those around, to inspire them with a performance mindset. Effective leaders are very purposeful and balanced in the way they approach work and life. The balancing qualities and how they could strengthen the leadership: These balance and counter balance cues may open up a deeper conversation about balance in leadership and appreciate a more meaningful engagement with people. By accessing the qualities that are the conscious manifestations in oneself and the ones that were lying latent in the shadow in day-to-day leadership may come to fore through the intentional change in active role playing bringing the wholeness in its full glory.  A good leader leads by example. Whatever the leader does, the team imbibes it consciously or unconsciously. Thus it is important that a leader remains balanced in all his interactions with his team and people in general.

Self Coaching : This quote from Rumi has been churning in my head for over many years, without understanding the real meaning behind it. Perhaps I am not able to ignore what I cannot unsee and not hear that is inadvertently said to me. I am not good at making sense with chaos. Order, respect, integrity is important to me. I realised that Chaos is not a friendly territory. Be it the material clutter or the thought chaos. Giving attention to everything in my realm happens very naturally. No effort is needed to notice but a lot of effort is needed to not notice and to not hear. This doubles up the task when the ask is to remain un impacted too. Its a tough grind ! Indeed Letting Be is very difficult. Often I say and hear Let go, Ignore !! Yet, How do I ignore ? I needed to discipline myself for letting things be. The fixer in me would jump at the first given opportunity to fix the broken, tidy up everything around and appear in charge. It could be the piece of crockery, an artifact, a situation, a reactive mail or even a person. Fixing is paramount. More example like Dust that dirty surface, remove the crease and even the fold, align the pile and the corner and so on so forth. Relatable ? Yes OCD is also due to ones inability to ignore. Somewhere it has to do with the belief instilled through the childhood that I need to “Keep things well”, “keep relationships well” and maintain order and integrity. Any thing that is broken has to be fixed, anything disfunctional has to be made functional or is to be replaced with a better model or just find the ways to manage without one. Wonder, how it has shown up in the other spaces of my life ? I began to manage things beyond the range of my individual control. I could not be myself around the mismanaged spaces and relationships. The complexities arose specially where in the multiple people are the stakeholders and none the owner. Now that was the next challenge to meet. With my existing belief and the pressing urge to assume ownership I by default became the owner of the slipping ground. The by product was of course the reactive and the anxious self coming forth more often than the centred self. It’s only during the recent conversation with a friend and her genuine curiosity filled question like Ranu, Why cannot you be the thick skinned person? What makes you responsible for everything that is said to you or has happened around you ? Her query made me take a pause and sit with this quote yet again ! The reflections followed …May Be I don’t know how to ignore !! May be I don’t know how to unhand. I don’t know how to embrace Chaos. Anything that’s broken, not working well, becomes my baby ! I need not be adoptive and generous in fixing everything and everyone. Letting go is letting Be. Learning to see order in chaos is another cliched statement that has become a new belief for me instead of living one where the onus is on me to bring order in every chaos. Rumi rightly said the art of knowing is knowing what to ignore !! And I am learning …to IGNORE more often than before. Do you also consider getting your own answers for the genuine curiosity from your well wisher ? A coach would do the same for you.