10 Reasons to Celebrate

The fragrance of April breeze has breathed celebration into the exclusive community, os.me. Not even half-way through the month, we already have many reasons to celebrate. Of course, it is the month when Sri Hari came down to the ashram, did you catch the celebrations live? If you haven’t been able to, I provide the link later in the post. 

This month, we have had an unprecedented number of visitors, our family of registered members has increased manifolds, we have had an incredible number of writers writing phenomenal posts that move, inspire and motivate. It has been wonderful. All thanks to you, lovely readers and writers! 

Without much ado, let me dive right into some of the things you ought not miss. Let the canticle of celebrations begin.

I Offer You 10 Reasons to Celebrate.
Yes, wisdom from Swamiji, one cool tool to make life better, and 7 real experiences + more

Wisdom from Swamiji

1) On Sri Hari’s Birthday: As Swamiji said in the live session, ‘We say it’s his birthday, but actually he has always been here…’ 4th April is when Sri Hari came down to the ashram and ever since, the day is celebrated with much gusto and shraddha. Catch Swamiji’s discourse on Key to Happiness and Divine Grace, now!

2) Cottleston Pie: “Is meditation the only path to self-realisation?” “Of course not,” says Swamiji in this post and goes on to share the truth. And there is the famous Cottleston Pie poem, too. Celebrate uniqueness, celebrate the several paths to the ultimate goal. 

A Cool Tool: Good Karma Pays (real money too!)

OSKarma Program: Good Karma pays, so does os.me (real money). For those of you who have recently joined us, and those who might have forgotten — When you share your truth, knowledge or a kind word, you make this world a better place. So, you should be rewarded. Every post you write, every comment you make on others’ writings or receive on yours, every time you share a post with others on social media, we award you with OS karma points. At the end of every month, your points are converted into actual earnings that you can withdraw.

7 True Experiences

1) Mudita, Beyond Gratitude: “Mudita is the lazy person’s way to enlightenment.” What is it though? Mudita is about celebrating the happiness of others. But why? Read Ravi Trivedi’s post in which he explains the term, the concept, the practice and makes a strong case for this antidote to jealousy. 

2) First Withdrawal: When you share, you earn. Supriya Patnaik celebrated her earnings from the OSKarmaProgram by offering food to 22 needy people with the money she withdrew from her OSKarma account. She shares her experience in this emotional post.  

3) A Letter to Gurudev: Snigdha Ganguly’s beautiful lines are all of our feelings for him. How do you pack so much in so little, Snigdha?

4) Cherry: The death is a celebration of life, writes Shivani Adilja. She shares the story of putting down a furry member of her brood. She remembers her father who she lost in ’96. A not-so grim meditation on death, grief and life. 

5) When My Mom Died: “On that day, my mom tried to kill herself. I hate this about her, the most”. Death of a loved one is a deeply personal experience. Yet, Riya chooses to write about her difficult past to share her thoughts with young mothers out there. To life…

6) My Fragile Heart: “About six years ago, following an ear surgery, I had a major nervous breakdown,” Nalin writes about being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, borderline disorder, and depression. Today, he is in a much better space. He shares his ongoing journey with an aim to help anyone who might need a ray of hope in those dark times. To recovery and each other!

7) Little Mama: Refreshing to read about a new father who can change diapers and take care of the child like they should (but they don’t; this one does though). However, the story is not about him. It is about she who is forced to let go of her mom, to become a mom. Navjot Lidder’s compassionate post highlights the need to accept each other. Sometimes we give grief to our loved ones because of our social conditioning.

Sometimes we are unable to celebrate with our loved ones only because we are afraid of log kya kahenge? But know what! Let them chatter, How does it Matter? Kya kahenge log is called sabse bada rog, for a reason. Another equally famous rog is —Prem Rog. Yash Diwedi takes us back to our childhood crush. Did you read his love story? It will remind you of those innocent school days, of flames, proposals, rejections and “affair chal gaya”… 

If that trip down memory lane has left you asking for more travel? Please read Travel Diaries by Shivani Adalja. It’s the safest way to travel in these COVID times, I kid you not. And if you are looking for the most popular tour guide, I present to you our favourite Guide who gives a human perspective from her Diaries As a Tour Guide (this time they suspected her to be a spy!). 

Guides and books remind me reading is a great virtue. The more you read, the better. Sometimes, with Hetal Sonpal’s tips, you might as well read four books In Parallel. But no matter how many you read, do not judge a book by its cover, because Appearances Can be Deceptive says Priyanayar. 

Lest I should forget, you have noticed we have a Featured Author section, top right on our home page. The writers who are active, write regularly, write posts that are personal and have a lot of takeaways, stay in that coveted section for a whole week. See you there!

As I was typing this post about celebrations, my younger one (3 years old) was busy slapping nail paint on her tiny fingers. When I turned around, she quickly gave me one of her deliberately cute smiles and said, ‘I am preparing to go to Myrah’s birthday party’. Her friend’s birthday party is tomorrow, just BTW. She has now also splattered blush on her cheeks and lipstick on her mouth. Her beauty regime in anticipation of the celebrations ahead will have to be interrupted, excuse me. Time to invoke Mean Mommy, right Shanaya Girdharlal?

Meanwhile, why don’t you tell me how os.me helps celebrate life for you? What impact has it had on you? That one article that changed something inside you… Leave it for the rest of us in the comments below. 

Until next…    

PS: Please accept my gratitude for your posts, comments, emails and texts; my birthday was made special by your wishes and our dearest Swamiji’s aashirwad which protects us all. Thank you, thank you, thank you!