In pursuit of my purpose

 In pursuit of my purpose, I left many things behind in distant lands. This required strength and determination then, often at the cost of relationships and comfort.

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The physical and emotional distance from home and the passage of time bring a bittersweet realization that both people and places evolve while the love you once knew remains a constant.

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Every time I visit home, I am reminded of what I am losing. With each loss, whether it's someone who has passed away due to old age or someone taken too soon, I realize that the ultimate goal is to leave this world. Moving away from home does not feel like a significant loss in that context.

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Every time I go home, I discover something new in the old place: a new building, newer roads, commercial complexes, highrises, and more highrises. We both fail to recognize. I ask the highrise, "When have you come up?" and they ask, "Who are you?"

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Everything has changed on the streets, but people are still the same: loving, caring and giving. The comfort they offer can't easily be replicated.

They hug us with the same feeling, serve us with the same love, and bid goodbye in anticipation of meeting each other sooner rather than later.

For the unblemished love and hugs, I feel like going back again and again.

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Every trip back is a reminder of life slipping out like sand.

The delicate threads connecting my past to my present are slowly snapping one at a time, pushing me into uncharted territories, creating new spaces for my soul to find its purpose.

Every visit back home is destiny's message to me about life's impermanence.

I am learning to live with good intent and a greater purpose in reconciling my past with the present.

It's time to give back to the place and people who supported me in finding my strengths and helping me identify my purpose.

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67Somnath Chakraborty, Mahender Reddy and 65 others

A Journey Through Family, Karma, Astrology and Spiritual Growth.

 A Journey Through Family, Karma, Astrology and Spiritual Growth.

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Growing up, I often watched people approach my father for help. They came from all walks of life some were strangers, some were distant relatives, and others were colleagues or acquaintances referred by someone we knew. Regardless of their relationship with us, my father permanently extended a helping hand. He would stretch it sometimes beyond his means.

He was motivated by the desire to help genuinely and maybe sometimes by the motive of self-glory too, specially in some cases when people from the higher circles came for help. However, this section never acknowledged him once the work was done.

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Most of them were profoundly grateful and remembered his kindness even years later. Even now, I often meet people who recount the assistance he gave them during their most challenging times. Some took his help for granted, complained behind his back, or expected more than he could reasonably offer. Yet, none of this deterred my father from continuing to help those who came to him.

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When I got married, I saw similar qualities in my father-in-law. As a professor of botany, he could guide hundreds of students and their parents. Many came to him seeking advice about careers, college admissions, or navigating educational systems. He would offer them a warm cup of tea, patiently listen, and give them the guidance they needed.

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However, I noticed a recurring pattern—my mother and mother-in-law sometimes expressed frustration. Their complaints weren't about the act of helping itself but about the ingratitude of some people. They found it difficult to accept that some individuals, who had once been beneficiaries of their husbands' generosity, would later fail to acknowledge them in public.

One reason for their anger was that, in those days, domestic help wasn't available around the clock to help them manage the large family and guests. Resources like milk, curd, rations, and water were also scarce. They sometimes had to cut their kids' share of time and food to serve the guests.

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Over time, I began to recognize how this dynamic reflected my life. Much like dads my husband naturally reaches out (as a doctor) to help others.

Initially, I echoed my moms concerns.

On a daily basis, he spends our family time with people from all cross sections of society, addressing their concerns by guiding them and spending extra time in his clinic.

So, it is a constant in our house to see me argue complai, and regularly lose the so-called "FAMILY TIME" battles with him. Neither he nor I evolved from that state until less than a year ago.

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But my perspective is shifting with age, maturity, and a growing understanding of karma.

Being in a position of power, knowledge, or wealth is a privilege and a blessing, and the best way to honour this blessing is to extend a hand to those seeking help.

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Reading and listening to scholars and evolved souls helping me

navigate the barriers of greed, arrogance and possessiveness.

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Astrology introduced me to the concept of karma alignment technique. I learned that helping anyone seeking your help is one of the most potent remedies in astrology. Every act of kindness contributes to our aagaman karma (incoming karma) and eventually enriches our sanchit karma (accumulated karma).

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Looking back, I see countless kind souls who lived simple and pious lives where giving came naturally and effortlessly, and here I am, force-feeding myself all this on the threshold of my 50th birthday.

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Ultimately, life is measured not by how much we take, but by how much we give. It is through giving that we align ourselves with the cosmic flow of karma.

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May the learning continue, may the creation be kind enough to let us know about FREE WILL and guide us to break through the barriers of destiny to create a life of meaning and fulfillment.

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Sarvam shree krishnarpanamasthu.

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107Neeru Sharma, Somnath Chakraborty and 105 others

The Fractures Within!

 The Fractures Within!

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Hanging on to life

till death whispers my name,

This fragile thread is the existence's claim.

Breath is the connection between life and death!

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Ego crept in, a shadowed tide,

Severing bonds, pushing light aside.

Its edges sharp, its whispers loud,

Blinding the heart, making the soul proud

Where bridges stood once now chasms grew,

Arrogance settled, eclipsing the view.

Humility silenced, its voice made still,

Self-righteousness armored, killing the growth!

Dividing souls became thy creed,

Flattery feeding the hollow need.

Each boastful act, each prideful word,

Turned love distant, made silence heard.

The gaze of loved ones drifted away,

In the mirror, a stranger chose to stay.

The weight of choices, heavy, profound,

Echoed in silence, no solace found.

Now I stand at the edge of despair,

A reckoning whispers through the air.

Can these frayed threads be stitched once more,

Or must I rise from the ashes of before?

Each fall a lesson, each wound a guide,

To cast away the emptiness inside.

For in this undoing, hope may ignite,

A soul should be reborn from the depths of night.

A newer self spreading awareness and light.

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73Vishika Chhetri-Sharma, Somnath Chakraborty and 71 others