10 Posts of Swamiji That I Love

Dear Swamiji, 

Happy Birthday! If I were a poet, I could pen a beautiful poem on Your birthday as so many talented poets here on os.me do. I’m not a poet, I instead offer You this post. Thank You for Your words when I needed them the most. Thank You for everything You do for the world. I fall woefully short of meeting Your ideals, but I’m inspired to pick myself up and try to be better than yesterday’s version of me.

Love,
Prahalad

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We love asking other people “What are your favorite movies” or “What are your favorite books”.

I’ve always wanted to ask os.me friends “What are your favorite articles by Swamiji?” 

The odds are each person has a different set of favorite posts – we all have different proclivities. I enjoyed the responses to this forum question which asked the question “Which is your favourite post written by Om Swami”. As I expected, people wrote different answers and I greatly enjoyed seeing people’s preferences.

Here are 10 of Swamiji’s posts that gave me joy, insight, instruction, inspiration, wisdom, writing lessons, and much more.

1 – The Only Thing You Need to Know

When someone does not treat us well, we have the right to give it back in kind, right?

Not so fast, says Swamiji. How they act is a transaction between them and God. How we act, what do we do with the resources God given to us is between us and God.

More strikingly, Swamiji says this is the only thing I need to know.

While I still fall woefully short on how I respond, I’ve made some progress, and intend to make my responses more graceful in the years to come.

2 – Year 2014 at a Glance

This post was what the doctor ordered for me, though the medicine is still taking effect. 

The following excerpt is one of the best solutions I’ve read on what to do if people around are difficult.

Changing the other person is important sometimes, people tell me. Agreed. Because what if they harm you and everything that matters to you, they say. Walk away, is my answer.

And, what if you can’t walk away? Reject.

And when you can’t reject? Ignore.

What if you can’t ignore? Accept. And, what if you can’t accept either? Suffer. If we can’t distance ourselves, nor reject, ignore or accept them, then we leave ourselves with no choice but to suffer.

And, is there any way of avoiding the suffering? Yes; meditate on your true nature of bliss. Your existence is eternal and infinite, it is beyond how you are treated by others. This can only be realized and not understood.

3 – Disrespect

Give up the pursuit of respect and I promise you will be liberated in this very lifetime. – Om Swami

After reading this post, giving up wanting respect from others has become one of my life goals.

4 – What is in Your Wallet?

Swamiji relates a lovely parable to illustrate the temporary nature of worldly relations.

Something for me to contemplate repeatedly and convert my attachments into duties: Krishna is the only constant in my life. Everyone else is a fellow traveler. 

5 – What is Beautiful

“What is beautiful?”, asks Swamiji. “When it comes to the first impression, no doubt, external appearances can make an immediate mark.”, He continues. I find myself nodding. “If you look at a pretty woman or a handsome man, it is only natural to find them appealing.” Right, it is natural. “Regardless of your marital, social or religious status, you cannot artificially deny their external beauty.” Mmm Hmm.

Swamiji next writes something to break me out of my reverie.

“Pretty pathetic should you do that, if you ask me.”

The rest of the article, of course, is a beautiful writeup about beauty.

6 – How to Build a New Habit

Angela Duckworth tells us in her book Grit that grit and persistence are the factors that influence success, not innate talent. 

Swamiji’s teachings repeatedly drive home this point. In this post, Swamiji gives the example of the Chinese bamboo to illustrate the importance of putting in efforts over long periods of time before reaping the results. After being planted, the Chinese bamboo produces a small sprout only after 5 years. 

Patience has never been my forte – Reading posts like these have slowly helped me work towards cultivating patience and persistence. 

7 – The Book of Kindness

Posts that announce Swamiji’s books are special – they bring excitement in the air!

The post containing an excerpt from the book of kindness shook me hard. Swamiji tells the gut-wrenching story of Ajay. Before the reader can digest the story and come to terms with it, Swamiji offers an important observation:

Let me take you back to Ajay’s story. His could have been anyone’s story; yours, mine or someone else’s.

If we have a semblance of normalcy in our lives, we need to show extreme gratitude. 

8 – The Empty Boat

If I am rowing in the sea, an empty boat hits me, shouting at that boat makes no sense. When somebody hurts me, I have the urge to shout at them. What sense does that make?

Swamiji makes me think hard in this thought-provoking post. 

9 – Himalayan Expectations

This is Swamiji’s second post.

He classifies expectations into three kinds:

1. The expectations we have on ourselves.
2. The expectations we have on others.
3. The expectations others have on us.

I found the following excerpt from this post profound as well as actionable:

Make a list of all the people you care about and all that you expect from them. When done, know that they expect just as much from you. You relinquish yours and with your purified energy they will accept you the way you are gradually lowering their own expectations from you. That’s how nature works. Don’t just take my word for it; try it and see it for yourself.

10 – My Truth

This is Swamiji’s first post on omswami.com (remember, before os.me Swamiji’s blog resided at omswami.com) which was originally sent as an email.

This post is a clarion call to see if we are happy with the way we are living. Are we living a good life or is it all an unnecessary slog? Swamiji reminds the reader that one day all of this will come to a screeching halt.

In addition to being beautiful and profound, this post brings back nostalgia. 

Oh, instant coffee is distasteful, by the way 🙂 

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What are your favorite posts of Swamiji? 

Image Credit: Gaelle Marcel from Unsplash