From the Editor's desk

In the ebb and flow of life, in its ups and downs and all the thrills and pains of a roller coaster ride, if one stands back and observes, two entities are always there; one deeply involved and entrenched in the movement and the other, silently watching, unperturbed, untouched. Then this watcher element, that which is cognizant of these two entities, sometimes wears a smile, amused that two seemingly disparate entities can be in one and the same vessel, if vessel it is that holds these entities, since, to complicate matters in this little, inadequate mind, another proposition has it that this vessel does not hold that but is held in that.

Let’s turn our gaze then to just one entity, the one that is in constant movement, full of energy, entrenched and apparently effectuating the roller coaster ride. Life is never smooth, at least if we place ourselves on the surface of things. Every minute, things are drawn, made, mended, withdrawn, unmade, broken, closed, opened. Appears like the principle of duality works too close to home, does it not? All that is drawn, made, mended, closed affords some comfort, since seemingly, there is little upheaval. All that is withdrawn, unmade, uncovered, broken offers little in terms of solace. The settled being seems to dislike being unsettled, ruffled, tossed about here and there, without a home-base. But of the two states, which offers better prospects of inner growth, one wonders. An honest assessment actually points to the fact that challenging moments that throw us off the throne of complacency we would have occupied for time unknown, actually offer us opportunities for growth, in whichever element of our being and nature. These would truly have been moments of growth spurts that helped to prop us up a little higher on the scale of inner progress.

And this cycle continues indefinitely. A force seems to be behind, cajoling us onwards, despite ourselves, despite our resisting self of nature thatwants to curl up like a well fed cat and go to sleep in a warm corner, oblivious to the world around. In fact, this tendency to sleep and this disturbance, disquiet and dissatisfaction because one had been sleeping for too long, co-exist, closely locked. A tension builds and it takes the immaculate dance of Mahakali to break the lock or deadlock. Very often, a force is sensed, even in our little microcosm. The world at large reverberates with the same pattern. It does not take long to consider lull periods interspersed with earth shattering events along the time line of even a hundred years of our history. Consider the world wars, localized wars, natural calamities and the credit crunches. Tensions erupt into uncontrollable catastrophes. A whirlwind of forces, of energies circle furiously, clash and cast aside, trample upon and destroy all along the path of these formidable energies.

But perhaps, what we need to pay attention to is not so much the hue and cry raised by the calamitous moments, to the clash and the thunder and the roar, but actually to the moment of peace and silence that follows these hair-raising hell rides. When one lives with these unique “after” moments, one may just about sense a huge foreboding presence about, throwing vague hues of calm, silence and assurance in the aftermath scenario. Perhaps divinity was all along there doing its bit, that creation, that stubborn nature could proceed one more step forward towards where it is due and destined. An immanent, immaculate and precise choreography of seemingly calamitous occasions dawns on us when we study tumultuous situations some time after they pass. Perhaps it is because of this that we ascribe calamities to the Dance of Mahakali – naked and terrible.

In this edition of our Newsletter, we take a plunge into the thick of this immaculate and stupendous dance of Mahakali and therein attempt to taste the blissful wine of what could be Divine intent.