S RISHTI P UBLISHERS & D ISTRIBUTORS
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First published by
Srishti Publishers & Distributors in 2015
Text Amisha Sethi, 2015
Illustrations Amisha Sethi, 2015
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This is a work of fiction. The characters, places, organisations and events described in this book are either a work of the authors imagination or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to people, living or dead, places, events or organisations is purely coincidental.
The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publishers.
This book is dedicated to the divinity of every single person I have met in my life.
Thank you for being there for me .
You are what your deep driving desire is,
As your desires, so are your thoughts,
As your thoughts, so is your will,
As your will, so are your deeds,
And as your deeds, so is your destiny.
Vedanta
Acknowledgments
This book could not have been possible without the gorgeous presence of each and every person that came into my life to add value, and to give me experiences that are unique and beautiful.
I would like to acknowledge team Srishti for believing in the purpose of writing this book, and for their amazing support on every little nuance leading up to the final book.
I would like to thank Manoj Karthikeyan for believing in my dream and helping me at various stages of writing this book.
I would also like to thank my sister Shifali , my husband Kshitij, and a few special friends who read the portions of the book to give me honest feedback and positive motivation.
I would like to thank all my friends who relentlessly believed in me and went through countless conversations about how my book was shaping up.
I would like to thank Soundhariya and Vivek from Axiom who helped in every way to bring this book to your hands.
Finally, each and every person in my family who has loved me unconditionally and encouraged me to keep writing, no matter what.
CONTENTS
Prologue
I t was a hot and sunny afternoon in the month of February in 2014. I was sitting on a brand new chair; there were still bits of polythene on the handgrip. Around me was a group of twenty-five odd animated colleagues. Amidst total chaos, I was in total harmony in peace, and filled with undiluted calmness experiencing a nearly silent mind.
The day had finally arrived when I was to resign from one of the most coveted corporate positions in the country. In hindsight, the year leading up to this day had undoubtedly been the best time of my life. I dont say this about my professional life, but in every little sense about my spiritual one. Life is a bucket full of experiences; some are strange, some enthralling, and some just leave you gasping for breath.
These experiences of a lifetime made me, in simple words, a much better person than I had ever been. I love my new avatar which is much closer to the real me. The magnificent writings from ancient Indian sages call it satya or the truth.
I, Kiara Seth, a thirty-three-year-old corporate honcho was about to fly not to another level or a bigger brand, but to take the biggest flight of my life. I had realized the purpose of my life, and with folded hands I had surrendered myself to the supreme truth.
Introduction
I am the richest, if my heart is full of kindness .
H ere is a humble attempt to offer awareness about the power which each one of us possesses the supreme truth, the ultimate universe. The medium is anecdotes certain hilarious, enlightening and dramatic events from Kiaras life, combined with teachings from our ancient sages, philosophers and leaders who have tried spreading love, happiness and peace across our planet tenaciously. Kiaras brush with the truth might appear disconnected from our individual realities, but the allusion is that we are all the same. We are one universal soul connected not just through Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter of the man-made world, but by the basic facts of life: evolution, love and purpose . Our ancient texts, right from the Upanishads, flash the luminous light of wisdom effortlessly.
We come from Brahman (the fullness, the inexhaustible), we go back to Brahman; in each one of us there is Brahman .
Here is an attempt to put forward inspirations drawn from ancient Indian spiritual knowledge that has been around for thousands of years. The timeless wisdom from the glorious Vedas which advocate the transcending values of grace, kindness, love, trust, faith and resilience are more relevant in todays materialistic world than ever before.
Amidst the mindless race for money and power, it incites us to take a second look at attractions and illusions called moh and maya , and inspires in us thoughts of living life in utmost pleasure and peace.
It makes us take a good look at our lives, thoughts and progression. Do we need to step up, not just technologically from one gadget to another, but spiritually as better human beings who contribute to the betterment of society?
The basic requirement of humanity is to be civilized and civilizations can never evolve or grow without humans standing up and working together for the betterment of all.
Our lives seem like motion pictures produced and directed by God, where you play your character and everything else around you is scripted by a supernatural power. For your performance in the movie called Life , all you need to do is to be human and enjoy every experience that comes your way.
Oh God!
E ach one of us has our own set of unique experiences related to the concept of God, religion and its corresponding beliefs. These beliefs are usually conditioned over a period of time based on the culture, family and the place you are born into. Pretty much none of these things are under your control at the time of your birth. So quite automatically and naturally, you pick up the culture, religion and beliefs of your family and social surroundings. In the early years of life, you are mostly immersed in the conditioning of loving and treating everyone around you with the same respect and reverence that you give to your family and close friends, no matter where they come from or what culture they belong to.
