The Lens You Wear: How Your Inner Vision Shapes Your Reality

The world doesn't change, but the lens through which we view it does. Which side are you looking through?

I keep asking myself: What do I want to be in life?

Until you ask this question—truly ask it—your life will continue to be like a boring, dull train journey. Wonderful, interesting things come up in the windows. People keep coming in and getting down at various stations that keep coming. Everything becomes oblivious, until you take notice.

You Don't See the World as It Is—You See It as You Are

Your world is what you are seeing from your eyes, which looks differently depending on the different lens you are wearing. A black lens makes everything gloomy. A rose-tinted lens makes everything falsely romantic. The truth is, to see, understand, and appreciate the world around you, you need to develop your inner vision.

Everyone sees the world based on their consciousness. You cannot see the real world unless your inner self becomes purified. This isn't mystical talk—it's practical wisdom that plays out every single day.

When We Project Our Fears and Assumptions

Everyone looks at the world from his viewpoint, looks at the way he thinks it is and not what actually it is.

I once saw a video where a person stops a car and driver, yelling, shouting, abusing: "Why are you going around my house so many times? I have been watching you... blah blah blah..."

And the driver informs: "I am simply trying to make my 6-month-old baby sleep."

The angry man wasn't seeing reality. He was seeing his own fears, his own suspicions projected onto an innocent stranger.

Here's another classic example: A person is seen walking with a slight limp, as if holding a leg. Four doctors—a neurophysician, an orthopedician, a surgeon, a psychologist—all give different interpretations of why he is limping, each filtered through their specialized training and assumptions.

The man finally comes and says: "One of my slippers is broken."

We are all those doctors sometimes—convinced our sophisticated theories explain the world, when the truth is far simpler than we imagine.

What the Wise Have Taught Us

Paulo Coelho understood this deeply. In The Alchemist, he wrote: "It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting."

But here's what I've realized: the dream doesn't appear when the universe suddenly decides to help you. The dream appears when you finally open your eyes to see what was always there. When you clarify your inner vision, the opportunities that were invisible before suddenly become obvious.

The Sufi poet Rumi taught: "The wound is the place where the Light enters you."

Our struggles, our misunderstandings, our moments of seeing incorrectly—these aren't failures. They're invitations to examine our inner lens, to let clarity enter where confusion once lived. The world responds to what we bring to it. Keep learning, appreciating, enjoying, accepting gracefully with empathy, compassion, and the world will respond accordingly.

In The Black Swan, Nassim Nicholas Taleb warns us about this very trap: we believe we understand far more than we actually do. We construct elaborate narratives that fit our existing worldview, our expertise, our biases. We become doctors confidently diagnosing a broken slipper as a neurological disorder.

But What If Nothing Is Coming?

I hear you asking: "What if I'm not getting any opportunities or jobs coming? How do I sustain?"

This is where the lens becomes most critical. When we're in scarcity—financial, emotional, professional—our lens darkens automatically. We start seeing closed doors everywhere. We interpret silence as rejection. We read the world through desperation, and desperation has a way of closing the very doors we're trying to open.

The Bhagavad Gita offers guidance here too. It teaches us about Nishkama Karma—action without attachment to results. This doesn't mean not caring about outcomes. It means:

Do the work. Control what you can control. Then release the grip.

When opportunities aren't coming:

First, check your lens. Are you only looking in one direction? Are you defining "opportunity" so narrowly that you're missing what's actually available? The train keeps moving, stations keep coming—but are you noticing them?

Second, sustain through action, not through waiting. In The Alchemist, Santiago doesn't sit in Spain hoping for his treasure to appear. He takes work with the crystal merchant. He learns. He grows. He sustains himself while staying alert to his true path. Survival and purpose can coexist.

Third, widen your vision. If one door isn't opening, are there three others you haven't noticed? Freelance work, temporary positions, skill-building, teaching what you know, offering services—these aren't distractions from your "real" opportunity. They're the stations where you learn what you need for the journey ahead.

The Gita reminds us:

"For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy." (6.6)

In times of scarcity, your mind will either be your ally—keeping you resourceful, open, and resilient—or your enemy, convincing you that nothing will ever work, that you're not good enough, that the world is against you.

Sustenance comes not just from the opportunities that appear, but from your ability to remain clear-sighted, resourceful, and open while you do the necessary work of survival. This isn't just spiritual advice—it's practical. People sense desperation. Employers, clients, and opportunities respond to energy. When you sustain yourself with dignity and keep your inner vision clear, doors open differently.

The Ancient Wisdom Still Holds

Your mind—your inner vision—is either your gateway to truth or your prison of delusion. The choice is yours.

When your consciousness is clouded by anger, fear, desire, or ego, you cannot see clearly. You see threats where there are tired parents. You see complex pathology where there are broken slippers. You see a dull train journey where there is actually a world of wonder passing by your window. You see no opportunities when perhaps you're simply looking through the wrong lens.

The Path Forward

The work, then, is internal and external. Purify your lens. Question your assumptions. Develop your inner vision. But also—do the work. Take what's available while you pursue what you want. Sustain yourself with whatever honest work you can find, not as defeat, but as the crystal merchant's shop was for Santiago—a place of learning on the way to treasure.

This doesn't mean becoming naively optimistic or ignoring real problems. It means becoming accurate—seeing what's actually there rather than what your fears, biases, and conditioning tell you is there.

Ask yourself: What do I want to be in life? Not what others expect. Not what you think you should want. But what genuinely calls to you.

Then start looking at the world through that lens of purpose rather than through the clouded glass of fear and assumption. And while you look, take the steps that sustain you. Both matter. Both are real.

The world doesn't change. Your vision does. And that makes all the difference.

Life in Neutral Gear: A Dream and a Lesson in Lightness

 

Last night, I had a peculiar dream.

I was driving. Nothing dramatic—no high-speed chase, no Hollywood crash. Just a turn on a quiet road. Except I went a little too close to a truck. Centimetres close. One of those moments where you instinctively hold your breath, even though nothing actually happens.

Then it got stranger: the car started rolling downhill. Not forward—backward. Maybe in reverse. Maybe neutral. I couldn’t quite tell. Gravity had taken over, and the car was doing what gravity does best.

And that was it.

No panic. No disaster. No life lesson delivered with thunder and lightning. I woke up, chuckled, and moved on.

When Life Doesn’t Need Interpretation

We live in a time where everything demands meaning. A dream must mean something. A pause must be explained. A slowdown must be fixed.

But sometimes, life isn’t asking for interpretation. It’s just passing through your mind like a cloud.

The dream didn’t scare me. It didn’t excite me. It didn’t instruct me to change careers, relationships, or life direction. It was simply… odd. And oddly funny.

The Pressure to Always Be “In Control”

We’re taught that being in control is a virtue:

• Hands on the wheel.

• Foot on the accelerator.

• Eyes on the destination.

But real life doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes you’re not accelerating. Sometimes you’re not braking. Sometimes you’re just… rolling.

And that’s not failure. It’s not laziness. It’s not confusion.

It's a transition.

In a car, neutral is what allows you to shift from one gear to another without grinding the teeth off the transmission. In life, we often try to shift from "High Speed" to "Rest" without hitting neutral first. We wonder why we feel the mental grind. Neutral isn't just a state; it's a necessary buffer.

Neutral Is Not Stuck

Neutral gets a bad reputation. It sounds like indecision. Like stagnation. Like something has gone wrong. But neutral is also a pause without danger.

The engine is fine. The road still exists. You’re still in the car.

You’re just not forcing movement. And perhaps that’s okay.

Rolling backward—as I did in my dream—often feels like losing progress. But if the road is clear and you aren't hitting anything, are you really failing? Or are you just seeing the path from a different angle?

Taking Things Lightly Doesn’t Mean Taking Them Carelessly

Laughing at a strange dream doesn’t mean dismissing life. It means trusting that not every experience needs to be held tightly, dissected, or turned into a narrative about who we are and where we’re going.

Some moments are just moments. They pass. They leave a smile. They don’t ask for anything in return.

There’s a subtle confidence in being able to say: “That was strange… anyway.”

No overthinking. No panic. No need to explain. Just a quiet chuckle and a cup of coffee.

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Final Thought

If you ever find yourself rolling downhill in neutral—in a dream or in life—check one thing: Are you safe?

If the answer is yes, maybe you don’t need to do anything at all. Maybe you can just smile, adjust when needed, and let the momentum happen. Not every movement needs to be a mountain climb. Sometimes, the most productive thing you can do is let the wheels turn and see where you land.

Tip for the day: Find one small thing you’ve been over-analyzing and give it the "Neutral Treatment." Smile, breathe, and let it just be.

Beyond the Crystal Ball: Why Faith Outshines "Internet Prophecies"

 

Person meditating under night sky with stars

A long time ago, I answered a question on Quora about whether psychics and tarot readers are "the work of the devil." Recently, I received a notification that the answer was being shared again. Rereading my words reminded me of how relevant this topic remains today. Many of us, when faced with a crisis, look for a "glimpse into the future." But are we looking in the right places?
The Trap of the "Online Oracle"

I remember a friend who went through a significant life crisis. Desperate for clarity, he turned to a famous online astrologer. This man’s website was slick—filled with videos of him discussing his "supernatural intuition" and promising extraordinary wealth, love, and success if his guidance was followed.

My friend paid for a personalized report. Here is what happened:
He was given access to a "members-only" area filled with generic ebooks.
He was told his "precious" report would take 48 hours to craft.

When the report finally arrived, my friend noticed something strange. The readings for different days were just generic sentences repeated randomly. Out of a 365-day report, there were only about 25 unique sentences shuffled around.

Even worse, he was immediately bombarded with "upsell" emails. The astrologer claimed he needed more paid guidance to handle the opportunities coming his way, while also pushing him toward "affiliate" psychics and crystal healers.
The Confession of a Tarot Reader

This isn't an isolated case. I once read the confession of a retired tarot card consultant. She was a college student who took a job as a chat consultant for a psychic website. She didn't even own a deck of cards!
She would simply click a button on a software program and read whatever random script popped up. She eventually quit after a heartbroken man kept coming back daily, spending his rent money on "tips" to win back an ex-girlfriend. She realized she was selling false hope for a pay check.
The Vedic Perspective: Science vs. Scams

Is astrology itself evil? I don't believe so. True Astrology is a science rooted in the Vedas, which are ancient texts of divine origin. However, there is a massive gap between the science of the stars and the people who use it as a "hook" to trap the gullible.

In the Bhagavad Gita (15.15), Lord Krishna says:
"I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas am I to be known..."
This tells us that while the stars may show a map, the "Map Maker" is within us.
Why Faith is the Ultimate Shield

I have seen cases where dire predictions were made—accidents, financial loss, or ruin. Yet, when the individual put their faith in God and continued their work with integrity, those disasters never manifested, or they passed through them unscathed.

Lord Krishna also affirms: "Yogakshemam vahamyaham"—I carry the burden of your welfare; I preserve what you have and provide what you lack.

Final Thoughts
My aim isn't to dismiss astrology or those who practice it genuinely. However, I want to caution you:
Don’t be gullible. Many online reports are generated by simple software, not human insight. And, people sometimes believe that just because something is written in their star signs for yearly predictions, they should expect the Heavens to open or showers of gold from the sky. One can use astrology to make important decisions in life, provided you have found a genuine, knowledgeable person well-versed in this science.
Don’t have blind faith. Even a genuine prediction is just a possibility. The Supreme Lord can change any outcome.
Action over Prediction. If you want a better life, don't just wait for the stars to align. Put your faith in the Divine, do your duty, and you will always find yourself at the right place at the right time.

Life is a lesson meant to reform us, not a script we are trapped in.

The Gardener’s Grace - Why purpose often reveals what searching cannot

 Finding what is lost by doing good.

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The Lost Sunglasses That Led Me Somewhere Else

In a cupboard I almost never open—wedged between forgotten kitchen gadgets and old linens—I found salvation.

Not just the missing gardening scissors.
Not just the packets of Carnation and Nasturtium seeds I’d been hunting for weeks.
But there too, resting beside them like a patient friend, were my favorite sunglasses.

The very ones I’d spent two hours tearing the house apart to find.

I had searched everywhere with growing desperation: my office bag, my biking pack, the bookshelves, bedroom drawers. I turned the house upside down. Eventually, exhausted and defeated, I sat down convinced they were gone for good—those perfect summer sunnies I couldn’t imagine the season without.

That’s when I looked out the window.

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When Searching Becomes the Problem

My backyard was quietly asking for attention.

The veggie patch lay empty and forlorn.
The rose and jasmine bushes had grown wild, their branches tangled in rebellion after weeks of neglect.

I had meant to tend them—but I couldn’t find my gardening scissors.
Or the Carnation and Nasturtium seeds I’d bought with such optimism.

At that moment, something shifted.

I made a simple decision:

Stop looking for what I wanted.
Start looking for what was needed.

Let me at least find those flowering seeds, I thought.
Fill the empty patch. Give these plants the water they’ve been asking for.

I stood, walked to that forgotten cupboard—and everything was there, waiting.

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A Lesson from the Garden About Purpose and Action

This moment brought to mind Paulo Coelho’s line from The Alchemist:

“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

Santiago learns that when we pursue our Personal Legend, the world bends to meet us. The Soul of the World responds to our deepest desires.

But my morning taught me something quieter—and perhaps more useful.

The universe didn’t respond to my wanting.
It responded to my reorientation.

When I stopped obsessing over my frustration and turned toward caring for something beyond myself, the path cleared.

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Karma, Detachment, and the Results We Chase

The Bhagavad Gita says it with remarkable precision:

“Karmany evadhikaras te ma phalesu kadacana”
You have a right to perform your duty, but not to the fruits of your actions.

For two hours, I had been fixated on the fruit—finding my sunglasses.

It was only when I returned to my karma—the simple act of tending life in my garden—that everything I’d been seeking revealed itself.

Of course, the first thing I did after finding them was head straight outside—watering the plants, refilling the birdbath.

Not because I deserved it.
Not because I’d earned it by searching harder.
But because I’d finally aligned myself with something larger than my own small want.

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What Are You Really Looking For Right Now?

I keep thinking about those Carnation and Nasturtium seeds.

How they were there all along—waiting to become something beautiful.
How close I came to never finding them because I was too busy searching for something else.

Maybe you’re looking for something today too.

A missed opportunity.
A lost connection.
Clarity about which direction to take.
An answer that keeps slipping just out of reach.

What if you stopped looking for your sunglasses—and started looking for your seeds instead?

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Why Tending Often Works Better Than Searching

What if the thing you need most isn’t found through searching—but through tending?

Through showing up for something that needs you, rather than chasing something you need.

The garden is still teaching me.

I am waiting for the Carnations to bloom, their petals unfurling in soft shades of pink and white and for the Nasturtiums to sprawl across the empty patch, bright orange faces turned toward the sun.

And yes—I will be wearing my sunglasses while I water them.

But I hold them more lightly now.

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Where Answers Are Often Found

Because I know where to look when things go missing.

Not in the places I’ve already searched.
But in the cupboard I open when I stop searching altogether.

When I turn my attention to:
• what needs doing
• what needs tending
• what needs care

That’s where everything is waiting.

Beyond Moral Absolutes: Understanding Dharma in a Complex World

 

It is said that 'One should not look at the source of a sage or a river,' because a little dissatisfaction and many doubts arise. Questions such as whether the actions of our soldiers on the borders (killing enemies and terrorists) are righteous are usually raised by "armchair intellectuals."

Consider a farmer who grows 70 to 80 bags per acre. We call him a great man who is solving the food shortage. The government honors him with the title of "Rythu Ratna." He gives advice to fellow farmers, and it seems that he truly cultivated his land in a righteous manner and deserved such fame.

But along with the rice plants, many weeds grow in the field. What harm does it do if he lets them grow alongside the crops? Does he plant the seeds and let the weeds flourish? No—he uproots them and throws them out. They dry up and die. Is this dharma?

He applies pesticides to protect his crops from harmful insects. Is this moral? Can insects be killed like that?

He sets traps so that rats don't damage his harvest. They die. Is this dharma?

So, is it virtuous to eat food grown through all these acts that involve taking life?

In this mortal world, happiness has a touch of sadness, and sadness has a touch of happiness. Similarly, good has a touch of bad, and bad has a touch of good. If a good deed accomplishes more good than harm, then one should pursue it. One should not sit around overthinking like Pisces and Aries caught in endless deliberation.

Understanding the Trap of Endless Deliberation

This phrase uses astrological archetypes to illustrate the mental trap of "analysis paralysis"—when someone is so caught up in their own thoughts that they fail to take necessary action.

Pisces: The Dreamer (Emotional Overthinking)

Pisces is often associated with a vast inner world, sensitivity, and idealism. A person "thinking like a Pisces" might get lost in the moral complexity of a situation. They might worry so much about the "soul" of the weeds or the feelings of the insects that they forget the goal is to feed people. It represents being drowned in empathy to the point of indecision.

Aries: The Initiator (Frustrated Deliberation)

Aries is traditionally known for action, fire, and moving forward. When an Aries is "caught in deliberation," it is a state of internal conflict. They want to move, but they are stuck questioning the "rightness" of the path. It represents the friction of a naturally decisive person who has been paralyzed by "armchair intellectuals" or social criticism.

Dharma requires action. People are spending too much time in the "mental" or "spiritual" clouds (Pisces) or fighting internal battles of ego and doubt (Aries), rather than simply performing the duty at hand.

The farmer doesn't overthink the weeds; he pulls them. The soldier doesn't overthink the enemy; he protects the border. Krishna doesn't overthink the war; he establishes righteousness.

"Endless deliberation" is a luxury of those who don't have to produce results or protect lives. It's a call to move past the "what-ifs" and focus on the root cause and virtuous action.

War is violence and injustice. What is the point of seeking righteousness in it?

One should think about the action first—not about the reaction—and discern the virtue within it.

This is what we are witnessing in society now: condemning reactions without understanding why such reactions occurred. No one cares to examine the root cause. The way of society needs to change.

If a snake eats a frog, it should be considered nature's law. There is no place for human morals in observing this.

I remember once speaking to a person who was criticizing Krishna, saying that he could have avoided war if he wanted. That person even went one step further and said, "I actually support Duryodhana. He was a righteous king," etc. I inquired further: "What's your problem with Krishna?" Finally, he told me that his grandfather was a devotee of Lord Krishna and left home to go and stay in Vrindavan alone. (Obviously, if he had grandchildren, he would have completed all his so-called family duties.)

In the Vishnu Sahasranama, we worship the Lord as "Dharmayupa," meaning "He who possesses all dharmas within Himself." We worship Him as "Dharmagub, Dharmakrit, Dharmi"—"He who protects dharma, who practices dharma, who is established in dharma." The Upanishads declare that "He who is the foundation of all the dharmas of the universe is the Supreme Soul."

What Krishna did was Dharma. What he taught was Dharma. What he embodied was Dharma. Why doubt?.

Here are a couple of slokas from Srimad Bhagavatham (1.2.28-29),

vāsudeva-parā vedā
vāsudeva-parā makhāḥ
vāsudeva-parā yogā
vāsudeva-parāḥ kriyāḥ
vāsudeva-paraṁ jñānaṁ
vāsudeva-paraṁ tapaḥ
vāsudeva-paro dharmo
vāsudeva-parā gatiḥ.

In the revealed scriptures, the ultimate object of knowledge is Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead. The purpose of performing sacrifice is to please Him. Yoga is for realizing Him. All fruitive activities are ultimately rewarded by Him only. He is supreme knowledge, and all severe austerities are performed to know Him. Religion [dharma] is rendering loving service unto Him. He is the supreme goal of life.