Poetry by Sujata

What is yours, that you despair
why do you run around in circles to repair,

Trying to clench flowing sands of time in your fist
Holding on to everything in life's mist

Open your heart,your soul,your hands-
Nothing is yours
Surrender to the presence of divinity
From whom it comes
to whom you will go.

Yours is just the journey to travel
To do,to learn and
keep walking

It is all about acceptance
not resistance
The more you flow,float and allow
The more you will find

Your name is just a label for identification
Don't get lost in it

The earth,air and trees come with no names
They just flow with every season
They don't get lost in reason
They give,never ask
One with the power of divine force

You are the earth,the air,the trees
In your soul,you were always free
Forget who you are,who you want to become
Learn to just be

Be the song,be the dance
with gratitude for the chance,
Give,live,love and accept
For life is just a gift from him
to share.

Poetry by Sujata

Walking,walking,walking-keep walking the journey of life.

Your hand in HIS large universal hands-HE leads-just follow.

Sometimes up the hill,
sometimes down the valley,
sometimes through the woods,
sometimes in the large expanse of life.

Walking,walking,walking-keep walking the journey of life.
Warm in the loving grace of the lord.

Without need,or desire
yet so much to be done,
an embrace for the lonely
a word for the silent,
a smile for the sad
a song for the lost.

Walking,walking,walking-keep walking the journey of life.
In your heart carrying HIS love.

Poetry by Sujata

Visiting Cards

My identity
a place in the world
in a name and title
printed on a card
handed over to you-
you hand me yours,
and we move on.

My identity
in a name and title
printed on a card
put in your wallet
in the darkness of your pocket.

You looked into the card
instead of the eyes
and you thought you know me.

I looked at your card
looked up to meet eyes
did not find them.

A visiting card
meant to be a
print of connection
never being one.

Just a reminder
when you open your wallet
that you met someone
someplace
sometime

The identity never understood
A connection never found.

Soulful Parenting

LETS FLOW TOGETHER

Role for a soul

The first cries of your baby amid resounding demands to push; worn out, sweaty and as ungraceful as you will ever be--you are now a mother-a parent-a reality which will stay with you forever.

From the secure, warm and dark womb, your child makes the most difficult and trying journey to be born.

A 36 week old child makes this journey all on its own!

From the time it was conceived it grew miraculously. Legs,arms,torso,eyes,ears,nose,mouth,tongue,fingers,nails,toes,brain,hair,heart,organs… the whole lot was completed in 36 weeks-and above all the body parts,-a Soul.

A new human soul is born.
An individuality of it’s own.
A whole new person is born.

It is believed that, the soul of an unborn child, chooses the set of parents who are going to be carriers for it, to come into the world. This choice is based on the life lessons it needs to learn in order to progress in it’s journey in spiritual evolution.

You became the blessed carriers of that soul.


To me soulful parenting is all about allowing the child to stay connected with the soul it came with, and help it evolve through the various stages of the journey, and learn important lessons.

The reason your child’s soul chose you, is so you can help him/her in learning those lessons well.

The great Persian poet , Khalil Gibran, in his famous book, 'The Prophet' says, and I quote ,

Your children are not your children. 
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. 
They come through you but not from you, 
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you. 
You may give them your love but not your thoughts. 
For they have their own thoughts. 
You may house their bodies but not their souls, 
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, 
Not even in your dreams. 
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. 
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. 
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. 
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. 
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; 
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, 
So He loves also the bow that is stable. 


That my child is essentially his own person, that I am the instrument chosen by divinity to develop him to the best he can become- was a profound realisation which hit me the day I became a parent. 

I love him completely, as all parents love their children; however my basis of bringing him up has been on the basis of this realisation. That he must be his own person.

As the years have gone by, I find that as I have worked with this awareness, my child who is now in his 15th year, is very much his own person. 

The last 15 years have gone by without any stress of being a parent. It’s just been the most gratifying&joyful job I have and am doing.

It’s this journey , with my own experience of Soulful Parenting which I will try and share with you as we go along.Equally taking in what you may have to share.

Hopefully something in my experience and in your's will resound ,as we share, and we can be together in this journey of parenting-helping our children in becoming who they are meant to be. 

Soulful Parenting

Seeing ourselves in our children

The subject of parenting is as vast as the sky, as deep as the ocean and as beautiful as any god’s creation can be.

There is no right or wrong, no good or bad.

In my experience parenting is not a challenge, as many like to say it is. Challenges are to be overcome. They are normally hurdles which we have to get across.And children are positively not hurdles.

To me Parenting is better referred to as a journey. 

One where there is a beginning, but no end. As in a journey one just has to travel through it, learning lessons as one goes along.

Apart from it being a journey with the child it is a journey within us, and provides a constant source of self reflection. Those parents, who are able to see it and live it as a    journey, not only bring up children who are internally happy, but in turn, in the process find themselves growing as individuals.

To me parenting is a gift given to us to bring this internal evolution.

It is this aspect of parenting I find most gratifying and would like to share, as we go along.

Come on this journey with me of Soulful Parenting,sharing and discovering for ourselves, without telling each other what to do or not to do.

Perhaps we will find ourselves reflecting on the questions which may be within us not only for our children, but more importantly for our own selves. 

The answers are there as well.

Within us.

In this sharing we will nourish our roots, our inner cores as parents and in turn  nurture the souls of our children. 

Poetry by Sujata

It's a race
everyone trying to be somebody
trying to matter
running around
the giant wheel of life.
Ego, looking for gratification
attention
validation.

Many lives,many places
trying to find identity
the answer to 'who am I'
Out in the world
in the eyes of others.

Do you remember as a little child-
your big eyes on your small face
looked for approval
at every feat.
Nothing has changed.
Now it's just smaller eyes,a bigger face.

There are no answers out there.
Put your hand on your heart,
that's the only place for answers.
Within you.

The mirror lies-you only see the body.
It will perish
The only reflection that will remain
is the one within
the one that never grows old
the one that waits for you
till the day you are ready
to look at the mirror within.

Then everything stops
in the still pond of the soul
you dip yourself
truly find who you are
beat by beat loving who you find.

When you do
there are no questions,no answers
no place to run to.
The voice within echoes,
I am,I am,I am
I am He
He is me.
The temple
the prayer merge to be one.

You are lit.

A moment

An awaited moment
longed for it
tormented for it
built up
within you
like a volcano
waiting to erupt.

A long awaited moment
Like the first drop of rain
after drought.
Like the first bloom
on a barren tree.
Like the first cries
of a new  born.
Like the ray of sun
on a cold winter day,
the first touch of breeze
on a hot,humid day.

A long awaited moment
waiting
wanting
crying to be held.

Built up, it arrives,
and you,you look at it for a moment...
and move on.

The Soul Suitcase


That one day

we will be gone

one after another,

We will gather within

our souls

a lifetime of memories,

love and relationship-

pack them in our spirit

and in a swoosh

be gone.

There will be no time

for grievance or upset,

no space for

disappointments and complaints

and nowhere to keep

anger and resentment.

So then, what is today?

But a chance

to enrich the memories

to be carried.

So then, what are we to each other?

But mates put together

to love

to accept and

to abide.

So what, is each moment?

But a celebration of the fact

that life brought us together

to give the best in us

to each other.

So what, do we carry in our soul?

But love for one another

For whatever you are

whatever I am

not battling with

what you or I could be.

Lets come closer

in acceptance of each other's spirit.

In each, let's find

anchors

where we can dock and rock

every now and then.

Anchor's so strong

no gale can sweep away.

In each of us, lets find

streams

which flow

cool and gentle

So that whenever we meet

we dip into each other

 to feel renewed.

In each of us

lets find

the power and strength

to embrace

to love

to comfort 

one another

so no unfortunate event of life

can shake us.

There is no place

for the shallow

the negative

for that 

which is heavy.

So that,

on that one day

when our souls will be packing to go,

we can travel light-

there will be space 

only for

A lifetime of memories

A heart full of love.

Hold on
to that lonely tear
streaming down
your cheek so fast.
Don't bury
your head in the pillow.
Save it for another day

HE is the path-I am just the journey.
Travelling within.
Outside its all just illusion,
Inside is where the temple is.
My lamp is lit and I hold it to the world,
With love,
Giving,nurturing and serving.
In HIS name.
HE is the path,I am just the journey.

Paintings by Sujata--FAITH(1-3)