Recently, over lunch a colleague of mine contemplated the importance of religion, he made a compelling argument on collective consciousness and how 99% of the population believes in superstitions and absurdities that don’t support a fulfilled life.

And I agree, a lot of what the world has become is senseless in my opinion, but that is what it is “My opinion”. It is not the truth. And again, we can debate on both sides of the coin on what the society needs: Religion or no Religion or consciousness to see things for what it is.

I have read a little on Rebirth, Reincarnation and Karma. According to the book “The laws of the Spirit world”, the afterlife is divided into 7 realms, and you go to any one of the realms based on your karma in this life. The purpose of this life is to raise your consciousness and become an aware being. You will reincarnate repeatedly till you achieve that state. This book is fascinating in its depiction of the realms and how we choose every birth to help us on our journey of consciousness. It talks of how we choose the family we are born in, the struggles this life holds. When I first read this book in 2012, it was a huge relief thinking I chose this life, it makes you feel powerful, in charge of life, in charge of your karma and rebirth. Today, I don’t know if I believe that, but I do know this: there’s a lot in this world beyond my knowledge and understanding. And just because I don’t believe, doesn’t mean, it does not exist.

In his book “Death”, Sadguru speaks of karma and how one can escape the cycle of rebirth by achieving sadhana. If afterlife truly exists, wouldn’t it be wonderful to stop the cycle of rebirth. I want that! This one book encompasses knowledge that can answer questions that arise from Books like “Many Lives Many Masters”, “Same Soul, Many Bodies” by Dr. Brian Weiss. This one book lets you look at death entirely differently.

We could argue on the concept of life and afterlife. But that’s not important here, let me tell you a story now and hopefully this will all make better sense then.

November 2021, I was faced with existential crisis. Post Lockdown, getting back to life was hard. I questioned the need to do anything at all? We are all going to die one day, and nothing we do matters on a grand scale of things. I put on weight and for the first time I had cellulite and no will to live. At the onset of lockdown, I read “Man’s search for meaning” by Viktor Frankl and was super charged with my goals and aspirations and here I am many months later with no desire to achieve anything. And as always, I am truly blessed with great friends who believe in me when I have difficulty doing it for myself. My best friend said this to me. “What you do matters, every tiny act has a ripple effect, you may not live to see it, but the world will still be a better place because of it. You would have made that difference. “

Consciousness is a journey we all embark on, and eventually, we will get there. As one individual you may not change the fabric of society overnight. But it will create a ripple and in time it will make a difference and that is what matters. You will leave the world a better place than you found it. And that will be your legacy!