Thoughts. Where do they come from? What is their source? If we delve deep into psychology, there are various explanations. As a practicing Buddhist, what I have learnt in my 25 year journey is that at any point of time, who we are i.e. how we think is a sum product of all influences on us from this lifetime and maybe even past (if one were to believe in the Hindu/Buddhist theory of an eternal life. Life as we know it - is what we experience, observe and feel on a moment to moment basis. Time and space are the two dimesions that matter the most in this experience. Why do I say this? Because while we are three dimensional creatures, in reality we have the soul of a "gypsy". No matter how many chambers and buildings might confine us and disconnect us from true nature, our mind wanders. Sitting on a plane? What are you thinking? If this is not your fist flight and flying does not scare you, you might be thinking of family, the vacation you are planning etc. So in three dimesion...
I was born in a Hindu Kayastha family in Rajasthan. But the first thing I learnt was that I had been born in privilege! My houses were huge. The police used to guard them and my father was a powerful influential person. What was he - an IAS officer in the poor state of Rajasthan. As the son of a Collector- I assumed this is how life is meant to be. Later I also learnt that I belonged to a UP Kayastha family. Kayastha - are the sons of Chitragupta in Hinduism. They are the ones who read out your karma when the time of judgement comes. Hence we were not part of any of the Brahman, Kshatriya, Baniya grouping. We were a small elite group who were accountants of god and our true wealth was our “kalam” or pen! And as the pen grew mightier than the sword, Kayasthas gained tremendous importance in an Independent India. Mostly human gods in Hinduism were Kshatriyas (Rama) or Yadav (Krishna) or Buddha (Kshatriya). We were worshippers of Shiva/Rama/Krishna. Later, in my 20s I fou...