Rikarda Elsa

“We Are Freedom Fighters (Sonnet 2260)

Right to leave religion is just
as fundamental as right to religion.
Freedom of dress is just
as important as freedom of the press.

Freedom to breastfeed without shame
is just as sacred as freedom to pray.
Freedom to choose not to have child
is just as respectable as motherhood.

Freedom to love outside tradition
is just as divine as jesus on the mount.
Freedom to dream across color and collar
is just as elemental as drinking water.

Any halfwit can write Declaration of Independence,
while denying people's rights behind closed doors.
My Declaration of World Independence is this,
rights of another only enhance my own.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Iftar-e Insaniyat: The First Supper

“The term yoga, derived from the Sanskrit root yuj, ‘to control’, “to yoke’ or ‘to unite’, refers to these technologies or disciplines of asceticism and meditation which are thought to lead to spiritual experience and profound understanding or insight into the nature of existence. Yoga is the means whereby the mind and senses can be restrained, the limited, empirical self or ego (ahamkara) can be transcended and the self’s true identity eventually experienced. It is this aspect of Hinduism which is not necessarily confined to any particular Hindu worldview [...] The concept of yoga as a spiritual discipline not confined to any particular sectarian affiliation or social form, contains the following important features: — consciousness can be transformed through focusing attention on a single point; — the transformation of consciousness eradicates limiting, mental constraints or impurities such as greed and hate; — yoga is a discipline, or range of disciplines, constructed to facilitate the transformation of consciousness.”
― Gavin D. Flood, An Introduction to Hinduism

“Because elephants are huge. And strong. And far more agile than you’d expect. Majestic, yes. Gentle, often. But also fully capable of turning you into a lurid smear if startled or annoyed. And while I’m sure there are worse ways to go than being squashed by an elephant in the jungles of northern Thailand, I can’t think of many that would be quite as memorable for your grieving friends. “Oh, you didn’t hear? Yeah - Larry zigged when he should’ve zagged. Tragic. But what a way to go, huh? Mustard on that Hebrew National?”
― Laurence Davidson, The Flow: A Hedonist's Guide to Buddhism, Meditation and Travels in Thailand

“The secret of action is to get established in equanimity, renouncing all egocentric attachments, and forgetting to worry over our successes and failures”
― Chinmayananda, Inward Journey