Shruti Kakkar: Meditation didn’t change my life, it changed my outlook on life
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Kakkar is a full-time homemaker, a doting wife, a hands-on mother of two, and a loving and caring daughter-in-law. She left her job as an advertising professional after marriage as she believes in giving her 100 % to whatever she chooses to take up in life.
She has always strived for spiritual advancement which led her to explore the world of chakra healing. The author is a certified Pranic Healer in physical and mental health.
Life has thrown many challenges her way and over time she has learned to fight all those battles with resilience and perseverance.
Though earlier it was only a matter of survival, today survival is not even a part of her vocabulary. She lives not to survive but to celebrate the wonderful opportunity called life.
The author has carved herself a path to everlasting happiness at all times and in every situation. The good news is that she is more than willing to welcome anyone to traverse this path with her.
EXCLUSIVE AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Q. Tell us something about your book.
This book for me is more of a mission than just creative writing. When we experience something beautiful, something inexplicable, the wonder of which is difficult to express, yet we want to share, because we want everyone out there to know, or feel, if not in entirety, then at least in part, and believe that miracles are possible, we end up writing about it. This book is a magnificent feeling for me.
Q. What inspired the idea for your book?
My inspiration was just my experience after meditating regularly for a year or so. The results were so astonishing that I couldn’t help but contribute to the welfare of society in the form of my book.
All happiness and sadness in a person’s life are nothing but manifestations of various emotions. Imagine you become a master and not a slave to your emotions. Won’t that be all that we want?
I don’t know if this book will inspire people to meditate, but surely it will get them thinking and that is the first step to the top of the ladder.
Q. How has Meditation changed your life?
Meditation didn’t change my life, it changed my outlook on life, and it changed my attitude towards people. My perception changed. I started realizing that it is not me but my ego which is always right.
I started seeing the positive side of everything and that made me calm and peaceful in the most harrowing of situations.
Somehow, I stopped getting hurt very much and scornful words from others began reaching only the peripheries of my being. They stopped penetrating.
Meditation has made me a happy person, an optimistic one, a positive one, who others want to be around. Well, I can go on and on but for now, this is enough, I guess.
Q. In today's generation, anxiety and depression are almost common. How do you think your book can help someone with anxiety and depression?
I have, myself been a patient of clinical depression. I have overcome that. My book has different chapters on anxiety and depression, where I have discussed these issues with the help of interesting stories and anecdotes.
Each chapter also ends with a step-wise, guided meditation, concerning that particular emotion. Reading these anecdotes will make people connect and following the meditations will resolve their issues.
Q. What are your thoughts on Empathy?
Empathy is a rare commodity. These days people do not slow down their pace in the rat race for mere sympathy, and empathy, therefore, seems quite farfetched.
However, I have realized that the more you step into the other’s shoes the more it dawns upon you, that you are not the only person miserable and burdened with traumas and challenges of this world.
The whole universe is your copy-paste with minor modifications. This feeling of having company alone is pretty relief-giving.
Also, I feel the difference between empathy and sympathy is very basic.
Sympathy makes you feel bad for someone; empathy makes you act to correct the wrong. If we start helping others because we can imagine ourselves in their position, it will help us double fold.
We will forget our problems, we will learn to give and become better human beings in the process.
Q. How is your book different from Meditation Apps available on online stores?
My book is very lucid. It is for those who feel that meditation is tough and not everyone’s cup of tea. My book tells them in crystal clear words, through my own experiences, that meditation is not a subject that can be tough or easy.
It is a way of life and the best way of life available to us through generations. Through my book, I make meditation easily adaptable by anyone who is even a little interested.
Also, people who think that meditation is just one of the fads will change their minds after reading this book. After all, I am no veteran in this field but practicing regularly has made me peaceful and joyful, in the same situations that used to make me feel hopeless, distressed, and anxious.
Q. According to you, when is the best time to meditate?
The best time to meditate is anytime when you are sure that you will not be disturbed. It may be one hour, half an hour, or just 10 minutes. We look inside and therefore all outside distractions should be blocked. One may meditate even before sleeping.
Q. Some individuals think of Meditation as an additional task, what would you say to motivate them to pick up your book and give meditation a try?
I would say that it is not necessary to pick up my book, it is necessary to be with oneself for a few minutes in a day. Now, how to spend these few minutes with oneself productively is given in my book.
I would also say that this one extra task will reduce the pressure of all the other tasks at hand. This one extra task will take care of the smooth running of your entire day, and with practice, your entire life.
Q. In your daily routine, what do you spend your time on, and how do you choose, equally, what not to spend your time on?
Honestly, I do not plan my day, what the next minute is bringing along with it, no one knows. There are certain jobs that we do mechanically and there are a few that we choose to do.
In a typical day of life, the maximum part goes into dealing with people, emotionally or professionally. I do not prioritize my tasks; I just do them with awareness.
Awareness, that all sentinels are colleagues in the workplace of life. There is no superior or inferior. All are equal. Awareness that allows spiritual progress.
Q. What does a perfect day off look like for you? Do you take days off?
My perfect day off is sitting with a book, snug in the arms of Mother Nature. Inhaling fresh air from various shades of green, looking into oblivion, and sometimes closing my eyes to see more, make for my perfect day off.
Q. Future of SALISMANIA.com through your eyes?
Salismania.com is doing a wonderful job of taking the thoughts and views of many authors across the globe. I found them very involved in my work. Their reviews suggest not only reading but also understanding and interpreting work, with detailed perusal. Salismania.com may be walking right now, but their hard work and sincerity will make them take off very soon. For them, the sky is the limit.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The emotional quotient is the very basis of our existence. This statement is inscrutable in today’s world. The current Darwinian Theory could be: ‘Survival of the emotionally fittest.’
Emotions play havoc in our day-to-day lives and enslave us completely. Some are imprisoned in the four walls of depression while some are inflamed by their temper.
Some are controlled totally by their impulses while some are shackled tight to their fears.
Each one of us is dominated by one emotion or the other. Take this journey to master each emotion, one at a time, with the help of guided and focused meditation, and emerge as an everlasting joyous soul.