On Easter Sunday in 2013, while watching a TV program on the life of Jesus, we heard St. Paul share his words on Faith, Hope, and Love. You see these words at the beginning of this book. The thought of sharing our life journey took birth at that moment. It made us to reflect on our lives and the immense Grace that we have received and continue to receive.
Sarojini wrote her chapters while tuned into a stream of consciousness, and the thoughts and knowledge were given to her. Her writing was not in spurts but was one continuous flow. Once she put pen to paper, the words kept coming through without any hesitation. She was done midway through the summer of 2013.
Shyam’s writing took off during the Labor Day weekend of 2013 while we were relaxing at the residence of our friends Elaine and Robert Hausman in Santa Fe, New Mexico. That morning, Shyam found himself strolling outside their home, which was built into a hill overlooking a vast expanse of land with a few houses generously spaced out. He watched as a large bird lazily drew circles in the largely cloudless sky. The night before, he had browsed through Robert’s well-stocked library of scientific books and fallen into a reflective mood. The Los Alamos National Laboratory was pretty close by. The pages of history gently turned over in his mind’s eye and set in flow a range of thoughts. He felt connected with nature and life in an intimate sense. The “Eternal Quest” chapter took birth in these settings. The remaining chapters would find expression later and were done by November 2013.
In the book, when referring to God, we have used the traditional pronoun of He. This is not meant to say that God is a male. Readers who feel more comfortable in relating to God as She, are requested to make the mental substitution as they read through. Also, for readers unfamiliar with Sanskrit terms, we have a glossary at the end of the book for easy reference.
Writing this book taught us many lessons as well. The virtue of patience was made to strike deeper roots. The act of juggling many daily tasks along with the writing of the book tested us. As many challenges surfaced from time to time, many of which were simply beyond us, we were led down the path of acceptance. This experience also helped reiterate that things happen only as per the divine will and divine timeline. In the midst of hectic activity where time was a driving force, we were shown the way to operate in a parallel world of timelessness by stilling our thoughts and our sometimes-restless minds.
We wish and pray that all of us are guided to find the meaning and purpose of our lives.
2 Responses to Preface