AT THE FEET OF THE MOTHER
Ask Alok da

Relationships

In liking a person romantically, I often tell myself, “if it is meant to be, it will happen”. Or, “don’t force things, let them occur naturally and spontaneously”. But the irony is often that when you tell such things to yourself you get into an inactive state and the other person gets into a relationship during that time. In fact my mother told me, “if your father had not openly disclosed his feelings, we would have never married”.🤨 [Conti]

This is not a defeatist strategy but indeed a wise thing to do. One should not push the doors of destiny too hard to force

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Bhaiya, I get easily irritated, especially when my mother compels or pressures me to do something that doesn’t come naturally to me. At times, I also feel the same way with other people who try to exert too much authority over me. I know I shouldn’t let this affect me, but it disturbs my peace of mind and takes me considerable time to recover 😥

The irritation is understandable because one feels compelled. The source of this compulsion is a conditioning that we need to conform to or do what

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What is the place of romance in a relationship—kissing, hugging, showing love, and talking about it? Is that the only form of romance? I feel that in my relationship we have already experienced that part, and now I would like to connect more intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. But sometimes my partner says I’m boring 😥[conti]

Romance is more like the courtship dance in animals. It attracts the boy and the girl through mutual charm and attraction. But as love grows

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What to do in a situation where the person accompanying you is constantly demeaning and insulting your culture (Regional, Indian and Sanatana Dharma) and your belief system, insulting the sanatana dharma. It is difficult to stay quiet, but yet you know that even my words can’t appeal to the person’s preconceived notion. yet you give it a try, but as anticipated, in vain. And within yourself you feel drained in that atmosphere of clashes of opinions😪

It is best to keep an arms distance from such a person as, besides other things, it means that the person is too self-opinionated and

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What does Mother and Sri Aurobindo think about same-sex love/marriage🧑‍🤝‍🧑? I was wondering because I have a crush on a woman and at this point I don’t know at all if she has one on me too or just wants to be friends, but she has asked to hangout and recently been acknowledging my existence more. In past, I would reach out occasionally and we never actually hung out, but she would be kind and it could very well be that I am making up everything in my head way too soon and maybe she is just merely thinking of me as a friend. I looked up the meaning of her name out of curiosity and discovered it has the exact same meaning as mine. I don’t know what to think of that but my brain immediately thinks it means we are meant to be together or something… I just wonder because my mind likes to take an idea and run far with it so now I am in a fantasizing world. Obviously I am [conti]

I think it is important to separate the chaff from the wheat. There is nothing wrong in hanging out or being friends even bestest of

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How can I guide and support my younger sibling during his college placement season? While many of his peers are already getting placed in companies, my sibling is taking a bit longer. Sometimes this makes him feel discouraged because of peer pressure and the competitive environment. How should I motivate him, help him stay confident, and guide him in improving his preparation without losing hope🤔?

Your understanding and being with him is itself a big support. We may not be always able to change outer circumstances the way we wish

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My parents are asking me to start thinking about finding a man to date and eventually marry. They are nudging me to meet men. I was recently talking to one guy that I met while on a run. He stopped me and asked for my number and based on looks I gave it to him. We started to go running together and when I would go study on weekends he would join me. He is 4 years younger and now went back to college which is about 4 hours away so we were talking over text and phone, but today, on a call he asked me some questions about the future and I told him the situation with my parents about them wanting me to find a husband and the other factor which is race / ethnicity. The one I was talking to is of African and Mexican descent and I figured even though my parents are accepting, that it would cause some issues which I don’t want to deal with. Despite us getting along so well and him treating me like a princess, when I told him today he got very upset about it. Now I am not feeling inclined to reach back out and fight for it because he’s pretty upset and it feels pointless since I’ve made up my mind that I will listen to my parents / find an Indian man for them, but I also wonder if I made a mistake because I was afraid of family reactions and considering I did have feelings for him😥 [conti]

I understand your situation. But you must remove certain misconceptions about marraige. There are no ready made partners. Relationships have to be built and it

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A couple of weeks ago I asked you about the problem of a long distance relationship. You encouraged me to continue it as it would give a chance of refining the relationship to a higher level without the bondage of marriage. Still, at this stage it feels like work, and there is little satisfaction that I feel. I realised we are so different that we have few things to talk about when we are not physically present with each other. Even other people told me that it’s obvious that I’m not in love with the girl, and if I was I wouldn’t be speaking in this way. It is mostly my idealism that made me commit to her in this way, because I couldn’t bear the thought of hurting her😥

It is obvious that one should not engage in a relationship if one is not happy about it or doesn’t feel love. There is nothing

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What should a child do in a situation where their parents have failed to provide the understanding they needed? Should the child try to forget and forgive or should they confront their parents and express everything, the pain, the emotional neglect, and how the parents made everything about themselves? Especially when the parents act as though they’ve done the child a favor by providing education and believe this puts them on a pedestal because they have worked hard to give it, expecting constant praise and obedience😥

The child should carve her own path leaving behold the past. It is easier by bringing in a right understanding. Parents, almost all parents of

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“Bhaiya, I wanted to ask you something. What is the right way to celebrate Rakshabandhan? My sister and cousin usually send me rakhis, and while I truly love and care for them, I don’t feel very connected to the rituals of the festival. I sometimes wonder if I should stop participating, or if I should continue just so they don’t feel hurt. What do you think is the right thing to do?”😌

Stopping will hurt them and it is not needed as the ritual is simply one expression of love and care. You can pray for them,

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I’m going to pour my heart out here. For a number of years I have been out of any relationship, preferring to focus on my own personal goals and spiritual development. Recently, I met a girl with whom I entered into a casual relationship. We were spending a lot of time together, felt mutually happy, had a lot of fun, and had sexual contact as well (although it was not the main component). This thing lasted for only a month, and we both agreed from the start that it could not continue after this month because of our going to separate places. I even warned her from the very beginning that we have to be careful so as not to catch feelings towards each other. She said — yes, it will not happen. However, over time the situation changed. She fell in love with me, told me she never met someone like me, that I made her feel very happy and safe, and so on. I told her we could try to continue our relationship long distance. But personally, I don’t feel the same depth of feelings towards her😬. Nor can I imagine her as my long-term partner because I don’t feel that she is spiritually inclined. (It is important for me to be with someone who shared my aspiration).

These things happen when we are excessively focused on one aspect or dimension to the exclusion of others, especially the emotional and passionate aspects of

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