Tale of Two Realities An understanding of life through the Ramayana and Yogasutra

Beginning with this issue we are serialising Tale of Two Realities which we hope will help readers gain a deeper understanding of life. Our readers are familiar with the author through her The Vedas and Poorva: Magic, Miracles & the Mystical Twelve which were serialised earlier. The illustrations for this series is by Smt Uma Krishnaswami, a well-known artist. The author's note below gives a brief introduction to the series.

- LAKSHMI DEVNATH

Author's Note

Variety is the spice of life in this vibrant world. Fascinated by this sheer assortment, we seek to acquire all that we think will give us happiness. However, even after attaining our goals, we discover to our dismay that we remain unfulfilled. Instead of exploring other possible routes to happiness, we relentlessly continue this pursuit to the extent of getting worn out by life, but still in search of that elusive entity called happiness. This play of emotions is true of most of mankind save a select few. They are the yogis who have discarded the peripherals of the world to access the very source of peace, the ultimate state of fulfilment. Anchored in that source, they live life to their heart's content, never feeling the pangs of unfulfillment in its many degrees and manifestations.

The 'Tale of Two Realities' is an attempt to portray this odyssey of mankind. This work is a montage that selects sutras from the Yogasutra and stories from the Ramayana to present a vivid portrayal of people who coasted through life, of those who rolled and tumbled through it, as also of those who fell in between the two.

I am immensely grateful for the journey that I have had in life, one that drove me to explore Patanjali's Yogasutra and Valmiki's Ramayana. My explorations have gifted me subtle but powerful lessons, lessons that I share with joy, for, as we know that happiness shared is happiness doubled. I thank the redoubtable Yogacharya Sri. S. Sridharan of the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram and Mahamahopadhyaya R. Krishnamurthy Sastri, for exposing me in their respective capacities, to the beauties of both texts.

PROLOGUE