बहता पानी निर्मला

A moment in Rishikesh, a bus ride in Salzburg, and a line from Kabir I keep returning to Issue #203

I was in Rishikesh recently. One evening I went to the beach area in front of our home.

The river was muddy - fast, restless, full of what the season had brought. I usually don’t come during the monsoon season. It didn’t look peaceful. I have mostly seen the river here calm, green, serene and peaceful. As I sat there on a rock

And a line from school came back to me:

“Behta paani nirmala.”
Flowing water stays clean.

It’s from a doha by Kabir:

"बहता पानी निर्मला, बंधा गंदा होय।
संत न बांधे प्रेम को, कहे कबीर समझाय॥"

Flowing water stays pure. Still water turns foul.
The wise don’t try to possess love—Kabir says, understand this.

A Bus Ride That Began My Transformation

In 2008, I was in Vienna for an exhibition. Life was rough over the last few years- personally, professionally, all around. Dad suffered cancer, lost my grand father, lost a big client in the peak of recesssion. I had a weekend off and took a day trip to Salzburg.

I sat next to an older lady on the bus - traveling solo, like me, following Mozart’s trail. She had survived cancer, gone through a divorce, and lived alone now. But she wasn’t bitter. She was funny, energetic, full of small joys. Just being around her changed something. Her way of being in the world said more than words ever could.

That journey made me realise: the only way out of the mess I was in was to move. Not physically, but emotionally. I had been frozen in my own thoughts. I realised the only way out was some action.I needed to move forward.

I stopped waiting for perfect answers. On my return started taking imperfect steps.It was matter of time before life felt back on track.

What Kabir Was Pointing To

Since then, I have returned often to Kabir’s line; specially in times when life feels heavy or stuck. And it resonates more deeply now:

"जिसे हम जीवन कहते हैं वही बहना है, वही बहाव है, वही प्रवाह है।"

What we call life is movement. Is flow. Nothing stays. Nothing stands still.

Trying to hold onto what’s already passing is how we create suffering.
Trying to define ourselves by our past, or chase certainty about the future, that's where things get heavy.

Kabir says:

“जो बंधा, सो गंदा।”
What gets tied down, gets dirty.

Still water is always dirty. Flowing river is pure. The moment we try to hold it, it loses its purity. Same goes for life.

The Ganga flows. That’s why it purifies.

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When You Feel Stuck

If you are in a phase where things feel murky- emotionally, mentally, or otherwise- don’t force clarity. Just move. Gently. Take some action.

Start something. Or stop something. Write a page. Take a walk. Call someone.

You don’t have to figure it all out. You just have to stop clinging.

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“Flowing water stays clean.”
Be the witness, not the one trying to hold the river.

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Thanks for reading.
If this spoke to you, feel free to share it. Or just let it be a quiet nudge to keep going.

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⏮ Missed Last Week? Here's What Hit Home

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Speakers at The Growth Retreat 4.0

Visionaries in Business & Innovation

Sushil Borde – Head, Reliance Innovation Leadership Centre

Kishore Biyani – Founder, Future Group

Damodar Mall – CEO, Grocery Retail, Reliance Retail

Vijay Shekhar Sharma – Founder & CEO, Paytm

Dr. Ram Charan – Global Business Consultant, Author & Advisor to CEOs and Boards

Sudipta Bhattacharya – Group CTO, Adani Group & CEO, Adani Data Networks

Professor R.A. Mashelkar – Renowned Scientist & Innovation Leader

Ashok Krish - Head, AI Practices at TCS

Finance & Strategy Leaders

Devina Mehra – Founder, First Global

S. Sivakumar – CEO, ITC Agro

Culture, Communication & Creative Leadership

Piyush Pandey – Advertising Legend & Former Chairman, Ogilvy India

Sunitha Krishnan – Anti-Trafficking Crusader & Co-founder, Prajwala

Joy Bhattacharjya Sports Producer & CEO, Prime Volleyball League

Kirti Azad – Former Cricketer & Politician

Arun Lal – Former Indian Cricketer & Broadcaster

Amol Palekar – Actor & Author

Next-Gen Inspiration

Indranil Chitale – Partner, Chitale Foods

Shubham Singhi – Travel Blogger; Youngest Indian to Travel All 7 Continents

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Coming Soon

My New Book - REARVIEW

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Meet you on the Fortieth Sunday (40/52) of 2025. Take care