Interview with Darshak Rana
By: Gurpreet Dhariwal
Tags: Strongmen, Interview, Spiritual Secrets, Answers In Genesis, Authors

Where do you belong to? Is there anything you would like to change about the place you belong to?

I often ask this question to myself in solitude, and I get strange answers every time. However, the one standard answer that I get is:

I don’t belong here, I think.

Where the fire of hate burns everywhere,

And yet, no one cares to pour some love,

Sooner or later, everyone wants to pamper their egos,

Bathing in the illusion of self-worth.

I think God didn’t gift this place to me. I believe that there existed a golden world many years ago (my spiritual belief), and I have reincarnated from that heavenly world. ( I am a believer in reincarnation cycles of births)

I belong to the place where —

Peace, harmony, and love existed.

The place where rivers sang the songs of happiness

And the air wore the perfume of harmonious love.

Where nature befriended souls, and

Where everything was perfectly balanced.

But I have no complaints.

If the time has played its tricks and brought us into this iron age, I am sure that I will be going to the place where I belong very soon.

2. What sets your soul on fire?

Cooking and writing are my passions in life.

No other things excite me as much as my passion does.

I don’t know when it all started, but I am glad that I have a passion in my life that motivates me every day to wake up and get going. Not a single day has passed in my life that I don’t feel like waking up.

When the sunrays puncture the skies,

When the first light of the day disperses the darkness,

When the warmth of the day’s love touches me,

My dreams come alive.

My passion burns and cooks my life.

Every day, I wake up, I feel alive

I feel refreshed to achieve something new

I feel energized to conquer my fears.

To visualize my emotions, I write

I write to feel myself

I write because that’s my life

I write because I know nothing else.

I started writing at the age of eight. I still remember the poem that I wrote for my cat. After that, I lost my cat. I lost my diary.

But, what I didn’t lose were my thoughts. My intense desire to pen down my emotions never got lost.

I never published my poems until a few years ago, when I realized to take them seriously. I have even started to take my cooking passion seriously.

Here’s a Pokémon cake that I baked for my nephew’s eighth birthday two months ago.

Picture by Darshak Rana

3. Which one is your favorite family memory, and why?

Having a family is a boon.

And living in a joint family in India was even more than a boon.

I find myself lucky and take pride that I was born in a joint family where my grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins — all lived together under one roof.

For some, it may sound scary, but I enjoyed every bit of it. I think I learned so many life lessons while living together with everybody.

As we were seven kids in total, whatever we had, we had to share. From bedroom to books, we shared everything. I learned how to communicate without expecting.

I also learned that love is not about expecting. If you love, you love. You don’t keep a balance-sheet of giving and receiving. This belief has eased my life process.

We shared, we laughed, we cried, we cared!

Besides, having grandparents around is always fun. They have endless wisdom stories to share with us. I still remember how my grandpa took us to a nearby park on Sunday mornings, where he treated us all ice-creams. While in the night, he told us bedtime stories of fairies and demons as a lullaby.

As there were many family members in the house, we had plenty of guests coming in and out all day long. Sounds scary?

Initially, it does, but in India, we believe that blessed ones are those who receive guests. (“Atithi Devo Bhava” — Guest is treated as God). Every day, our home was like a supermarket store. We had everyone’s friends coming over, but no one left without eating a sweet. Everyone had to accept a sweet as a token of love. It was our home’s tradition that still prevails.

Dealing with different people and understanding their needs was one lesson that helped me grow emotionally and socially.

I think I am emotionally and mentally healthy because I have more than one accomplice. ;);)

4. Is there anyone in your life you could give your life for? If yes, why?

I think life is the gift of God, and only he has the power to take it. If I give up my life for somebody, I would be insulting him.

However, I would love to dedicate my life to spreading the waves of spirituality. If spirituality can pierce through my darkest mind and pull me back to envisage a new morning, it can do more than that.

My entire life circles around helping others connect to the divine as I have linked. I want everyone to experience the fruits of his love.

If I can fill even a single distressed soul with a ray of hope to live better, I have served what Almighty expects me to. I feel we all need spirituality, no matter what.

5. Do you pour love into self from time to time?

Every day, I pour self-love!

Self-love is the only love that everybody needs.

It’s not that I have stopped loving others. It also doesn’t mean that I have become egoistic or self-centered.

But, I have realized the importance of self-love. I have realized that “what do I want in life if I don’t want myself.” I have started to prioritize myself now.

Lately, through spiritual principles, I have learned that “what we feel radiates around us.” It’s like wearing perfume. If I wear the scent of self-love, the same feeling will radiate around me through vibrations. And this fragrance automatically would make others feel loved.

Have you ever noticed that you feel elevated and light in the presence of a Mahatma (saint) or a small kid or even visiting a prayer place?

It’s because of the play of pure vibrations.

The saints (not all), through their penance, have reached that elevated stage of self-consciousness that makes us feel the same. The kids are so pure and innocent that their vibrations of purity make us feel happy and elevated.

In spirituality, it’s called Swamaan. It’s a Hindi word that means living with a consciousness that elevates and empowers your inner self.

To achieve the same, I have been practicing self-love. It has nothing to do with pampering myself physically. Instead, I pamper myself emotionally.

Every night, I have a meeting with myself. If something terrible has happened or someone has done something that wasn’t fair to me, I try to sort it out. I console myself by talking positively:

What do I want from others?

Why should I expect good from others; am I living in heaven right now?

People must have been going through a rough patch, so they must have behaved that way.

I am the beloved child of Almighty, and it’s my responsibility to behave likewise.

I am emotionally superior to them.

If I behave the same way as them, what is the difference between them and me?

If I hold grudge and pain, will I be able to look through the eyes of Almighty when I die?

This kind of self-talk makes me feel loved. I feel so elevated and light-hearted. It makes me release everything.

Through self-love, I don’t allow anyone to hurt me. Self-love acts as a protective shield for me. Self-love is self-empowerment for me.

6. How often you observe the people near you?

Always.

To never get betrayed or deceived, I believe we must know what’s in the other person’s hearts.

I know that people fake it all the time. So I don’t believe what they say. Instead, I pay attention to what they make me feel.

People can often sugarcoat their words to flatter me, but they can’t hide their emotions. Vibes don’t lie. Most of the people don’t catch the vibe and get betrayed sooner or later. This becomes one of the reasons for failing in love.

So, I trust what I feel. I always try to catch the vibe. If I get a healthy vibe, I trust that person or else ta-ta bye-bye.

7. Why do you hope for? Does it change something within you or around you?

Hope is all we have. Our life sustains only by hope. We all toil hard for a better future only with the tiniest hope that we’ll remain alive to see that day/Hope empowers us to do things in life.

We don’t know if we are going to see the sunrise tomorrow, yet we set an alarm for the morning. We build relationships only with the hope that it’ll bring happiness to us. We pray with the hope to meet Almighty one day. So, hope is inevitable. At least for me.

I hope for a better world. But, I am not complaining. I am working for it to work.

I hope for a better place where we all live in harmony with nature. And I think it begins with me. The day I change myself, others would be inspired to change themselves, and hence the entire world would shift towards a positive side.

I hope my change can inspire others to change too. That’s why I keep improving myself every day.

My mantra is “Self-transformation to world-transformation.”

I believe that the best way to change others is to change ourselves first.

8. How does it feel like being a woman to you?

I am a spiritual person and always try to perceive things from a spiritual perspective.

Beneath the layers of men and women, we all are souls. Beautiful souls. A tiny bright light that governs the bodies.

In the eyes of Supreme Soul Almighty, all the souls are alike.

Having said that, I see everyone as equal. If I had been born in a female body, I would have been as much as happy and proud as I am being a man.

Having said that, here are my thoughts about women:

Today, most of us think of women as the weaker sex. But, in my opinion, they are the most powerful creation. And deep inside, all the men know this fact; that’s why they have been trying to suppress the women for ages.

If we think logically, what are the things that need to be suppressed?

The obvious answer is perhaps the strongest things that can’t be contained.

Can emotions be suppressed?

Can a hydrogen bomb be suppressed?

No matter how hard we try, sooner or later, it explodes and destroys everything. The same happens with women too. The more men try to suppress them, the stronger they emerge.

Today, many of us believe in empowering women.

But I don’t think they need any empowerment.

Weak needs to be empowered. Women are not weak. Anyone that needs empowerment is the men. Their thinking needs to be elevated.

Why do husbands think that their wives must seek their advice before making any decision?

Why do men think that women are not capable enough?

From time to time, women have proved that there’s nothing impossible that women can’t do. Whether it’s politics, sports, business, acting, or even science, everywhere women have proved their mettle.

For ages, we have a concept of housewives; why not househusbands?

It’s a myth that women need men. In reality, men need women. A widow can live her life very happily without remarrying, but a widower would surely marry after some time. Who do you think is stronger here?

The day we start sharing everything — from rights to responsibilities, we will be able to rise above this tug of war.

Let’s change our perspective from doing something to thinking something correct.

Had I been a woman, I would have felt more pride and honor in enjoying the status of the strongest creation of God.

9. What you would like us to remember you for?

Frankly, I don’t want anyone to remember me. I wish to remain unknown and anonymous.

Instead, I want everyone to remember my deeds and thoughts.

Don’t just live; feel your life!

Do what makes you happy. Ask yourself, “if not now, then when?”

Please don’t wait for others to change; they are waiting for you to change!

Try to earn blessings as much as you can through your humanitarian work.

Plan and live your life in such a way that God never forgets you.

10. How you would describe your life?

I think it’s the best life anyone could get. It’s the gift of God, and gifts must always be endured with love.

To keep my life pristine and pure, I stay away from all the negativity and toxic habits. Each day, I try to erase the background noise of my sufferings by performing the right Karma.

So, every night I die from this world by forgiving and seeking apologies. The next day, I wake up with a fresh new life.

11. What keeps you on your toes, and how do you like to spend your time?

A hunger to better myself always keeps me on my toes.

Whatever I read and whatever I learn, I aspire to apply it in practical life.

I spend less time reading and more on how I can apply them. If I can’t use the knowledge, it’s a waste. The knowledge that doesn’t transpire into wisdom is worthless. Whenever I read anything, I take notes.

After taking notes, I try to experiment with it. If it works, I continue following that ritual. If it doesn’t work, I make it work.

This year, I have learned so many beautiful lessons from life and others’ wisdom. I try to share those in the newsletter of my publication, “Spiritual Secrets,” so that others can also benefit from my experience.

“The wisdom that is kept as a secret becomes poison.”-Darshak Rana

So, I like to share my experiences. I don’t believe in preaching; I believe in practicing.

Lately, I got a private comment on one of my stories not to share personal experiences as no one is interested in knowing what I am doing to better myself. But, I refused to believe it.

I believe, “no books or reading materials are trash if we have the right attitude to learn from it.”

I don’t care about the millions that don’t care to read. But I share my life for that 0.0000000000000001% of the readers that are interested in my work. Reading my work, if they change themselves at any point in time, their blessings will make my life meaningful and worthwhile.

This thought and practice keep me on my toes, and I spend a significant amount of time fulfilling that.

12. When life gives you a lemon, what do you make out of it?

I take in my stride.

Whatever I get is the result of my past Karma….And how I behave now becomes the cause for the next…Keeping this in my mind, I stay away from all dirty plays and tricks. I don’t fear people’s attitudes or behaviors, but I fear the consequences of my own Karma because it multiplies hundreds-thousands times.

So, when people give me lemons, I smile at them and try to take all the lemons so that they don’t have any more lemons left to give to others who don’t know the law of Karma.

13. What mystery of life you would like to have an answer for?

I am on the journey of discovering myself and the Spiritual Almighty. The quest of “soul and the supreme soul” will continue until I leave this bodily costume.

It’s mentioned in the scriptures that:

The almighty is so infinite that he can’t be described in words. Even if the forest takes the shape of a pen, oceans become the ink, and earth acts as a paper to write — his description won’t fit in.

I am glad that my life encircles around the Almighty and me. This way, I am safe from all the negativity. I am so busy solving this mystery that I have no time for anyone’s nonsense.

I also hope that I don’t get all the answers because I would feel satisfied with my life the day I get all the answers. And that could be the end of my life as I lose my motto and mojo.

14. How were you different five years ago from what you are today?

I was different. My thoughts and way of thinking were different.

If I compare my present self with that of five years ago self, it’s like a day and night’s difference.

I didn’t know where I was going, what I wanted, and why I was doing the things I did. But now, I have a purpose for living. I have a reason to live. And most importantly, I have the correct attitude to live now.

15. What would you like to leave as your legacy? Is there any message you would like to communicate to us?

I don’t know anything better than live my life on my terms. And I have the power and capability to face the consequences.

Even if I fail, it’ll be my failure to own. I won’t have anyone to blame for it.

Whenever something holds me back, I motivate myself by:

“Live without expectations to die without regrets.”- Darshak Rana

I don’t expect anything from anybody. Even if someone doesn’t give me a chance to perform, it’s okay. I don’t expect others to be nice to me.

No matter how much you prevent a river from flowing by building dams, one day the gushing waters would be so strong that it’ll sweep away everything away, and you won’t be able to do anything about it.

Whenever someone prevents me from performing or giving me a chance based on prejudices, I work harder. Not to prove something to them but to make myself self-independent.

When someone rejects me or my work, I believe it’s a testament to my grit. The day I conquer my mind to remain calm in failures and successes, the world would kneel to me.

And that day, nothing would stop me; no barriers, no prejudices, no injustices, and not even my ill fate.