Freedom

This morning, as I sat in the waiting room of my doctor's office, awaiting my turn, my attention turned to the aquarium at the far corner. The aquarium had been in its place for years. I too had be watching it passively for years. 

(Credit : Wikipedia)

The however, something happened. Watching the fish move in patterns inside the limited space in the aquarium, I thought to myself : Freedom is NOT being in that fish tank. Look at me with so much more ability to move around in so much more space, with the ability to make my own decisions and drive my direction in life.

And then another realization struck. Am I not just like the fish, just in a larger tank, I call the world or samsara ? Am I really free ? The fish believes that the aquarium created with artificial sand, fake plants, an electric bulb that simulates sunlight, the sea shells that create a feeling of an ocean bottom when it is really just  the glass floor of the small tank it has been imprisoned in, is real. It swims about this illusion in imagined bliss., from left to right, nibbling on the fish food dropped from above. It sleeps at times, moves around at other times, brushing it's fins against other occupants of the tank. It lives in a prison, while believing it is in a vast ocean. 

Is my existence any different ? I too identify too closely with this world, which while vast, is  still but a small atom in this boundless existence. I too attach importance to events that are fleeting, giving them more energy than they deserve. While I house the infinite in this finite body, i waste a large portion of my life on the finite, fleeting temporary situations in my life.   I am bound (though less often now) by my anger, lust, jealousy, attachments to people, things and situations. 

Aho ! I wondered about how the above thought process transpired and finally attributed it to my restarting my reading journey with the Yoga Vasishta recently. Truly our scriptures were written with the express purpose of lifting this human mind from the mundane to the ethereal, from misery to bliss, the finite to the infinite. 

Salutations to my Guru with whose blessings, i was able to start reading this glorious scripture again. Infinite gratitude to my Guru who provided me with the tools to free my mind from the above trappings on a daily basis. Gratitude to the person who reminded me it was time to begin this reading again.

ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय ।
तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय ।
मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय ।
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

Jai Gurudev,

A Note To Self

In the Art Of Living, we often talk of buttons getting pushed. A button here represents situations that fall outside our comfort zone, situations  that cause discomfort as we dislike doing them, situations that change the status quo, our way of life for the better - even if they cause short term grief.

One such major "status-quo-changing" event has shaken India - a surgical strike on black money a.k.a demonetization. It has waken and shaken the honest and the corrupt alike. The corrupt are now like rats on a hot tin roof - they can't stand at the same place any more. Jumping off the tin roof means giving up their corrupt ways, surrendering their ill-gotten gains and paying taxes and penalty on the surrendered money - a highly unpalatable option to many for whom corruption and the luxuries it affords, have become a way of life. The honest are now forced to stand in long bank lines to  withdraw what is rightfully theirs. There can be a sense of indignation at someone else's wrongs becoming pain points for them.

Though the public of India has realized the good intentions of Hon. PM Modi ji and have thrown their lot with him, the corrupt (seeing their ill gotten wealth evaporate and become liabilities for them), are ganging together to use the angst of the common man as an excuse to force the Govt.'s hands in rolling back what is arguably the boldest social reform decision taken by any Govt. since independence.

Guruji has spoken about how we need to support the Govt. wholeheartedly in this reform initiative. Let us all meditate, help others in financial and logistical need, support each other and Modi ji in this fight against corruption. Let us stay aware that nobody uses our pain for their own gain.  Let us join hands for the true "Acche Din"  not too far away.

Jai Hind  !

Jai Gurudev,

Grace Garments

Someone told me about this place on my last visit to the Ashram last year. I did not have the time to track it down. This time when I went there for Shakti Kriya, I decided to take a walk along less beaten paths away from the Ashram Kitchen.  As I passed Soudhamani (the realty project of Art Of Living), i came across a foul smelling patch of garbage. I wanted to turn back but kept on as I wanted a walk. As i crossed the dump, a couple of  people from the ashram zipped past me.  I was a bit surprised and followed them. As i entered the village of Udipalya, lo and behold, the first landmark was  the mythical "Grace Garments", I had heard so much of  :-)

Visit it the next time you are there. Your wallet may remain a lot heavier if you were shopping for traditional  Indian attire !

Jai Gurudev,

Random Perspectives

Its been a complete year since my virtual pen touched the paper of this blog. The last post was about Guruji visiting the kids we had been working with and at that time it seemed like everything in life had reached its pinnacle. There was no point blogging about anything any more.  It also seemed that most folks have moved on from writing lengthy passages to the succinct brevity of facebook and twitter. Life also became incredibly busy and went through some significant events and blogging got relegated to the background.

So what changed ? Firstly - Art Of Living is hosting a  blogger's conference  at the Art Of Living International Center, Bangalore. So blogging is clearly not "so yesterday". Secondly and more importantly, I read Guruji's recent comments on how we need to share good experiences in life and not just keep them to ourselves. So i decided to start blogging again.

2012 was a  mix of good and bad (isn't that what life's all about anyways ?).  A long pending academic goal was finally accomplished. A dear one passed on. Spent more time with loved ones. Life became more and more about seva-sadhana-satsang. Taking on more seva responsibilities opened up dimensions in my life I did not know existed. I once went for 5 days straight on 3 hours of sleep a night (this coming from someone who's  eyes start transitioning from the slumber to the waking state no earlier than 8 AM, deserves some credit). Guruji visited Pune in Nov 2012 and I was fortunate (for the first time in many years) to be an active seva volunteer. I was able to assist several Part 1 courses which opened my boundaries, made me more people-friendly and firmed up my decision to be an Art Of Living teacher. I spent 19 days at the beautiful Art Of Living Bangalore Ashram in Oct during Navarathri, taking an advanced meditation course thus fulfilling a longing of  several years.

The year ended in India on a somber note with a ghastly incident waking up India to a daily reality - the abuse of women in the worst possible manner - a four letter word - R A P E. Hundreds of  Nirbhayas fall prey each day to the negative tendencies of lust and hunger for power and domination, ironically in a country where the  divine is worshiped as reverently in its female form as in the male. A lot of  (justified) anger and indignation has been (and continues to be) expressed. The govt, police and  justice system have been blamed. Parents have been blamed for not raising their sons right. Many theories have been spouted. However very few voices of sanity have been heard in the din. Unless the educational system incorporates tools to handle the negative tendencies of the mind, until every well-heeled citizen is willing to step outside his/her living room and work towards bringing opportunity and spiritual practices to the less-fortunate in society, many more Nirbhayas will continue to suffer the worst forms of humiliation and exploitation. Having worked with juvenile offenders as part of  our seva projects and having observed the stark conditions and deprivation in which they live, it is unfair to think that they would rise to do something better in life unless someone showed them the way. They do not look at newspapers/blogs/facebook/twitter or several of the avenues used to express the indignation and angst at Nirbhaya's passing.

We (rather) I need to do more.

Wishing you a PEACEFUL and HAPPY 2013 filled with opportunities to discover your inner self and serve others !

Jai Gurudev
(Victory to the Divine inside you).

He Came !

It finally happened ! On Jan 15th, Guruji met with boys and girls from the Remand Homes where over 80 Art Of Living volunteers from Pune have been working for the last 3+ years. What a moment !

 Jai Guru Dev,

Tera May 2011

We had a lovely time with kids at a home in Pune yesterday. We celebrated Guruji's BDay a day late but with the same fervour, love, masti and joy ! This has become an annual event for us now along with other festivities such as Diwali and Guru Poornima.

We started with bhastrika and Ram Dhyaan and 130 kids meditated with pin-drop silence. Then the kids put up a bhajan performance followed by a  lovely dance performance - something they had been rehearsing for many weeks now !  Then we distributed certificates for participants of a vocational trg course our seva team had sponsored. Then satsang started  :)

The kids sang and danced with unadulterated joy as volunteers joined them. Finally we all had prasad together.  Finally a child came up with a card (in photo above) that he had made for Guruji. He had been working on it for 4 days !

Everyone left with their heads empty, hearts full and hands, having been an instrument in bringing Guruji's grace to the kids.

Just one request Guruji : Keep us all in your service forever !

Jai Guru Dev,

Computer Trg Center - Seva Project

After 2 months of work, it all finally shaped up the way we wanted. Endless phone calls and emails, visits to various prospective donors, amazing experiences of grace, a couple of delays - HE finally pulled it off.

A beautiful Guru Puja, satsang preceded the inauguration and prasad was distributed afterwards.

A 10-computer training centre at a children's home in Pune with a lot of help from individuals and the industry. The seva team will start training courses for the children very soon.

UPDATE : Write up by Sakaal Times.

Jai Guru Dev,

Guruji on Anna Hazare, corruption

Bawa and Dinesh's call to action .

Jai Guru Dev,

Art Of Living, IAHV for Japan

The slowly unfolding horror that is Japan today is there for everyone to see. I was waiting and praying for our response and finally found some information on the IAHV web site. While a team is being put together, the disaster fund raising has already begun. Please donate today (Choose Japan Earthquake Relief from the drop down).

UPDATE :  Guruji's message:  Text . Audio.

Jai Guru Dev,

Mahashivaratri With Guruji March 2nd 2011

Join in LIVE the Mahashivaratri Celebrations in Jaipur on 2 March 2011 with Guruji in the following ways:

1. LIVE Webcast of Maharudra Puja and Mahasatsang with Sri Sri on www.artofliving.org/satsang or live.aofl.eu from 6:30 pm IST onwards

IN INDIA :

2. LIVE Telecast on Sanskar Channel from 7 - 9 pm IST

3. D-Live Telecast on Shraddha Channel from 8 pm IST (here is the way to configure Shradhha channel from your cable operator)

3.. D-Live Telecast on Shraddha Channel from 8 pm IST (here is the way to configure Shradhha channel from your cable operator)  

http://www.artofliving.org/in-en/daily-schedule-sri-sris-talks#shraddhatv

JGD,

Prayers !

As World Cup fever grips the nation, its not exactly the right time to say anything against cricket. But when I came across this slide-show which shows die-hard cricket fans offering aarti at one of the holiest Ganesha temples in Mumbai - Siddhivinayak - for the success of Indian cricket team, something snapped within me.

Lest I be mistaken, I should place on record that, though not a cricket fan, I am as enthusiastic as any Indian about us winning the World Cup. However the act of offering (rather public) prayers for this to happen had me thinking about recent events in India. Thousands of crores of public money were looted with impunity by a couple of our esteemed members of parliament. The price of daily commodities maintains an upward trajectory,putting it out of reach of the common citizen. The morning newspaper brings with it dismal news of a youth committing suicide or a woman being molested by a group of thugs drunk with liquor and power.

At the risk of earning the wrath of any cricket fan that happens to read this blog, I'll say this. Can't we pray for better sense to prevail among our leaders and populace ? Cant we pray for better treatment of women in our country ? Can't we pray for a better life for the millions still living in abject poverty ? Better still can't we do something actively about it ? If anyone can, it is an Indian - a proud citizen of the world's spiritual barometer.

But only if we get our collective heads to think of something that really matters for a better life for our citizens. Something tells me that that something is not cricket.

JGD,

Guruji in Pune

Guruji was in Pune today in a brief stopover from Mumbai - to give the keynote at the 1st Parliament of Indian Council Leaders at MIT College. He arrived at 11:30 sharp and was welcomed warmly by the thousands of students attending the various sessions. Among the various speakers who are scheduled to address the meet are the former President Abdul Kalam, Narayana Murthy (Infosys), Dr. Kiran Bedi and others.

UPDATE : Summary of Guruji's session here.  TOI's coverage here.

He started the session by chanting the DakshinaMurthy Stotram :

Om namah pranavarthaya shuddagyanaikamurtaye
Nirmalaya prashantaya dakshinamurtaye namah

Guruji then continued by saying how he was inexorably dragged to Pune around Jan 12-13th each year :-) ! Last year he he was here on the exact same dates for Antarnaad. Gosh I can't believe it has been a year since seeing HIM in person !

He talked for a bit and then took Q&A from the students. HE talked about character, about how if you wanted to see love you should go to an Indian village, about the need for spirituality in student's life etc.

Another highlight was how he empowers others. A student asked Guruji to lead a pledge for the students to free the country from corruption etc. Guruji asked him to lead it instead. The student said something like "I am a small person compared to you". Guruji gave him back the mic saying "No No you are NOT small" and made him take the pledge and actually took the pledge along with all of US !

Amazing huh ? Guruji Tussi Great Ho !

I didn't take any pictures. Somehow I can't get myself to do that any more at Guruji's events. "Photo Lene Ke Liye Haath Yeh Uthe Nahin" (Original by Chitra Roy : Prarthna Karne Ko Haath Yeh Uthe Nahin) :-)

None of us got to get close to him as he was whisked away to his Mumbai programs for later today.

Watch Guruji's Mumbai satsangs live at www.artofliving.org/satsang

Jai Guru Dev ,

Happy Diwali !

As has become our annual tradition, we celebrated Diwali this year with children from a remand home in Pune. They danced - we clapped , we sang - they danced - we had sweets together - everyone was in deep bliss and in gratitude to Guruji for this wonderful path, techniques and knowledge that can touch the soul of a king and an orphan equally.

Wish you all a blissful, knowledge filled, satsang filled, love filled, joyous Diwali 2010 !

Jai Guru Dev,

The Truth About Negative Blogs

If you've been running into "garbage blogs" that are defaming Guruji and the work of Art Of Living, and felt your blood boil - you are not alone. I just came across this great rebuttal by Swami Sadyojatah,  on the blogs of at least 2 senior Art Of Living faculty and thought I should highlight them as they provide an inside perspective on what could be motivating people to write rubbish about Guruji and the Art Of Living Foundation.

http://www.kashikar.net/2010/08/the-truth-about-the-negative-blogs-%E2%80%93-by-swami-sadhyojathah/

http://vinodmathur.blogspot.com/2010/08/truth-about-negative-blogs-by-swami.html

Jai Guru Dev,

Guru Poornima 2010

Guru Poornima was a serene and blissful one this year unlike the last 3 ones filled with angst and pain at not being able to spend it with Guruji.

We had a beautiful Guru Puja, rocking satsang and a feast a day earlier i.e. Sat in order to allow for folks to enjoy the main Pune satsang on Sunday.

For many of us remand home volunteers however, it was a different affair - our first Guru Puja at the remand home followed by a serene satsang, distribution of certificates to kids who had completed various vocational training courses sponsored by AOL volunteers and finally a sneha bhojan with the kids. I can't post pictures due to sensitive reasons, but the above one with decorations was snapped by a volunteer using his camera.

Seva is Divine !

Jai Guru Dev,

What A Beautiful Response !

Jai Guru Dev,

Nov '07

Once in a while to satisfy my ego, I take a peek at what Google Analytics has to say about visitors to my blog. A few vain moments I spend, reveling  in statistics such as "Top Content", "Map Overlay" (a feature that tells you which cities in the world your visitors are from), traffic sources (whose blogs drive traffic to mine) etc. Somewhere every writer longs to know who his/her readers are I suppose !


Aside from the postings which make up the bulk of the traffic, I often notice an entry that seems to evince strong interest among readers of my blog -  November 2007. Whats so special about this time period - well it was the month when yours truly began to partake in this sweetly addictive past-time called blogging.

Why - I thought - would anyone be interested in something I wrote so long ago. After all those were my early posts - written mostly with a burning desire to check who was reading my stuff - whether it was worth reading or not.  And then I realized, this was something I do at times too !

When I visit a blog and like something I read, the first attempt is to find out WHO this person is :-). Many a times, blogs (such as mine) do not provide such information. Then my mind goes automatically to the next most intriguing piece of information : What does this person blog about ? How did they begin their blogging  journey? What motivated them initially to start this blog ?

Voyeurism of a kind ?  A peek into another person's mind/psyche ? Idle curiosity ? Whatever !

November'07 was certainly the start of something sweet, something creative, something that has been fulfilling to me as a blog author - albeit anonymous. A way to share the precious experiences and joy my Guru has given me with my readers.  A way to be inspired and hopefully inspire. A way to share and care.

Jai Guru Dev,

Ho Yahi Gunjan Sa Mann Me

My favourite from Antarnaad :



Lyrics :

ho yahi gunjan sa ma me hoton par tarana
satya sundar jeevan path par hey eeshwar le jana

ho yahi gunjan sa ma me hoton par tarana
satya sundar jeevan path par hey eeshwar le jana

sadbuddhi ko nikat rakhana durbuddhi ko door || 2
na kare woh kam kabhi jo tumhe na ho manzoor
lobh lalajh ke janjaal me lobh lalajh ke janjaal me
hame na uljhana

satya sundar jeevan path par he eeshwar le jana

raj karta is dharti par buddhi se insan
bhool na jaye ham lekin yeh kis ka hai vardan
tumhine di he buddhi malik tumhine di he buddhi malik
tabhi to tumhe pehchana

satya sundar jeevan path par he eeshwar le jana
satya sundar jeevan path par he eeshwar le jana

ho yahi gujan sa ma me hoton par tarana
satya sundar jeevan path par he eeshwar le jana

he eeshwar le jana (high) || 2

Jai Guru Dev,

Tera Main 2010

We had a wonderful time celebrating Guruji's Bday with kids at the Remand Home in Pune where a large seva group works consistently to bring peace and opportunity through Guruji's grace. Nothing was more fulfilling for the volunteers than celebrating the glorious occasion of HIS Birthday with the underprivileged (could they still lack privilege with HIS presence ?) kids.

Dance, music performances by the kids, a lovely rocking satsang, aarti to Guruji's photo, cutting Guruji's cake, distributing snacks to the kids...all made for a perfect evening !

Jai Guru Dev,

Verifying Yoga

Just came across this really interesting article about a yogi who was studied by the Indian medical establishment to understand (verify?) his amazing claims about the complete lack of food or water to survive for the last few decades.

http://www.themedguru.com/20100508/newsfeature/82-year-old-indian-healthy-after-7-decades-fasting-86134962.html

And here is the western perspective .

Reproduced below in case the link goes away :

Surviving without a morsel of food and water for more than 70 years sounds humanly impossible, but Prahlad Jani, an 82-year-old Indian, claims to have eaten not a single grain of rice or consumed a drop of water since the early years of World Water II.

Despite living practically on thin air, Jani, popularly referred to as Mataji, has suffered no ill effects and is sharp in mind and perfectly healthy in body.

At a press conference at the Sterling Hospital in Ahmedabad, Jani said, "I am fit and strong today and even the doctors agree. They ran every test possible for 15 days and proved that I do not need food to keep me strong. I am strong and healthy, because it is the way God wants me to be."

A series of medical tests conducted Baffled by his ability to survive through such a long period without sustenance, medical experts conducted a battery of rigorous tests.

A team of 30 doctors, including specialists from Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), closely monitored Jani for 15 days starting from April 22, 2010.

Surprisingly all the medical reports- cardiac [pertaining to the heart.] , MRI [magnetic resonance imaging, a non-invasive procedure that produces two-dimensional view of an internal organ or structure, especially the brain and spinal cord.] of chest, abdomen [between the chest and the hips that contains the stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, and spleen.] and spine, EEG reports were normal.

Dr G Ilavazahagan, director of DIPAS stated, “Clinical, biochemical, radiological and other relevant examinations were done on Prahlad Jani and all reports were within the safe range throughout the study. He is healthy, his mind is sharp.

“What is truly astonishing, and something we have no explanation for, is that he has not passed stools or urine. To my knowledge, that is medically unprecedented."

Doctors conducting the test stated, “During the tests we found that in Prahalad Jani’s bladder [a hollow organ that urine drains into from the kidneys.] , the amount of liquid fluctuates even when he does not pass urine.

“We did blood tests for haematology, biochemistry, hormone profile and the reports were in the pre-determined safety range throughout the observation period as per the protocol.”

Investigated earlier in 2003 Scientists had earlier tried to get an insight into how Jani has endured decades of fasting in 2003. He had undergone medical investigations under the supervision of Dr Sudhir Shah, a consultant neurologist from Ahmedabad.

He was closely watched for 10 days in a special glass-walled room with the toilet sealed to verify that he felt no urge to urinate or defecate.

He was allowed a small amount of water for mouthwash which was then collected and measured to make sure that none had been swallowed.

Despite such a starvation of diet, his body exhibited no signs of damage and he was normal and perfectly healthy.

Scans revealed some urine accumulation in his bladder, but this seemed to be re-absorbed by the body because it was never passed.

A yogi’s explanation to the unexplained mystery :

According to a mystic from Himalayas, yoga helps normal people survive without food or water.

Individuals who have renounced the world in search of spirituality adopt extreme practices of standing on one leg or refusing food and communication for years on end.

While the article made for fascinating reading, what was also interesting was the extent to which modern science had to go to understand the powerful effects of yoga. I don't dispute the need for scientific verification to eliminate false claims made by quacks and such, but that an Indian doctor should find such effects "baffling, astonishing and inexplicable" bears testimony to the extent to which westernization has completely taken over Indian scientific thinking & practice.

That someone born in the land that gave the world Yoga, Ayurveda and other wonderful practices not to mention glorious texts such as the Bhagavad Gita and Yoga Vasishta, should have no clue as to the effects of the practice of yoga shows how much damage the last 400-500 years of British rule has done in covering up tens of thousands of years of glorious Indian heritage. Our modern educational system fails completely in uncovering this aspect too. Thanks Macaulay !!

In this context, Bawa's series on "The Technology Of Spirituality" is truly worth watching. High time India woke up to her true heritage - the glorious practices of spirituality that it has created and given so freely to the rest of the world.

Jai Guru Dev.