The Man with the Plan

BKC was filled with people. I couldn’t find a spot to park my car anywhere in the radius of 200 to 300m. Finally I found a spot and walked down to the venue – MMRDA grounds. Never before had I entered a political rally. I had always despised all the politicians and I could not dig an iota of inspiration from any of them. Not until now. I was getting drawn to this magnetic place which had a different charm. A charm that was full of hope and optimism that yes we could have a rule where we can focus on development. We can have a politician who will take pride in speaking about his nation. And his pride would be so infectious that all our chests would swell by at least few inches. Most certainly his chest would swell 56 inch while talking about all the work he has done so far. And the nation rightfully measured it with cheer and joy. ‘Yes we can finally have a stable govt’ ‘We can after all see a government formed with more than 200 seats’ He had high hopes of achieving the magical figure of 272. Although it seemed far-fetched, it seemed too tempting and hence the nation believed him. Little did anyone know that 272 was not even a piece of cake for him!

Millions were walking in the direction that I was walking towards. The ground was made into a fortress by multiple checks and multiple metal detectors. Not an empty space. From the place where I got a seat, I could see the 5 storey stage as table and the politicians could be identified only by their silhouettes and body language.  His name was roaring everywhere. The cheer was louder than what Sachin gets in Wankhede (please no offence – even I am a Sachin fan). This was the cheer from all the 1B Indians who were left in utter despise about their own nation. Where politicians prospered from one scam to another and “Is desh ka kuch nahi ho sakta” was a daily dinner table line.  The roaring chants of his name came out from that level of frustration. One politician after the other spoke. Ramdas Kadam, Ramdas Athavle, Uddhav Thakray etc. Finally the 4 lettered man with whom the nation was about to say the 4 lettered word to the most corrupt rule every seen by this nation, walked to the podium with the grace of a lion and left people awestruck.

People could read his plans. They could relate to him. They knew that he is not merely mocking other parties and partying on their miseries. They knew that he was addressing their miseries. He could clearly lay down his vision for the next 5 years. “Terrorism distances people while tourism brings people together” It certainly seems like a catchy line. But he just didn’t have the line. He had the plan. He has done that before. He had shown what tourism can do. “Everyone right from a tea vendor to a big 5 star hotel benefits from tourism.” And the crowd gave a loud cheer on mere reference to the word – Chai Wala. I was not surprised that a mere chai wala can dream of becoming a PM. As they say Kichad mein hi kamal khilta hai. Someone who has lived the life of a poor know what the poor wants and understands him better. In his speech he must have uttered the word “Juggi Jhopadi” at least 10 times. Yes it is a branding strategy. In marketing they call it as a recall factor. But he knows the recall factor. He knows how to connect to the Aam Aadmi. He has exemplified the maturity to handle a situation where you are subjected to insults, non-cooperation, and stiff opposition and yet you manage to pierce all that.

“Mein kehta hun, aaj hamare railways ke liye university kyon nahi hai?” And I was awestruck at the revolutionary thought. Railways easily employ 2 lakh employees. What would be the population of an average college in Mumbai, 5000? 10000? Here we are ready with 2 lakh employees. Why can’t we train them? “Train them on what” one would ask. Make better trains, better online systems, better ways to handle customers, better communications skills so that passengers can be dealt with more respect. Unfortunately in a country like India, respect is a premium product. We all crib about railways, the uncleanliness, the messy ticket booking system, the food served in pantry. Why can’t we train the railway employees to better themselves? I could see tourism resonating so well in that speech. He has plans to connect Indians from every village. I won’t be surprised to see George Clooney in ‘Incredible India’ campaign 5 years down the line.

When he became PM while sitting on a whopping 333 seats, the first thing he did was to start ‘Swatch Bharat Abhiyaan’. And he won my heart once again. Yes he has tourism in him mind. And he knows what stops a foreigner from coming to the exotic country called India. Apart from setting a culture of good hygiene, he means business. He knows the return on investment for Swatch Bharat Abhiyaan is way too much.

Now it has been more than a year since he became PM last year. But that evening is etched in my memory forever. While leaving, I had a candid chat with the cops who were standing there for security. They said “Its 9:30 pm and the crowd is still not leaving. Yesterday in Rahul Gandhi’s rally in same location, by this time even we had reached home.” I turned to my right watching ‘The Man with the Plan’ leave the stage and the huge mob making its way out through a huge dust cloud that got took birth by their mere walking.

Simplified Complications.

Rituals bring in discipline. Discipline creates a culture. Culture nurtures behavior. Behavior defines character. Character impacts your direction in life,eventually deciding success.

Rituals are a problem when they become a burden. It's a good idea to take up tiny rituals. I see so many people cribbing about rituals. They're always nice when taken in that playful spirit. And they're always trouble when completed as a mere formality.

Let me cite an example. I have started a ritual to pray for / bless any individual other than me the moment I complete my kriya and before I open my eyes. I feel that over a period of more than a year now, this tiny ritual has made a profound change in me. I find myself more caring than what I used to be.

Now this ritual needs some hook to hook on. It can be the time before I wake up, or the time when I have my tea, or the moments before I touch the water tap. Anything can become that hook for you to remember the ritual.

The 'Tiny Changes'  initiative that was started in Cts on similar lines received a huge response. So try this out and let me know about your experiences. We all want to change the static part of our life and we have immense inertia to bring about that change. This Tiny Change initiative encourages one to take up one tiny change that you would want in yourself that would eventually build the change you want in bigger picture.

In my opinion start something right now, whether or not you care about the bigger picture. And keep it smaller so that the ritual doesn't become a burden.

So, what is the new tiny ritual that you would like to start?

That One Tiny Moment of Repentance ...

“Care for a Vada-Pav?” I asked my cousin.

“I won’t have it, I have some health issues. You go ahead if you want.”

“Naah! Its OK. We can go ahead.”

“But if you want it, why are you not having it? Let’s go.”

“I just had a thought, ‘If I breathe my last this very moment, would I repent not having that Vada-Pav?’ If the answer is yes then I better go and have that Vada-Pav right now. If I know the craving holds no substance, I might as well drop it.

It would be such a pity if we were to repent in our last breath. However successful we might be, how much ever money we would have, irrespective of our education background, if there is a moment of repentance while bidding goodbye to this world, our entire lifetime would be such a waste. And I am in no capacity to waste my lifetime for a Vada-Pav. 

This may sound frivolous and funny, but it is true is most cases. 

"I wish I had seen Taj Mahal once."

"I really had to visit Kashi once."

"I so badly wanted that promotion"

"I wish my son should have been married."

"Just once if I had been to Bukaro Island."

And there is an endless list of desires that make us find it difficult to leave this body. From there stems the fear of death - one of the primary reasons for people not to be successful. And then it gets into a vicious circle of fear leading to anxiety leading to low confidence leading to less effective productivity, leading to an unsuccessful life (whatever fits in our definition of success), further leading to a state of mind of desires unfulfilled, finally connecting dots back to fear of death.

Let us try breaking this circle. If at all, we live ensuring that our last breath wont have that repentance, we would empower our self devoid of fear of death, thus leading to a new zeal to take on life and thus become successful. 

Somebody once asked Swami Vivekananda, what do find most amusing about mankind?

He said, "Everyone knows that they are going to die someday and yet they live as if they are going to live forever," The right way to live would be to imagine that if this is my last moment, how would I live it.

We find it very convenient to procrastinate our happiness to some other time because you know, somehow there is a feeling that we are going to live forever. Procrastination of happiness is a foundation stone for the pillars of fear, anxiety and sorrow to stand upon. Once Bawa (Khurshed Batliwala) said, "Have you seen the look on a dead man's face? Its as if he is shocked, 'Ho Gaya?' Till now I was living life and I knew that happiness is at the next corner and life ended before that!"

I have been to cremation ground twice in past 20 days and both the times for someone close and both the times, what amazed me is the sheer unpredictability of life. My granny active till the last moment blew us off when she peacefully closed her eyes forever. She prepared food for all, she kept herself busy till the last breath. How on earth could we imagine which moment was her last. There is absolute no guarantee on our expiry date. We have absolutely no clue on the question 'when'. I know so many instances when a patient walks on his/her two legs to the hospital and comes back on 4 shoulders. So there is absolutely no guarantee that this moment I should allow myself with the luxury of repentance. It is a truth that we find very difficult to digest.

Life is in this moment. This moment is pure, its fresh, its new, its innocent. Sri Sri always says, the past is like a dream and the future is pure fantasy. Live in this moment. Recognizing the purity and freshness of this moment can help us ensure that every moment is free of any repentance whatsoever. 

The idea of being ready to leave this body anytime can be well unsettling. It takes a higher level of maturity to bring our mind to that level. But to come to terms of reality, that thought itself is pure freedom. It is a thought that empowers us to live fully the way we want. And I believe if we have lived our life on our terms, we have lived successfully. No amount of money or education can compensate that state of mind.

Blessed are those who exhale contentment as their last breath.

Intent behind the act

The expression of being unreasonable can be endearing if it emerges from space of love, care and belongingness. Similarly even the expression of being reasonable can be alienating if it emerges from the space of ego.

I have often heard Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar say that the unsaid gets communicated better than the said. Behind words what matters the most is your intention behind them.

Aata Majhi Kharach Satakli

Last week I tweeted to Yo Yo Honey singh that I found it amusing that hysteria is equalled with heroism. Shouldn't it be the other way around? This type of hysteria is found in songs like Aata Majhi Satakli. To my surprise he made the tweet as his favourite. So whether he agrees or not is a conclusion best left to him.

However I surely intend to ask people to ponder on this a bit. What kind of films are we really encouraging ? Should getting angry and jumping like a monkey on every reason be equalled to heroism? If you really want to show action take some inspiration from James Bond. He is someone who would adjust his bow tie even while he is falling from the cliff of a mountain. That's why I love Iron Man.

What's peculiar about these action heros? They are camel composed and sure about their every action. They don't react but they respond. They use their mind more than their muscles. That's precisely why Shivaji became Maharaj. Else how is it possible for a tiny man to kill someone like Afzal Khan?

Real life heros have been cool headed and those who knew very well what their actions are getting them into. Being centered is very vital to be in the present. And when you have that kind of presence of mind is when yo can really clear a  fight gracefully.

It hurts to see movies like Kick, Chennai express, Singham making crores of Rupees. I think we certainly need some training for the Indian cinema viewers to elevate their maturity level.

Sex and Spirituality

I was once going through a knowledge sheet where H. H. Sri Sri Ravishankar (Guruji) talks about love and lust. In love he says, even an object gets life. We name our vehicle, we talk to our toys, children draw sun with a smiling face :) . And in lust he says, even human beings become objects. Such a wonderful description of why lust bothers some people? Here I am not staging a dharna against lust. I believe that every aspect of humanity has its place in the creation. And food and sex being the most common impressions among all the species, lust has definitely played one of the most significant role in the way our world is designed today.

But what does lust really give you? Osho once said, "Is it sex that gives you the pleasure? Think about it. I do not want you to give up on sex. As a matter of fact, I would say meditate on sex." While I am yet to come  to a level where I can understand how to meditate on sex, I certainly loved to contemplate on what he said next. "Think about it, is it really sex that gives you the joy or is it the moment of completion of a desire that gives you the joy?" And I tried to relate it with every desire that I had so far. Is it my degree that gave me the joy or the moment of completion of the desire to graduate? Is it Rasagulla that gives me the joy or the moment of fulfilling a craving that gives me the joy? So while attempting to understand what he said, maybe this kind of material joy is simply filling up of a crevice or a craving.

So is it possible to live that crevice-free life? Is it wrong to have lustful feelings? I think it is perfectly normal to have these feelings. In fact if you are lust free then quite possible that there is some hormonal imbalance and you need some medical check up. But in such a situation how to keep a check on that craving? Is that craving really bad? Is it wrong if I crave for sex?

I am no guru to answer such questions. And most certainly sex is the only contributing factor for the survival of life on this planet (and I can fairly assume elsewhere too). Sex was never a trouble for mankind. It is sex that ferments into lust which eventually takes form of violence that create issues where people quit their day's work and come on streets hampering law and order. It is this form of violence that has the power to destroy generations of the victim's family. Well of course I agree that not everyone is curious to rape women. But then lust in milder forms encourages forced flesh trade where millions of girls everyday are crushing their hopes, aspirations, dreams and most importantly their self respect to satiate a man's uncontrolled desire.

Again agreed, it is certainly not that easy to curb your desires. And I am not even going to encourage that here. But I would certainly like to share certain insights that I have got in my spiritual journey so far. There are certainly spiritual ways in which we can keep a check on that energy. The life force energy entering into various chakras of our body vibrates our body into different emotions and feelings. One of these feelings being lust. Breathing techniques and meditation certainly help to channelize this life force energy in and out of various chakras. And from what I understand, a person meditating for many years gets a say over the flow of this energy. Imagine where you get to decide, what emotion should you be in rather than the situation dictating your emotions. Among various simple techniques that Guruji has suggested, one is taking cold water bath. Try it out, certainly helps.

What helps further is understanding lust from a broader perspective. Certainly lust is an unfulfilled desire. Once Guruji said, every desire eventually ferments into a botheration. And similarly, an unfulfilled desire of sex dwells into lust. Where does this desire come from? From a feeling of lack, from a space of 'I don't have something'. This feeling of lack gets one into grumbling mode. Isn't it? Do we like grumbling people around us? Do you think anyone would enjoy your company if you are in a grumbling mode? Hence certainly if someone is full of lust, s/he automatically exudes repelling vibrations. And then we have youth grumbling upon, "I don't have girl friend." "I am 20 and still a virgin." Why would someone like to get close to a person with such vibes? So what is an antidote to this unfulfilled desire?

Take your mind to the time when you had complete gratitude. Maybe for your parents, your teachers, your friends who helped you in a dire situation. If you cannot find such moments, think harder. Still if there is no trace of a single moment, then we certainly have a problem that needs quick attention. When we are in the moment of gratitude, we are full. We are complete. We notice no lack. There are no desires and hence no crevices to be cemented. It is this feeling of gratitude or contentment that empowers us to get over any negative feeling. It is indeed our way to tackle the Dermentors (Yeah! Harry Potter geek). So how to be in this energy of fulfillment, contentment and gratitude? Just keep counting your blessings. Be happy about the people in your life, the events that brought smile to you, the situations that made you brave. I would certainly encourage you to experiment on this and discover if there is any relation between this act and your unfulfilled desires.

The freedom of applying simple yet profound knowledge

Ever since I did my research on ill effects of cigarettes, alcohol and drugs on human body, I started loathing these aspects of human evolution. This happened to the extent that I started feeling uncomfortable and unnatural amidst such a company.

I always cherish the time I have in a party devoid of all this. The energy of that party is altogether different. It is so pure, so very enthusiastic. You can totally sense difference in both the environment. One seems to be pulling evolution down while the other clearly uplifts the spirit. I slowly started feeling why on earth do people get into these stupid activities! Why can't they understand that is something really bad for them and in turn for the rest of the world? All these thoughts cramped up the space in my mind when I used to sit in any such parties. It became increasingly difficult to be natural and interact with the same set of people with whom I used to spend most of the time before I did my research. Educating them did not work and their mockery to my sensibility fuelled my detachment towards them. At the same time I found it difficult to come in terms to the fact that these are my old time buddies and I cannot just be away from them. I was getting anxious about my straining relationships with them. I closed my eyes and asked for help from within. Sri Sri's soft voice made a soothing tune from inside while saying, 'Accept people and situations as they are'.

I opened my eyes with a smile. Yes they drink, smoke etc, so I just need to accept them as they are. This is how they are, these are their choices. I realised that I was loosing my peace of mind just because I didn't accept the fact that my friends are smoking and drinking. I realised that the real fight was on the question 'why?' "why are they doing this?" "why can't they understand what is good for them?" "Why can't they understand that this is spoiling the whole world?" Acceptance dissolved all the WHYs. And thus dissolved all the questions taking all the frustration with it. "OK, they don't understand. Now I have to make my choices instead of getting into whys."

This may seem like a common sense to everyone. But so many times in our lives do we crib over, "why my boss did this?" "Why can't my dad can't understand my dreams?" "Why my girlfriend always does this?" "Why does he always shout on silly things? " etc. And we end up being in agony. The way Sri Sri puts up this knowledge point, it becomes very obvious and yet something that we can easily apply in our daily lives easily with full awareness.

This piece of knowledge has helped me a lot to take faster decisions, crib less and move on quickly in situations like missing flight, traffic, unhygienic toilets, angry colleagues, work burden, bus delays and almost every daily life occurrence. For me this point has become the fastest way to instant piece of mind.

This is the beauty of the way Sri Sri delivers knowledge. It comes out when we need it. And not comes out in its best answer easiest form.

Once while working I got little scared of the amount of load on me. The anxiety didn't let me even start the work. I then remembered the steps Sri Sri suggested in such situations. First move away from desk. Relax. Break the work into smaller parts and execute one part at a time. I was able to finish that work very comfortably.

I make a point to watch at least one video of Sri Sri everyday. His knowledge is inclusive, it is something you can apply anywhere and everywhere. It is simple to understand, yet it is deep enough to understand the aspect from all situations.

The ease of managing stress

I knew the answers but couldn't remember them. The clock on the right hand side corner of the screen was trickling down faster than what it ideally should have . The stakes were high. "If I am not able to clear this exam today, I must forget my annual appraisal." Every minute spent in that exam center now mattered more than ever. But if I'm not able to remember these answers, it's a total waste of time, money and effort. "Why am I not able to remember these answers now? I studied them last night only."

I came to the awareness that stress is building up. And in stress you cannot do anything, remember anything and hence you cannot act productively on anything. I realized that I now need to take care of my stress first. I removed my shoes, got into the folded legs position over the chair, and started mudra pranayam. I knew that the security camera overhead was watching me, but at that moment clearing that exam was more important to me the anything.

The night before I had barely studied for an hour. Based on that I marched out towards the exam center. My biggest strength in the morning was my Guru - Sri Sri . I prayed to him that I should clear this exam. And I knew that he would answer my prayers. So I was not entirely surprised when only the questions I studied last night popped out in front of me. I was more surprised with the fact that I was not able to recollect the answers. Sri Sri always says that stress overshadows intellect. Fortunately I retained the intellect to invest my time in the mudra pranayam. It's because of those 5 minutes that I when I opened my eyes, I started remembering certain points and from those points I remembered all the answers. I cleared that exam and got a whopping bonus because of that.

I never knew that the knowledge of mudra pranayam can bring such a significant shift in my career. Breath is such a wonderful technique to take care of stress. People always knew this that long deep breaths take care of stress to some level. But which breathing technique can take care of what kind of stress is something I learned when I came to The Art of Living. These different breathing techniques help me when I get caught by cops, when I have to ask for a long leave, when I have to go and present something crucial, when I conduct my trainings, when I wait in the traffic for hours kissing the front car's bumper, when I sit patiently to a 8 year old's questions etc.

Apart from breathing Sri Sri's timely wisdom helps big time. Once during a Satsang, as if listening to all of my mind chatter, he said "Take all the mind chatter, collect it and dump it in the sea." A devotee from the satsang group needed clarification in this, "But won't that give us instant gratification in turn leading us to inaction. We would again have to pick up the matter to work on it." "OK, why do you have to eat again and again? " "Because the food gets digested and the I need more food. But that is a different context since that process gives me energy" " Aaah! Precisely, do you get the point?" and everyone in the satsang started applauding to the simplicity of the process to get that renewed mental energy to resolve our problems.

Earlier the only option I knew to take care of stress was desserts. I knew eating something sweet would take care of my stress. Today I have a platter in front of me that contains a variety of tools to take care of my stress.

My idea of h@ppiness

"Live life as an expression of happiness and not in the pursuit of happiness" stated Bawa in my first yes plus and I was blown away by this line. I so admired the movie 'In the pursuit of happiness' But somewhere I pondered is this state of frustration, agitation mandatory on the path to success? Why am I really here on this planet if I am supposed to go through that agony?

Everyone is doing some or the other thing for happiness. Some struggle to get decent job while some struggle to excel in it. Some strain hard to have a perfect marriage while some strain harder to get out of it. Some prefer to sit in the Himalayan cave while some prefer to booze in an urban cave. Rather every activity of the human race is in the pursuit of happiness. Sri Sri goes ahead in saying that every creature on this planet craves for happiness and peace. He chuckles further, "Those who want happiness, pray. While those of who forgot to pray invented alcohol." We pray for a variety of things. But those who pray for happiness and peace know the true essence of the being.

But this prayer also comes to soothe an agitation in our minds. So does this mean that life is journey of agitation? Because this agitation doesn't settle down until either our desires get fulfilled or the desires become insignificant. And by the time this desire settles in, a new desire takes up the space of agitation and frustration.

"What do you mean by that of course I am happy many a times!" I know this thought would pop up in your mind. You would naturally tend to think that your life is not as miserable as I am putting it here. Rather let's assume that your life is not miserable at all. Are to you smiling right now? When was the last time you had a hearty laugh! When was the last time you danced like crazy and sang irrespective of whether you have audience! When we laugh without reason, dance as if there is no one around and sing as if this is the last chance to sing we get in the state of natural self. If we meditate, we can harness that natural self. With meditation we get to comprehend our natural being. And as Sri Sri says, happiness and peace is the state of our being.

So while we look for happiness somewhere outside, happiness is actually deep within us. Thus meditation is the most reliable way to remain happy. When we are deep in meditation, we get close to what our true self is. The joy in meditation can only be expressed in gratitude people have after meditation. Happiness index is scientific term to quantify how happy a person is! And the person highest on this index so far is a meditator practicing meditation since past 30 odd years. Hence Sri Sri says joy is in this moment.

Coming back to the movie 'In the pursuit of happiness' Chris Gardner finally experienced the tears of joy at the end of the movie. It took him a long struggle to finally reach that state of mind. If he were meditating, he would have been smiling all through his path of success. Being happy brings equanimity in mind and balance in our thoughts and decision. We seldom need frustration to pump our efforts to get out of a miserable situation. But we certainly need joy to get out of misery. And where is joy? With you right now. Then why live life in the pursuit of happiness? Be little smart and live life as an expression of happiness.

The notes of stress beat

He was aloof, alone, sitting with his head down in the Ram Temple at Hyderabad. One of my friends, Kiran approached him and asked him to join us for the meditation centre. As a new project we started running free meditation centres at different places with an intention to reach out to people who are yet to experience meditation. We call this club as Meditating Monday. When I initiated this project in Hyderabad in the year 2011, I had no idea about the gravity of this idea until this boy decided to follow Kiran to the room where our team was conducting the meditation. A simple 10 minutes meditation and we could see wrinkled foreheads becoming soothing smiling faces. This is quite a regular experience for us now. People do recognise the peace within them during guided meditations by Sri Sri. All the participants hugged the volunteers and expressed their intention to join us again. This boy did not seem to move. When Kiran approached him, he hugged Kiran tightly and started crying profusely. "I was planning to jump from 6th floor yesterday. Today I came here to say my last prayers." He had no idea then there exists something in this world that can take him out of his depression.

If this is the impact of a 10 minutes meditation, then imagine what the unique breathing technique of Sudarshan Kriya can do to us. "Nice, but I'm not depressed, what can AOL do to me?" Comes a natural question. If a depressed person can get life then can you imagine what it can do to you. Because of all these techniques, normal people have become super dynamic and dynamic people have become instruments of change that are bringing waves of positive energy to masses.

In 2013 after the Uttarakhand floods, a team from Mumbai took out time from their busy lives with a mission to bring some change in people. My sister was a part of that team. Together the team of 8 boys and 5 girls in 8 days reached out to more than 800 people bringing peace in their minds and hope in their hearts. How is it possible to generate this level of dynamism from the otherwise dormant crowd?

What makes us inactive is the inability to handle stress. What really happens when we cannot meet deadlines at our work place? Assuming that the deadlines are reasonable, we tend to reduce our speed in the fight between focus and relaxation. When we get relaxed we lose focus. When we get focused, we get anxious leading to stress. Breathing techniques taught at The Art of Living really increase the focus and at the same time keeps us relaxed. Thus we get more productive leaving us ample time to do all the things  that we always wanted to do.

We start with full enthusiasm to learn a guitar. But soon the guitar becomes a wall hanging. We end up spending more time on things that we have to do. Focus comes on ways to earn money and how to survive in the rat race. When we delink stress from our lives, we discover the gaps in our day which we generally miss, since they get covered in anxiety, worry, regret etc. This newly discovered time gives us the opportunity to do things which we always wanted to do. Be it preparing for an extra curricular exam, learning Krav maga or taking up some kind of social responsibility. The Art of Living through its stress management programs have brought in vibrancy amidst so many people that today are leading lives much higher than their potential.

Thanks to these techniques that today we are leading lives that we want to live and not the ones that we have to live.

An Infinite Moment Passing By

Let us take every morsel with the taste,
Let us make every move devoid of haste.

Let us revere life in every breath we inhale,
Let us surrender worries in our every passing exhale.

Let us discover music within the noise around,
A symphony of various instruments limitless & unbound.

Let us listen to everyone with care and concern,
Let empathy dawn as their life we learn.

Let us lighten our thoughts as the future worries float goodbye.
Let us loosen our fist so that past regrets heave a relieved sigh.

Let us smile back to every moment of anger and fear,
Let us fight back lethargy while keeping our intentions clear.

Let us feel divinity in every stranger we meet.
Let us experience the infinity in every moment we greet.

H2 Ohhhhh!!

The glimmering source of Light and few visible fishes around, all my life so far I have been successfully dodging all the fishes. Can't remember where my journey really began! But slowly a realisation dawns inside me that maybe I have always been existing. The glimmer above seems quite hopeful, but to get in that direction I have to pierce my way through other buddy molecules.

Certainly the life behind was in absolute dark with occasional stings from some electrified fishes. I could feel some dangerous fishes brushing across my last electron. Directionless, it took years for me - a water molecule to penetrate even a little above. And I have no clue as to why really I was bearing all the pressure. It becomes difficult to appreciate the beauty of the deep sea when you are in despair.

But now that I have seen the  source of the light, I know I have to tread the path towards it. As it's light becomes even more evident, my surroundings seem to be joyful. Everything around looks so beautiful. And now I know it is all purely because of the grace of the source of light. But what really is that source  the quest boggles. But I also know somewhere deep that this journey will be fulfilling.

Right now my life has a purpose to move towards that light. Earlier I spent my life getting swayed by every living and non living thing in the ocean. I was prone to their anger, their fights, their kills, their love, their presence and their absence. I had no idea how big this ocean would be and that how long would I be pushed in God knows how many directions. Even now I'm getting pushed, but I am well aware of which direction I'm supposed to travel. I might even go little below, but I know that my love for that source of light will drive me to move above. The more I pierce my way above the clearer my world gets and the more I fall in love with this world. And all of this is because of that awesome source of light.

The reflected rays from above do give an idea of what the source of light is, but I am yet to discover it. It looks round, it looks yellow, orange, red. Oh! Here passes that cloud again eclipsing that source of light. But I have faith that it is still there. Few moments of disappearance won't deter my years of practice of moving towards it. Sun, my source of inspiration, my very purpose of living so far won't quite so easily on me. Aah! Finally the clouds have passed away and I can see him again. The closer I get to the surface of the ocean the warmer it feels.

Wheee! This push from the fish seems to have bubbled me to the surface. And what is happening here now? Am I flying? I'm getting detached from the rest of the molecules. The bondage between the molecules with me seems to loosen up. I'm free! I'm free! Thank you dear Sun for pulling me towards you. My struggle to come this far seems to be worthwhile. Your love and the warmth pulled me up!


Now I can see the ocean in its entirety. Such a beautiful sight! As I fly up, the horizon widens. I am seeing

the world from a whole new perspective now. The wind seems to be carrying the rest of my free buddies. But I don't wish to get swayed. I want to go up. I'm pushing myself hard, but oh dear sun, I need your help here. It's your warmth that can make all the difference.
Wheee! Here I get pushed again. What a lovely sight it is from this altitude. I just cannot believe that just couple of years ago I was living in absolute dark. This freedom is enticing & reliving. Rather now I realise what is freedom really! Bliss! Pure bliss! I was cradled in the arms of my mother earth so far where she took lovely care of me. Now comes the time when I get to explore the unexplored. I now wish to know why am I here after all?

I think with this velocity I am going to dash the cloud above. Ouch! That hurt. But it seems to be a nice cozy ship. All such free buddies like me have assembled here. Together we are soaring above while moving ahead too.
I can see the land now. Animals drink water here too? I thought that was a prerogative of only fishes! That means that I run in their veins too. Quite evidently I'm everywhere existing in different forms. I can take form of ocean, rivers, lakes, mist, vapour, clouds etc. I seem to be learning a lot from my buddies here who have more experience with this cloud.

I run through all the living beings and I nourish the non living too. All of them are just me in some or the other forms. I'm enjoying this purity where I'm being untouched by any other molecule. Winds come and sway but it doesn't really matter any longer.
Now I know that I'm here for others. I'm not just here to soar in the skies and enjoy this cruise, but I'm here to contribute my bit in this whole system of life.

Now, to serve my purpose, I need to drop down into the arms of my mother earth so that I can make some life down there worth living. Albeit this dive keeps in store the knowledge of the purpose of life for some living being down there.

A solvent for all the questions

"Why do people keep running behind him all the time? I just fail to understand why are people so crazy about him!" One girl asked. Those who have this question are stuck with it because they keep looking at people. "Move your vision from people to him and you will find all your answers." I replied. It's quite natural to be crazy about such a wonder on this planet. If you look at crowd, you will get all sorts of questions. When you look at him, you get all the answers.
Is it normal for someone to pierce his way safely amongst a crowd of 1000s while greeting them, smiling at them and at the same time taking care that they don't fall over each other while taking care of his own dhoti? "Well the dhoti must be tied very well." Indeed you can apply N no of logic to anything in this world. But if logic doesn't allow you to appreciate a wonder, what is the use of that logic?

It was his birthday last week and we all clamored there to greet him. Probably one of the most important dates for quite a lot of people on this planet. "Guruji, when is your birthday someone asked long time back." He said "tera mai (13 May)" that's hindi for "I belong to you" and he means it for each and every breathing soul on this planet. Ask him, whether he has any desires and he is affirmative "To see smile on every face of this world." 'That's crap' you may think. 'It's a scheme to fork out money from innocent people.' I had similar doubts initially. But I don't like doubts to be kept at the surface. I dived in to figure out what is he really up to! In Vidarbha district of Maharashtra, there are 10 farmer suicides per day everywhere. In the villages adopted by AOL not a single instance of farmer suicides. Can you count how many smiles he managed with his intention? This is not even 1% of the work the AOL volunteers are pouring themselves in, and no points for guessing who is the inspiration behind all this.

"Why do people consider him as God?" someone asked Bawa once. Bawa replied "His technique of Sudarshan Kriya has saved millions of lives and millions of families. But naturally people would revere him. That doesn't stop you from believing in only whatever you experience. You take him the way you want. He is there to accept everyone in totality." His acceptance of an individual is so graceful that even stone hearted terrorists cry like babies in front of him.
I was once volunteering in an advance course taken by Hasan Tafti. Hasanji's mom asked him "What are the divine qualities of Guruji that you see?" "Forget his divine qualities mom" Hasanji said,  "I can't even fathom his human qualities." He narrated an incident when some 10 to 15 people from Pakistan had come to Bangalore Ashram to meet Guruji and Guruji had asked Hasanji to take care of them. "That night in Satsang Vikram Hazra was singing all filmy songs and Guruji was nicely smiling at everyone, enjoying the music, looking at the moon, the stars etc. After the Satsang I went to meet the Pakistani friends and I was little surprised to see one middle aged person crying profusely. I asked him what happened? 'You didn't see what happened?' 'Yes! Beautiful satsang beautiful atmosphere everything was perfect.' 'Then you didn't see what happened.' 'Ok, so tell me what happened.' 'I have 2 businesses, one in Karachi and one in Lahore and I rip my head apart in managing these two cities. Here is a person who has branches in 156 countries and he has time to look at the moon, the stars while enjoying filmy songs.'"  Is it less than a wonder? We lose our patience while managing our 8 hours job and he still manages to smile while getting out of a 17 hour flight while being intent to a plethora of emotional, financial, political, personal, non personal and good knows how many different issues.

While standing in the huge queue to meet him, on his birthday, I told Venky "I think he will remain a wonder all through my life. The more you try to understand him, the more mysterious he becomes." Generally mysteries are associated with question marks. With him all questions dissolve into exclamation marks.
He creates a world
Where silence merges with wonder,
Where devotion rises up in love,
Where dynamism brings out the colours of service,
Where wisdom carves out the definition of humanity.
Indeed the world is blessed by his birth.

How I got out of Rs 3000 fine with a warning

An example of when Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says something he means it.
I was riding back from the spiritual fair with Sagar behind me holding my bag and my LCD TV, when a cop caught us. My bike being of Andhra Pradesh registration, it quickly caught his eye and he demanded the NOC. To ensure that we don't run away he snatched the keys from my hand. After searching a lot I could produce a receipt that Hyderabad RTO gave me that indicated that my NOC is in their possession. He shrugged that receipt off saying that he needs actual NOC. I saw that there was no other way than paying the 3000 Rs fine he was demanding.

Sagar behind me got into negotiations mood and his Tamil conversations convinced the cop that we are not thieves stealing the bike. After a peaceful discussion for about 10 mins I declared that I don't have enough cash for the fine.
"How much do you have? "
"1000 bucks." I was honest.
"Ok, give me. "
"With receipt or without receipt?"
"Of course without receipt."
I remembered 2 things in that moment.
1. Having taken oath that I will never bribe.
2. Guruji saying," If anybody asks for bribe, show him my photo and tell him that He is my Guru. He has told us not to give bribe."

Very politely I followed my Guru's words. Next moment he mellowed down.
"Ok so, sure that you are not thieves? "
"Absolutely! We do social work." and I showed him pics of us working on VFABI - Respect the Red Campaign.
Next moment he dropped the keys back in my hand.

Guys, whenever you come across any such situation, be patient, be calm, composed and confident. Your biggest asset is your faith in your Guru's words and your next biggest asset is your smile.
Be compassionate towards the person but do not indulge in corruption.
Times are changing and so are people who do corruption.
Let's be the wheels of change. Let's volunteer for a better India.
For Volunteer For A Better India Chennai chapter, follow @VBICHN

Jai Gurudev

How big clues of life unravel themselves! Aho!

Observe the reasons why can one not get deep sleep.

" I am having a bad stomach ache." That's the effect of eating wrong food. Take a pill and it can be healed.

"I have bad headache, fever, cough & cold etc " That's again the effect of not maintaining health properly. Still we can manage it by pill or Zandu Balm etc.

"There are just too many mosquitoes tonight." Now this is the effect of your community not maintaining proper healthy surroundings and everyone in your community will have to face this issue. But again this can be taken care of by various "techniques" like liquidator, coil, odomos, electric bat etc.

Every effect mentioned above is because of some action, right? That action is nothing but our karma. It's because of our actions or our community's actions we bear certain fruits or bad consequences. I'm enjoying an urban lifestyle because of the actions of my grandparents. I have to bear a wrong government because of the action or for that matter inaction of my fellow citizens. I enjoy the good marks in my exam because of the action of my studies.

So now coming back to reasons as to why one cannot sleep properly, we saw there are are certain actions that we do all day that lead us to lack of sleep. But then certain actions out of them do have cure. Certain scientists or gurus in the field of science have deviced certain ways (pills, Balm, liquidators etc) in which you can be relieved off your/your community's actions/inactions.

One of the prime reasons as to why one doesn't get deep sleep is when some botheration constantly hovers over one's mibd. In one of my sessions with Rajima Ratan she said desires eventually ferment into botherations. Look at any botheration that doesn't let you sleep, it was a desire some time back. "I have exam tomorrow." is a botheration that arises out of the desire to get good marks. And stronger the desire, stronger is the impression of botheration. And stronger the botheration, the shallow our sleep is.

So unless we lighten ourselves with desires, we effectively won't have good sleep. Now as H. H. Sri Sri Ravishankar puts it up, desire is an intention with feverishness. To take my example, the idea to write this blog dawned on me when a storm of mosquito bites shook me out of my sleep. The intention to blog about this sudden realization (Aho Niranjan!) was good enough to complete my action without any negative effect on my sleep. But associated with this intention was the feverishness to blog it right now which fermented into a desire. And I won't get proper sleep tonight until I completely drop this desire because even after publishing the blog comes the desire to get reader's comments. So I simply won't get my peace of mind until I get completely dispassionate about this action.

So to sum it up, in order to get liberated in deep sleep:
a) one has to implement the techniques and the instruments invented by the gurus in the field of science to overcome the effects of one actions (karma).
b) get dispassionate about one's actions by dropping feverishness off the desires thus preventing it to become a botheration.

Now with this, we do realize the importance of repeating advance meditation courses, don't we? Those who have understood the implicit meaning of the blog would concur. So keep repeating AMCs and keep exploiting the botheration basket in the course that will eventually lead you to that deep sleep from where getting up and going back to bed comes completely under your control.

:-)

Jai Gurudev.

Discovery of Happenings

A very small story that I remembered today. It was my first party with Yes!+ Madhapur. Finding Ushassu the residence of the teachers where the whole party was held turned out to be a herculean task for me. My first Guru Pooja experience with Vishnu chanting Guru pooja turned out to be just magical. I just couldn't fathom that mere words that I can barely understand can bring such a profound effect on me. I was beginning to start liking the whole affair. I thought, 'Here begin my days to start wearing Kurta Pajama' . Just as the things were getting stereotyped, Vishnu & Poornima unleashed a pack of games and from their bags came out neatly wrapped prizes with strict instructions from Vishnu to not to open your prizes until you reach home.

I was innocently honest with the instruction and little curious to discover the prized possession (as it is I hardly win, and when I do the prize becomes even more precious), only to discover Vishnu's mocking face in a torn out banyan (inner vest).

Here are certain things that happened that night that makes that night special for me.

1. I experienced the magic of Guru Pooja for the first time.

2. The games and the prizes removed from stereotype about AOL created that very day.

3. I made friends with some 50 odd people in one shot. I was amazed to see how freely people talked to each other and especially to me a stranger.

4. Scored little mileage by winning the game.

5. And most importantly, I got a cloth free of cost to clean my newly bought bike :-).

"So many achievements in one shot can happen only with the Art of Living group" I thought as I spent 20 bucks today to buy a piece of cloth to clean my bike.

And had I not spent this 20 bucks today, God knows when would I have remembered this priceless story.

Feel every inch of my life in AOL is soaked in bliss.

Seeds of Positivity

Few months back I started a new ritual to bless or pray for some soul everyday. "Yeah right as if blessings and prayers work." Let's understand what happens when you pray for someone.

When we pray we consciously harbor care and a sense of belonging towards that person. "Well I do that, I don't need prayers for it." Prayers needn't necessarily mean appealing to God. Prayers are silent wishes. With prayers we give our heart a voice. A voice that even we don't know exists. Then dawns a lovely feeling of care for someone. We then soon find ourselves taking extra mile of finding out on how that person is doing. This concern is enough a driving force for most of the people to drive their lives ahead.

With prayers dawns a hope in our heart. A prayer says that I will be there by your side when needed. It also dawns a hope that when needed some day someone will be by my side.

Prayer sows the seeds of positivity in our hearts. So prayers mainly work on the one praying. But let's make sure that we pray for someone else. Every day.

Let's sow the seeds of positivity right within.

Dengue... Done deal!

Give one ward to Mortein and one to Good Knight and then find out which ward is really mosquito free ward! Are the insect repellent giants willing to take up this challenge?

Clearly neither of the govt bodies are capable to deal with this menace. With dengue death toll rising high, we are fast losing battle to this 2cm long insect from the phylum arthopoda. Very recently I read somewhere, that mosquito is the most dreaded animal in the animal kingdom. Are you scared of a doberman, lion or a panther? Get a reality check, mosquito is far more dangerous.

Human race now needs to be innovative to deal with this world's most powerful airforce. With govt authorities failing to produce results, I think it's time that we put the matter in the hands of experts. So let's ask Mortein, Good Knight, Tortoise, All Out and other such mosquito repellant giants to come up with a war plan. Their battlefield - one municipal ward. Now if there are more dengue cases in a particular ward, we know who is more efficient.

Now what do these giants get out of it? We as it is invest 50 bucks per household per month on that repellent we plug in our sockets. That night time pole star in our homes gets the dignified occupancy of our precious real estate. Let us give freedom to our plugs and sockets and contribute that amount as a toll to Mortein. Why is it fair to pay that amount? Don't we pay toll on major highways? Well these giants now get a certain and a dedicated income. Aam junta gets peace of mind with an additional real estate space and govt bodies can get rid of one monkey off their back.

Agreed, this model can reduce the breeding grounds for mosquitoes, but may increase the breeding grounds for corruption in form of tenders for mosquito repellant companies . But we also need people like Anna and Kejriwal to have a status of importance in our society. Thereby we are also creating breeding grounds for protests, public awakening and awareness about public responsibility. So its a win win win and win situation everywhere.

The whole idea of the model is, let's deal with the problem where it actually is! The problem is not in our houses. Breeding grounds are out there in open and that's where we need a powerful treatment. We unnecessarily breathe polluted air while burning the coil, or electrocuting the repellent. Let's breathe free indoors and make a sensible contribution towards those who can make a difference.

posted from Bloggeroid

Communicating IT's Importance

“You do realize that you are getting out of the field of technology” my friend warned me while calling out to the waiter inadvertently concluding my farewell party. “Yes, I know.” “And you know that it is technology that has penetrated everywhere and will keep penetrating until humans are replaced with machines everywhere.” “Yeah, I am pretty much aware of the flow.” “So you are keen to get out of the most promising field to enter into something like ‘Communications Skills’? Don’t you think that technology someday will replace the need for communication skills?” Sensing the sarcasm in his tone I decided to take the baton in my hand.

“Didn’t you just wave to the waiter before we started on this topic?”

“Yes”

“Isn’t that a form of communication, requesting him to come here?”

“Hmmm”

“Then you will hand over your credit card to him that would communicate that it’s not me but some bank which is going to pay you.”

“Yes”

“Then as the waiter swipes your card, he is communicating to the bank about your expense at his restaurant. Later the bank communicates him back assuring your validity.”

“Yes, but what’s the point?”

“The point is, that every single transaction that we do in this universe is nothing but some or the other form of communication. Our world is filled with the need to communicate.”

“How is it relevant in my world?”

“Programmers learn JAVA – which is essentially a language to communicate to the machine. This program later sends XML to some other application sitting is some other country which is another form of communication. Every single click that we make over the internet is a form of communication to the World Wide Web. When we handover a cheque to the bank, we are communicating that some person owes me money from you. When the movie hall counter gives us ticket, it is a form of communication for the ticket collector to permit our entry in the hall. The teacher signing a report card communicates a student’s performance to his/her parents. When we pray, we communicate to the divine. We communicate in words, in gestures, in every single transaction and we communicate in our silence. Our world is crammed with communication my friend. How can the need to improve in communication ever run out?”

“I see your point.”

“I am pretty sure that our world will have increased dependency over technology. But the sole purpose for that to build, is some or the other form of communication.”

The waiter arrived with the credit card slip that my friend signed on.

“Now here you are communicating to the bank, that ‘this is my expense and I will pay you’”

“Oh shut up now, now get over it!”

posted from Bloggeroid

My Major Take Away From Ashtavakra Gita

Disclaimer1: This blog is meant only for those who have completed Ashtavakra Gita. For those who haven’t, please go through the discourse of H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Ashtavakra Gita before reading this blog.

Disclaimer2: Ashtavakra Gita is not Bhagwat Gita.

“Music is harmony in sound” – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

When there is no harmony in sound, it simply becomes noise. It is the tune that brings this harmony in sound. The way the sound goes high pitch or low pitch, you can virtually draw a graph in air as your favorite song beats the speaker. This graph basically comes from the fact that the song is jumping up and down over few notes. In Indian classical singing, these notes are Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa. So you take any Indian song, it is basically permutation combination of these 7 notes or Sapta Suur as we call them. The other day after we completed one of the pieces of Ashtavakra Gita, this aspect just struck me very hard. Whether we like a particular song or not, whether the song is comedy, tragedy, romantic, blues, classic or whatever genre it may belong to, it is finally a composition of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa. At the root, it is nothing but Sapta Suur. 

When I tweeted this piece of realization, Ajay replied, "Nimish, knowledge oozing out?"

For those who couldn't relate well to the above example, here is another realization that dawned on me few days ago.

Remember the birthday song we sing, "Sagar me ek leher oothi tere naam ki"

Let us take a dive in this Sagar. Nice blissful ocean with amazing flora and fauna right within. The flora and fauna in an ocean differs from the flora and fauna in the river. Reason being, the water differs from the ocean to river. We generate tons and tons of salt every day from the great ocean and yet it generously produces salt again and again for our sake.This level of salt differs from ocean to ocean. The salinity in the Bay of Bengal is lower as compared to that of the Arabian Sea. So if you take a bowl of Arabian Sea water in one hand and a bowl of Bay of Bengal water in another hand, you'd agree that the waters are different. What would happen if both of them go through distillation plant? Now try to compare both the bowls, its no rocket science that the distilled water is just the same. So what differs the Arabian Sea water from the Bay of Bengal water is the salt and mineral content or anything which is not water. Let us call this "anything which is not water" as impurities. So if we are able to remove the impurities from both the sea waters, there is no difference in any of these oceans.

I can see few nodding their heads and few smiles by now, as this is something they can relate to.

Now think, why is it necessary to do Sudarshan Kriya daily and advance courses regularly? What sort of distillation we go through when the master says, get back to your source? Why do we feel blissful and pure after every advance course? And what is that purity?

It is the impurities that create distinctions. So imagine, tomorrow a bucket of water from Bay of Bengal flies to the Arctic Ocean and says, "The water there is very hard in nature. It is very stubborn." A bucket of water from Hawaii flies to the coastline of Mumbai and says, "The water there is brown in colour." In all these comments, is it really the water that's being judged? No, water is always H2O. Poor water gets the attributes of its impurities.

"Love is not just an emotion, it is your very nature. Just like this table is made up of wood, our body is made up of flesh, we are made up of a substance called love." - H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar