Its not permanent!

A sudden bout of illness can be Nature's way of offering you time for Swadhyaya!

With nowhere to go and nothing to do, you invariably become more observant of what is happening within - all the bubbles of thoughts that come up, stay their duration & whither away. The entire gamut of emotions that come in cycles & disappear. How fascinating!

And all thoughts & emotions seem so permanent & real when they arrive. So solid. But after they have faded away, you struggle to remember what they were!

Somewhere then the discrimination happens - between what is truly important & valuable in life & what is not. Between what is real & what is just gabbar singh! 

A pause once in a while can be great to de-clutter, cleanse perspectives & renew your commitment to your purpose.

P.S - You don't need to fall sick for that of course. Some quiet moments everyday might be enough too. :D

May we miss not!

A story shared by Ma Sarada has been quite reververating in my mind the past few days. 

"In a tank there was a reflection of the full moon. Seeing that, all the small fish of the tank were immensely pleased. They leaped and splashed and played around the moon, thinking that it was one among them. But when the moon went down, they were the same old lot. All leaping and playing came to an end - they never understood anything." 

Huh?!

A drop in an ocean

Death can really wake you up. Death remains a theory till it comes home.

You gradually realise everyone comes with a fixed quota of life, and when that is done, you have to exit the family, and the world. Suddenly the person who was alive in front, is no more. Death can truly bring forth the most important lessons. And truly wake you up to life.

Anyone who has faced death of a close one & has ruminated over it, is changed. Forever. 

Incredible speed

Everything is rising, falling & dissolving in Time! To sometimes pause & observe, how everything is just passing by. And so fast. Quite like the views from a speeding train.

The realm beyond

An unpleasant circumstance or sensation exists only till you resist it. Nature will put you through things you dislike till you become absolutely okay with it, till it simply doesn't matter any more. Till you do not feel anything in the heart when you think of it or are in it.

For a sadhak - to be free of his/her own dislike is liberation.

Righteous rage!

I have battled with righteous anger for long. From my very childhood.

The concept of right & wrong was very clear & well defined in my head. I got angry, sometimes violently so and fought for all that I thought is worth fighting for. Years later, I came across this term - righteous anger. And this beautiful knowledge sheet by Gurudev on the same changed me forever.

"Every time you are angry, know that it is because of righteousness. People who feel that they are righteous, they have tremendous temper and less patience. In a mature mind, when you have become more wise; of course you are righteous, but you go beyond righteousness. When you go beyond righteousness, you see everything in a different light altogether. Ascertaining righteousness, I would say is a weakness. Being righteous is good, but when you ascertain it, I would say there is a weakness somewhere." - Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

As I started living this knowledge, I once wrote in my FB - There is anger, and there is righteous anger. To be free of both, and to keep working.

Hope the beautiful wisdom by Gurudev frees many of us who are pained with righteous rage.

Calm after the storm

Regular practice of meditation, after a point of time, brings a certain steadfastness in emotions. This centerdness can also comes with an intense desire to be free of the storms of emotions. It can also come suddenly, as a Divine gift. Whatever it is, it is a beautiful happening.

People, situations and events that irked you all your life suddenly lose their power to provoke you, and you are just left with this soothing calm for the most part. And, even if you get agitated, you are able to observe it while at it, instead of getting lost in it. How enlightening is that!

A few months back my FB status read - Life beyond storms of emotions. Free & purposeful.

Worth working/praying for it!

What is the present moment?

Sometimes I wonder if the 'present moment', as something static, actually exists. Because everything is passing. Does being in present moment actually mean being aware of this FLOW of the present to the past? Maybe. 

Are you Skillful?

What do you do when someone is scolding you or shouting at you? The first impulse is to react, and then defend. This is especially true when it comes from people you are close to.

Well, how about doing nothing, when thus attacked? Just observing the turbulence in the chest, throat and head region, and being with that.

The other day at the Sri Sri Yoga Program we shared this beautiful knowledge:

Yoga Karmasu Kaushalam

Just as in any other activity, you need skill to go through life too - through all its pleasant and unpleasant phases. Being skillful means handling a situation with awareness, and without reacting. And making it better, not worse!

So developing this skill, and implementing it is YOGA.

So, how skillful are you in life, in relationships?

Xin Chao Da Nang!

Jan 2017. I asked Gurudev - what should I do going forward? I was working with Art of Living ABC department then.

He replied - You should now travel and teach. 

So that was that. And, there has been no looking back after that!

After 7 months in ashram, I returned to Kolkata on 14th February. What followed was two months of extensive travel to different parts of Bengal, conducting courses and other activities. 

And after 2 months in Bengal, I landed in Da Nang, Vietnam. A beautiful beach city, I loved it at first sight! What followed was 6 months of intensive work in the city filled with courses, events, Ayurveda consultations, talks, promotions, collaborations, to bring the Art of Living techniques & knowledge to this part of the world. Needless to say, it was exciting, challenging & very rewarding.

More about our adventures there, in the posts to follow. Stay tuned!

This Beautiful - I Don't Know! :)

Have you ever tried this? When someone asks you - what's your plan? You say, "I don't know" and really mean every word of it. Well, it can be quite liberating to not plan ahead. And, in my case, not to dare to plan ahead!

Ever since I have dedicated myself to Seva - serving my Master - there has been an even clearer realization that my life is happening as per some plan. While it is true for every single one of us, the realization might not dawn. It did not strike me at all till I became a full-time volunteer with The Art of Living.

It all started after the Sanyam program when, for the first time, I told Him that I want to work full-time for the organisation. This had been my long cherished dream, and I just wanted to dedicate myself fully to His work. The very next day I was offered an opportunity to work full-time for the media division of the organisation. While that meant shifting my base entirely to ashram, and leave everything behind, I (nor my husband) batted an eyelid. It was like a dream opportunity for me, and I had to grab it. Of course, there were some heartaches at having to leave my well-set home in Kolkata, and all of my people behind, but I could go through that phase.

The seven months in ashram were busy with Sadhana, Seva, Satsang and intense Swadhaya. A lot of things that had been swept under the carpet came up, and a lot of healing happened. I was enveloped in a cocoon of love and care, and the Master very tenderly, gradually released years of pent up stresses, emotional debris, and left me so calm, happy and peaceful. Was so happy and relieved to see that my face too had changed so much and the serenity was visible!

When in ashram I always felt that He was preparing me for some work outside. I was not to stay there forever, though I had come for long term Seva. I therefore did not miss my Sadhana. The group Sadhana every morning was the best thing to have happened to me there. The long meditations, sandhya, sanyam sadhana, gurupuja chanting was so nourishing. Ever in gratitude for those months of awesome Sadhana.

In Seva, I just followed a simple rule - say 'yes' to whatever seva opportunity came my way. So there were crazy moments of non-stop work, late nights, early mornings, multi-tasking, coordinating, handling criticisms etc :D but again, it was all for the BEST. I learnt so much - and mostly about myself.

It was my 7th month in ashram when things turned around. Yet one more time..and of course unexpectedly!

And I realized, I will never ever know what my next move will be. Because Someone had fully taken over, and it was going to be one helluva, totally unpredictable, super comfortable & abundantly 'grace'ful journey!

Thumbs Down to Biased Reporting of WCF by ABP News

Yes, its over. The beautiful event that will go down in history as one of the biggest gatherings to celebrate love, peace, and diversity came to a graceful conclusion a week back.

But some people seem hell bent on doing mischief. Right from day one, ABP has been publishing false and negative news about World Culture Festival. The media house seemed to derive pleasure out of disparaging and discrediting what the whole world was praising.

From the headlines of today's interview with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, it seemed like finally things would be presented as they are. We would finally get to hear it all from the man so much in the midst of a controversy, and for what? For organising one of the biggest cultural events of the times - for making a wholehearted attempt to celebrate diversity & pray for world peace in a world torn by divisive forces. This was so much the need of the hour – this coming together in love and celebration.

But we were in for a surprise! A tone of sarcasm, of denial, and mockery ran through the interview published in The Telegraph Sunday edition. While the rest of the world hailed it as a beautiful event and were busy inviting him to host the event in their country, here was our media house taking great pains to portray everything about it in a negative light.

The interview quoted all the facts about the organisation, but in a tone that smack of suspiciousness. It couldn’t believe how can an organisation reach out to so many people? Do so many good things? Have all the world singing its praises? There must be something wrong!

Ok so with the facts and figures in front, it seems all is good with the organisation, so let’s just mock it all?

This is exactly the route ABP seems to have taken. With its back against the wall at not having found anything bad/negative about the organisation it chose to exaggerate certain things, which in the process sounded ridiculous and immature to say the least.

The mention of Gurudev having bouncers, living in a fortress, & having chained barriers are utter lies! It tried to portray an image of a formidable baba, when it is just on the contrary. If you question having regular security in the campus and having some sturdy volunteers by the side, God save you. You had to stoop so low to sensationalise the interview?

From my own experience, I have found that there has never been a person so approachable, and he in fact declines to have security people around him so that people get easy access to him. Where was your research?

And the mention of the youtube clip where Sri Sri is swaying to the tune of a bollywood number was juvenile to say the least. What does it prove?!

Presenting facts as it is is one thing and colouring it with your belief system is another. A newspaper is not the place to write a biased report Mr Avijit Chatterjee! You have a blog for that.

And just because you seem to be so ill informed, let me tell you, no, Sri Sri does not preach any religion. All he does is help people lead happier, healthier lives.
People from all religions flock to him. But somewhere maybe you ended up mixing it with hinduism and ofcourse, anything which even remotely hints of the religion has to be smacked. I bet if Dalai Lama or any other “non-hindu” leader would have done the event, there would have been no criticism.

Also, with a handful of BJP leaders attending it, the media house had to just see red.

Dear ABP, it is time we see things as they are. We can do away with your years of conditioning that all babas are frauds, that spirituality is bogus, that India cannot do anything good and spiritual leaders should just be somewhere in the forests meditating and not contributing actively to society.

Your article had all our facts and figures right. Just do away with the sarcasm, its passe. And learn to give credit where it is due. Else you lose credibility. Else people read you, and mutter how you are just going down the drain.

Dont forget that you cannot misuse your power. And yes, thanks to social media, you cannot fool us anymore. You cannot influence us anymore. We will form our own belief systems and opinions based on our own experiences.

As far as your writing is concerned, all of us give it the thumbs down. Many of our contacts who may not even be following Sri Sri have expressed their surprise at this immature coverage of the interview. But then going by the downward spiral of ABP in news quality, this is maybe one more shove down the drain? 

:-))

So many things happen in life. So few are blessed with a higher goal which helps them lift their vision from the many trivialities and focus on the bigger purpose of life. 
Just imagine, what would we have done if there would have been no courses, no projects, no such anything, we would have been so engrossed with the happenings. This lifetime is an opportunity to finally come unstuck and see life from a broader perspective. Grateful. :)

The Real Purpose

Yesterday there was a session with Vikram Bhaiyaa with the YES!+ teachers and volunteers. I could not go as I was not well but I heard what he said from others. 

Among many things what struck me was this that after coming to AoL many people forget why they are here in the first place. They get so caught up in acquiring fame or whatever that they completely forget that they are here for knowing the self. If here also people get caught up in jealousy, competetion than what is the difference between the outside world and here? 

So good! These timely reminders are a great check. Why am I here, What is my purpose.. Is whatever I am thinking/doing serving my purpose? Swadhay again and again. And letting go of anything that is not in sync with what is your life purpose.

I loveee sessions with teachers.
Comforting, and Kind of reality check!
(Written on 31st Dec, 2012)

The Shift!

Was just thinking. Last two months were so hectic working for the Guru. Everyday from morning till night, we were just going around like mad. So less sleep, had no time to cook and so nothing to eat also survived on puffed rice and blessings many a night. And then on top of that everything breaking down in work, relationships, friends.. Rude words from here and there - sarcasm, cynicism, criticism hmmm! The best part was that there was no time to mourn even. Just when I thought I would cry over a loss, my phone would buzz with calls/smses about things to do for the course! 

It was tapas! I remember one instance clearly. I had just received a heart breaking sms and a few minutes later I was giving an introductory talk to a big batch of students. Inside I was crumbling down and outside it was a dynamic me talking hahaha.

The best part is that when you are suddenly subject to so many things, you have no option but to turn inwards. And, you know that no matter how chaotic everything seems, with the Guru in life, everything ends happily!

So, that was that. The Mega Course happened! Some more minds and hearts got washed clean, some more people given the brahma gyaan, some more people got connected to the Self, some more people woke up to Guruji. The family..the love, smiles, the belongingness spread some more.

In the midst of all this, I had forgotten when the Master had shifted the focus from "what about me?" to "what can I do for you?". Suddenly its all being so effortless. And, the rewards of enduring it all, persevering, not complaining, not grumbling are unfathomable! 

Perfection at Every Step!

Looking back, doesn't everything semmed like it was planned?  
Every single word, deed, pause in life. Planned to perfection. To bring you to where you are now. 

Was just thinking how desperate we are for certain things at certain points of time in life, and going forward how grateful we feel that our ardent prayers were not answered. 

How we had big fights with people and thought that this was perhaps the end of everything only to find that this has actually strengthened the relationship manifold and made us more bonded than ever.

How we fumed over somebody criticizing us only to find later that it has actually helped us so much to come out of our comfort zone and be even more better.

A higher intelligence is at work. Always. There is perfection always. Everything has a reason. Nothing is a coincidence and nothing is random!

:-)

The more I walk the path, the more it comes to me to just BE. There really is nothing to prove. Just being in the moment, content and happy. Saw a billboard the other day that said "Life is now." I was traveling in an auto, immeditaely I snapped me out of my mind, and came to NOW! Present moment is exquisitely beautiful. :)

So precious.

As long as there is Ashtavakra Gita, I can rest assured that I will always have that something to hold on to TIGHT! Nourishing my soul with the Hindi AVG these days.. No words actually as to how much this knowledge has always meant to me.. Grateful! :)

Washing the mind again and again with this precious timeless wisdom.. Asangoham punah punah!

Check thy mind!

Yesterday Guruji gave some very precious knowledge..

He said that we are always surrounded by angels who are in the "tathastu" mode. So He was saying that we need to be very careful of what we say and think as that will only happen! These angels do not judge our thoughts, they just keep saying "tathastu" to every thing we think or say.

He gave the example of a couple who had come to meet Him. The wife was complaining to Guruji that her husband is such a miser that when their children ask him to buy icecream, he buys only one and asks them to share it. Guruji, in reply, said "I won't say he is a miser. I will say he is very generous. You also start saying that and watch what happens."

True enough, the lady came back again after 3 months and said that her husband has changed completeley and is now very geneorus with his money. :)

So, Guruji said - Think very highly of yourself and also of others as whatever we think happens!

To conclude, Guruji said the mother of all lines - "whatever is the condition of your life at the moment, it is your mind that is responsible. Your life is a reflection of your thoughts."

And we waste so much time thinking that others are responsible for everything!

Superb.

Sometimes we tend to mull over certain important relationships in life that may have gone awry, wondering what went wrong. 

Today in the Satsang, someone asked about this to Guruji. 

Guruji said, "Rishtey bigda toh khudaa dikhaa!!" 

He had said something similar once long time ago too. Somebody was telling Him about how he/she had suffered a lot due to having loved a lot. Stunning everyone, Guruji had said "All the love that you have given has brought you here!!"

Today further He said, relationships go haywire so that you can lift your sight from the narrow confines of relationships and focus on something bigger otherwise you would have forever remained stuck there. It is only when you lift your sight to the vastness of life that "anand aata hai.. jeevan safal hota hai."

Wow! 

Then He said, that does not mean you go and fight with everyone but if something has gone wrong, let it be. If you can correct it, do so, otherwise just know that "jo bhi bigda hai us se kuch achcha hi hogaa" 

Again and again and again.

‎.. This returning again and again to the source.. through His presence, meditation, music, knowledge, silence.. Punah Punah. Again and again coming back. 

The best journey ever!

Aaah!

It is so amazing how when the focus is on something bigger, life assumes a different meaning altogether. Seeing words such as "responsibility", "commitment", "dedication" in a new light these days. Suddenly trivialities seem to be falling apart, and as they are dropping away they are making me smile reminding me how caught up the mind was in small little things.

This journey from "what about me, what about me" to "what can I do for you" can be so liberating! 

:-)

To remain untouched. It is good to see that the things that earlier carried with them the potential to wound the heart terribly doesnt hold power any longer. Wow. This is freedom.
The smile deepens some more. :)
Thank you Ashtavakra Gita.

Walking the path.

This path.... it needs be traversed at one's own pace, don't you think? We just need to ensure that we are ON the path, do purusarth, and then relax. There is no hurry to do this many courses, take this many courses, attend this many sessions... nothing. Do what you want to do, be ON the path and relax.
The best thing about the path is that there is no place for ambition or competetion here. Err.. while there maybe here and there, one can consciously choose to laugh it off and stay away from too much focus on figures.
It is beautiful when each chooses to walk the path in whichever manner it suits him or her. It allows our own self to blossom. After all we are each unique flowers in His garden with our own individual sweetness and fragrance. Just being comfortable in our own skin, doing what we can, and moving forward.

HE is already ours, there really is nothing more to attain. :)

Back to YOU!

On those days, when every moment of the day you have spent in doing something related to Him, and when that gets over, and when you are walking back home tired but happy, everything and everyone else starts to drop off gradually, one by one.. all the conversations, people, running aorund, knowledge, planning .. everything starts to fade away ... and what remains, the only thing that remains is the memory of the most beautiful face and that soft, delicate feeling in the heart.

The connection is the reward, the blessing, the gift.This returning to You again and again and again.Again and again and again.. :)

Joys of relating

If you have noticed, most connections come with an expiry date. In spiritual terms, it is when your karmic account with the other person gets settled. :P

There is nothing more to give/receive/learn/unlearn from the other person and the relationship just drops off.

So so many people come and go, it is amazing how we are so close to somebody at one point and again go so far apart. But no matter what, people will always be coming into your life. New connections get made.. new ways of sharing, new conversations, new learnings about our own selves, new understandings. It is fascinating.

The joys of relating! 

Happified.

Really, after a point of time, happiness becomes a habit. It comes after you have lived through some dark phases and realised that

1) Everything comes to pass. No sorrow remains forever. After a point of time you don't even remember the person/thing that you had at one point of time thought to be indispensable. Phew, what freedom! :)
2) You really do not need to depend on anything/anyone for your happiness. YOU are the source. Wow! To realize THIS!
3) Life has inexhaustible treasures. If you ask me I can never understand how can anyone get bored in life. There are books, movies, fulfilling relationships, traveling, photography, conversations, trekking, cooking or simply sky gazing ~ the world is filled with abundant things to keep you engaged in so many delightful ways. EXPLORE!

4) Remembrance of death. Everything falls off when you just remind yourself that one day it will all get over.

5) Keep your connection with the Divine ON at all times. Share EVERYTHING with Him, and watch the magic.

.... And when the prana level does hit rock bottom at times, know that this is just to enhance the taste of the bubbling happiness that is just around the corner.

All joy, love, and peace to all of us. After all, we are the heirs of immortal bliss. :-))

Transcend knowledge.

From Girin bhaiyaa's today's FB status msg:

"Knowledge is there just to remove inertia. Whatever is meant to happen is happening. Knowledge cannot change any happening or event. Knowledge only helps us to remain centered. Once we know this fact, we should not depend on the knowledge. We should feel free and should remain unconditionally happy because everything is happening on its own irrespective of whether we are in knowledge or not. We should transcend the knowledge and reach the bliss."

All come and go.

It all comes in cycles - everything. All the moods, feelings.. Just being with everything one hundred percent. And not identifying with anything ;-)

Ashram days.

My days in the ashram seems so much like a dream now, as if it had never happened! Had made full use of my stay there.

All the morning sadhana, superb seva work, poring over knowledge books, rushing to every knowledge session, Gita chanting classes, scanning every computer within vicinity for "rare" talks/songs of Guruji, meeting so many people, discussing my life and emotional problems thread-bare with my friends, hilarious moments of "trying" to implement knowledge in "trying" circumstances and then being consoled by fellow mates, utterly funny roommates who couldn’t stop laughing and smiling ALL the time, lots of "karma katting", the unending speculations over Guruji's return every single time, waiting endlessly outside the kutir at night.. can't believe those days actually happened in my life. Most precious.

I must have longed and longed for lifetimes for these days to happen.

Will always be drowned in gratitude. My eternal question to Guruji has been, “How best to express this overwhelming gratitude that one feels?”

Nothing, no seva, no writing, no speaking is enough..how best to express this abundance.. :)

Something changed in me forever. Something got so solidified and beautified forever.

It also lodged in me that one desire. The desire to want only Him!

And, better still seeing everything n everyone as Him. The height of seeing the Divine in everything is when I have to deal with unsavory people, and I scold Guruji in mind, "hello! I am not liking this roop of yours one bit, off u go grrrrr !"

I know I am His pride. And, He knows He is mine. And, we both so love showing each other off! ;-))