The first YES+ at ISBR Bangalore

The YES+ course at ISBR was adventurous and fun! Thanks to the management at ISBR who were co-operative and supportive all the way, 28 chosen ones started their party/adventure with YES+ on 22 Sep. For Gauri and myself, this was the first course we taught. 

With the rules set on Day 1, we had a deep and fascinating meditation. The Kriya was deeply beautiful and left the participants enchanted. There were comments aplenty, with nice jokes, 

compliments and learnings on the notice boards. Gauri was extremely affectionate towards 

them all, and conducted different processes and knowledge sessions with grace. 

For me, it was a deeply moving experience and the depth of connection and the sense of sharing that develops between teacher and student in an Art of Living course needs to be experienced as it cannot be put into words. On the final days trip to the ashram, we had immense fun with Devang and then with Bawa, who was totally

 brilliant, as usual, in answering questions ranging from how to choose careers to keeping oneself motivated. Looking forward to the next course at ISBR from 16 oct!

YES+ happenings at Bangalore

Itsbeen a long time since the last post primarily due to fantastic action happening here in Bangalore...First up, the YES+. Devang had conducted a superb meeting where we decided that all courses should start simultaneously in the city, and so it has been. 3 courses started in bangalore from the 22nd of Sep 08. I am happily teaching one of them with Gauri from the ashram at the International School of Business and Research (ISBR) in Electronics City and the first 3 days have been an absolute blast. The participants were so kicked with their first kriya! I shall post a more detailed entry at the end of the course..

Also i am really looking forward to travelling to beautiful Arunachal Pradesh to work towards Guruji's visit in the end of November. Am happily engaged at present in making arrangements for the same. Lots of fun and running around. Awaiting Navaratri.

The Ashtavakra Gita

Invaluable secrets of maintaining your enthusiasm, dynamism, keenness of mind and well-being are revealed in Guruji’s commentary on the Ashtavakra Gita. Once, King Janaka, one of the mightiest rulers of ancient India, slipped into a nap during one of his routine administrative sessions in his royal court. He saw a dream of poverty which was so powerful and immersive that it felt real. He awoke with a start and had a deep question – what is real, the dream, or the court? What defines reality? Leading scholars, intellectuals and philosophers from around the world came 

to his royal court to address the topic, but Janaka still looked for more. It was then that he learned of Sage Ashtavakra, named so because of eight deformities in his body, who was a brahmagyani – a knower of the supreme Brahman/divinity. Janaka invited him to his royal court, and the dialogue that happened between the two of them is considered a treasure of the supreme wisdom of creation. Guruji’s commentary on the text is probably even more precious, because as He speaks, the knowledge comes alive. Every word of His becomes an experience, and the highly complex dialogue, where every sentence is loaded with meaning, becomes so simple. It is like a cheat code into the supreme knowledge.

 

The Ashtavkra series of talks is in 33 tapes/CDs and should be watched preferably in a group. Watching it after meditation and yoga is highly recommended, simply because every sentence of Guruji is a new experience and you would catch much more of it.

Tree Plantation is fun!

I had the titular experience a few days back when KK, Abhay, Sabari, Srikanth, a few others and I went planting trees in Bannerghatta road as a part of Mission Green Earth. The government is providing us the saplings (at a charge, despite us doing their work J). We took a left a km down from IIM Bangalore and entered the Royal Residency where we planted the saplings. Planting trees is a good deal of physical labour, which left us pleasantly awake at the end of the exercise, with our banter and jokes during the planting providing interesting background score. Some of the highlights were KK befriending a couple of cute Tamil kids – Kanakraj and Kanakavalli, children of some masons staying in the area. The kids watched us intelntly when we were initially planting the trees, so we called them over and named two saplings after them. They were so thrilled that it was a sight to behold and they also adopted the saplings as their own. The residents were very warm and supportive of our endeavors and we had a pleasant 2 hour planting session in which 7 trees were planted. To top it all, K had brought a birthday cake with her, and we ended the planting session with many helpings of yummy white mousse cake.

What Happens in Vegas - a Review

I usually hesitate from watching romantic movies, light comedies, dramas, real-life inspired movies, and am usually inclined to watching larger than life characters in high voltage, high adrenaline stuff. The funny thing is, that I do so despite feeling good and satisfied after watching romantic/ comedy/ drama/ spiritual stuff, and mostly need something to wash the aftertaste of an action flick. The reason for this reflection is a nice movie I borrowed from a friend and just watched. This is the Cameron Diaz/ Ashton Kutcher starrer – What happens in Vegas.

 

Their real-life relationship generated a lot of media attention, and the movie is a nice showcase for their chemistry. The movie has an interesting story about two dejected individuals from NY meeting in Vegas to party off their misery, getting drunk and married and winning a USD 3 million lottery. In the morning when the two are back to their senses, they wish to separate. But after winning the lottery both want the money for themselves. Due to an interesting twist in the tale, they need to come to terms with each other and learn to live together over 6 months. The initial part of the movie is full of cheeky and laugh-out loud moments with both Diaz and Kutcher trying to irritate/trick the other into submission and into filing for divorce. As the movie unfolds, the two begin to found common ground and love begins to blossom between them. The later parts and the ending are warm, senti stuff that leaves you with a pleasant feel good factor.

 All in all it is a nice American love story (with plenty of clichés though) and an interesting watch.