Some Navaratri Buzz

Plenty has been spoken (and written) on the wonders of Navaratri. Here is one of the best articles, in Guruji's words, on Bau's blog. 

Navaratri is a time of rejuvenation. In the Bangalore ashram, we experience the transformation and the divinity. We hear of th

e power of silence but how can one express the blooming of infinity which unfurls here behind closed eyes! Waves of silence wash over your emotions and your mind, dissolving all rajas and tamas leaving you in bright, joyful sattva.

The divine showers love in mysterious ways. On the day of the Chandi homa, I was sitting rapt in meditation in one corner of the yagna shala. The silence and the energy were so beautiful that i decided that i would not move nor open my eyes. No sooner than i had thought this, a fly came and sat on the corner of my left eye. As i had committed to keeping my mowna, i did not move. The fly mistook my stoicness for silent assent and it decided to utilise the opportunity to make its presence felt more prominently - so it started walking on my eyelashes, fluttering both its wings to beat on my eyelids. In this moment of heightened awareness, i remembered Guruji's words, "In satyuga, apsaras would descend from heavens to disturb the meditation of rishis. The role is taken up by mosquitos and fleas in the

 kalyuga." Assuming that my present tormentor was an apsara in some past incarnation greatly simplified things. 

Mysteriously, the fly read my thoughts and it slowed its pace, s-l-o-w-l-y reaching and settling down in the corner of my left eye. By now my eyes were watering, not entirely out of bliss. I felt more determined to keep my eyes shut and my meditation steady. The fly 

was completely enjoying this unopposed freedom and it decided to tour around my eyebrows. So off it started, walking slowly and beating its wings, tracing the line of my left eyebrow. Even the apsara fantasy was not very helpful this time. Strangely, I was also feeling very calm 

somewhere, as i watched the intense discomfort rise and rise. By then, the fly was bored and it hopped off onto my right eye and started it routine again. This drama had already lasted 5 minutes and i allowed my baser nature to prevail as i took a huge swipe at the fly, who flew off.

I was feeling a bit low to have given in and was thinking maybe i could have been more patient and allowed the fly to go away on its own. Instantly, the buzzing returned and something familiar landed atop my left ear. The fly had started another flapping serenade along the contours of my left ear. This time i was less agreeable to share myself, and i shood the fly away almost instantly. 

Once it was gone, i was at ease. However, a faint voice whispered "I am tough. I could have probably put up with it." And instantly, it was back, tickling me on the side of my neck. This time, there were no murmurs of protests within me and i felt a beautiful acceptance dawning within me for myself as i planned how to murder the pest. The mind-reader fly flew off and did not return this time.

I remembered my first visit to the ashram when someone had told me that "The air in the ashram is full of love. You can just 'feel' it." He did not specify how.

Despite all this happening my heart was completely at rest, nourished by the mantras and the pooja. That day i experienced how it is possible to be peaceful and loving even in the midst of intense discomfort. And i felt gratitude towards Guruji, who despite being so pure and perfect, is always present to take care and to lighten your burdens no matter how rough your behavior, situations or speech may be. 

'Slip' of Tongue

This is one funny story i had to share. Balwant, Amit, Ballu's sister - Jagmeet, I and a certain Mr X were returning from the ashram today after a fantastic navaratri satsang. The atmosphere at the ashram is absolutely electric - you just need to close your eyes for a few seconds and you can feel the energy coursing through you! Some people do get affected in funny ways by the energy - so here goes...

In the car, we were having a freewheeling gossip session in progress, and the topic eventually

 veered to Balwant's desire to buy his Japanese friend a birthday gift.

Balwant - "Yaar i need to get something for her. I wanted to buy her a sari. But, Guruji has instructed Japanese nationals to not wear indian clothes. So i will have to look for something else. Ratna, kuch bata?"

I - "Er, maybe you can look for a kurta.."

Ballu - "No yaar no indian dress"

I - "Nahi nahi, i meant a small kurta - the kind they can wear with jeans"

Ballu - "Haan thats a good idea. I can look for a skirt in Fab India"

Jagmeet - "Or something in khadi.."

Ballu - "Haan thats a good idea. Hmmm"

Suddenly, Mr X, who had been silent all along, spoke significantly - "Andar ke kapde de sakte hain kya? (Can we gift her inner wear)"

I was in splits, Jagmeet had (hopefully) not heard the comment, ballu was in shocked silence praying that jaggi had not heard it, and Amit said "Yaar X you have a weird sense of humor"

Mr X, confusing Ballu's silence as a sign that Ballu had not heard anything, spoke more forcefully (in a voice that carried to the next car as well) "ANDAR KE KAPDE DE SAKTE HAIN KYA?" Jaggi definitely heard it this time because she was half blushing half choking with laughter. I was laughing my head out. Ballu and Amit started admonishing him.

Sensing the opportunity, i started - "Ballu, you know you have been speaking so sweetly about this female. You are going to be in Japan for a long time, and you may consider settling there"

Amit, cottoning on, added "Haan and if you marry a japanese you can get a Japanese pasport real quick and you can settle there without hassles."

I - "So, as you already know this chick well, and it makes sense for you to look for a commitment in Japan, it could be a good idea for you to buy this person andar ke kapde...."

Mr X was nodding in wholehearted agreement, amazed at the profoundness of his suggestion.

Ballu bellowed, in his most sardarlike voice "OYE...RATNAAAA"

Amit and I, half cackling, added "Cmon ballu, it would be a stylish way of proposing. You might end up married and with a Japanese passport. You can do all the seva you want"

Ballu "OYEEEE!"

However the best was yet to come. Mr X, had another brainwave and he loudly blurted - "Achchha jisse shadi kar rahe ho woh ladka hai ya ladki?"

By now everyone in the was rolling in doldrums of laughter. This is one conversation none of us would be forgetting in a hurry....:)

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.