With a casual attitude, suspicious heart and doubtful mind, I walked inside. Uff, would I have to go through boring yoga and "PRAVACHAN"! But as time passed and I did yoga for some duration, I realized that 'yoga' when done in Art Of Living style was actually fun!!! I looked around and saw youths practicing and enjoying the most irritating thing on earth.."Yoga"!! I also looked at Karpagavalli and Vinod, my YES!+ teachers and wondered how can these two young smiling successful corporate people teach some spiritual course! Spirituality for me was some monks having no dressing sense, thinking about God all the time and doing nothing.
As the course progressed and days passed by, I realized that the reason for every smallest and biggest problem I had was me not able to handle my own mind. Among the things which bothered me the most, my own mind was on the top. I was always told to "behave nicely", "don't get angry", "be confident","do quality work". But how?? The reality was irrespective of how may times I hear these words but ... I used to get angry, feel feverish, get stressed as deadline or exams approached. Sometimes I simply wouldn't "feel" like working or studying. The reality was neither in school/college nor at home I was told "how" to handle my own mind, mood and emotions. And here for the first time I experienced ways to handle my mind, that too taught in such an interesting and easy way.
I always wanted to do so many things in my life. But I used to get stuck in some not so encouraging feelings, thoughts or mood which would not let me focus. Sometime I would fear of failure. I would doubt on my own capability. Sometimes my problems would appear bigger than my own self. I always wanted to achieve something but as time would pass enthusiasm to work for it would go down. This course made all these vanish and made me free and strong. This course taught me to maintain my enthusiasm level throughout the journey of achievement.
YES!+ gave me power of "Sudarshan kriya". "Sudarshan kriya" is an experience, no words can express it what so ever! All that I can say is "I've never had experienced something more beautiful and blissful than this before. I never imagined that I can meditate as whenever I would close my eyes I would be bombarded with thoughts grr.... This made it possible and that too very effortlessly. I strongly feel no matter how much ever successful anyone is but if not experienced "Sudarshan Kriya" one has not experienced real richness, freedom and power. I am extremely lucky to experience the completeness.
The last day of YES!+ was at aashram. As I entered the aashram I noticed most of the population was of youth. Ahh! not just youth.. happy and responsible youth. I was around extremely energetic youth. They were funny yet trustworthy, relaxed yet focused, energetic yet sensible. I don't remember if even in childhood I had so much fun as I did on the last day.
The YES!+ course was beginning of my art of living journey. Something inside me changed completely. Some burden(which I was not even aware of) was taken away. Suddenly, I was much more aware of myself, my sorrow, my love, my fear, my doubts, my weakness, my strength, my confidence, my ego. All that the course did to me was that I was introduced to myself. I wondered how ignorant I was to delay the course because I thought I was happy!!! No doubt I thought so... as because I had never experienced this much happiness till now. Here for first time in my life I experienced this happiness, joy and freedom. Just like "Sudarshan Kriya", it cannot be explained and needs to be experienced. No high (alcoholic state) can beat the "high" at the end of the course. The course had nothing to do with His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shanker.. all that it had to do is "Me". All that it did to me was to uplift me without any effort. It gave me power to handle my emotions, mind and made my success very very easy. My life would have continued to be the same, unless I took the 'pain' to call up and register for the YES!+. Here is your chance to do the same. I recommend to do YES!+ with highest priority and commitment as if the life depends on it because IT REALLY DOES. Trust me IT REALLY DOES!!!
