Answer me Gurudev !

This blog is only for those fortunate ones who have experienced magic of satsang with Sri Sri. Only those who have experienced the joy of sitting in satsangs can realise how painful it is to be in Bangalore and miss a satsang! If at all there is anything worth achieving in this dreamland called "earth" it is only company of YOU.

My Guru,

When I teach course and miss the satsangs, 

Do you also miss me in the audience?

I do feel your presence in the course, 

Do you also feel me during the satsangs?

If meditation can bring many siddhis, 

can you give me siddhi to be with you when I wish?

I am just a being crazy for your presence, 

Do you also feel sad for me in my this absence?

Every-time I hug Dinu, I feel I hugged you! 

Do you also feel me through him?

Every-time he speaks I feel you spoke to me! 

Do you also see me listening through him?

When I talk to you so intensely, 

do you listen clearly as if you were sitting in front of me?

When I ask you something so innocently, 

why do you keep quiet as if you want me to explore this?

When I have so many questions for you, 

why do all look so small and senseless when I see you?

When knowledge is the ultimate, 

why do I discard it all and dive in the silence when I see you?

When I crave for you so badly in longing, 

do you also go crazy and spend time writing for me?

When I see you with tears of gratitude, 

do you also feel you don't want anything other than me!

Love,
Your Longing :`)

Dinesh Ghodke through my eyes!

As I know that my photographic memory is much more powerful than the photographic plate, I never attempted to get a picture with my advance course teacher Dinesh Ghodke.  But yesterday as Sumit happened to captures this picture, surprisingly this poetry happened to me! :-P Is this what Guruji calls downland? Huh.. who knows.. may be ;-)  

You take care of me as my mother

You scold me with blessings hidden

You look at me with infinite depth

As if you know me since many births

Very sensitive to one's emotions

You amaze me with your innocence

You are pure instrument of my guru

He makes me experience him though you

I see infinity in your eyes

I hear blessings in your voice

I experience unconditional love in your presence

My guru looks at me through your existence

When all that I want is to be free

You appear as "putreksha" within me

When I want to relinquish my identity

Why do you call my name when around me

I have changed and you are still the same

I may behave weird and you still show patience

My expression has changed but love is still the same

You know, It's not me its happening that I experience

When I am "him" and so are you

When I am "this" and so do you

Then where is me and where is you

It's all "this" and I am already you!

hOw! to wOw!

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!!!

Yes, Its YES!+

It was not long back when I used to run away from art of living people. According to me that's the course where people gets brain washed. Otherwise how can a sane person consider a living human being as God! I knew Art Of Living is there in 152 country. But this fact only made me conclude that people are blind followers. All Baba make use of others weakness to get fame and money.

My opinion was same until my company Oracle organizes "Stress Management" course by NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience). The course was far beyond my expectation. The biggest shock during the course was when my favorite senior doctor recommended to do art of living course. He says "Its must do course for everyone". I was surprised but had no doubt about his authenticity. And that's when I decided to do the Art Of Living course. But when... that was yet to be decided. It had been my habit to postpone good things in life.

Somehow I had this false feeling that this course is only for sad or depressed people. And I was already happy and successful! Why to do this course now! But still out of curiosity I watched video of Shri Shri Ravi Shankar in private. As watching his video publicly was very much against my so called "image". If I ignore his "baba" type looks I actually liked this guy. He is funny! He is dynamic! He is sensitive for others feelings but more than these I could relate to what he talked. So whenever I used to feel low I would to watch his video..(ahh I mean listen to audio as I never bother to look at him as his appearance made me really uncomfortable) and get refreshed again. The "Guru" funda was beyond my intellectual understanding. I mean why would I or rather anyone on earth need a "guru"!! I had a firm believe that any self dependent person including me don't need a Guru.


Finally here is the lucky day when I was not so happy and decided to do the course. I just googled about it and called up contact person Karpagavalli and in just half an hour I was registered for the YES!+, the art of living course for youth (18-30 years).

The course was supposed to start at 6AM. I hardly remember if I have ever seen a sunrise in my life. Surprisingly I managed wake up. On the way to venue I was thinking if the course would be worth loosing my precious sleep! I reached and peeped inside, the course has already started. I was surprised to see lots of participants who woke up and managed to reach before me! They were doing some yoga and yoga was definitely not my cup of tea. My doubts and restlessness increased I was thinking to run away. That's when my YES!+ teacher Vinod, noticed me give me a grand smile and asks me to join. I don't know why but his smile made me little willing to enter the hall. And here I full of doubts, walked into the hall to experience something unbelievable!! .. Stay tuned to explore my YES!+ course experience in next post....