Yesterday was a very exciting day, and it will probably go down as one of the most memorable days of my life.
Many thanks to a friend and coworker, I got the tickets to see Guruji (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar) in Mumbai. I have “seen”, heard, and known about Guruji for over 5 years, but this is the first time I got to see him.
I got there by about 7:30 AM, There were already a good number of people gathered. Some were getting the stalls ready, a lot of volunteers were getting the podium ready. I walked in and took a seat in the third row of the section, strategically picking a place from where I thought I would have the best view of Guruji. Slowly, people started coming in and before I knew it, the place was full. Since this was my first gathering of AOL, I was observing the people, some were meditating, other were chatting, etc., From where I could see, it seemed like most people were in the 30-40 age bracket, dressed rather unassumingly, nothing ostentatious.
The volunteers arranged several bowls and filled them with rose petals along the “catwalk”. The layout of the podium was exactly like a fashion cat walk. By now, the expectation in the crowd was growing since it was already past 8 AM (the time by which program was supposed to start). After sometime, one of the other masters took to the podium and got every one to stand up and started making us do some light exercises. All good, actually glad he did that because it seemed like I might have dozed off sitting in that chair. Everybody in the crowd, (people around me) seemed to be very familiar with all the exercises. I thought perhaps most of these people have taken the Basic course.
Around 9:00 AM Guruji arrived on the podium. The moment I saw him my eyes welled up and tears ran down my cheeks. I am still not sure why, but it happened. It was not crying, it was not tears of joy, it was just tears. I just kept looking at him as he walked on the catwalk accepting flowers, greetings, letters, and perhaps more importantly soaking up the love and adulation in the air. I personally have not see such love in a rather public gathering. He picked up the mic and started speaking, it kind of started as a monologue, he talked about his trip to Karachi, a bit of fun about Sindhi food, also made a passing reference to the book “Proof of Heaven” mentioning that the primordial sound heard by the good doctor in coma was “AUM”. Made references to debt in US, depression in Germany, Yoga rave parties in Argentina, corruption in India and several other topics
What was interesting to watch was how the people were lapping up every word he said. Imagine taking a handful of pearls and throwing them into the crowd.
In my mind I said thank you to Guruji for all that he had done for our family. I mentioned to him (in my thoughts of course) that my sister needed help with one thing, and the answer that I heard back was “I know”
People asked many questions, “Ullasnagar is very dirty, how can we clean it? , “how can India make progress?”, “which is better karma or dharma”, “I always want to be with you, how can I do that” etc.,
A couple of answers stuck with me. A lady asked, “can I change my guru”, Guruji replied, “you do not change the guru, the guru changes you” that was really nicely said. Another person asked “what is your message for senior citizens?” Guruji replied, “you (senior citizens) have lived your lives, do not worry about what your son or daughter or wife or husband did or did not do, let go of it and enjoy the current moment” Another person asked, “what is your message for teenagers?” He replied “teenagers should be more mature and their parents should be more like the teenagers”
As the event progressed, I started wondering is AOL a cult? I do not know the answer. I do not believe that Guruji would somehow control people’s thinking and use mind games to influence their choices. However, if the people chose to let go of their rational senses, then not not sure if Guruji is to be blamed for it. Either way, I am a novice, and I enjoyed the moment. As the event came to a close, I thanked Guruji again (in my heart) and left the arena. As I was leaving, it emerged in my head that this closes the Mumbai chapter in my life.
simply wonderful reflection !
i feel HE is more like a drug to soothen the strained nerves both physical and psychological. HE has knack to answer any and every question. Once , a lady from the audience gets up and says to Guruji she wants to sleep with HIM. while It is very irritating and disgusting to all around there, Guruji serenely replies without any iota of embarrasment ” i am trying to wake you all up & you want to sleep?”
Thanks, now, that is one funny answer!! I bet she won’t think about “sleeping” the same way again
i enquired with all sincerity what is that one thing she needed help from Guruji and she replied it is none of my business. so i let it go.Guruji knows better!
Guruji says we exist in seven layers. BODY, BREATH ,MIND ,INTELLECT , MEMORIES , EGO & SELF . HE says we are all like WAVES in the OCEAN .Though waves appear different in size and shape , they are always part of ocean before their birth, during growth and their cessation.IT is all ONE ENERGY manifesting ITSELF in different ways.This reminds me ” Annamacharya song- Brahma mokkate” & ” Unified Theory of Everything”.
I once submitted to one AOL teacher that i didnt really feel mind, intellect,memories and ego as separate entities.He clarrified that it is only for our understanding and as such there is only ONE.
In Basic course of AOL, the following points are stressed as basic tenets or axioms :
1.Present moment is inevitable.
2.Expectations reduce joy.
3.Opposite values compliment each other.
4.Accept people and situations as they are.
5.Dont see the intention behind others mistakes.
6.Dont be a football to others opinions.
I attended AOL Basic course in June 2007 and i was in very malleable state of mind that time and tried to just imbibe whatever was offered to me
in the course as ambrosia.however i must have spent several hours seriously musing on these socalled axioms theoretically as well as trying to see
their relevance in my daily relationships with my people,ideas and things.
i should tell you my grasp on them is very limited till date like i have yet to understand Newtons laws of motion,Law of gravitation ,etc,i love to understand their applicability in real life .
i continue to be a pleasure seeker , hedonist and very worldly.
Body needs sound nutririon , exercise and rest. i give fair amount of exercise and rest to the body but when it comes to nutrition, my tongue and mind & memories dominate.intellect dosnt always win.(no no to Mantena!)my SELF must have got lots of samskaras during its khurmavatara yet to be washed off!
Breath – yes i do kapalbatti , anulomevilome ,sudhershan kriya and i do find number of benefits both in my gross body and also subtle body.
Mind-very agile and young in indulgences .cooperates only in mornig walks,certain kriyas and in my lazy job routine.socalled arishedvergas are fully played.
Intellect – yes i listen to GURUJI quite a bit , read his books and contemplate which gives me lots of satisfaction and contentment. but it dosnt
take me long . it has hardly any control on my mind.
Memories-to great extent, i feel better off as i seem to forget both pleasent and unpleasent events in life without much effort,(Alzimir ?)
Ego-too much , even i cant bear.Guruji could not melt it till date.
Self- i dont know
Interesting…. remember the monkey and donkey, you told me about, a long time ago. I now know the monkey and the donkey. Both are equally trouble some. However, my view of ego is slightly different, (of course, my ego can fill a stadium), but it is the same thing that propels us forward in many arenas, and it is the same thing that holds us back in many others. So just like most things perhaps it is the troublesome, grey, middle, that we have to find.
One question i wish to know the answer to is “how can one be steady?” it seems to me that when one is “steady” all else is taken care of
Our school PT master used to shout at us, before we begin to run, “Ready,Steady and Go!”. .One who is steady, had more chances to win the race. To make horses steady in their race, blinkers are put by their eyes so that they dont distract..
people are generally steady in their character and dont change.but that kind of stediness is not the one you refer to.
Certain random thoughts on most subtle thing called EGO.
We all want pleasure and say no no to pain.Pleasure and Pain are not only physical but also psychological in nature.Art of Living must be to address this psychological dimension . ” Frequency , Magnitude and Duration of any psychological pleasure / pain seems to be directly proportional to ones Ego”.
It also seems that all psychological phenomenon is closely knit with Ego.It is very difficult to remove the thorn caught accidentally in the foot. It slips.and any effort to remove it seems to only let the thorn go more more into the skin increasing the pain and discomfort.
Ego seems to be like dirt in the psyche . it also seems like allergy to things & persons. more ego more allergy.now , the question is how to go about it? any medicines -allopathy,ayurveda,homeopathy,aromapathy,vastu,fengshui,reiki,sudhershan kriya???
Ego = what people think about me? contact lenses, applying color to hair,adopting kids, exaggerating my appearences basically to make you feel better of me.i feel my worth=my job,my property,my language skills,my car,my computer, my gadgets,my friends,my experiences including socalled spiritual,my abilities………Making oneself Gundu at Tirumala seems to be pregnent with tons of meaning .
Ego = complexity. more ego more complexity.
EGO= MASK. feeling exposed and vulnerable without mask resulting in more boundaries,compound walls,increased need for privasy
All relationships seem to be contaminated with this .
It also seems correct understanding of this very subtle thing solves most of my physical problems also.
Does it really matter what you think of me? the moment i put this question ,answer seems to be obvious but still…..