A Promise To Myself

"Writing is my passion but I have never done any writing for a living", I said to someone at a recent meeting. Was surprised & saddened to see that I have not visited my own blog for exactly 4 years!!! Why am I not pursuing my own passion? Is it the the mundane or the wrong priorities that is not permitting to "do what I love"? By wrong priorities, I mean being automatically drawn to what is in front of you at the moment & not saying 'no' to it, not turning away from the unnecessary & not consciously making a choice to actually start doing what is worthwhile.
Hello, my dear Divine Right! Please forgive me for neglecting you! Promising to be with you as frequently as I can & continue my series on "My Spiritual Journey" ....... Yes, there is no full stop now, no stopping now; as the journey never ends....! 

My Spiritual Journey - 3

Swagatam Krishna!

Pavagadh is also known for the famous Mahakali Temple which draws thousands of pilgrims everyday. The temple is at the height of about 550 meters (1523 feet). The rope way facility has been made available to the tourists to reach the temple. About 250 steps have to be climbed from there.

On the third day of the Part II Art of Living Course, it was announced that we were to go to the temple along with Guruji, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar after our nature walk. Somehow, we developed cold feet, so decided not to go! On our way back to our respective rooms, what do we see? Guruji walking towards us with His signature smile, along with Rishiji (the then Nitinji) & others. How could we have known at that time that He recognized those fears of us which we were not even aware about. Nitinji insisted that we join, cajoled our son to come along. The 4-year old had already grown so much fond of his Nitin bhaiya who used to look after him when his mom was in away meditating! So all we started our pilgrimage to the Kali Temple.

While on the rope way I was so frightened even to look out of the open cabin! I finished the journey in utter panic & got out of the rope way with a sigh of relief. While we were climbing the 250 steps towards the temple; Rishiji told us, " Guruji says, the basis of all the fears is the fear of death." We reached the temple amidst the divine & melodious bhajan ' Mata bhavani maheshwari' introduced to us by our fellow participant Mahalakshmi, a music teacher.

On the way back, while on the rope way, suddenly I found that I was enjoying the breath-taking view of the green valleys down under! The fear had vanished! Upon returning the Course venue, Guruji led us straight to the Satsang Hall. Rishiji began by singing, 'Swagatam Krishna Sharanagatam Krishna'. A surge of devotion ran through my being, & felt that I'm inviting Krishna as if for the first time into my heart! That was one of the most unforgettable moment of my life. Till this day I cannot sing Swagatam Krishna' without the company of goosebumps & tears!

|| Jai Guru Dev ||

My Spiritual Journey - 2

Part II starts the moment you decide to do it!

The first Art Of Living Advance Course of Gujarat was to be held at Pavagadh, the famous hill station pilgrimage near Vadodara in presence of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in the last week of September, 2004.

Being always keen onto several self development programs; I was enrolled immediately! Besides, this was the same 3-day silence program that the student had referred! The idea fascinated me! The only apprehension was my 4-year old son – how will I be able to attend the sessions? The AOL teachers assured me that they will look after him themselves! They did & how!

On the D Day, while we were waiting for the bus to arrive to proceed for Pavagadh; many of us started getting a bit restless! A neighbor fellow participant said so truly that the Advance Course has started now! In fact it started the moment you decided to do it! Soon we started reminding each other all the keys of the Basic Course!

Upon reaching there were a number of things to be discovered. The first thing was about ‘bhajans’. Earlier, we had always either listened to the bhajans or sung them while we were alone. Now Brijitji says – “Bhajan sunne ki nahi, gaane ki cheez hai.” (Bhajans are to be sung not heard). Now we all know what Guruji says about Bhajan when He says, “When you sit in bhajans your entire body gets soaked in energy and transformation happens.”

My Spiritual Journey - 1

The Beginning Of Transformation:
'When the disciple is ready, the Master appears.' True or else how can we explain when someone sneaks into our life for a very brief period just for the purpose of directing us towards the Master & then vanishes as quickly! It was that student of mine who enrolled in my Spoken English Class along with his request for 5-day leave! He was to go attend some Advance Course at Rishikesh where they would have to remain silent for three days! 'How interesting!', I said, what course is this?' ' Art of Living.' That was the very first time I heard about the Art of Living & Sri Sri Ravi Shankar - in the year 2004.

The out-of-this-world 'floating in the air' experience of Sudarshan Kriya left me dumb-founded just like so many of us. I tasted the sweet tears of devotion for the first time in my life when the teacher made us sing along 'Shivoham' after the II Sudarshan Kriya on the next day.

Little was I aware that my life was going to take a total turn around in a matter of four months because I was blessed to meet the Master Himself!

More on this in the next write up.

|| Jai Guru Dev ||

Thankful Prayers

• God, I am so thankful to you for giving me excellent health, a healthy young body, a peaceful and beautiful home.
• Thank You God for healing me completely of all the ailments and irregularities in my mind body. I have complete Faith in You. You answer all my prayers.
• You have blessed our family with wealth. I rejoice in you by sharing it.
• Thank you God for uplifting me spiritually day by day and creating harmonious circumstances for me so that I can be near to You.
• God, I am so thankful to you as I spend my day doing my duties cheerfully. I spread cheer all around and keep everyone around me happy and stress-free.
• God, thanks for giving me strength to be 'aware' each and every moment and be a witness to all the events and non-events of this mind body.
• I am so grateful to you for giving me an opportunity to serve and help others.
• The master says, " burning with desire stops you from relapsing into your Being. Until then, you will not find peace and rest in Divine Love." I thank you God for giving me strength to be in my divine self and for keeping me in that state.
• I thank You, God for being cheerful always and spreading happiness all around me.
• I thank You for giving me joy of living. I am independent. I go free. I cast the burden of all my worries onto You. I surrender all my anxiety to You. My life is in Your hands. My hands are open to receive whatever You have chosen to give me.
• I am living my life to the fullest and I thank You for that.
• The Master says, " Faith brings totality, pulls together all loose ends of consciousness, integrates the whole personality. Doubts scatter and (get) destroy(ed). By His Grace, the true purpose of my life will manifest. I have no doubt about that.
• Thank You God for giving me an opportunity to fulfill my dreams. I am utilising my potential to the fullest. All my talents are getting explored. I am enjoying my life, prospering, visiting places I wish to.
• I thank You God for all the talents that You have given to me. Those talents have made my life so good.
• I thank You God for this beautiful body through which I am able to pursue my activities and am able to pursue the path of seeking realisation.

I am so happy and grateful now that

• I am doing EVERYTHING I want to do; exactly when and how I want and like to do.
• I give gifts to everyone often.
• I am in perfect shape and weight.
• I am peaceful and serene.
• My speech and words are used in comforting others.
• I serve and help others.
• I enjoy a harmonious life.
• I pursue all my favourite activities viz. ..........
• I give and receive love, care, understanding, co-operation and respect.
• I am receiving everything I want now.
• I find myself smiling when I am humiliated and when I am sad.
• I am receiving Grace from my Master for peace, health, strength and awareness to complete my bad and good karma of this life.
• I am receiving strength to be aware of every moment - whether it's pleasant or unpleasant.
• I perform the tasks given to me as an instrument with total awareness every moment.
• More and more is coming my way that is good.
• I am healed totally and completely. my health is in excellent condition. It is possible only because of Your Grace. You are always with me. I can feel Your presence.
• You have given me abundant love, abundant peace and abundant prosperity.

On Marriage by Jane Wells (1886)

It's utterly amazing to discover what this lady wrote more than a century ago holds true even today. Her four simple rules can take us a long way to enjoy a wonderful married life.
Here you go!

• Let your love be stronger than your hate or anger.
• Learn the wisdom of compromise, for it is better to bend a bit than to break.
• Believe the best rather than the worst. People have a way of living up - or down - to your opinion of them.
• Remember that true friendship is the basis for any lasting relationship. The person you choose to marry is deserving of the courtesies and kindness you bestow on your friends.

Thoughts to chew on to keep bright and cheerful!

These 20 thoughts will help develop a positive, pragmatic approach to life:

1. No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
2. You are never fully dressed without a smile.
3. You are as interesting, attractive and competent as anyone you are going to meet.
4. A bore talks about himself, a gossip talks about others and a marvellous conversationalist talks about you!
5. Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can't and the other half of people who have nothing to say, yet keep talking.
6. You don't have to do what other people want or expect you to and the easiest way to do it is to say 'No.'
7. If you are praised for being good at something, don't question the person's judgement or denigrate your abilities with a stern remark.
8. In this world, just when you're trying to think of yourself memorable, there's always someone who forgets that they have met you.
9. Now is the time for every good deed. Do not wait until tomorrow, for it may be just a little too late.
10. Set a worthy oal, work towards it. Then set a higher one. In this way character is moulded. If you have grown up children, encourage them to do so, guiding them gently.
11. We always find time for what we like to do.
12. Make each day a positive day. and start today - in fact right now!
13. the great secret of happy serene living is in the phrase ' one at a time'. It means, first of all 'one day at a time'.
14. The man who would control others must first learn to control himself. If he cannot control what is under his hat, he cannot control what is under his roof. Self-mastery comes first.
15. You double every burden at which you frown or complain; you halve every burden which you meet woth hope, optimism and cheerfulness.
16. The best thing you can do for others is not only share your rishes, but to reveal him his own.
17. There's nothing wrong if you blunder once in a while in blue moon.
18. Your true pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.
19. If you feel you have something to contribute and if you in your ideas, keep up with your confidence and carry them out.
20. Expecting success leads to thinking successfully, which eventually leads to being successful.