Extreme Silence

When your mind is racing ahead involved in a myriad of activities- managing relationships, juggling home, office, social domain, managing your time, reasoning with people, explaning your point of view, trying to persuade, convince, talk your way to solutions you see fit, trying to patch something falling apart- when you are in the midst of it and your brain is haemmoraging, try to close your mind's eye and just go to sleep in the warmth of silence.
Just shut out everything and stop your energies form leaking out. Stretch yourself in the bubble of silence and feel its seductive arms pull you inside.
don't talk, don;t think for a moment. Be still, be silent.
Try it out. After a while you will be addicted to it.

Comment on Art of Living- Part III

Read this comment posted by fellow-blogger Neelum of theseasoning.blogspot

Even I find AOL very well branded...but the marketing strategy is amazing (amazingly sick). When you attend their course, they tell you that when you go back home, do it alone, don't teach anyone, let no one see you...so ultimately if you want to learn you are forced to attend the course...Did you know they also have a high level job hunt & head hunters within AOL network....so one way to reach the top is to know that ur CEO is an AOL member & then sign up!!

Art of Living- No thanks I will stick to unbranded Yoga- part III

Last hoot in this series.
In every session of the aol course the anchor would say that since SSR has gove you so much knowledge, how will you show your gratitude to him? In my mind there was no question of gratitude because we had already paid a 1000K for this course. Anyways she said that the only way to repay this debt of knowledge was each one get two members to participate in this course.
Looks like that 'chain business' to me. So will I get a 10% commission for every new member I get in? and then 10 % for every member that that new member gets and so on and so forth? Sorry But I thoroughly PEEVED.

What makes a wholesome meal?

Sunday evenings are for Khichadi and Kadhi. Today was no different. We had Rice Bhakri, Lasnichi chatni, loni, Khichadi, kadhi and fruit salad (with pomegranate, guava, apple, slit grapes). What a meal and why would anyone want to go out to eat?. The khichadi was piping hot, kadhi was jut right hot and lasnichi chatni had that extra garlicky zest. I can't stop raving about it and of course, how could i not say grace for the pleasures of a simple meal that fills my stomach and keeps me from hale and hearty.
I think I am going to start saying- vadani kavala gheyta naam ghyaa sri hari chey

If you thought you succeeded because YOU put in the effort, because YOU were brilliant, because YOU deserved it, THINK AGAIN!

My friend had questions concerning this title. Well I am amazed at the how well I expressed my thoughts regarding fate/ destiny/ karma. I have a great run so far- everything that one possibly wants in life + some more; Only to realise the effect is not always equal to cause or even related to cause. Things have hapened not because we wanted them to but because it was time for them to happen (and a small part of me hopes that we deserved them). I have been humbled enough to think and know that the end results in my life have never been 'result' of my efforts/ hard work. Things could have always swung the other way.
I work in a great organisation and have a dream job, but there are more able candidates than me but I am the one in this role- why?
I am surrounded by people I love and who love e back (this is more important) but there are a million people who are better individuals but do not not enjoy the presence of such people- why?
There are people who work 10 times harder than me but earn 1/10 of what I do- why?

There are people out there who deserve every bit of happiness, contentment, joy and all other positives that life has to offer but are denied their share- why?

Questions like these have effortlessly defeated my ego which says that I worked hard for it therefore I deserve to be happy and successful. But my inner voice knows that success or failure is beyond my control and that things happen because they are destined to.

How am I better, why do I deserve more, what have I done differently?
I do not know but I know better than to pat myself on the back for everything I have.
I cannot say anything more than this. It is for each of you to find for yourselves.

Art of Living: No thanks I will stick to unbranded Yoga- Part II

Tomorrow is the last day of the ar tof living course. This course has 150 participants and something special has been planned for the last day. What is this 'something special'? Well its like potluck and each one gets something for the other. Since the aol guys pride themselves on their organisational effectivenes, 15 groups have been formed and each group has been assigned the task of chipping in with Rotis, sabzki, dal, chawal. My mom-in-law's group has to get fruits. Now get this and I am not kidding- each person in that group has been asked to get 1.5 Kg of 5 varieties of fruits. So it adds of up 7.5 Kg of fuits per person so a total of 112 Kg of fruits will be distributed by that group. I love it. Look at these guys, I mean, just look how the aol folks are burdening people by this demand. Many of them are people who have saved money just to attend the course and now the extra cost that has to be borne just so that the aol principle of share and share alike can be fulfilled. I am speechless.
On sunday I am going to accompany my mom-in-law to the ashram when SSR (Sri Ravishankar) is going to grant special audience to the participants. If I can, I will definitely raise this question where aol has asked people to spend out of their own pockets for organising a shared meal. This is a load of CRAP.

Art of Living! No thanks I will stick to unbranded Yoga.

My first brush with Art of Living people was when they organised an orientation session in our residential complex. The AOL (art of living) anchor started off with what he thought was a very dramatic question- Are you happy? There were quite a few in that hall who nodded and murmured-very impressed at that profound question. While I was destined to play (and how I enjoy it) the role that a few drops of lemon play when added to sweet curd!
Next run-in with AOL was when my mom-in-law registered for a Sudarshan Kriya course in the AOL centre close to my home. The anchor in this instance looked like a dour woman who simply loved to hold the microphone in her hands and wouldn't let go even when the session ended. She was shrill, she loved her own voice and she reminded me of my class teacher when I was in class II. Then came the best part she grandly told the folks (i quote her verbatim) "You are getting so much knowledge, right or wrong? Right! How will you show your gratitude to Sri Sri Ravishankarji for this? ( my mom- in-law replied "donations"- how true, but I think the teacher didnt hear, she was too full of her own drone). Someone answered- by being upright citizens. You will show your gratitude by (get this, I am not lying) each one get two. So each person in this session gets two more people to attend similar session that costs Rs. 1000 per head. I was totally speechless.
So now I know the key to art of living's success- crassness and commerce. This teacher was the worst that I have known- bad language, bad attitude, total lack of subtelety, utter lack of respect for the people gathered there, no softness and most of all she reminded me of a road roller-a teacher is supposed to have a calming effect on the students (at least those that imply or proclaim spirituality). I guess art of living reserves its best teachers for the rich & the famous.