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Showing posts from 2009

Power of Sattva...Unleashed in Mumbai

23 to 26 Dec 2009 witnessed 490 people experiencing the Part 2 course in the famous Yogi Sabhagraha Swaminarayan Hall in Dadar. Sattva personified Rishi Vidhyadharji mesmerised all of us with his Satsang Aerobics Yoga at midnight (6 am for me is midnight...he he), his brilliant Sadhana sequence and his Q&A sessions in the satsangs early morning (if you have slept from 4 to 6 pm then 8 pm feels like early morning). Rishiji would conduct the course from 6 am to 9.30 pm. Inspite of such a busy schedule he offered 2 hour knowledge sessions on 2 days from 6 to 8 pm to YES!+ volunteers. Some snippets: (NOT verbatim...just jotting the essence from what I remember) This should be your goal: Becoming 'MUKT' (free) from the 5 deepest, strongest and oldest impressions: Food, Sleep, Sex, Fear and Laziness. He added that once you have become free from these impressions then you will know what your real purpose in life is. The humour and liveliness with which he explained this was exemp

Beyond the Logical Mind

Its funny, it took me so long to realize this. We have been hearing about stories of faith and miracles of Guru Grace, but yet for me, it took so long to come as a realization. Guruji's whole effort, if I can call it effort :-) is to teach us to let go of the control; to make us realize that its not me who is controlling, its not me and my plans that can secure my future, even my present; its not what I understand by my little brain, my limited 'so called' logic that decides and makes things happen for me. The unseen is at work. The 'shakti' which makes it all happen is invisible. See Dark Matter and Dark Energy . And yet, our whole thought process is completely LOGIC based. All our plans, our targets, our methods, our strategies, our evaluations, our judgements, everything is based on what our logic allows us to perceive and estimate. Guruji gives us repeated experiences as if to tell us, "sweetheart, at least now drop that thing called logic. go beyond logic

The AOL Phonetic Alphabet

You must have heard your airline ticket booking agent call out your PNR number using words like S for SUGAR, Y for YANKEE, etc. While we were on our way back the YES!+ Huddle we had in Murud, we had sailor Shibani in our car. An interesting discussion about the phonetics sailors use, ensued and Dineshda suggested that we must have an Art of Living list too. Here it is: A - Awareness B - Belongingness C - Committment D - Devotion E - Enthusiasm F - Freedom G - Guru H - Happiness I - Intention J - Joy K - Knowledge L - Love M - Maya N - Naturalness O - Om P - Peace Q - Quest R - Ravishankar S - SriSri T - Truth U - Upanishad V - Viveka W - Wonder X - X-ray Y - Yoga Z - Zero In the world of Aviation, there is a different way of learning your ABC's. The Phonetic Alphabet is not only used by the military, but also by Pilots, Air Traffic Controllers, and Customer Service Agents within the Airlines. It is a great way to make sure you are understood (since a B, P, T, and V sound hauntingly

Can you guess this one?

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Most of you easily guessed the previous one, it was our new and first Youth Ashram at Vasindh, near Kalyan. But the above one is really tough :-) Happy Guessing

Shud I dislike my likes or like my dislikes???

If Guruji (or God) comes and tells you, "I am going to bless you with a 'Siddhi' (a power) which will enable you to, either overcome your dislikes or go beyond (be free from) your likes. Choose one"; what will you choose? If you are wise you will choose the latter! Surprised!? Just give it a deeper thought. Whenever you dont like something, it is because of something you like. Eg.: If you dont like people who use foul language, it is because you like soft spoken and polite people. If dont like messy rooms, it is because you like things to be neat and tidy. It is not always possible to change a situation or person or run away from a situation or person. So the way of the wise is transceding the likes, dropping the likes; and the dislikes are taken care of automatically, because the foundation of every dislike is a like. Taking the dislikes in your stride is ACCEPTANCE, dropping the likes is realising that OPPOSITE VALUES ARE COMPLEMENTARY and dropping the tendency of h

Did you know?

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Now its obvious who this person is, but the question is when and where was this snap clicked. Well, of course, YES!+ guys in US cannot participate in this quiz, for obvious reasons.

Blessed with a jet of Satva

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The airport, spread over 4000 acres, can handle 11 million people per annum with 27 aircraft movements per hour and an estimated 550 movements in May 2008. At its peak, it can handle 720 aircraft movements in a day. You are right, its the new Bengaluru Airport . Well, after a rejuvenating TRM with 1000 teachers from all over the country and of course Guruji, I checked in at 12 noon at counter 2 (you can see in the pic above) for my 1.00 pm Mumbai Indigo flight and sat on the bench exactly opposite (you obviously cant see in the pic) and after some amount of calculation, speculation and haa-naa haa-naa, finally did my Short Sudarshan Kriya. I must admit, I was very concious, especially while doing the Bhastrika. Thoughts like 'what if someone objects?', 'if some passenger waiting besides me complaints then what?', 'what if some security guy actually comes up to me and stops me?'; and to counter these thoughts, phrases like 'Dont be a football...', 'w

My Guru got me Baptized!!

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Om Keshavaya Namaha Om Madhavaya Namaha Om Narayanaya Namaha Om Govindaya Swaha A highly pious. serene and sacred experience which left @ 30 of us in total gratitude for the Master. 27 Aug 2009 was that auspicious day. The beautiful Radha Kunj Yagya place in the ashram in Bangalore witnessed 30 of us being initiated into Brahminhood. We now have official rights for chanting the Gayatri Mantra Japa Vandana, wearing the sacred thread and reading the Vedas (or Knowledge sheets as Rashmin puts it ) Well, the above pic may leave you completely confused about what must have been happenning when this pic was taken, bcoz no two expressions are alike! Looks like all of them are wondering, what was the purpose of this 3 hour long process? Traditonally, when a child had to start his education, the Upanayan ceremony would be performed. This ceremony used to be of paramount importance, next only to marriage, as it was his marriage with knowledge. His parents would initiate him and only then he coul

Miracle

About a week back in the satsang in ashram, a man shared his story of how Guruji had helped the delivery of his son. He and his 7 month pregnant wife were travelling in train. Somehow his wife developed some complication and broke water. The doctors said that the wife needs to hold the child for 36 hours (not sure how many hours). They said that delivering the child could be fatal to the mother and the child. Incidentally the man had carried Guruji's photograph with him and felt that a miracle would happen. He gave his wife the photograph and told her not to worry and that he knew that a miracle would happen. The child was born with his lungs not fully developed. The mother was safe. The child was out in the ICU but survived and is now 9 months old. The man thanked Guruji for his grace. He does his kriya regularly and ensures that he does as much seva as possible. Once, in a Part 1 course which I was attending, someone asked Bawa, "In art of living do you believe in miracles?&

Q & A with Guruji

Here is what Guruji's wisdom blog missed: Documented by my friend who was in the ashram. I liked the disclaimer he put - the words may not exactly match, but the bhav does :-) 20th June Satsang in Vishalakshi Mantap (VM) Q: Thank you for giving us an opportunity to ask questions. It is said that Christ died because of our sins..... Sri Sri: It is a wrong interpretation to say that Christ died because of our sins. The bible was written after many years of Christ's death. If a person takes this understanding he would continue sinning and say that Christ has already died for our sins. Q: How can one remain silent and yet say what is to be said so that nothing remains unsaid? Sri Sri: Did anyone understand the question?..(There was no response) It is best kept unsaid. Q: Of recent times, I have no questions left. Does that mean that I have become "Murkh" or very "Samajhdar"? Sri Sri: There is this one question at least! That means you are not "Murkh"

Activity and Rest

I am sharing below a wonderful experience in meditation. But first read this excerpt from Guruji's Celebrating Silence (Dispassion, Pg. 93): " Activity and rest are two vital aspects of life. To find a balance in them is a skill in itself. Wisdom is knowing when to have rest, when to have activity, and how much of each to have. Finding them in each other - activity in rest and rest in activity - is the ultimate freedom." That last line above really made me restless when I read it for the first time several years ago. As the years have passed the mystery has slowly unfolded and still there is a long way to go. Of late I have been actively applying myself to understand and experience 'rest in activity'. A few days back while doing padmasadhana I was sweating (Bau says I have a serious plumbing problem!) a lot and the power went, my sweating increased (you need to understand that I am in Delhi). For a second or two I was irritated. The mind started coming up with bri

The last 5 Weeks

Dear all, So much has happened in the last 5 weeks, there are so many things to share with all you lovely people, don't know how much I will be able to remember and key (pen) down. UP Satsang Tour with Rishi Nityapragyaji, An ANR in Vashi, Mumbai followed by two splendid sessions for volunteers in Mumbai, YES!++ in ashram with Guruji, then DSN with Bau in Goregaon, Mumbai and finally meeting Guruji in Delhi. I am still in the hangover, literally HANGOVER, of Gurujis Delhi visit. Just before he left Delhi, he sat with us for 10 min to listen to Chitra didi sing a few romantic bollywood numbers. The sweet and intense gestures that he did while she sang have kept me intoxicated till now. When she was singing Kaun Hai Jo Sapno Mein Aya....he mischievously said, "Pata nahin kaun aya?". In the super chaotic MESSmersied crowd in the satsang in Delhi, he said, "normally we say - from CHAOS to BLISS, but here there is BLISS in the CHAOS". At that time I was managing the

Is the Present Government really secular, are we secularly secure?

Is the Present Government really secular, are we secularly secure?   ·         When Madrasas are being shut down in Pakistan , the Indian Government is giving them CBSE status !! Is it not discouraging our Muslim brothers and sisters in getting secular education?   ·         Our Government has given 25 lakh scholarships ONLY to minority students .  What sin have the majority done not to deserve these?  Why cannot poor students of all communities be given scholarships instead of only Muslim children?   ·          Andhra Pradesh government under the direction from central government has closed down 28000 temples out of 36000 temples in last 5 years. In Vijaywada district alone of Andhra Pradesh 1600 churches have got opened in last 5 years. Why?   ·         Christian population has increased from 9% to 19% in Andhra Pradesh. 75 lac Hindus have been converted in the last 5 years of Congress Rule in the state. The Congress Chief Minister of Andhra Prades

Its an Emergency:

Its an Emergency:   Decades ago we ACHIEVED our independence after losing many lives. Today, our corrupt politicians have SOLD our independence, and we are still losing many lives. THE CURRENT TREND IS VERY THREATENING. TALIBAN is 12 km away from our borders and they are fast approaching us. What are we waiting for ?   Rs. 75 lac crore in the SWISS bank and our government refrains from doing anything about it, for obvious reasons J   Rs. 23 crore gifted to Havard University and Rs. 26 crore gifted to Cambridge University, while the fees of our schools, colleges and universities are increasing!!.   Are we politically safe? Are we economically sound? Are we socially healthy? Are we educationally empowered?   Wake up Indians, Wake up!!! Exercise the POWER of YOUR VOTE to change the trend.

THINK & ACT NOW!

Dear Patriotic Indian!   3850 terror deaths in over 3000 incidents in 67 cities in the last 4 years. In 2008 alone, 12 major terror attacks have rocked the country. No terror attack in US after 09/11, no terror attack in UK after 07/07. Why is our government not taking stringent measures to combat terrorism?   Rs.51,000 crore missing from the Indian Treasury . My hard earned money is included in this and so is yours!   Pakistan flag being hoisted in Assam, Indian flag being burnt in Kashmir . Why are we not raising our voice against this? Where is our national pride? On the day of Mumbai train blasts, the present government gave Rs 150 crore for earthquake-relief in Pakistan . In 2008, the government gave Rs 3000 crores to Afghanistan for Infrastructure development. Why are the Mumbai train attack victims not compensated yet? Why is the government not developing our own infrastruct

Its an Emergency:

Its an Emergency:   Decades ago we ACHIEVED our independence after losing many lives. Today, our corrupt politicians have SOLD our independence, and we are still losing many lives. THE CURRENT TREND IS VERY THREATENING. TALIBAN is 12 km away from our borders and they are fast approaching us. What are we waiting for ?   Rs. 75 lac crore in the SWISS bank and our government refrains from doing anything about it, for obvious reasons J   Rs. 23 crore gifted to Havard University and Rs. 26 crore gifted to Cambridge University, while the fees of our schools, colleges and universities are increasing!!.   Are we politically safe? Are we economically sound? Are we socially healthy? Are we educationally empowered?   Wake up Indians, Wake up!!! Exercise the POWER of YOUR VOTE to change the trend.  

Imp: Its an Emergency...Wake up for your country

Its an Emergency:   Decades ago we ACHIEVED our independence after losing many lives. Today, our corrupt politicians have SOLD our independence, and we are still losing many lives. THE CURRENT TREND IS VERY THREATENING. TALIBAN is 12 km away from our borders and they are fast approaching us. What are we waiting for ?   Rs. 75 lac crore in the SWISS bank and our government refrains from doing anything about it, for obvious reasons J   Rs. 23 crore gifted to Havard University and Rs. 26 crore gifted to Cambridge University, while the fees of our schools, colleges and universities are increasing!!.   Are we politically safe? Are we economically sound? Are we socially healthy? Are we educationally empowered?   Wake up Indians, Wake up!!! Exercise the POWER of YOUR VOTE to change the trend.  

We reached to 1000 Delhites in 2 hrs

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We went like this in the metro from Keshav Puram to Kashmere Gate to Rajiv Chowk and back. The response was very strong. People were eyeing us as though we were celebrities (of corse we are), some looked with suspicion, some even with some fear and insecurity....may be they though we are the goons of the politicians or politicians of the goons ;-) Some people even asked us who should we vote, we just said, we need a change! Some asked us, who are you supporting? We said doesn't matter. You make your choice. Some were cribbing, its not going to make any difference. Some were appreciating our efforts, some started arguing with us. It was fun. I realized even more strongly the extent and intensity of the apathy in the Indian educated masses about the Indian political scenario. Most people have given up hope. People have lost trust in governance, they are disgusted. But I am determined to make a difference, and so can you. VOTE and tell 10 others to VOTE, for a change. All the best

Communalising Politics

See the video below. I don't know why IBNLive has used the word FATWA, but its quite evident from the video that the Muslims and Christians in Karnataka are mixing religion with politics and being NON-SECULAR.  Muslims and Christians are so loud and take pride in voicing their narrow-minded, religious, non-secular Muslim/Christian agendas. When they do this they are justified as being protective about their minority community, and if Hindus do it they are termed religious and communal and non-secular.

Guru Om Chanting

This is how we are chanting it. You will love it. Its very soothing and meditative and I must say we feel Gurujis presence so strong when we chant it. Hope all of you are chanting Guru Om in some or the other tune. Here is the soundtrack. Have a blissful chanting experience! Love & Jai Gurudev

Cool it guys!

Lets cool down the planet. I just did it :-) You know how? By switching off 5 tube-lights. I have earned an E-COOL point for the day. What about you? Now pl dont tell me that you dont know whats an E-COOL point!! Check out Bawa's superb article which got published and is amongst the top 3 featured articles on viewspaper. Be sure you rate it highest so that you get to read more from bau-d-bau on popular websites. Happy reading.

‘The remote control of your life is in your hands’ - Sri Sri

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Friends, This is an awesome blog. The latest wisdom from Guruji is posted on this. http://wisdomfromsrisri.blogspot.com/ The latest post talks about: "You be a role model. It is only spirituality t hat can bring transformation in the nation. Devoid of spirituality, politics becomes so corrupt." “Save your mind at all costs. We talk about saving the environment, saving the world but not the mind. Tell yourself: I am in charge of my life, my mind. Nobody can make me unhappy.” "When you feel that you have everything now, you will have more. Do you know who gets invited to dinners? The one who has plenty to eat. Feel the plentitu de." Q. What is the secret behind the ever-green smile? A.: I have no idea. Perhaps it’s because I always walk my talk and talk my walk.) Q. How to become an angel? A.: There is no way. You already are one! Q. Do you ever get hurt in love? Q. Can students be equal to their Guru? If yes, then how? Q. Are the Mahabharata an

Brahmin forefathers...SC/ST Grandchildren!?

By Subramanian Swamy, former Union Law Minister Excerpts from an article written on 03 Dec, 2006 on www.organiser.org Full article here In India, Dhimmi status for Hindus during Islamic imperialist rule has had other social implications. Defiant Brahmins and Kshatriyas, who had refused to convert and chose to remain Hindus, were forced to carry night-soil and suffer great indignities for their women folk. Or it meant gross mental torture. Guru Tegh Bahadur, for example, had to see his sons sawed in half, before the pious Guru’s own head was severed and displayed in public. The debasement of Hindu society then was such that those targeted valiant Brahmins and Kshatriyas, who had refused to convert and thus made to carry night-soil, were disowned by other Hindus and declared to be asprashya or “untouchable”. The ranks of the Scheduled Caste community, which was not more than 1 per cent of the population before the advent of Islam in India, swelled to 14 per cent by the time Mughal r

Sheer BLISS

Just couldnt resist writing about what I experienced a couple of hours back. We heard Gurujis talk 'Your Nature is Gratefulness' of the Ashtavakra Gita series. It was awesome. Very subtle and profound and towards the end Guruji made us laugh so much I tell you. And in the end he told us to find reasons to be grateful. The moment the talk got over Nitin (Nikhil Kathurias brother) played the slow Narayan....Narayan....Jai Govind Hare....., Narayan....Narayan....Jai Gopal Hare.....sung by Vikram. It was the recording of a satsang. I have no words to express what that bhajan did to all of us. I was completely transported to the ashram. Feeling so grateful for Guruji, the way he has handled my life and given so much, for having filled my life with divinity, grace, faith and paramanand. As the song was ending Vikram started Your Home is in my heart...! Need I write any further? Oh Guruji! Zarurat se jyada, aur samay se pehle, you give so much, I am not big enough to take! Love you Gu

Love Bytes

Words of wisdom from Guruji on the following topics Who seeks love? - find out which type you belong to Three types of love - Maybe your love is Tamasik or Rajasik? hee hee ha ha Is your love perfect? - I can bet you are far from perfect! Dealing with loss / unplesant experiences - Tera kya tha jo tune khoya? Dealing with Anxiety - Relax buddy :-) B +ve - I am not looking for blood By now your fundas should be clear ;-) Love Moves the World Jai Gurudev

The Bliss of Puja

Yesterday we did Guru puja and then meditated on the Rudra Puja chants...a short satsang with Shiva bhajans followed after that. It felt so much like being in the ashram. A few YES!+ volunteers were amongst the 325 who became Blessers and/or Healers on Sunday 12th Apr. So there was celebration in the air in the YES!+ adda since last evening. No no...now the adda has been shifted. B-24 Lajpat Nagar was the UTSAV adda. No yaar, A1-266, Safdarjung Enclave was the MARCH-in-MARCH adda. Now its C-119, Ashok Vihar. The first sms I saw after the puja read... '..I am in the Bangalore ashram,...we just finished rudra puja with Guruji...' :-) We caught your presence in India Guruji! We are your good devotees no? ;-) Today Vishal did the Guru puja...after which we chanted Guru Om for 3 to 5 min. The meditation that followed was so deep and with such strong Guru presence. Vishal has been doing the Guru puja with the vidhi (ritual) now for the last 26 consecutive days without break! I guess

Who are you trying to fool, Mr. Naik?

Question: Why is a man allowed to have more than one wife in Islam? i.e. Why is polygamy allowed in Islam? (2/2)Misconceptions About Islam - By Dr. Zakir Naik.This is a lecture by Dr. Zakir Naik held in P.U.B. Auditorium, Singapore, 17 October, 1998. In this video he answers some of the most common misconceptions non-Muslims have about Islam. Could not decide if the above video is a Commedy:-) ! or Tragedy:-( ? What do you say??

Wish our Muslim brothers & sisters would adhere to the Quran

TOP 10 MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT ISLAM by Huma Ahmad on www.jannah.org Full article here EXCERPTS... MISCONCEPTION #1: Muslims are violent, terrorists and/or extremists. NOWHERE DOES ISLAM ENJOIN THE KILLING OF INNOCENTS.. The Quran says: "Fight in the cause of God against those who fight you, but do not transgress limits. God does not love transgressors." (Quran 2:190) "If they seek peace, then seek you peace. And trust in God for He is the One that heareth and knoweth all things." (Quran 8:61) ...The term 'jihad' literally means 'struggle'. Muslims believe that there are two kinds of jihad. The other 'jihad' is the inner struggle of the soul which everyone wages against egotistic desires for the sake of attaining inner peace. MISCONCEPTION #2: Islam oppresses women. ... The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said: "The most perfect in faith amongst believers is he who is best in manner and kindest to his wife." Violence of any kind

Uniform Civil Law

By Subramanian Swamy, former Union Law Minister Excerpts from an article written on 03 Dec, 2006 on http://www.organiser.org/ Full article here In a Hindu country why should there be a separate Law for non-Hindus? Hindus had been dhimmis for six hundred years in those parts of India despite being a bigger majority in the country than even today. Hence, a majority is not enough. Hindus need also a Hindu mindset to be free. Thousands of Muslims had demonstrated on the streets demanding that the government not bring legislation that would nullify the Supreme Court’s judgment in the Shah Bano case but in vain. Supreme Court v/s Shariat. Who is greater? Rajiv Gandhi, I learnt later, on counsel from his Italian Catholic family, had surrendered to the hard line clerics who protested that the Supreme Court had no right to interfere and to de facto amend the Shariat, the Islamic law code. These relatives on a directive from the Vatican thought that if secular law would be applied to Muslims, it

Crusaders of Spirituality

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The Beheading of Guru Tegh Bahadur From SikhiWiki Jump to: navigation , search The Emperor Aurangzeb who had seen to the death of his brother and arrest of his father had been raised and educated by the fundamentalist ulema who had long been ignored by his more liberal predecessors. His brother Dara Shikoh had been raised by the Sufis and exposed to the more the more universal side of Islam which, though its aim was still to see everyone in the world submit to Islam , they sought to accomplish their goal by peaceful means. The Sikhs and Hindus were on good terms with the Sufis, but Aurangzeb returned the hated Jizia-a tax which took 60% of everything from the Sikh and Hindu farmers. Aurangzeb had decided that he would change India into a land where sharia would rule. He had decided that Islam would be the only religion of India. He would allow no new Hindu temples to be built and he gave orders that many be torn down and replaced by Mosques. A plan was h

Can the Hindus and Muslims peacefully co-exist in India?

Basic Islam for Hindu Dhimmis By Subramanian Swamy, former Union Law Minister Excerpts from an article written on 03 Dec, 2006 on www.organiser.org Full article here Temples have been demolished in the Valley on a daily basis. The world could not care less. An American had once told me: “Why should we care? Indian democracy is led by the majority who are Hindus and you want us to talk about the human rights of the community of rulers?” Are Hindus in majority in India? We do not have much time, in fact in about 45 years, as the X-graph of statistical regressions estimated by J.S. Bajaj and colleagues shows. ‘X’ represents the two trends—Hindu percentage declining and Muslim percentage rising, and intersecting in the year 2061. We Hindus must understand the true nature of Islam before we can formulate a strategy to defeat those who threaten us. What happens in Muslim majority areas? The municipalities of Thondi and Rasathipuram Municipalities of Ramanathapuram and Vellore districts respe

Stretch the Hand OUT

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