Narayan Narayan Narayan Narayan

Maharaj ji... As Gurudev called him... A very gracious old man, clad in an orange robe, with a bald head and white vibhuti on his forehead, with all his teeth intact and a big smile on his face !
I simply loved him from the first time I saw him... His commitment to knowledge was something worth seeing ! Such an inspiration it was !

His devotion for the lord showed in every word that he said... I still remember, once he was talking in a Satsang ( sometime around Navratri ) to a crowd of about ten thousand + people and suddenly his voice started to break and tears started to roll down his cheeks... I was wondering what happened, and then his intense devotion, just caught on ! I realized I also had tears in my eyes among so many others who felt the same !

It was very interesting, how Gurudev would interact with him... Gurudev would praise him like anything and Maharaj ji would respond by praising him even more... It used to be like a game of who is more humble ! Guudev would praise him, by acknowledging him to be a master in Vedic scriptures... Sometimes Gurudev would say something and then would say " Haina maharaj ji ?" as if taking a confirmation from him... Maharaj ji would fold his hands in front and bow down his head indicating " Why are you doing this to me ! ", and the crowd would laugh ! Gurudev deeply loved Maharaj ji... and Maharaj ji would indicate in his talks ( sometimes very clearly) that Gurudev is none other than Krishna !

His commitment to seva was also very inspiring... Many a times, he would be on a wheel chair but still come for the satsang and share some knowledge ! In between his talks he would always crack one or two jokes, that would really make everyone laugh !

He would always begin by chanting "Narayan" 4 times... Infact, many people called him Naraayan Swamiji ! His commitment to knowledge was so much, that no matter what one asked... He would finally come back to the same thing - "There is only one... there is no two"... Very often he would speak the same thing again and again, and it sounded boring sometimes... But the way he would say it... To him it seemed that he just discovered it and is saying it for the first time !

It was such a delight to be in his presence... One would feel so calm and rejuvenated in his presence...
He left the body on 12th Feb 2012 at 12:25 pm at the ashram... Needless to say, it was a very peaceful and natural death... A most noble soul has returned to the source.

Naraayn Naraayan Naraayan Naraayan.

You do my work & I'll do yours !

This happened on my way back from Vellore, where I had gone to meet with all the YES+ VITian’s. I was at the station with three of my students, Selva, Sakshi and Pooja who had come to drop me. 

We were at the station and the train to Bangalore came in. Brindavan express was quite tightly packed. I was waiting for the A/C compartment to come but when train stopped, the A/C compartment was no where in sight. Selva announced there is no A/C in this train. I didn’t have a reserved ticket and on seeing how tightly packed the train was, it didn’t seem like I had a good chance of getting one. The TTE, got down from the train and I approached him. Quietly taking him a little on the side I asked him “ Can I have a seat ?”. The way I asked, seemed as if I didn't mind paying him a small bribe. He said “Yes, Rs. 50 “. A yes meant that he had the seat. At this point, Selva also came and spoke to the TTE in Tamil. He told him the same thing. Selva, came to me and said, "Bhaiya, its just Rs. 50 more." 

    Here was a real life chance to apply what Gurudev has said in so many satsangs! So I told Selva to tell him that we are with Guruji, and we would not be giving bribe. Selva went a little hesitantly himself and told the TTE something in Tamil but I heard the word Bill. It seemed like he himself didn’t believe the TTE would give a seat WITHOUT a bribe ! I went up to the TTE again, and told Selva to translate that we were with Guruji, and therefore we just couldn't give him a bribe. I went on to explain that it wasn't that I didn’t have the money, it was just that I couldn't give it. Selva did the needful but the TTE just walked away and went inside the train.

It was clear that our conviction in explaining the situation was not strong enough. So I told Selva to go again but this time, say it with full conviction! Selva went in and the train began moving but I stood my ground. I would not board the train if the TTE didn’t give me a seat without the bribe… But I didn’t want to go standing for 4 hours either!
   Just then, Selva came running to the door and said, “Bhaiya go in! He’ll give you a seat!”… So I boarded the train with a sense of satisfaction J !

Now, after boarding the train I couldn’t locate the TTE for some time. Then suddenly the TTE came out of a bathroom, spotted me and came and told me “please go and sit in D4, Seat 24”… So I happily went to coach D4, seat #24 and found a guy ( must have been in his 40’s ) sitting with his wife and mother. I pointed at the seat and said that it was a reserved one. He instantly got up and gave me the seat...

I sat happily for a few minutes and was feeling triumphant about the fact that I got a seat without giving bribe. But then, I started to feel a little sad for the guy whom I made stand… The good feeling of not giving the bribe was now being neutralized. I thought to myself that the next time the TTE came, I would ask if there was another seat available… Just then, I looked at my cell phone and saw a text message from Sakshi… It said “ There IS an A/C compartment in your train !”… As soon as I read the message, we arrived at a station ! I got off and ran back to the TTE of the A/C compartment. I asked him if there was a seat available and sure enough, there was one!

So I happily shifted to the A/C compartment and made that man sit… Looking back, it made me feel grateful that every thought is taken care of when intentions are pure and the focus is clear !

Gurudev keeps saying... "You do my work and I'll do yours :) ! "... The question is just about taking the step...

Hurry om Hari...

One more point that really struck me while I was doing the Weeklong Advanced course... It was about the "Hurry in the mind"... Swamiji said... " During this entire course... Remember whenever Hurry comes to your mind... the english hurry not the Sanskrit Hari... just RELAX... tell Hurry please relax and come some other time... I'm not going to Hurry now !!! And move like a king... with ALL the time in the world ! ".... Wow... that was such a revelation ! I noticed that this Hurry in the mind is the only cause of worry !

For instance... many times I noticed that my stomach doesn't really need food, but just because the food is tasty I want to eat more...

One of the first few times I caught my mind in Hurry was when I realized I was wanting to eat something... I thought I'll eat something and feel better... then I just closed my eyes and checked weather I'm really hungry or what is it... Thats when I realized , I didn't really feel hungry... But there was this " hurry in the mind " that was just pushing me to do something... And since eating something seemed to be a good 'time pass' I thought I was tending to just go and eat !!! It was such an eye opener that eating is so many times just a 'time pass' !!!

Another time I noticed the 'hurry' coming to my mind was while I was standing in the queue... Every moment I would look at the person in front of me and see if he has moved any bit and then look at the person at the counter and pray that he quickly finishes his job and move so that the person right in front of me steps forward !!! Sometimes the person right in front of me would not move even though the person in front of him has moved... This would create an even more sense of 'hurry' that 'why isn't this person moving !'

This Hurry is really the feverishness that grips the mind... It makes me not enjoy the moment ! It promises that happiness will come only after I complete some action... Actually, this can come in any form... So many times it comes is in the form of desire or ambition ( more on that sometime later )....

But then I was wondering what do I do when it comes ??? and I notice that it has come ? A few things that I observed work are:

1. The moment I became aware that "Hurry" has come and would just be with it... It would start to subside... The key really is to become aware that the "Hurry" has dawned and to 'watch' it !!!

2. Some kind of physical exercise/activity... This keeps one occupied and shapes the body ( in case of exercise )... The physical activity could be some kind of seva, then people are benefited. The physical activity could be eating also :D, but then that doesn't really help anybody ( if its really not required )...

3. Just remembering the sanskrit Hari ;)...

I'm sure there would be many other ways ( I'm curious to read your ideas/ways in the comments )...

I was just reminded of one of Guruji's line while writing this post... "The action or the result of the action is not going to give any contentment... First be content and do the action out of contentment !"

Recipe to the Most Delicious food ever !!!

I feel so guilty for not writing for so long... Actually, I have written some posts but they are only stored in 'Drafts'... I shall start posting them soon too ( hope 'soon' is not like the time difference between this and the last post ! ). I've decided that even if its short.. I'll just keep posting !

I happened to do the Weeklong Advanced meditation course last month and have been wanting to write this since then... During this course, amongst many things, my teacher ( Swami Bhramatej ji ) said this amazing sentence on how to eat food... He said "Take half the quantity of food in every bite and double the amount of chewing"... Then he said... "U know why ? Because Stomach doesn't have teeth !"... So... I DID implement that during the course... I would shred the roti piece and really take only half of the piece of roti that I usually used to take... I didn't compromise so much on the vegetables... Then, I would put it in mouth and just start chewing and chewing... I did one more thing... Since chewing was taking so long... I would even close my eyes while chewing... And... I suddenly started to feel that the quality of food at Ashram has suddenly improved !!! The amount of food that I required to eat had also reduced !!! It was really so amazing to see this phenomenon !

Since I was talking half the size of the bite, I was aware of what I'm taking and since I was chewing more I really started to taste every bit of thing that I was eating... Thats when I realized that the Recipe to the most delicious food can lie on my eating also and not just on the cooking !!!

                 

Ashram a University for LIFE studies...

A lot of people ask me " Oh... so you stay at Ashram "... and the very next question is... " So you are not going to get married... People staying at such places don't get married right ? "...  " Ohh... you must be getting up really early and meditating the whole day ! "... " Oh... how do you manage your finances and needs ? " ... " Ohh.. What do you do the whole day ? "... Its almost as if I'm an animal of a rare species in the zoo... 

Well... The ashram is nothing like that... I thought of writing this post to so that people can appreciate the ashram a little better... How I see the ashram is like a University... A university where the subject of study is 'LIFE'... Like 'Professors' in a university, Swamijis or experienced Teachers share their experience to teach new people at the ashram... Equivalent of classes are 'Art of living programs'...  Ashramites are like PhD students doing their own research with the assistance of mentors...  Sometimes 'Visiting profs' or Guru's or swami's of other 'maths'/ organizations come and share their experience as well... 

My own body and mind is my laboratory... The whole day I conduct experiments by doing normal 'seva' activities, which for me at the moment is working with the 'Events Team' of the ashram... Events team as the name suggests is responsible for all the programs and events that happen at the Ashram right from planning, scheduling, inviting people to executing the event/program and taking their feedback and suggestions and then incorporating them in the next event/program... And in this whole process acquiring all the material finances for me and the Ashram as a whole... Material amenities and finances are essential and are definitely required to sustain life and one surely has to do something to get them... However, usually many people just get caught up in just acquiring these amenities ! The 'work' done here is more than enough not just to sustain me, but also many more at the Ashram. All this is the 'work' part or the 'running the experiment' part... Like in any experiment we first conduct the experiment and then take observations that is the 'Satsang' part... Where we all sit together, sing together, listen to knowledge, meditate and see how the spoken knowledge was applied or not applied in the day's experiment... Meditation and reading knowledge is like the self study part or the 'swadhyaye'...

As I spend more and more time at the ashram I have started to feel more and more aware of things both inside and outside... By becoming more aware outside I mean... becoming more sensitive to people and situations outside... For example... These, days very often I start seeing how the person in front is feeling,  thinking or going to say... Just a few days ago a friend of mine (also an ashramite) came to me and said... You know what... Looking at his face I simply knew what he was going to talk about and told him... He was just taken by surprise ( actually he was going to talk about something very different )! I knew the broad topic but not the nitty-gritties... These kind of things have slowly started to increase... Or sometimes I just get to know what is going to happen or who is calling on the phone or  if someone is remembering me etc... 

By becoming more aware inside I mean... becoming more sensitive to my own body, thoughts, feelings, actions and reactions... As one spends more and more time observing this, one starts seeing how much more there is to it ! As a simple example... If we just observe which nostril do we breathe from predominantly at a particular time, a lot of things can be revealed... Or what is the breathing pattern when we are angry, greedy, jealous or in some other state of mind can help us get out of it... Or a keen observation of food intake can simply tell us what food is right and what food has what effect... For example, I simply fast for a day in a fortnight... That whole day I observe the hunger and what effect it has on the system... How, I tend to become angry more easily when hungry, how my thoughts start changing when I'm angry etc... also, there is such a big difference in the way I feel for the next whole week after that !  

The longer one spends here, the more aware and more knowledge ( both about inside and outside ) one starts to get... After some time, one starts going outside this 'university' ( Ashram ) and starts to give 'guest lectures/public talks' ( knowledge talks/ pada yatras/ Art of living courses/ Satsangs ) to share with the world one's experience of 'LIFE'...

 All this is just a small glimpse of all that happens and that is possible here... Actually come to think of it all this can be done anywhere in the world and all the time... The difference is that this place is more conducive and ideal for this type of 'research' for beginners... A place where the energy levels are so high because thousands of people have meditated here over so many years... Where all the people have the same goal ( consciously or subconsciously ) but completely different behavior, culture, family background, habits, language, age-group and sex... A perfect example of harmony in diversity... Where else can one find so many saintly people together in one place... The food and the climate ideally suited to go within with more ease... And most important of all... This is the place where Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ( whom we can call the most knowledgeable in the research of 'LIFE' ) spends his maximum time in a year !

Mind Games !

Its really interesting to observe this mind... This mind is really tricky and plays all sorts of games ! When, what happens to the mind and the whole trajectory of life changes... An interest in this and going beyond the mind got me to this path, or so my mind thinks :)...

Very often I hear people doing things that are not so healthy, justifying their stance by giving other wrong things that people do, or they themselves do ! This is how the nature of mind is... It likes to justify itself logically, so that it doesn't have to change and can continue indulging in the vices or habits that it has got used to...

Another way of the mind to justify itself is, it accepts that they do the wrong thing, but are not strong enough to change ! Here again, the mind has found an escape route for itself to change from its habit pattern...

One more mode of the mind is that it claims that all these things have an effect, but it really doesn't matter, I am or my mind is strong enough to handle the effect... Well, if the mind is strong enough to handle the effect, then isn't it strong enough to stop the habit ?

In many cases, the craving for the sensory pleasures, blinds us and creates this false sense of logic or comfort, and that is why the mind is really tricky, and one has to be really cautious of it... But, how does one become cautious ? What can one do, when we are stuck in the illusion ? That is where a Guru helps... This is where faith comes in place... If there is a Guru in life, then he removes this curtain that has blinded us and shows us the reality... He authenticates... That is the significance of a Guru in life...

I feel fortunate to have a Guru in life... It is said that Guru comes to you whenever you need him and not whenever you want him ! I've seen this happen to me so many times... Everytime I've got entangled or stuck somewhere, I've seen him helping me and guiding me through it!

Come with ME...

I had heard so many stories about, how Guruji values love and devotion more than anything. He doesn't see what food he eats, but with what love and devotion that food is made... It doesn't matter how loudly you call him, but with what love in your heart you call him... It doesn't matter how big errors you make, but with what intention you make... It doesn't matter how big or small you are, but what devotion you have... But when he is with you, he behaves so normally, that one is not able to hold on to so many concepts and stories that one hears about and one doesn't even realize what happened !

About three years ago, I wanted to ask Guruji a question... The question was weather, I should quit my job or join my job back ( I had postponed the joining of my job )... I had been staying at the ashram for about 3-4 months by then... I was pretty happy at the ashram but I still wanted to make sure that I don't take a wrong step... So, that evening, he was walking, and he looked at me and asked me " haan kaisa hai ? " ( How are you ? )... I said... " Thik hoon, ek question tha " ( I'm fine, wanted to ask a question )... He said... " haan tum humare saath Belgaum chalo wahan set karte hain tumko... " ( You come with me to Belgaum we'll sort it out there )... I didn't know what happened ! I was obviously elated ! Slowly, as the fact was getting digested, the fact that GURUJI has invited ME to travel with him, started getting to my head... This is a very common phenomenon, when he pampers you, one feels YOU are the only one !!! So, I started becoming stiff and proud thinking that no one is so great as I am, and blah blah...

So, when the date to leave came closer, I had to book the tickets etc... The ticketing people asked me, that you get a confirmation from Guruji's secretariat. So, I went to one of Guruji's secretary, and told him to send the confirmation... He said, he would ask Guruji and send it... A day later, I meet the secretary, and asked him... He said... " Guruji said he doesn't remember telling you anything like that !"... That was it !!! I couldn't believe it... First I thought the secretary was telling a lie and he hadn't asked, but he seemed to have asked very surely ! Then, I thought, how can Guruji forget things ! He remembers and knows things that he is not supposed to remember also and here he is saying that he can't remember something that he himself said ! I started feeling helpless... I asked other people... Does this happen that Guruji forgets something that he says ? They said... yes... very often he does... I couldn't believe this ! I didn't know whom to believe... weather, to believe what his secretary told me, or what Guruji told me, or what other people told me... So, then I thought, I'll ask him myself next time... Till the time I got the next chance to ask him directly, all my pride and stiffness had completely gone, I had started feeling vulnerable, humble and grateful... So, when I asked him directly the next time, he said " Yes... yes... you contact swamiji " and left... Later, that day I got a call from swamiji that Guruji has asked me to go with him and bring this one guy along with me... That time I realized how he plays games ! Till the time, I was all stiff and proud, he had even forgotten what he himself said... I feel so grateful that he forgot it !

Thats when I learnt: every-time you become stiff and proud for anything... you loose the connection !

PRIDE of the Parents...REFLECTION of the Master !!!

Our second son Vishal was born one fine morning and next day, Bidar had the heaviest rains in 30 years. The trusty Bullet motorcycle that he would grow up and learn to ride, still brought his mother's hot soup and nutritious meal to the Methodist hospital where he was born, 3.7 Kg with a full head of hair a very cute baby by any standards.

When he did the first advanced course in 2002, we his parents knew at once that he had changed. Gone was the hot headedness and impulsive behavior. That doesn't mean the energy was less, far from it. He continued to do well at IIT D and went on to win a scholarship to do advanced studies abroad.

As a father, it is a great joy watching my child getting ahead of me at less than half my age on the ONLY path that really matters, with the Guru's Grace.
 
-  Mr. Ruby N Merani (Dad)


This young Vishal changed my attitude in life. Made me get the feeling of abundance . I now do everything by and large with a relaxed mind  and "SO WHAT............" and " LET GO........" with these two Phrases My working style has changed ,I just don't get stuck to one activity for too long which I used to earlier and then miss out on something else and then get annoyed and keep pondering on it .I owe this to Vishal for bearing with me so patiently. This makes me feel more stress free and I feel my energy is  fully chanelised in the right direction.

He has also brought discipline in my life .........courtesy him I do my kriya everyday.....
I am quite amazed to see that he wastes no time . Each and every moment  of his life is so beautifully utilised , other wise earlier a lot of time was wasted lazing around.
From childhood he was very focused and intense and was quite a perfectionist .
There is so much and so much to tell about him ........ He is an all rounder ......... good in music , academics ,sports ...excellent athelete,swimmer... spirituallity ....humanity...kindness are just OOzing out of him. 
The GURU is with him .GOD  BLESS HIM .
- Mrs. Indira Merani (Mom)

And its a HAPPY Family :)

PS : This post is a surprise gift for the owner of this blog by the
        DELHI YES PLUS Team
        Happy Teacher's Day :)

Life @ Ashram

I have shifted to the ashram since about eight months… And for me, it’s the most amazing place to be, in the whole world! Life just flows out here… Hours passby into days, into weeks, into months… One just doesn’t realize how time flies in the blissful state here! Its not so different from staying outside in terms of work… There is a lot of work and sometimes one spends nights, staying awake… Its not that there are no tough times… There are times where you feel so miserable that you think nothing life just cannot go on! But the difference is… Everything that one experiences here is magnified and intense… Every joy is intense, and every sorrow is also intense, because there is nothing that distracts the mind from the joy or misery… The other difference is that all the learning is highly quickened! The rate at which one learns here compared to learning from life outside, is really really fast ! No matter what problems come, by the evening, when one sits in the satsang… Everything is washed out ! Next day is a brand new fresh day, ready with new surprises ! Actually that’s it… Every day out here waits with new surprises! Actually that’s how one can have a life anywhere in the world… But one tends to get caught up in the outside… And that’s the difference here… One gets this practice of going out and then quickly come back inside… The ‘satva’ or the energy here is simply amazing! I see this place as a laboratory… Where one can experiment whatever one wishes to research about one’s own mind, emotions and tendencies…

The "Parents process"

A real life process that inevitably every full time Art of Living teacher enjoys in their life is the "Handling the parents process "! And I tell you it is really deep and insightful. Here is my version of the 'process'.

Luckily for me, my dad was cool... He always had just one stance... "If you are sure... Go ahead ! "... He was my only supporter... I feel so grateful for that !

All the strength, patience, and faith was tested with my mom ! I remember, each time anyone of her friend or relative asked my mom what her son was doing (generally)... My mom would become silent... She would almost cry ! Each time she would talk to me or meet me she would be in tears !! And I tell you its not easy to see that... When you see people who really love you so much, crying because of you... But then... If I looked at the reasons, why she was crying... they were " He has such a nice job & salary there ?"... " What will he do here ?".... " How will he survive ?"... " What about us ? "... " How will he take care of us ?"... " How shall I face my friends & relatives ?"... " What about his marriage ?"... etc...

Basically all these were questions that were mainly coming from 'insecurity' & 'herd mentality'... And that is what a large majority of parents in India suffer from... So, at that point all I would say is, have faith and all will be taken care off ! I would tell her, "You think I serve the whole world and no one would take care of me ? "...

While making my decision, the only thing that I was not too happy about was that, I thought that I would not be able to support my parents financially. After being placed in Holland, I had promised my parents that I would fund them for making a house... I told them they wouldn't have to worry about any luxuries... Now, I just had this doubt that what about all that... However, then I thought to myself that they anyway have everything they need, I would not be able to satisfy all their 'greed'... So what... After a few months at the ashram, my dad was retiring from Air Force... This question again came up... What about making the house in Ooty... Where would they stay... What about the income... What about a new job etc...

It is said, that when one walks on the spiritual path, all the merit of 'seva, satsang & sadhana' first goes to their ancestors upto 7 generations! And this is what I started seeing... I saw my parents prospering and blossoming in every way... Before dad retired, he had several great job offers. And the best one was in Bangalore itself ! My mother who used to feel so unsecured, specially about money matters, now had completely changed... As if 'abundance' had dawned on her... Actually abundance had really dawned upon our whole family... We had an old plot that gave us unexpected returns... Dad got a great job ! They bought a nice flat... and started building the Ooty house...

After all the fear, insecurity, crying, fighting, sulking... Finally my parents feel sooo proud of me now ! Earlier, if someone asked, " Your son has studied from IIT and abroad... And now, what is he doing... what is he going into ?"... She would just breakdown and would not have anything to say... But now, SHE tells people... " My son, although he is from IIT, he travels around the country and spreads happiness around the whole world !"...

It is said that:

In the presence of the sat guru;

Knowledge flourishes (Gyana raksha); Sorrow diminishes (Dukha kshaya); Joy wells up without any reason (Sukha aavirbhava); Abundance dawns (Samriddhi); All talents manifest (Sarva samvardhan).

And I started to see all these happening not only in my life, but with my parents as well !