GOD's Will . Vs . My Will - Day 1

8^th August 6:30 am – Destination Hyderabad.

With great excitement I off boarded the bus. No matter 

which city you go to, I guess a sight you will never miss seeing is buzzing auto drivers all around you attempting to get what they call a Savari!

On the way to the hotel I was amazed to see lot of cutouts and posters with Bakra(goat), some garlanded, some cut outs as big as a politician’s campaign. For a while I wondered of it was some party’s mascot. Then it suddenly flashed to me, Ramzan was around the corner and the city was gearing up for celebration. Well, I wasn’t wrong after all for comparing Bakra posters with politicians. The only difference is politicians would make Bakra out of the public and in this case the public makes Bakra, out of the Bakra itself!! 

At the hotel I realized, no matter how much I plan, write down things to carry there’s always something I would forget I know that’s the case with most. This time it was the toothbrush. I switched over to the age old brushing technique with the index finger and then hit the shower! After an amazing and relaxing Kriya and meditation time, I called Neelesh Ji to let him know I had arrived and meet up with him so we could head to Chilkur Temple.

It was time to execute MY PLAN. I called Neelesh Ji in the anticipation that we could visit the temple and head back to the hotel by noon on time for Lunch and then take an early bus to Tirupati. While the little mind was making the plans, the BIG MIND willed otherwise! Neelesh Ji in his cheerful voice said he would meet me sometime at noon since he had some work to finish but not sure about the time! POP went my first plan! Temple visit during the way wasn't going to be.  I decided to make the best of the uncertainty – YES I DECIDED TO EAT! BREAKFAST AWAITS!

At breakfast time the score tally:

After a yummy breakfast, after Madhya Pradesh (tummy) got refilled Uttar Pradesh took over again. Let’s book your Darshan ticket to Tirupati, I said to myself and so I took an auto and headed towards the TTD office nearby. I was disappointed to hear that the tickets were being issued only for Darshan a week later. I recollected that the hotel had a travel desk and so approached the travel desk for booking my ticket. To my amazement all early buses were full and the ticket cost for the other buses were out of my budget! So much that I could go back to Bangalore and take a package trip to Tirupati and back, it would still work out cheaper! The guy at the travel desk traveled in and out of redbus.in but couldn't get a ticket in my budget. He searched, he made calls but to no avail. Allowing the travel dude his space I stepped out of the hotel for some fresh air. Taking a deep breath I said to myself, ok GOD you know how much I can spend on the ticket considering the other expenses for the trip, If I get a ticket around Rs.800 I’ll come else I’ll have to meet you next time! At that moment my plans changed. I walked back to the travel desk to book to a ticket back to Bangalore. Even before I could utter a word he said , “ Sir I got a ticket for Rs.800 and just the one seat available!” For a moment I was zapped, I realized my eyes were wet with tears. Not sure why, I asked him to book the ticket. Yet again my plan was outplayed. MY WILL 0 : GOD's WILL- 2

Soon it was lunch time. Neelesh Ji asked me to come over by 1:30pm to his place. So I quickly but slowly had a super duper lunch and took an auto to Neelesh Ji’s place. I reached his place by 2:00 pm. My plan was to get back to the hotel by 7:30 pm so I could get some rest before the night travel. By the time we left it was already 3:45pm and as per my calculations it would be impossible to get back by 7:00pm. But there were no complaints in my mind, I just allowed the events to unfold and experience it as it revealed itself. We reached the temple at 4:30 pm. A small, beautiful, serene and a divine temple which answered the prayers of thousands – I stood right in front of it. I stepped into the temple to see many circumambulating with their Sankalpa in mind. I was soon to join them. We went in to meet the priest and introduced ourselves. He requested us to stay back and be a part of the evening Pooja to the Lord. In the meantime, making my prayers loud and clear in my heart I began the 11 rounds. We were blessed to sit very close to the idol where the Pooja was being performed. As I sat immersed looking at the offerings one of the priest asked us to sing some Bhajans! WOW! What an opportunity to express your divine love and what better way than to sing songs in praise of the Divine? Me and Sapna who accompanied us sang for almost 45 minutes and enjoyed every moment of it. Time flew by and by the time we were ready to leave it was 7:30 pm! The pic above taken just before leaving. It was the time I wanted to reach the hotel and I was yet to leave the temple! Considering the time it would take to drive back to the city we rushed to the car hoping to reach the hotel on time so I wouldn't miss the bus. I had just about enough time to have 3 Chapattis and then checkout of the hotel. I made it to the bus stand on time. Next stop Tirupati. After settling down in the seat I started to chart down my plan for the next day. Since I had to pick up the Darshan ticket after reaching Tirupati I planned to take a room, take bath and head to Tirumala first thing. 

So at the end of day 2 the scoreboard read:

The clash of the Wills to be continued....

Holidays to HOLYDAYS

“We need to visit this temple and offer prayers…” said my wife as she was reading through a book titled “Tirupati”. It wasn't Tirupati she was talking about.  In the outskirts of Hyderabad stood the powerful and almighty Lord Balaji. He’s popularly known as Visa Balaji. Whenever anyone needed Visa power.. this is where they used to Go and GET IT! I guess VISA the popular company did not know about this temple, else in every ad of theirs instead of Sachin holding the card and saying the words “ Visa power, GO GET IT “ in the early years, it would have been happy Indians holding their Visa in their hands saying –“ Visa power! I GOT IT! 

“ The Lord possesses such power that whoever circumambulates the   sanctum 11 times with their intention in heart and mind, it comes to   pass. The only condition set forth by the temple authorities is that once their wish is fulfilled they have to return to circumambulate 108 times as a gesture of gratitude and thanks giving. I don’t think even the Lord demands anything from you, but considering that your wish is fulfilled isn't it right that one returns to offer thanks? I think it’s a fair ask! The temple itself is small and beautiful, no Hundi’s to drop offerings, no collection, no demands! It’s just you and the LORD! 

Well.. our plan to visit the temple was not for a Visa but to offer a prayer. Thanks to Telengana issue I could not risk travelling with my family! But since I had a couple of days of holidays on weekdays, I decided to take the risk and make them HOLY DAYS by visiting Chilkur and Tirupati! and return over the weekend to spend time with my lovely family. Being a great planner that I am, I started visualizing and planning the trip in my mind.  After all every first step is taken first in the mind! 

After planning the trip in my mind I decided to begin my journey on the 7^th August and return to Bangalore on Saturday morning. Thanks to Swami Suryapada I got a contact in Hyderabad to meet, who could take me to Chilkur. And so.. my Plan for day 1 was as follows:

7^th August – Leave for Bangalore to Hyderabad.

8^th August -  Reach Hyderabad.

8am – 10 am – Finish Kriya, have breakfast.

10am – 1 am – Meet Neelesh Ji travel with him to Visit Chilkur Temple and offer prayers

1am - …. – Ya I know, its …. Coz as a food lover I wanted to have a hearty meal without time limitations :-)

3pm – 7pm – Shopping, Laze around.

7pm-…. :-) Dinner.

9 pm – Leave Hyderabad – proceed to Tirupati.

Thoroughly satisfied with my plans, I proceeded to pack my things.  Wrote down all the things to be packed and went about packing them. Finally it was time to leave. My wife drove me to the bus station while me and my darling son exchanged some Papa and Pappu conversations. Soon it was.. tata.. bye bye.. see you Saturday.. Love youuuuuu :-)

I boarded the bus @ 8:40 pm and the journey begun. Little did I ever imagine, what I was about to experience in the coming days were going to be great teachings in my life. The lights in the bus went down and with the earphones plugged in I closed my eyes. 

At dawn it would be GOD’s Plan . Vs . My Plans! 

GOD’s Will. Vs .My Will.

Experiences of Day 1 of the clash of the WILL – follows tomorrow!.. Stay tuned.

THE MONK WHO DRIVES HIS MARUTI, WILL ALSO DRIVE THE CHANGE

It's the next stage in evolution where even an AADHAAR card may not be needed, where a birth certificate may become a term in history and the hospital would immediately sign you up on Facebook and Twitter as soon as you signal your entry into this Social planet! 

Gone are the days when the pen was mightier than a sword. Its the age where a LIKE AND A SHARE is mightier.So mighty that million clicks can topple a government and a million shares can create a revolution wave. I'm glad I participated in the International Bloggers Conference hosted by the Spiritual masterminds of Art of Living. I am loving it as it has given me a new found inspiration that I can be the change I want to see in my country. 

The power lies within and when this power unites many more like minded minds, the power to make a change is immense. I have taken a oath to do a lot of UN-CLOGGING through my BLOGGING :-) Thank you #AOLIBC for making me aware of the power I have within. What better way to
#Volunteer4BetterIndia than be a blogger who can ignite and wake up the sleeping Giants of our nation who can make a difference. As Guruji often says, Its time to create a Giant Spiritual Wave.

With Love and Gratitude,

Sathya - The Monk who still drives his Maruti, with Esteem :-)

MIRACLE IN MY LIFE - WITH THE MASTER

This experience of mine has been published in the recent book released on experiences with Guruji. It has appeared on other website also.. but not on my blog :-) So I thought id post it here as well.

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I took my attention to my left hand, left shoulder…. Left thigh… I took my attention to my thoughts… my feelings..

NO I WAS NOT DOING PANCHAKOSHA MEDITATION!!! THE PANCHA – KOSHAS IN ME WERE COMPLETELY SHAKEN UP!!!

I Lay there in the middle of the road, wiggling in pain. At that moment all that was echoing in my mind was “ Guruji, WHY…. “ I was returning back home after assisting the Basic course in Jayanagar. I had just met with an accident and I was thrown off the bike. My BODY could not take the pain, my PRANA had drained, my FEELINGS, THOUGHTS and MIND were all over the place and I was in absolutely no state of BLISS!!!

I landed on my left shoulder and thigh and skid for about a feet or so on the wet road. My cousin who was riding with me was fortunate not to get hurt. He got me to my feet with great difficulty as I was expecting a dislocated shoulder and a badly damaged left side of my body!

My favorite white kurta now looked half BLACK thanks to the coal on the road, I looked no better than a Black & White TV broadcasting a Live DRAMA with the only cast of the show enacting a scene filled with agony and pain!! I was limping in pain from one side to the other like a caged Hyena as people on the road stood watching the whole episode. After a while, regaining my senses I thanked Guruji for saving me from a major disaster. But I still was in pain, unable to move my shoulder more than approximately 40% and could barely bend my leg – the thigh and knee refused to listen to me!!

I mounted the bike again and very carefully went back home. Thanks to my lovely wife I got medication on time with a proper balance of love & care! That evening we were supposed to take the participants to the Ashram as Guruji was there. I called my teacher and explained the unfortunate incident and told her I may not be able to make it to the Ashram.  But In my sleep I remember saying these words – “ Im not leaving you Guruji” and then I got up. It was around 4 pm. The aching left shoulder reminded me to be careful with my movements. I carried myself and the uninvited guest – THE PAIN to the ashram that evening.

The Mantap was flooded with happy souls as always. Guruji was at his Majestic Best answering questions. I had flowers in my hand, wondering how to give the flowers to him, how to get past the crowd with an aching body, I sat there on one of the window panes right at the back, listening to his soul stirring answers!!

I closed my eyes and I said to myself – “ GURUJI CALL ME “ – Don’t ask me why I said it.. Because I really don’t know even now!!

Now this is where I felt Guruji heard my silent whisper and he reached out to me.. In between the knowledge session for no apparent reason  he asked :

“ WHO ALL HAVE BODY PAIN HERE?? OR PAIN IN ANY PART OF THE BODY?? “

I felt the goose bumps all over my body!! I sprung up and raised my right hand, hoping he would see me. I wanted to wave both hands but my injured left shoulder did not allow me to!!

Many raised their hands, Guruji pointed to 2 foreigners and askd “ WHERE IS IT PAINING ?“ They replied – Headache.  Now my INTELLECT started acting up!! I thought to myself, how is he going to see me through this crowd especially when Im standing right at the BACK with hundreds of people in front of me.. Then Guruji proved me wrong –

HE LOOKED AT ME.. POINTED TOWARDS ME AND ASKED – “ WHERE DO YOU HAVE PAIN? “ . I screamed out saying – Guruji I met with an accident and my left shoulder hurts badly. 

                             

THE MASTER SAID – " COME ON STAGE ". When the MASTER called, the body and mind forgot the pain and I walked towards the stage finding my way through the crowd who’s eyes were on me!! Slowly the line started to grow in length, people starting coming up on stage behind me. Of course who would not want to taste the medicine prescribed by the DOCTOR OF THE WHOLE WORLD!!!

He spoke to the 2 foreigners first and healed them and then as I could not sit down for long with my knees bent, I stood up waiting for my turn. MY TURN HAD COME – GURUJI STOOD UP AND LOOKED AT ME AND ASKED IN THE MIKE.. WHERE IS IT PAINING FOR YOU.. I GAVE HIM THE FLOWERS..  I TOLD HIM ABOUT THE ACCIDENT AND THE PAIN AREA ..

AFTER LISTENING TO ME HE JUST GLIMPSED AT MY LEFT SHOULDER AND ASKED – “ NOW? “. THAT’S ALL HE SAID !!

To my amazement, the shoulder that did not allow me to even lift my hand over 40 degrees was now 360 degrees in full swing!!! I ROTATED MY HAND THERE ON STAGE IN FRONT OF THE THOUSANDS SEATED THERE..

Guruji putting the mike towards me asked – NOW?? I was all smiles and I said – “ ITS GONE GURUJI!!!! “ Then he nodded his head as though to say – “ IM THERE WITH YOU AND I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED !!”

THE CROWD WERE AMAZED AND WERE ALL CLAPPING AT THE GRACE OF THE MASTER.  After healing me he turned away saying “ TODAYS DOCTOR DUTY IS COMPLETE!! “ As though to say the whole setup was for ME!!! I felt so special and blessed.

I walked back with gratitude and joy that I was lucky to be healed by the MASTER himself. I went back sat down again with my eyes closed thanking Guruji for what had just happened. As I had my eyes closed, Guruji appeard to me with a crown and a peacock feather on his head like KRISHNA himself!!! To my amazement when I opened my eyes –

GURUJI WAS SINGING – KRISHNA GOVINDA WITH A CROWN WITH A PEACOCK FEATHER BEAUTIFULLY PERCHED ON HIS HEAD.. ONE OF THE DEVOTEES HAD CROWNED HIM, HE NOT ONLY HEALED ME, HE GAVE ME DARSHAN AS KRISHNA AS WELL.. JUST THE WAY HE HAD APPEARED TO ME WHEN I LOOKED DEEP INSIDE WITH MY EYES CLOSED.

                              

Today a day after the accident, I don’t even have any signs of any accident. I am 100% mobile and in shape :-) Thanks to MY MASTER!!

KRISHNA IS HERE.. LOOK NO FURTHER .. KRISHNA IS LIVING WITH US.. IN THE FORM OF THE MASTER HIMSELF..

With Infinite Love and Gratitude – Jai Gurudev.

- Sathya -

IS YOUR LIFE REAL OR A DREAM?

                                                   

IS YOUR LIFE REAL OR A DREAM?

Guruji often says, " This LIFE is like a DREAM ". I have always wondered – Maybe, but how? All that is happening with me and around me all seems so real! But it is just lately that I really started to wonder may be this IS A DREAM after all! The difference between the wonder I had earlier and the wonder I have now is that, earlier there was a question mark towards the end. “Maybe it’s a dream, but how can it be?” there was a question mark. Guruji says when the bent in the question mark straightens up, it becomes wonder! Yes, now in me arose a real wonder!

“What is death, what is beyond death?” – in his talk Death and Beyond Guruji goes on to say, “Sleep gives you a glimpse of what death is and what lies beyond death. It gives a clue.” Hmm mysterious isn’t it? Sleep and death – correlated? It sounded true but something in me wanted a better understanding of what he meant. I thought about it often, did a lot of study and research to uncover the mysteries of death, mind, karma and beyond. It all gave good information but the understanding was yet to be experienced!

One day, I picked up “Autobiography of a Yogi” by Pramahansa Yogananda, which has been in my book rack for almost a year now. With every page I felt blessed. Blessed to be blessed with a MASTER of my Guru’s stature in my life! Then came the chapter where Sri Yukteshwar, Yogananda’s guru resurrects himself in subtle form after his maha Samadhi and appears before his beloved devotee – Yogananda. He gives Yogananda an understanding about the Astral Plane of existence.

                                  ( Pic of Swami Yukteshwar and Paramahansa Yogananda)

Every being has a physical – the gross body. The me that is typing right now, the you that is reading right now is through the physical form. Then comes the Astral form where resides our thoughts, emotions, feelings and the subtler expressions of life which happens through the mind! Then the Causal sphere of existence in which all exists and is the pure form of existence.Now this is where it could get a little tricky for you if you have are not a meditator yet :-) . Every meditator has had glimpses of something unexplainable during the process of deep meditation.

The astral sphere is where the mind gets into carrying along with it all the impressions, feelings collected through the senses during the physical form. Sri Yukteswar goes on to reveal fascinating things about the astral plane where everything happens through the thoughts and feelings and by the power of will of the being. Communication happens telepathically. The being in the astral plane meets all its relatives and friends from all its previous incarnations! 

                                                                                    

 YES, ALL THE PREVIOUS BIRTHS!!! (Phew that’s a  lot of unwanted relationships to handle!! – Isn’t that what you r thinking ? haha :-) )

My understanding - this is where the being learns to give unconditional Love because everyone belongs to each other! Fantastic isn’t it.

OK! Now whats the relationship between what Guruji said about Sleep and death and what Sri Yukteshwar said about the Astral plane? Where am I getting to with all this mumbo-jumbo??( Isn’t that what you are thinking! Ya I know, my Astral being just read your mind :)

17^th September – The evening when it all connected with each and revealed to me the understanding I was looking for!

As I sat browsing through the pages of “An Intimate note to the since seeker” during the Long Kriya which I was conducting, I happened to stumble upon the knowledge sheet – “DREAMS”. In that beautiful sheet of knowledge Guruji says and I summarize here “ When something is unbelievably beautiful or joyful, you wonder if it’s a dream. When misery is there you never wonder if it is a dream! All miseries are unreal. A Wise man knows happiness is real and is one’s true nature and unhappiness is unreal as it is only an affliction of memory. When you see both happiness and misery as a dream you abide in your true self. Nightmare is mistaken as a reality only when you are dreaming!” I finished this and I closed my eyes reflecting on these wise words of wisdom.

Suddenly the puzzle arranged itself to reveal its mysterious scene. Dream is an integral part of sleep. Most may not understand the astral plane, but what every common man experiences is DREAMS!

Have you noticed that in dreams you do something spectacular where you are a super hero battling 10 people with bare hands even though the 10 other enemies would be carrying the most terrifying weapons! You do the most unimaginable stunts and amazingly you beat them all up (and say "Yenna RASCALLA!!)? 

         

Have you noticed there are times in your dreams where you meet strange people who you wouldn’t have even seen in this lifetime so far and after you wake up you wonder, what in the world was that stranger doing in my dream? Have you noticed that in your dream you would have lived like 20 years in the future and life is running for another 5- 10 years and in all you would have lived close to 40 years- all this in your dream of just maybe 1 hour!! Have you ever felt just in the moments before dropping off to sleep, something is actually dropping your body? What is this something? Suddenly to me, it all seemed clear.

During our sleep the mind drops the body and all that remains is the mind in the Astral plane with all its gathered thoughts and impressions. And as Sri Yukteshwar said everything in the Astral plane happens through thoughts emotions and feelings and hence the heroic scenes J that we often see in our dreams! In the astral world we meet our old relations and friends from different lifetimes, hence the strange visitors in your dreams :)! In the astral plan time travel happens and hence the long 30-40 year long experience in your dreams :)!

And here’s the mother of all understandings. When we die the mind along with the impressions, thoughts, feelings and  ego abandons the body and enters the Astral plane where it would reside depending on the extent of the Karmas. The dreams that we have every day depends on the impressions and karmas carried out by us during the day or that lifetime till date. This is the understanding that dawned on me in the moments of Kriya about what Guruji says -  “sleep gives you a glimpse of what death is and what is beyond death."                                              

                                                                         

 We die every day in our sleep, the mind leaves the body and enters a different world. Death is only a prolonged sleep. A sleep where the body is abandoned and another body is chosen at a different place and time for the soul to be reborn again! What happens in the interim where the body is dropped and until another body is chosen? We get a glimpse of this mystery every night during our sleep – which we call dreams. WOW!

With wonders in the mind… – “ What if this moment is also a dream! What if everything around me is a dream! What if my life so far in itself was a dream within a BIGGER DREAM! After this wonderful experience filled with wonders, I open my eyes to finish the page of wisdom - and I was amazed.

The lines read – “ Keep wondering whether your waking reality is a dream, and you will wake up to the real!”

Are you wondering too?

P.S – This article is purely my understanding and interpretation. The reader may or may not agree with my words. In fact my understanding may be wrong too!! If it is I will correct my understanding when the truth is revealed J I just wanted to express my thoughts and hence I have.

What's a MISTAKE?

In the peaceful atmosphere of Sai Baba temple, sat a man in meditation!

Who was he?Where did he come from?Was he here for a reason? 

So many questions!! Here are the answers.
Who was he? – ME!! Where did he come from – JP Nagar 2^nd phase!! Was he here for a reason?- Ya, came with family!! Ok Ok Jokes apart :-) as I sat there in silence something funny flashed.

WHATS A MISTAKE???

 Here's the Dictionary definition 

 " mis·take - An error or fault resulting from defective judgment, deficient knowledge, or carelessness. "

Many Gurus and great Seers who have seen the LIGHT OF LIFE  have said.. Life is a play! Life is a drama! Life is like a movie.. etc etc.. Shakespeare said – All the world’s a stage and we are all actors playing roles! So keeping these in mind now lets see what  MISTAKE MEANS.

Firstly lets split the word  MIS – TAKE. Now say it aloud 5 times.. slowly, like MISSSSS TAAAAAAAKE.. MISSSSS TAAAAAAAKE.. MISSSSS TAAAAAAAKE.. MISSSSS TAAAAAAAKE.. MISSSSS TAAAAAAAKE..

Did you hear it right.. MIS AND TAKE.

So picturize this – A Mega blockbuster movie in the making!! You are the Director and Actor. God produces the movie of your LIFE – so let’s keep the producer away for a while :-)

So what does a Director do when the scene he is shooting for a movie goes wrong or is not satisfactory???

 

 TAKE 1.. TAKE 2… TAKE 3.. AND it goes on till the TAKE is perfect to the Directors satisfaction.. Note that though the Producer is the one who sponsors the whole movie..he does not interfere in the takes. Director(YOU) are fully responsible for whatever happens. Similarly  in our lives when there’s a mistake committed by you or anyone else it’s just that the situation or the TAKE did not turn out the way it should have been. In other words it means "thats not the way to do it!" or " there's a better way to do this"

So it’s a MIS-TAKE.. A TAKE WHICH WENT WRONG! that's all!!

 So instead of complaining and trying to find placeholders and bakras to shift the blame to.. know that the Acting/Directing was not up to the mark. Direct the scene well and RETAKE it to correct the MISTAKE.

May be the MISTAKE isn’t correctable, at least the next scene will be better and your Acting improves and so does your Direction and in the end the PRODUCER – GOD is happy :-)

AND WHAT MORE UR LIFE MOVIE IS A BLOCKBUSTER HIT!!

Why did all this flash in Sai Baba temple?? Well probably because theres a Rajnikanth movie titled BABA, hence I got an analogy based on movie and direction!! :-)

Joy Gurudeva!

Sathya - the Seekers journey continues!