The Goddess

During one of my earlier Advance courses in the international headquarters of the ashram, I was sitting in the satsang looking at the beautiful picture of Goddess Vishalakshi right at the top of the hall. I was thinking of Gurudev of how motherly he is, taking care of everybody with complete love and care. For  a moment I was thinking of how it would have been, had Gurudev been born as a woman, but somehow I could not visualize him as a woman. Then my thoughts drifted to other things in the hall, there were singers getting ready for the bhajans, Gurudev's seat was decorated very nicely, the eager faces of the devotees waiting for Gurudev's arrival.
The 'OM' chanting began and slowly the satsang started with the melodious tunes in praise of Sri Ganesha. Then Gurudev arrived with his charming majestic look and took his seat in the most royal way possible!! The bhajans continued and they were now singing a devi song. Getting immersed in that divine music, my eyes closed by themselves, and I experienced such lightness that cannot be described!. Then suddenly I had a vision of a most beautiful goddess in a red sari with golden border walking down the steps with awesome divine grace. She had so many garlands around her neck that covered most of her face, only her eyes like the blossomed lotus and her nose were seen. As She was walking down looking at me, I was wondering who She is, She gave a look which told that She knows me very well, but I was not sure who she is. I started guessing in my mind of who She could be, the first in my list was Gurudev's sister, the moment I thought about her, the Goddess in front of me rolled Her eyes in such a way, that nobody in this world can even attempt to do except one person!!. That one person is my Gurudev!!, I sat there in wonder and quickly opened my eyes and looked towards Gurudev's seat. He was sitting there calmly looking at me in the most loving way possible. I just sat there stupefied, staring at Him. He gently turned away looking at others. The music faded away and I sat there in all awe and wonder....

Pop Corn!!

Pop corn is my favourite snacks. Whenever I go out for shopping, pop-corn would be there in the shopping list by default. Why I like it? It is so munchy, crunchy, looks like a flower and it is white in colour which is very appealing.
Last week when I went out with my mother for shopping, I spotted a pack of  corn seeds. I thought I'll experiment it for breakfast, mixing with wheat flour and make chappattis!!. So, happily I went home, kept it in the shelf because my experiments are done only on weekends.
So then, saturday arrived and I had totally forgotten about my adventure with corn seeds and had dosa for breakfast!! With the power cut happening two hours per day from 2pm to 4pm, I was forced to do something interesting during that time. Interesting things are usually stored up in the kitchen, so my legs guided me rightly to that place. It didn't take long for me to spot the corn seeds. I picked up the pack and started looking for instructions if any. That is when I saw that what I had bought was "POP CORN SEEDS"!!!!! WoW!! Delighted as ever, I opened up the packet, set the stove up for the preparation. Since it is my favourite snacks, I didn't want to take any chances, I called my mom for help. After little heating up, it started with the first pop, then pop pop pop pop pop pop pop... with each pop I was jumping and clapping my hands( then you can imagine how many times I would have jumped and clapped!!!!). Finally it was all done, mom gave me the bowl, full of pop-corns.
I would have simply started eating it but then suddenly something struck my mind. There was such a striking contrast between the seeds and the popped ones. Essentially every seed has the potential to pop-up but it needs an expert cook. I somehow started relating all of us with the seeds and pop-corns. Gurudev with his love, care and in His own way, chooses a handful(He has a big hand, so it covers the whole earth!!) and expertly guides us and at the right time, each one of us pop-up; blossomed and beautiful, spreading joy and peace all around us.
What a revelation, what a thought given by Gurudev!! My Master.

Paatra and Paayas

Smaller the paatra, lesser the paayas it holds;

Larger the paatra, greater the paayas it holds!!

Expand your paatra :-)

Jai Gurudev!!

Conversations with My Master

Most of my conversations with my master happens in silence. It happens more of a sort of realization. There have been many such conversations, let me share one of the most recent and precious one.
Intellectually I understand that everything is made of one thing and it is God everywhere. My Master tells "Sabme mujhe dheko aur mujhme sabko" Though this made sense to my intellect, it was never so obvious. This understanding was so superficial. I wanted to understand it completely, wanted to feel its core. I was wandering with this question in my mind for many years. It so happened that after having a long chit-chat with my roommates after a course, I went to fetch water. I had to climb down the steps, on the way to the tap, suddenly I felt united with a higher prana level and all the material world looked so still and there was only one prana rhythm  to which everything was bound to. There was only one life and everything else was dependent on it. It was a blessing to have such an awesome experience. My question was surely answered and it also opened doorway to unravel many more mysteries of the universe.

Me me me

Its me, me and only me. This is what I learnt today, every other person is related to me in some way. (Technically, we are all related to each other completely.) If people react in a certain way to me, it is because of me. If people praise, it is because of me; if people criticize, it is because of me. There is no third person or second person. It is only me. Everything around is a projection of my mind, my thoughts, my perception, my idea, my likes, my dislikes. There is no stranger in this world. My likes, dislikes, desires is what which keeps everything around changing. If that stops everything will stop, this is what I comprehend.

Kids

Kids are very sweet and cute!! 

Wow! Am I saying this?  There have been times when I used to get very irritated with kids. Kids would run around disturbing me. Kids were definitely not part of my world. This is how it was when I was myself a kid of around 6 years or so. It continued even after I turned 25. Then after that workshop I attended, I saw the change taking over me. Kids looked so complete and seemed even more understanding than elders. When parents are in trouble, it is the small children in the house who go comforting the parents. I started observing the behaviour of kids. They are so full of energy and love, it is their innate nature to go and help and care for people. I remember one incident while travelling from bangalore to chennai, when a small child was having biscuits. She sensed another person looking at her smilingly. This small girl immediately took two biscuits for herself and gave the rest of the packet to the stranger. I was so overwhelmed to see this gesture, it was done in all innocence and love. As we grow up, somehow this innocence and love gets covered by other emotions and feelings. We have to nurture these qualities, luckily I work for children as well nowadays, blessed by my master. I am having lovely time and refreshing myself with them. :-)

Have you noticed..

Have you noticed the sun? We take it for granted, but without it, it would have been impossible for us to survive. the earth wouldn't have been there in the first place. We crib over such small things, but the sun takes care that it remains in place and keeps our earth pulled towards it, so that the earth doesn't bounce off somewhere.
Sun is super!!!