An evening with a Mystic

Last Friday evening was a wonderful experience for us. We were extremely privileged to listen to some thought-provoking words spoken by none other than Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev. S and I have been listening to him speak in numerous YouTube videos and other online resources and we were excited that we would finally be seeing Sadhguru in flesh and blood.

To start with, the day was rainy and the prospects of getting stuck on the freeway in traffic and rain loomed on us. Thankfully, the skies cleared up, so did the dense Friday traffic and we reached our venue a full hour early. However, S and I were eager to not let anything distract us during the talk so we proceeded to first fill our tummies in a nearby eatery. We then settled in seats that could give us as best view as was possible with our tickets. 'Sounds of Isha' sent beautiful reverberating music into the air. This is probably the first time I was seeing such a diverse set of people coming together to listen to an Indian man (I have only been in the US a short while now).

Sadhguru entered the auditorium with his usual poise, ease and elegance. The purpose of his whole speech, interspersed with good humor, seemed to be to plant a question in our minds - "Is human life just about eating, sleeping, reproducing and ultimately dying?". He said if that were so, it somehow does not make sense at all. After all, if we are here suffering every single day (bad bosses at work to life threatening diseases, we are fighting every minute) and having all those ups and downs with kids, family etc. and suddenly one day we abruptly leave - to what avail were all our endeavors? Even if some people may advocate that human life is indeed as illogical as that and we are born just so we could study (in some cases), earn a living, shed some tears, laugh a bit, eat a lot, reproduce and just leave, are those who do just this, happy? So, is there something called a pleasant human life? Can we make our life more meaningful and live more fully, peacefully?

All in all, those couple of hours were one of our best evenings. The little exercises that he asked us to do, the detailed observations he made us attempt - we enjoyed them all. And I must say that this was the first time I saw S giving a speaker his full attention. Right since we have known each other, it was a matter of debate between us - me asserting that listening involves not just ears and he insisting that he can still be listening but not looking at the person. When I noticed how for two hours, I did not catch S looking at anything/anyone else other than Sadhguru, I knew I had won the debate.

After the talk, S went around a bit while I stood in the corridor studying a catalog when someone gently pushed me aside, asking me to make way. I turned around and who should stand there behind me but Sadhguru! There was an American couple in conversation with him as he was approaching me. I had a clear look of him - two flashing bright eyes on a dark face with a grey beard. As he walked away, I silently managed to touch his feet.

S and I felt inexplicable joy and peace that evening and I am so happy we were able to make it. We came home, had a simple meal, talked more about it and called it a beautiful day.

Be the change... !

"Memoirs of a Geisha" - this is the book that I recently borrowed from my friend. I had earlier read similar books but from different cultures, including Indian, Middle Eastern, European etc. However, I somehow did not expect that in a country like Japan, there would be misogyny. I felt distinctly sad and at the same time angry being shown repeatedly that, throughout the world, women are second class citizens. It is perhaps the greatest irony that on the one hand, women are expected to represent the honor of a family and on the other, are themselves almost never honored. It does not seem to matter how educated or how talented or how hard working a woman is when it comes to being subservient at home. Now, let me make one point clear lest some "cultured" people should argue that being educated does not mean that one should give up seemingly mundane household work (which includes cleaning up after the so-called head of the family). I am not against cooking or cleaning the toilets and the like but I surely do not want to do it only because I am a woman. I do not want to be told that it is my primary duty because men are too elite to be bothered about it. Is this not like slavery, some thankless job?

Anyway, these daily trifles seem nothing compared to what some women, like the one in this book had to endure in life. They are sold like commodities at a tender age or married off to fiends for a price, raped and humiliated, worked like slave animals, betrayed, insulted, crushed beyond repair . I wonder how we are still alive and can wish to bring more life into this world of hate and injustice. But then, I am reminded of people like Dr. Girish Mahadev Kulkarni, who started Snehalaya, an organization that gives a new hope of life to many destitute women and children. It should be because of such selfless men and women that the earth continues to breathe today. I just realized that I have myself not made any substantially good difference to the world other than writing posts like these and fretting. So, Gandhiji really meant it when he said - "Be the change you want to see in the world".

A new resolve

It has been a while since I wrote anything. Hence I have decided that this is the right resolution for me at this juncture of life - to write more and often. Well, the reason is simple. It is not that my life has witnessed an interesting turn of events or because I have an inner urge to put my 'oh so creative' imagination into writing. Last but not least, it is definitely not to flaunt my english language skills. On the contrary, I have been observing that my vocabulary is getting more and more limited to "stuff" and "thing". (typical sentence - The thing is, all that stuff is not the thing). When its neither "stuff" nor "thing", its "you know?" or even worse, "I dont know...". My language has been on a steady decline since some time and I want to salvage it before it decays and rots. Also, I recently read 'Anne Frank's Diary' and wondered if I would remember anything of my own past if I do not capture it in writing. I see my childhood stuff (argh ! there it is..the STUFF) and remember what I was. I want something to remember my present in the future. (yeah, bad sentence.. so what ! thats all I have now) And hence this post ! A new resolve....

Lessons from the Ramayana - 1

A fundamental lesson that the Ramayana teaches us is the power, (rather the evil) of the tongue. Since it is such an important value to be learned and assimilated, it is depicted in the life of none other than Mother Sita herself.

Rama and Sita return to Ayodhya after Rama's triumph over Ravana. They have a brief happy interlude when Rama comes to hear that some of his subjects are questioning the chastity of his wife,Sita, the queen of the kingdom. As a king, he believes that it is his duty to set an example to his subjects and ward off anything that might cause unpleasantness to them. He sends Sita off to live in the forest, even though she was then pregnant.

Sage Valmiki finds Sita unconscious in the forest and gives her refuge. Sita laments to him.."O Acharya, what sin have I done to see this day today?" to which Valmiki says - "Sita, let us get back in time. When Rama went after the golden deer and you heard Rama's agonizing calls for you and Lakshmana, you asked Lakshmana to go seek Rama. Lakshmana refused to do it because he believed that there was some evil around and it was not safe for you to stay alone. He assured you lovingly that his brother is a mighty warrior and no harm can befall him. Did you give him a benefit of doubt then? Instead what did you do? You UNLEASHED YOUR LOOSE TONGUE on him. You said ..."O Lakshmana, I know you and your plans. You just ACT as though you have respect for your brother. All the while, your motive was to abduct me and take me for your own. I have now come to know of your true intentions. You are ready to let your brother die for your carnal pleasures. You are such a disgusting lustful person. Your poor brother trusts you so much and never imagined that you could eye on me. You liar ! You pretender ! You cheat !"..... O Mother Sita, you did not give Lakshmana a chance to explain himself.. that Lakshmana, who left his mother, wife, kingdom, wealth and comfort and joined you and Rama in exile. That Lakshmana, who stood guard while you and Rama slept peacefully in the forest. That Lakshmana who felt happy when you and Rama were happy. You insulted him, hurt him, wounded him. Because you were elder and you thought you had the right, you screamed all sorts at him. You made him shed tears. That is why, O Sita, today, your Karma of that day, drove you to this state. Someone else brandished their tongue against you and you have come to be in exile, for the rest of your life. Karma is powerful. Nobody can escape it. Even the people of Ayodhya, who , in their ignorance were instrumental in defaming you, calling you unchaste are now in grief. After you left, Ayodhya has become barren. No tree has borne fruit since. No crop was harvested since. People are dying of hunger. Hence, Mother Sita, whoever fails to give the benefit of doubt to someone else and uses the power of words against him/her, would meet with similar fate."

Sita realises what she has done and repents severely. Taking Sage Valmiki's advice, she starts penance on Mother Durga (the destroyer of all evils) and meditates to cleanse herself of the Karma she had accumulated. She then gives birth to two chivalrous sons, entrusts them under Rama's care and retires to where she originally came from - the earth.