Mumbai's tragedy- A silent prayer and a wish

Even as the debates rage on the TV and people all over the country and even world, express their anguish over the Mumbai terror tragedy, I am full of remorse for those bravehearts and innocent people who lost their lives within a span of 60 hours.

Just think about it. Mumbaikars who were standing on the streets, waiting for a train or simply walking with their friends, were gunned down. Tourists, business travellers who were having a decent meal at the Taj, were part of a macabre bloodbath.

Yes, there is government upheaval, now. Yes, there are words like resilience being booted out of the Mumbaikars' dictionary, now. Yes, the news channels are doing a remarkable job bringing out the bizarre truth, of an unguarded sea terrain, of unheeded warning messages. All the pieces are adding up to make a horrific picture, now.

I want to light my candle for my fellow Indians who lost their lives.

But I will not merely stop here. I will also set out to do what Gurudev has always wished for us to do. Reach out. Reach out and touch someone's heart, mind, and spirit.

The fact that a twenty one year old boy can be brainwashed to become a terrorist using an AK 47 gun with expert precision certainly sent a shiver down my spine.

I was glued to the TV for the past few days, watching the Mumbai terror unfold. I was quite depressed, lost. But today I shut off my TV and attended the Teach India orientation program.

I wish more people join such programs so that we can teach the underprivileged children of India. Such children are constantly falling prey to substance abuse, crime and begging. If we can equip them with skills to make a decent and dignified living, perhaps we can stop more children from being sucked into the bizarre, dehumanized terror world.

Brick by brick, we can build our rich Indian fabric and protect our borders. Jai Hind. Jai Gurudev.

Our prayers for the people of Mumbai

The human mind never fails to surprise or shock- it can be used for the glorious benefit of humankind or it can cause death and destruction everywhere.

Even God would raise an eyebrow at the extent to which His own creation, Man, could go either way, like the swing of the pendulum.

Animals kill for food, when they are hungry. But it's really man who can kill for perverse pleasure. Man can kill for revenge. Man can kill at the command of yet another Master mind.

Words are insufficient to describe the terror caused on our fellow Mumbaites and others caught in the terror. Our heartfelt prayers go to this city which is reeling under gunfire. A salute to the brave good men who are fighting terror.

I saw this helpline on the net: http://mumbaihelp.blogspot.com/

Some of us volunteers from Art of Living are chanting Om Naman Shivaya...

The Three Yogis

Last week, I was all set to start off 'Yoga Dhyaan Shibirs' for my neighbors. Yoga Dhyaan Shibirs, conceptualized organized by the Art of Living Foundation, are free health and happiness workshops which are conducted by senior volunteers and teacher trainees of the Foundation.


Not too long ago I was given an orientation course and was duly presented with a manual which had the list of yoga asanas that I could teach.

Armed with the manual and some 10 by 10 square foot of apartment real estate, I mustered up enough courage to invite people to the workshop.

I was ready to take the world. After much campaigning, the world presented itself in the form of three sprightly boys who were around 5 foot height, give or take a few inches.



Right. I decided to bow to the Will of the Universe and welcomed my students into my apartment.

On the first day, they sauntered in, bringing with them more skepticism and some enthusiasm. Perhaps they worried that the time for yoga would 'eat' into their play time.

"Aunty, we have lots of homework so we need to finish fast', their self-appointed spokesperson suggested. The others nodded vigorously. I told them not to worry and that I would be packing them off in just half an hour. On hearing that, they relaxed.

With each asana being demonstrated, they questioned each move and gave suggestions as to how the asana can be modified in accordance with what they saw, mostly on TV. They obviously excelled in theory, but none of them ventured to make a move!

"Aunty, in our school they taught us to lift the right leg and wrap the left hand around the head and then turn fully around", one of them suggested, going into merry convolutions even as he was saying it.

I patiently reassured him that there were different schools of Yoga which taught asanas with slight variations. The boy relaxed a bit and tentatively tried to follow what I was demonstrating.

The Bhastrika Pranayaam proved to be a nose, er, sorry, mind-blowing experience for them. One of them started sneezing non-stop. Perhaps he had an instant allergic response to the pranayaam, I wondered.

Some moments of dancing and prancing followed after which they lay down blissfully and prepared for Yoga Nidra (Yogic sleep). At this point, I thought I heard a gentle snore emanate from one sleeping figure. I had to instruct them more than once to wake up. The boys had had a long day of studies and play. So they must have fallen into (cosmic) sleep!

All in all, it was great fun. I can't quite decide who had more fun, me or them. I like to believe that I was a winner here. Just watching their enthusiasm, fun, smiles, giggles and a whole lot of attempts at stretching tickled the funny bone endlessly.

There's something about being with children, which makes the spirit soar. Maybe that is because they look upon life with so much joy. As Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar once put it: "...in the eyes of children, there is nothing dead in the world; animals, trees, the sun and the moon all are alive, and have emotions and feelings. But in the eyes of a stressed and ignorant person, even human beings are like robots or objects! "

By the end of the 5-day sessions, the yogis had pestered their parents to buy yoga mats for them. Now I hear that the mats are safely rolled into a corner in their rooms. Hopefully, they will air them every now and then with a bend here and a stretch there...

Health and Happiness workshop in Bangalore

A couple of years ago, Palace Grounds, situated in North Bangalore, rocked to Pranayaam Dhyaan Shibir (Health and Happiness Workshop) conducted by Sri Sri Ravishankar Guruji. Over five thousand people attended the course, and greatly benefited from all the sessions, personally conducted by Guruji.

The Health and Happiness Workshop fundamentally teaches people how to manage stress in their personal and professional lives.

This year, the workshop is taking place once again on Dec 12-14, 2008, in Palace Grounds, Bangalore.

At a broader level, Guruji will cover wide array topics like managing stress, challenges faced by youth, handling emotions, responding to life style changes, cultivating healthy eating habits and much more.

More specifically speaking, the workshop will teach:

Yoga: A very unique system of Yoga known as Sukshma Yoga will be taught. Sukshma means delicate or subtle; this system of yoga is very simple, yet powerful in the ability to relax, refresh, and rejuvenate. Sukshma Yoga attends to both internal and external organs of our body from head to toes in subtle ways to bring harmony to the whole system.

Prayanaam: Breathing techniques that are easy to learn and useful in everyday life. These techniques can be utilized to heal, energize, and/or stabilize the mind, body, and emotions within minutes.


Dhyaan, or meditation: Guided meditations led by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar himself to bring instant calm and deep relaxation. Live guided meditations led by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar offer an extraordinary experience of inner peace.

The Health and Happiness attends to all levels of our physical existence - Body, Breath, and Mind. It is suitable for all age groups and skill levels.

The benefits are manifold:

Profound healing and relaxation
Eliminate stress
Sleep better and smile more
Lose weight and increase energy
Increase focus and concentration
Reduce anxiety and depression
Maintain harmony in relationships
improve your immune system and overall well-being

My personal experience: In the last H&H workshop, I was really fortunate to be on stage with a few other volunteers, to demo some postures while Guruji explained them to the audience. It was such a fantastic experience! When he guided us through meditation, I was soaring in the sky. Clearly, I did not know where I was and all I could feel is Divinity surrounding me. After this Blissful experience, Gurudev ran past us, right off the stage. He was so nimble and graceful that it felt like a white bird was gliding past us! He ran through the crowd and greeted everyone, while his close devotees struggled to keep pace running behind him!

Please do not miss this Divine experience! It is a blessing to be with Masters, who are said to be the quintessence of Godliness. It is not merely for learning techniques that you must participate in this workshop; it is to experience the Guru's Grace which is said to bring Healing in people's minds, hearts and spirits.

Buy a pass right away for the workshop and spend joyous hours in Gurudev's presence. Passes are available with “The Art of Living” Teachers, Organizers and Volunteers. Denominations available are 100/- 300/- 500/- 2500/- 5000/-.

Phone 9845082045 for more details.

Also available online www.artoflivingbangalore.org. This site also presents all the social service that our organization does world over.

Acknowledgement: Thanking Yadhav-ji, TTC coordinator and senior Teacher (Art of Living Foundation) for sending me the write-up on Pranayam Dhyan Shibir. Pictures taken from the web.

Paramahansa Yogananda on sleep

Having read the classic 'Autobiography of a Yogi' and several other books thereafter, my bond with Paramahansa Yogananda is a mysterious one. Constantly intrigued to understand this great Guru and his teachings even more, I surf the net for anything I can get on Yogananda. I am never disappointed in my quest.

Here is a short, classic video of Paramahansa Yogananda, where he describes the correct method of sleeping. It is a pleasure to watch. Enthralling to catch a glimpse of this great Guru in action. It certainly transported me to a different plane.

I have embedded this video for you all to watch. I really am grateful for the person who has uploaded this video.

When kids learn ad-ition!

A friend of mine took his daughter to a temple where the Goddess was decorated with Gold and silks. "Isn't She beautiful?" Pa asked his daughter.

She looked at the Goddess and nodded briefly.

Wanting his daughter to articulate her feelings, he persisted. "Isn't Her sari lovely?"

She nodded once more.

By now Pa wanted to prove to the world that his daughter was going to go all poetic to describe the Goddess.

So he coaxed her a bit further: "Ok, now say a few words to the Goddess".

She thought a bit, bringing her forefinger close to her lips in a pensive moment.

Then she closed her eyes shut and with an intense frown, she crooned: "I miss you sooooo much... it hurts!!"


The Airtel ad: Saif practices his words to Kareena on King Khan!

Wonder what the Goddess must have felt...not sure whether Airtel has a connection Up There!

Obama- a man of spirit

It's finally over and yet it's just begun.

The grand Obama victory rocked the world. It was a day of History for the Black population and I am sure that Martin Luther King (God bless his soul) is rejoicing over the his dream come true.

Thanks to a stupendous growth in technology, ours is a constantly shrinking global world. We in Bangalore have been closely following the presidential debate whenever we could escape the burgeoning traffic snarls, the innumberable releases, and the humdrum housekeeping that seems to just go on. We have most certainly been mesmerized by Obama's oratory skills, and hung on to every word that he uttered, marveling at the poetic nature of his speeches.

His family looked picture-perfect. A quiet dignity showed on their faces. Surely they must have always been conscious of being watched and their every move being weighed? It didn't seem to matter, though.

Sometime mid-week the mails began to pour in my mailbox from friends overseas- the excitement was palpable. Some of them were even voluteering for their local Obama supporters and were keen to share their experience with the rest of us out here. The local news channels opened out a popularity voting line as well and I almost felt part of the US election. That's when I recalled an old childhood song: It's a small world after all.

Hooo, and it's gettin' smaller.

Today we can go as far as the moon if we want to. We can move faith and belief, if we want to. We can 'turn the knob' to tune into the emotions of a land thousands of miles away, if we want to. We can hope that one land's change can make this whole world a better place to live in. We can hope that war and terror can see an end.

Perhaps it is to set a few things right in the world, that God plays His trump card every now and then.

Now we can believe that, can't we?

'Yes we can.'

Ah, now that's going the Obama way!

Veg-o-ramic view!

Art o' Living'ers profess vegetarianism. I know of many ardent meat lovers who have to work real hard at saying 'no' to a portion of chicken tandoori masala. I guess I'm lucky in this regard coz' I am a veggie by birth and didn't need to 'convert'. :-)

A vegetarian diet is said to be good for the human digestion. It is said that it takes upto 72 hours for the average human being to digest a portion of meat (I said 'average'- can't speak for Superman though!). Now we all know that no one really waits for 72 hours before getting all set for the next meal. So that's how the human digestive system is made to work overtime.

Even our teeth are said to be more green-friendly. Check out our strong molars, for starters.

That said, I'm not criticizing meat lovers; only pointing them to t' other side of the dining table.

Now look at yet another table which has a comparative view of herbivores (eat only herbs) and carnivores (eat only meat). This was taken from an article online on vegetarianism. I reckoned it could be of academic interest to readers.

Carnivore	Herbivore	Human
has claws	no claws	no claws
no pores on skin; perspires through tongue to cool body	perspires through millions of pores on skin	perspires through millions of pores on skin
sharp, pointed front teeth to tear flesh	no sharp, pointed front teeth	no sharp, pointed front teeth
no flat back molar teeth to grind food	has flat, back molar teeth to grind food	has flat, back molar teeth to grind food
small salivary glands in the mouth (not needed to pre-digest grains and fruits)	well-developed salivary glands, needed to pre-digest grains and fruits	well-developed salivary glands, needed to pre-digest grains and fruits
acid saliva; no enzyme ptyalin to pre-digest grains	alkaline saliva; much ptyalin to pre-digest grains	alkaline saliva; much ptyalin to pre-digest grains
strong hydrochloric acid in stomach to digest tough animal muscle, bone, etc.	stomach acid 20 times weaker than that of meat-eaters	stomach acid 20 times weaker than that of meat-eaters
intestinal tract only 3 times body length, so rapidly decaying meat can pass out of body quickly	intestinal tract several times body length (plant foods decay slowly so can take their time to pass through the body)	intestinal tract several times body length

Well, that's the science of vegetarianism.

Speaking of the art of v., I came across this great looking veggie blog. Look at all the colors!



Here's a stunning veg 'art-la-carte' which I clicked at a recent wedding reception. Each veg- exhibit was lovingly carved with great care and creativity. Made of green pumkins and carrots and cucumber and turnips...


Lord Vishnu made of green pumpkin


A green Swan songLord Shiva carved out of eggplant

Ah, 'nuff said, I'm all hungry for some green salad!