International Women's conference at ashram

Ok, ok, I haven't been writing for quite some time. But folks, I have been busy. I mean REALLY busy. Office matters, work on the personal front and on TOP of all this, I was helping out a bit with the forthcoming International Women's conference. Yep, the biennial ALL GIRLS' MEET that's to take place at the serene, soothing, green ashram.

Come Feb 6, women from all walks of life will be arriving at the ashram to participate in the conference.

This year's Conference is entitled "The Light of Leadership: Integrating Global Perspectives".

The conference sessions will seek to:

- Highlight the importance of women leadership in ensuring sustainable
development
- Create a network of women committed to bringing a positive change in society
- Explore ways to unlock the innate leadership potential within every individual

Dates : 6th - 8th Feb, 2009
Venue :The Art of Living International Centre, Bangalore, India

Information is also available on our website

Here's a word on the registration goody bag. As conference registrants, women will get to interact with women from all over the world, from different walks of life. They will also avail an Art of Living course, which teaches simple stress-relieving and spiritually uplifting techniques. They will also get to interface with experts in Ayurveda, and will receive some wonderful rejuvenating holistic tips and treatments. More than anything, they will be in the company of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar.

One can very well appreciate a conference like this and its relevance in today's issues of women's rights. World over, women's basic problems are both similar and diverse- sometimes unique to geographies and to workplaces. How better to appreciate this than attend a conference which brings so many women under a common umbrella of love, compassion and the steely resolve to take action?

If there women readers out there who are interested in knowing more about the conference you can mail me at: Kandula.manjula@gmail.com

Back on track

It's good to be back after a soothing break from the normal routine. It rejuvenates and revitalizes the spirit. Some quality time with family, friends, relatives and pets sure feels good. Not to forget the sweet boxes that were doing their rounds during the New Year.

Despite our busy schedule of visiting homes of relatives in Hyderabad, my husband and I did manage to take time off to read the Holy scriptures- and books that wrote about them. It was such a fantastic feeling I got when I started to read a commentary on Adi Sankara's Vivekachudamani. I browsed through the 'Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna', and it was so beautiful to read about His life.

Came New Year's Eve, and I started yearning to see a glimpse of Gurudev. Nope. I only had His picture and had to take comfort in the gentle face that stared back at me.

On Jan 1st, 2009, in between phone calls of new years greetings, setting the breakfast table, doing my Kriya, I was desparate. So I prayed hard to Guruji so that I could at least see his face SOMEWHERE. I missed him a lot.

It was mid-morning, when I decided to flip the TV channels. One, two three...hmmm, nothing on screen, I reckoned. I almost shut off the idiot box when I saw Gurudev's beaming presence. He was addressing the youth of Andhra Pradesh- speaking about meditation, prayer, peace and the like. I smiled to myself- this was Gurudev at work!

I hardly switched the TV on all of the week, and I happened to switch it on, at a time, at the very channel, where He was speaking!! I listened intently to his every word. He started to speak about science- a topic that always interested me since I had done a PhD in Biochemistry. "Of what use is a study in science if it cannot be put to use?" he asked in rhetoric. "...Yes, Kriya has a lot of good effects as per the studies in Biochemistry". I giggled. Yep, it almost seemed as if Gurudev was speaking to ME, comforting me that he was always there. We only had to be receptive to cosmic signals.

I am so grateful. I could have studied any number of books, imbibed some knowledge, scratched my head over the syntax, pondered over the semantic meaning, wondered over God's presence. But just a mere glance of my Guru had answered the fundamental tenet of all our Belief.

Faith.

Faith can move mountains, and this time it brought my Guru to me when I wanted Him.