Tryst with Destiny

Smt. Priyamvada Waghmare

Being led to The Yoga Institute in 1985 was the first occasion when one felt that a higher order of things governed our movements, our thinking, our very own being! Why else would a person like me, a person who made fun of my own father- who practiced Asanas behind closed doors over an hour for years; come to a place like this? One had never felt yoga was something serious and worth considering in life! It took a lot of difficult, trying times to smoothen the rough edges of the self. Constant doubt persisted. A fear whether one had chosen the correct path? Nothing on this path came easily! There was so much of striving yet so little gained. The effort did not seem to commensurate with the results.

On many occasions one felt close to the Gurus, especially close to Hansaji. Hansaji is basically a mother at heart, ever loving, forgiving and caring. She expresses herself through her looks, words, gestures and actions. When in difficult situations, even though one may have not really done any ‘Smaran’ of her name, just out of nowhere, rings the telephone bell and her voice resounds on the other end, “How are you and what are you doing?” A reminder to maintain equilibrium perhaps or so would be the effect at that moment atleast! Pains/ aches/ Haematoma marks on the legs, you voice your complaint to her and your marks miraculously disappear. What is happening God? As one got closer, she could read the face and the mind too! Even before a problem was voiced, a solution was offered.

Our most recent experience is related to an incident that occurred on 9^th May 2011. The driver was bringing the car home to take me and my luggage to Pune where an urgent issue had to be addressed. The driver was under mental duress due to personal issues, slightly in his own world, speeding along with emotions that could not be held steadfast. It was 10:10 am. In the heat of the moment, he knocked down a man who was apparently crossing the street but could not be seen due to a passing bus. The man was injured; the driver took him to a hospital with the help of some strangers and later reported at the local police station. What happened after that was no less than an ordeal.

A whole day to write down the FIR, put the driver behind bars, taking into custody the accident vehicle, taking the statement of the opposite party etc. etc. A lot of physical as well as mental harassment. Around 03:00 pm there was a call from Hansaji asking whether we were on our way to Pune!

On her learning about the incident, help came pouring forth. Calls went to and fro to top ranking police officers who helped streamline issues. The Yoga Institute has been offering free of cost training to police in Mumbai since over two years. Hansaji’s personal interaction with police personnel was paying rich dividends to us. A by-product of her goodwill showering blessing in disguise on us?

What followed for the next few days was all goodwill! Monies being returned to us, all paper work being expedited, release of the driver on bail and of course, the car being handed back to us. Hansaji personally spoke to the driver and tried to talk him out of his stressful mental condition.

What touched me is the fact that would any of us have gone to such great lengths to help anyone? What are we? Sinners, strugglers on the path of yoga, trying to find our own bearings and here we find a mother who cared more for us than even our own mothers would care. What more can one find in this one life? A Sangam of Maitri, Karuna, Mudita and Upeksha lies right here. What we need to do is take a fill with both our hands and drink as much as we can in the hope that we learn to live easily, selflessly, for the cause of others as we see our Gurus do, day in and day out. Here is a place which offers a potent medicine in the form of simple living and high thinking! A cure for all our worldly diseases of the mind. Here is a heart that truly cares – The Indweller is God himself!

Published in the October 2011 edition of Yoga & Total Health Magazine.

Worth of a Sermon

Dr.Patanjali J. Yogendra

In the suggestion box of a church, a pastor once found a bitter note.  It read, “Father, I have been attending your Sermons for years, coming in week after week to hear your wise words.  But come to think of it, I do not remember even one of the thousands of sermons you have delivered.  I feel it is a lot of time wasted on my part to have come here to listen to you and a lot of time you have wasted delivering them”.  “Cut out the crap” was his suggestion.

The pastor folded the letter and kept it carefully on his table.  On the following Sunday after mass, he brought out the topic of this letter and asked the parishioners for their suggestions.

One old man stood up and asked permission of the pastor to say a few words.  He said, “I have been married for forty years now.  In that time, my good wife has cooked tens of thousands of meals for us.  But, for the life of me, I cannot recall what the menu was for a single one of those meals.  But I know this much that they all nourished me and gave me the strength to do the work I needed to do.  If my wife had not given me those meals, I would be dead long ago.”

Such is the case with all spiritual disciplines be it Yoga or religion.  Daily practices of the subtler teachings help us to achieve a better and more balanced state of mind and body.  Though the effects are not immediately evident – be sure that without them you would collapse long ago.

Daily practice of the simplest teachings of yoga helps build a good foundation for our future developments.
As Shri Yogendraji often said, ‘Judge not an action by what you get from it, but what you become by it’.


Published in the July 2011 edition of Yoga & Total Health Magazine.

Every Moment a Wonder!

It is easy to twist one’s body and sit in knots in an Asana, but it is hard to maintain a balanced state of mind during a crisis.

Unfortunately, in our conversation we keep repeating, “The world is going to the dogs!”, “Things are now worse than they were 20 years back”, “There is so much corruption all around”, etc.

This has happened because very often our own perceptions are at fault. The situation as such is not that dangerous. Another person looking at the situation can see there is nothing wrong. The mystic would say, “If God is with me, who can be against me!”

Such an awareness comes easily to one given to experiencing what is called Aklista Vrittis’s (non-painful states) like contentment, faith, etc.

There are instances of mystics and Sufis who expressed such sentiments. One such mystic had a standard phrase on his lips wherever he was and that was “Kamal Ho Gaya!” which meant, “Something wonderful has happened!”  It could be a child that cried, or a mother that laughed.

Often in the day some kind of assurance should grow into us.

GOMUKHASANA  GOMUKHASANA  GOMUKHASANA  GOMUKHASANA

                                                                                          

Do we see the world as it is?

Or do we colour it,

forming opinions all the time?

We must study and

overcome this habit.

The inhabitants of Braj

were not music critics.

They truly enjoyed

 Sri Krishna’s music.

This practice loosens all joints, stretches the spine, strengthens shoulders, arms and thighs, expands the chest and lungs, massages and improves blood flow to pelvic organs.

                                                                                                     Sharad Chauhan

The Price for Honesty

    Dr. Patanjali J. Yogendra

          A young chartered accountant, working in a prestigious firm, was lured by another company which was offering him the opportunity to make at least three to four times his present salary.  The only hitch, he was warned, was that he would have to use unfair means.

          At dinner that night the boy asked his mother for her opinion.  After a moment’s silence she looked at him and replied, “Son, you know when I come to wake you up in the morning I call out to you and you do not respond.  Then I shake you a bit and you give out a little moan.  Finally I shake you as hard as I can and sometimes even sprinkle some water on your face and finally you slowly open your eyes.  Son, I would hate to come in morning after morning and find you awake.”

                                

Saying this she got up and left.  The boy got his answer.  He turned down the new job offer and decided to stick with his old company.

          We are often lured by the prospects of a better life.  More often than not it necessitates an amount of compromise on our part in various areas.  If we however, look at it in an objective way we will realize that the price we have to pay is far greater than the benefits we are to receive.  Truthfulness accompanied by a detached attitude is what is recommended in yoga.