Smt. Priyamvada Waghmare
Published in the October 2011 edition of Yoga & Total Health Magazine.
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 9th 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.
