A letter from Kailash Manasarovar to the GenZ

 My dear,

As I take my first steps toward the sacred peaks of Kailash Manasarovar , I feel something stirring within me, something beyond words, beyond thought. 

This journey is not just to a destination on a map but toward an inner expanse filled with silence, wonder, and reverence.

I want to leave you with a few thoughts from this place of deep stillness.

 Believe in your strength. The world may sometimes try to make you feel small, but within you lies a force that can move mountains, if only you remember it, especially when times are hard.

Understand that devotion is not always logical or immediate. You might not truly understand what it means to surrender, to trust, to feel the divine flowing through your life; until one day, perhaps quietly, you do.✨

Be open to that day. Until then, have faith in the goodness of life.🪷

🌞See the beauty in a sunrise, the smile of a stranger😇, the silence between two heartbeats.💞 

These are not small things. They are glimpses of something far greater.

Above all, live with kindness.🙏🏻 

Let your actions be guided by compassion, your dreams lit by courage, and your spirit anchored in love.

At the onset of my journey to the lap of the Greater Himalayas, I send you my prayers silent, strong, and full of grace.

Love you,

Megha

RRR -'Relax, Revitalize, Rejuvenate'

 

tu-whit tu-whoo

The dawn chorus

A chirp, a chatter and a cluck

Tweet, Twitter, whistle

Rustling of dry leaves

Gurgling of water

Sounds of nature;

Birds, frogs, bees, squirrels.

A soft muffled Crack of a Peepal leaf that falls on your tab as you pen down these thoughts. 

The silent shadows following the Sun rays

 

A touching book and a loving family.

That's a rejuvenating vacation for me!

'Thought' on an auspicious day

Some days are auspicious

They remind you of your perseverance

The shoot starts erupting after 3 months

That indeed is a long time

‘Coz we usually expect a linear graph

Which should match our effort 

The ‘Valley of Disappointment’ is difficult to endure

So happens with my students 

Who are clueless about what awaits them

As they drop anchor feeling secured

Gradually they’ve matured

And they do not know when their voyage begins

With grace I undock them

When their Sail is ready

And I trust none will drown

They all deserve the Crown!

With blessings and love,

Megha Sharma 

Tree outside the window

On a cool, breezy day 

I sit near a window and sway

Watching the leaves, the butterflies and the flowers play

And a buzzing bee trying to find its way

The Portia tree and a plantain 

deck up the view outside my window pane

And that tranquil aura, I gain

I find the best tree view from the first floor

Where from the tree trunk, the branches grow

And spread in breadth

Rooting its faith

In the tree trunk growing from the ground beneath

Gratitude is the feeling of the day

And mesmerized I stay 

Amigos/Friends or Spiritual Siblings!

 

Friends, those who come into your life when you least expect them

Sometimes just as room mates in the hostel

And then you bond intellectually more than you connect as bosom friends

Life proceeds and your careers settle

You create your own small worlds with your spouse and kids

Days turn into weeks which turn into months and years and gradually a decade and a half, that's 15 years rush by.

You do connect briefly time to time in between, wishing well to each other. Social networking platforms keep you abreast of each other's projected growth.

Until your spiritual paths coincide and you concur on a journey to the Madhuban.

Yes, the Madhuban at Mt. Abu, that's where the Brahmakumaris headquarters are.

On a 5 days spiritual vacation, you connect beyond all materialistic bonds, non judgemental, completely at peace, sharing your experiences and learning how to grow well from each other.

Such a connect is surely not what roots in a lifetime.

It has a longer history, much longer than the human mind can decipher.

Past life, rebirth,  yet the journey of 2 Souls each originating from the Divine and destined to meet divinity again!

Such friends again sign off at the Kempegowda Bengaluru airport.

Because, life moves on and still it stays.

Leaving the mark of each Karma on the Soul, the only energy that's eternal!

Me and the Divine- III

नमस्कार! 

If you’ve been following my blog then here’s a brief reminder of where I left the second in this series titled: ‘Me and the Divine -II’; dated June 20^th, 2020

I quote:

“शांति‘, 'ध्यान‘, love, peace, joyfulness is the experience not to be chased now. There are certain levels of curiosity that embody my mind. I do not have the answers yet to pen them down. The questions themselves are confusing. More about it when I have some answers.”

 

Refer: http://toventure.blogspot.com/2020/06/me-and-divine-ii-kedarnath-darshan.html

 

With the advancement of technology, Spirituality is easy to reach. ज्ञान is not far-fetched. Much unlike yesteryears one doesn’t have to seek a spiritual life by abandoning one’s family and moving into a forest. What one needs is to just seek. To be open to life and its learnings. To believe in one’s potential and to realise that humans are the most sophisticated creation of Mother nature. This being crystal clear to me; I became a seeker.

 

 

I took the Brahmakumaris basic 7 days introduction course about 2.5 years ago. And since then there’s been no looking back. Much gratitude to my upbringing, my family and friends I have been surrounded by beautiful, pure souls who empowered my wings and enabled me to soar high like the seagull that flies highest to see farthest. I imbibed what was taught with utmost sincerity. Some powerful spiritual practices for a long time in my life enabled me to practically implement the learnings effortlessly. This was my forte. The bottom line here was that though I was implementing spirituality in my real life to the best of my ability, the teachings were all online. Until July 2022 when I got the opportunity to be at the Brahmakumaris Centre in Mt. Abu for a full-fledged 5 days.

 

We were a group of four comprising of my mom, her friend, my friend, and me. All of us were registered as guests at the center by the ‘All India Lyness club District President', Smt. Archana Agarwal ji’ who herself has been a Bhramakumari (BK) follower and practices Rajyoga meditation for years daily. I managed to build a good rapport with her discussing ज्ञान on and off whenever possible from her tight schedule. She was a blessing! It was an all-India group of 350 guests who made it to this trip.  

There we are the five of us:

It was on the evening of July, the 16th that my friend and I reached Manmohinivan, Mt. Abu via a cab from Ahmedabad. Our journey had begun in the morning from Bangalore where we met at the airport, both of us were responsible and punctual enough to complete our respective security checks and greet each other with a broad ear-to-ear smile! Parul is the friend who was my comrade on this trip to and fro Bangalore. I first met Parul in 2004 at the hostel in Banasthali Vidyapeeth, Rajasthan. She was to be one of my roommates. In those times, the hostel use to accommodate 4 girls in a room. This information is important. You’ll know as you read!

So, that’s the onset of our journey at the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru. We were flying to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad. The flight duration was 2hrs10mins. We hired a cab from the Ahmedabad airport and continued our journey ahead. Our destination was approximately 205kms which we were supposed to cover in 4 hours. Our cab(booked through makemytrip.com) arrived on time at 15:00hrs at the Ahmedabad airport. Our cab driver, Mr. Jaimin Mahendrabhai Gajjar ji frequents the Om Shanti retreat center at Mt. Abu, thus we were carefree and enjoyed our no nap, continuous chatter all through the road trip. Incessant spiritual talks, sharing the experiences in our respective lives, appreciating and learning from each other's experience is what happens when one is in 'सत्संग'  , and so were the two of us! Though we took a break of about 45 mins for lunch, yet we reached Manmohinivan at 19:20 hrs.

Manmohinivan Complex is a residential accommodation built by Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya in Mount Abu (Rajasthan). It has a facility to accommodate around 2000 people and has a parking area, transport department, dining facility, a garden, and a room for meditation. At a distance of approximately a kilometer and a half from Shantivan campus, it has round the clock bus facility to and from Shantivan. It houses the Godlywood Studio and Global Auditorium with a capacity of 500 with a translation facility where seminars and Raja Yoga Camps are held. (reference: https://www.brahmakumaris.com/campuses/manmohinivan/ )

 

 

We were greeted there by mom and Mrs. Nidhi Juyal; her friend. It was as if we had reached home. These two senior citizens were so efficient and orderly. They had already blocked the room as per our registration. It was a quadri-sharing room and since mom and auntie ji had reached the destination in the afternoon(they traveled from Dehradun to Mt. Abu), they were kind enough to get the room ready for all four of us. A clean, humble room with all basic needs. We all were sorted at ‘Trilok’ (a block in Manmohinivan). This 5 days stay was very well planned. Much thanks to BK Geeta didi, who coordinated the entire event flawlessly. All events were conducted at the Global Auditorium (picture follows) in Manmohinivan. Our first session on ‘Who am I?’ was scheduled at 20:00 hrs on the day of our arrival. Every moment of every day was very well utilized and we had such a power-packed schedule. Felt like we were in college with a proper timetable for the entire day. I had attended this session in my online BK introductory course. It was wonderful to revise it on campus. 

 

The ‘Amritvela’ meditation was scheduled everyday 04:00 to 04:45 hrs. I was keen not to miss it a single day. When I went to bed on the first night, I didn’t get sleep. This was very unlike me. I have always slept well. Usually, I fall asleep within 15 minutes of retiring to bed, sometimes sooner. But, that night reminded me of another similar night when I didn’t get sleep. It was the night I spent in Kedarnath. I had a long travel day. I had not napped anywhere during my travel. My body was used well for the day and as expected I was exhausted and should have slept immediately. But, it was not so. As a usual practice, I gathered my thoughts which I do every night at bedtime to reflect on the day. The day’s event flashes in my mind’s eye in a cinematic fashion as I assess my thoughts, my words, and my actions in retrospection of the day. Grateful for being alive! Thanking everyone and everything that touched my life today. I looked around and soaked once again in the place. The red light on the wall was akin to the Supreme’s light, the portrait of the founder of the organization, Dada Lekhraj ji on another wall, and the pristine, clean environment; everything seemed to be talking to me in the true literal sense. I gathered my thoughts again and didn’t find anything disturbing me. I was calm. I was tired. I was supposed to sleep but sleep was nowhere near me. I must have finally slept around midnight. And I clearly remember the next morning when I woke up at 03:00 hrs that all night I dreamt of my hostel room in Banasthali where 4 ladies slept in a room in a similar manner. I felt amused by this reminder of the dream and quickly took a shower and got set for the Amritvela meditation. To my utter surprise, my mom woke up at 03:30hrs. In haste, she too got ready for the session. We reached the Global Auditorium just in time. It was amazing to see a lot of people, such as angels who had the grit to make it to the meditation on time. 

Habitually, I do the Amritvela daily yet doing it there in such a holy environment moved me to the core. The tears of ecstasy popped out and I felt charged for the entire day. 

When the session got over we realized it had started raining heavily. None of us carried the umbrella which was sleeping peacefully in our rooms! The Brahmakumaris and the Brahmakumars whom we called sisters and brothers plunged into action and assured us to wait peacefully until they arranged the buses for our drop at our respective blocks. These blocks were just a 2-minute walk from the auditorium yet the commitment and care provided were mind-blowing. We had the morning tea and got set for our next session scheduled at 06:30 hrs. This session was a detailed explanation of ‘GOD- The Supreme Soul’ .  Breakfast was served in the ‘Brahmlok’ block, 5 minutes away.

 ‘World Drama and the Cycle of the 4 Ages’ was covered in the next session. The sessions were conducted back to back and each lasted for about 1hr 30 mins. Until now all the sessions were a revision of what I had learned and practiced. What followed was the talk by BK Dr. Prem Masand ji who is a Senior Radiation Oncologist at Mt. Abu. 

‘Stress Management’ was the topic. The septuagenarian proved it that age is no bar. The enthusiasm with which he rocked the class was superb! How to live light, to be at ease, to understand that it is the mind that majorly controls the well-being of the body was rendered with great conviction and real life stories. ‘If you don’t Mind, It doesn’t Matter , that was the key mantra for a stress free life. Heartfelt singing, carefree dancing had lit up each cell in our bodies.

And we headed for the lunch. Imagine a clean, partitioned plate which you carry in a queue to receive the food which was offered nothing less than ‘प्रसाद' ! The gentle smile, the warm pleasantries exchanged by the ‘सेवा कर्ता ’ was quite touching. The food was extremely simple and at the same time very fulfilling. I went for a power nap at 14:00 hrs as it had been a power packed day! 

 

‘ कर्मों की गुह्य गति -The Karma Theory’ was the evening session taken by BK Dr. Savita. She has been giving her honorary services in Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya’s Headquarters and also had been a family physician to Reverend Dadi Prakashmaniji, the former Chief Administrative Head of Brahma Kumaris. This is one of the very important learnings of my life. Understanding the Karmic theory and working on one’s Karma is the biggest take away for any spiritual seeker.

 

The next day was an eye-opener for me. When the history of the organization was presented with real life photographs and documentation of stories and events, there was no scope of doubt. Until now, I had been following ज्ञान, practicing drills, extending my ‘सेवा ’ to other souls out of pure love and with complete integrity. However, I had set boundaries. I would not touch the history of the organization as I wasn’t able to relate to the possibility of the Divine being seen and felt in reality. Perhaps, online sessions couldn’t build that firm resolve in me to accept the truth. I had my own experiences, everyone does. I appreciate each individual’s own relationship with the Supreme and his own way of understanding ज्ञान. Yet, I had to feel it in person at the very origin of the organization to accept with deep conviction the unique history it holds. This trip did that. Again, Karma is the bottom line. How it unfolds is a web. To be able to crawl through this web in the best possible way is what one needs to learn from the most efficient spider. 

 

Those of you who have heard BK Usha Didi would agree with the sound yet deep knowledge she showers on the 'श्रीमद्भागवत '. We were fortunate to hear her live. She delivered the knowledge keeping her audience in mind. It is said rightly: 'दान सदैव पात्र देखकर दें ' which in the literal sense means 'one should give only to the deserving'.

Some of the very unconventional and the best learnings were:

The Pandavas:

युद्धिषठिर  –  युद्ध  जैसी स्थिति में भी स्थितप्रज्ञा 

भीम         –  दृढ़ता , strong will power

अर्जुन.      –  जो ज्ञान का अर्जन  करना जानते हो 

नकुल.      –  नियमों पर, सिद्धांतो पर चलने वाले

सहदेव      –  बिना अपेक्षा सहयोग देनें वाले ; to be a giver without seeking recognition.

 

God can’t interfere in our Karma. We sow what we reap. Thus, the character कृष्णा in 'The Mahabharata' did not pick up weapons.

 

For interested folks, here’s the link to BK Usha Didi’s videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVzeoRuePxg

 

19^th July was a rainy day filled with immense showers of blessings. To begin with, we were fortunate to have BK Jayanti Kripalani; the Additional Administrative Head of the Brahma Kumaris (biodata: https://www.shivbabas.org/post/bk-sister-jayanti-biography ) at the center that day. She graced the occasion with her Divine presence and in the minimum possible words, she rendered divinity, not only in her voice but in her entire aura. She blessed each one present with her ‘spiritual gaze’ or 'रूहनी  दृष्टि ' and everyone in the audience felt as if she was there only for him or her. Such was her spiritual power! The same day post the brief session, we left for site seeing. Madhuban, Pandav Bhavan, Peace Park, Delwada Temple, and Nakki Jheel were the sites we covered on a day’s outing. What captivated my attention most was the 'चार धाम'- ‘The Tower of Peace’, ‘ बाबा का कमरा ’, ‘History Hall’, ‘ बाबा की कुटिया ’. One has to be there to feel it!

Another architectural marvel is the ancient Delwara Temple. Delvada Temples are a group of svetambara Jain temples located about 2.5 km from the Mount Abu settlement in Sirohi District, Rajasthan's only hill station.

 

Drenched in divinity as well as in rain, with soaked shoes we returned to the Trilok block in Manmohinivan where we settled post a relaxing shower. 

Parul and I were to depart from the center at 04:14 hrs the following day. It was a train journey we were looking forward to for years. Destination- Ahmedabad.  As we bid adieu to Mom and auntie ji (their return to Dehradun was planned the next day), who were heading to the day’s Amritvela, it was a profound experience. The love showered on us from all directions, we indeed felt we were in heaven, and destined to be back again.

As I conclude the narration of the stay at the Brahmakumaris center in Mt. Abu, I would be at a loss if I don't share the pictures of the silent workers offering their 'seva' with utmost diligence. Some Brahmakumaris would spend their time ensuring the quality of the raw ingredients before they're sent to the kitchen for the preparation of food. Some would prove their commitment starting 3:00am in the morning for tea. They would do their 'Amrtivela meditation' at work and listen to the daily 'Murli' through their phone. 

That's the foursome signing off from Madhuban!

Wishing peace and happiness to each and every Soul.

ॐ शांति!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love, Life and Music

Love, Life & Music; none goes without the other. 

Love bewitched me in myriad ways,

Life gracefully unveils itself every day,

Music has been eternal !

Let’s talk about the latter as it unfolded in my mind’s eye conspicuously in the past several days. That eureka moment! At the onset of a lesson that you so deeply wished to learn all your life, the ‘Guru’ brings down your attention to the most trivial and regular phenomenon one witnesses in daily life.

Sound or vibration, how do you define it?

That which is or that which is not or that which is perpetual?

सा रे ग म प ध नि 

(Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Nee)

Sa- Shadaja : The sound of the peacock when rain clouds gathered in the sky.

Re- Rishabha : The bellowing of a cow when her calf is separated from her.

Ga- Gandhara : The bleating of a goat in a flock.

Ma- Madhyama : The cry of a heron.

Pa: Panchama : The sound of the Indian nightingale in spring.

Dha- Dhaivat : The neighing of a horse.

Ni- Nishada : The trumpeting of an elephant.

Nature has created it all!

All the other स्वर except षाडजा (Sa) and पंचम (Pa) can be कोमल or तीव्र स्वर but Sa and Pa are always शुद्ध स्वर .

And hence, स्वर Sa and Pa are called अचल स्वर, since these स्वर don’t move from their original position.

That sends a shiver down my spine. Isn’t that how we practice पुरुषार्थ on our spiritual journey? To remain अचल in our मन. When the outside situations, also called परिस्थिति don’t disturb our स्थितप्रज्ञा. There definitely seems to be a divine energy in music which correlates very well to the spiritual साधना. Am yet to experience it fully.

The स्वर  Re, Ga, Ma, Dha, Ni are called Chal स्वर, since these स्वर move from their original position. Probably indicating ‘change is inevitable’.

Some research brought me to this:

Hypothetically speaking, नि is said to be निराकार ब्रह्मा. So, the legend goes that the three main Gods- Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva were first created i.e. साकार ब्रह्मा (Sa) and then these three Gods created ऋषि-मुनि i.e. (Re) and then गंधर्व (Ga) were created for singing and then Lord Indra i.e. महिपाल (Ma) was created and once the Mahipal (Raja) or the king was created, the प्रजा (Pa) or the common citizens were made. And as people have their own धर्मा (Dha) or duty, the religion was made. When religion was made the निराकार (Ni) form of धर्मा is formed. That is to say धर्मा created the निराकार form of ब्रह्मा.

So, starting from the साकार(Sa) ब्रह्मा, called षाडजा ( षाड -6 + जा- जन्म) which collectively means giving birth to the other 6 notes of the music it ends with the निराकार (Ni) ब्रह्मा! Now, that indeed is ‘Divine’!

Lo, what I found more was 'where our 7 chakras meet the 7 swaras'

The physical body is ensheathed by the auric field in which seven major chakras (invisible to the naked eye) are present.

The Cosmos and the Earth are where we derive the energy. According to the study (in reference),  our body has seven chakra zones, and each swara resonates with one major chakra. Each swara with the exact frequency of MHz (shruti) for each chakra zone. That is the mantra for each Chakra. The basis of sound healing and therapy lies in the symbiosis of both.

Starting from the स्वर Sa deriving energy from the earth into the मूूलाधार चक्र, slowly the energy moved away from the earth into the energy of the Cosmos; through the spinal chord. Re स्वर moves into the back of the स्वादिष्ठाान chakra, then onto Ga that is the rear of the मणिपुर chakra, Ma back of the अनाहत चक्र (heart); Pa back of the विशुद्ध चक्र; Dha back of the आज्ञा चक्र; Ni सहस्त्राा or the Crown Chakra and finally the next scale Sa that is the epitome of the energy of the Cosmos. After that chakra the human body ends and the eternal cosmic energy frontier starts. When sung in avaroha (descending) back to the muladhara chakra one by one slowly making a continuous energy garland back and forth.

Magic truly exists

One just needs to discover it!

Reference:

http://www.mybansuri.com/Sanjeev's MessageAbout Logo