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 20th, 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:
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
19th 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!
ॐ शांति!
