A Hokage's Journal

I am Back

2011-12-27T23:13:00.003+05:30

Sorry For the long gap people, but as Arnold would say, "I'll be Back", so am I. Quite honestly this post is not going to have anything interesting so you can stop reading Right NOW!!!

Its new year time and Santa has already visited. Got lots of stories to share, knowledge to upgrade oneself, Guru moments, Love bytes, and lot of my usual rambling.

When I logged in on blogger after a Long time( note the capital L) I saw my followers have gone up. Now I have 10 followers, God bless you people( No idea whatsoever,what they found so interesting :P ). Got a lot of things to do now, One of them being reading Stumbling Into Infinity( the bloody thing costed 850/- !!!!!!! but then again the awesomeness sets off the price). Going to end this here hope to get Five posts in three days (Damn Double shifts!!!)

For now lets just remember a simple Funda - Zero complaints Only Praises.

Jai Gurudeva

Love,

Mihir

Facts about Engineering

2011-08-29T20:29:00.003+05:30

Engineers I want your honest opinion on these jokes sent by an engineer. Others can simply enjoy the fun

Engineering College : Place where you're punished for getting good HSC marks.

Senior : guys who got ragged as juniors and wanna get some payback...

Fresher : Guy who has to ask where the canteen is...

Really Dumb Fresher : Guy who asks a senior where the canteen is.

Really Really Dumb fresher : guy who follows the senior to the canteen.

Ragging : the unfortunate fate of the previous idiot.

Evasive action: watch the juniors when any seniors come nearby. (No one runs faster than a fresher. NO ONE.)

Babe : After two years in Engineering, anything remotely female qualifies for that title.

KT : makes you suicidal..

Year Drop : makes dad homicidal.

Rereviewuation : Cruel joke... (results of rreview come after you give the KT exam).

Principal : Biggest Idiot on campus. Unfortunately, also the most powerful idiot on campus.

Lectures : waste of time..

Tutions : what you take when you don't waste enough time.

Professor : person paid to put students to sleep.

Vernac Prof : Unusual variant of previous individual who comes packaged
with his own brand of english ("Now you check me your journal." "You Out get from class." "Are you understand, Beta?" )

Practical : 60 to 90 minutes in which you discuss Pamela Anderson's assets, watch the girls do your experiment, and usually destroy a considerable array of lab equipment.

Hopeless Practical : The practical in which there are no girls in your group (simply look blankly at each other, fiddle with the equipment,and finally copy the readings. from the girls of course...).

Fear : what you feel when the prof who's signature you forged on the journal hesitates to turn the page...

Irony : The guy who copied your entire paper passes and you flunk.

Critical Calculation : Summing up the marks you attempted in the exam...

Sleep : Huh! What the heck's That?

Jai Gurudeva,

Love,

Mihir

Fear of loss..... Shadow of greed it is

2011-08-09T17:50:00.001+05:30

Yoda's rather cryptic words from Star Wars episode III quite simple to understand like most of his statements are ;-) I have always wondered how Lucas got hold of such
knowledge one liners. This one (The title in case you haven't figured it out)
has got a whole new meaning to it again an instant post-kriya post. I so love Vikram Hazra for using Iphone apps for making posts to his blog, thanks to which I can make posts to MY blog using My Phone so this is also my first mobile post :-D

In my previous post I have given some, not so subtle signs of possesiveness and wanting of...... well m not gonna tell what or who as people have been asuming to know and understand me (Yeah right !!) and it had been bothering me along with other things, now here's where the fun begins
Going back to Guru Purnima with Mahesh Giriji (remember the last post B-) ) he had said that you should be able to let go "Chodna ana chahiya" interesting to hear, absolutely frightening to impliment. By no means is it impossible to implement but one where the intellect and mind are not ready to accept. A thousand excuses come up like 'what will be the purpose of my life if i lose this?' or 'whats the use of working so hard and then having to let it walk away?' 'Why to live if we can't get what we want?' etc etc..

Now all these excuses are quite logical and very convinient to follow but as Dumbledore says at the end of Harry Potter and Goblet of Fire "We all will have a choice between what is right and what is easy"
Now comes the big question why is it a right choice in the first place ?
Why is it so difficult to let go of things? Love? attachment and entanglement? why is there a fear of loss?
Those who have done an advance course will know the relation between fear and love.
All our actions are governed by fear
When we are sick we go to a doctor because we fear dying
People marry because of the fear of dying alone
They have children because they are afraid that they will not leave behind anything significant. Now the fear of loss is, like all the above are actually motivated by attachments which is very much NOT the same as Love at all. Now this is what Yoda says in Star Wars when you are attached to objects people or events the tail of misery follows but when you can love without being attached its a completely enjoyable regardless the result of the event or reaction of the person.
So whats the big deal with that you get to enjoy a little? but you can get to enjoy it for longer if you get to keep that object/person so why should you be ready to let go? Simple so that you can be happy without being miserable.
Now according to my experience events are the easiest to let go as they have already become "had beens" Already being in the past there is not much that can be done about them so they are the easiest to let go
Then comes objects. Many things 'give' us pleasure, make us comfortable and "happy". So how to let go of this? The honest answer is that none of this is yours to begin with all that is "Yours" is actually a gift from the divine even your body is not your own and one day you will have to let go of that as well so whats the point of hankering to objects that are not yours.
The toughest are people to whom attachment, atleast for me, is highest and I for one still can't let go of a few people, despite the pain it causes and yet at times the knowledge overpowers the small mind and brings freedom so the only way to be truly free is to keep the prana high.
Incase you have not noticed all these put you in bondage where as being able to let them go sets you free to enjoy without reason.
So now the choice is yours be bound and enjoy with a limit or be free and enjoy limitlessly.
Now this does not mean that you should not want anything in life, it simply means knowing that whatever you need in life will be given to you AND whatever that is lost is not necessary for you.
So finally I will shut up and let you decide how this post is

Jai Gurudeva
Love,
Mihir

Kriya and Puja

2011-07-24T23:51:00.004+05:30

Back from the end of a course not having done my kriya feeling tired. Reached after a long walk and a last minute Rickshaw, not having told anyone the real reason I had to leave so quickly (don't bother guessing, well actually u can but i wont tell :) ) Finally after the delay of the entire a day did my Kriya and this post came up ready made.....

Often I have heard Guruji and many teachers say 'Puja' means that which is born out of completeness or fullness. Today while doing Kriya I remembered something. "Sit to do your Kriya with an attitude of Gratitude" but even when I was getting through First stage of Pranayam "Gh**** gratitude how do I deal with all the pain that has been building in my for the entire day" and now it has reached a peak after something that happened at the course. Suddenly I couldn't feel the pain in my legs (General effect of Vajrasan, especially since I was sitting on a chair) as it was replaced by a pain in my heart region for a moment I thought I had a heart attack but realized it wasn't almost the next moment.

I could feel all the sadness and pain accumulated over the years that I have managed to hide with quick smiles and acting stupid started coming up. Some of the things that I had REALLLLYYYYYYY wanted to hide even from myself started coming to the front. By this time I had lost all control, half way through Second stage of Pranayam I started breathing normal breaths instead of Ujjai breaths. Now I though this embarrassing, what I didn't realize was the Really embarrassing thing is yet to come. Almost in tears because of all the suppressed memories I was not even sure I would be able to continue any further, I was just moving forward.

Somehow I managed to get back into Ujjai before finishing Second stage itself. Hear is where something interesting started happening. Even though the pain was still there I remembered what I had heard on Guru Purnima this year. Suddenly there was no effort in Third Stage and Bhastrika and the pain intensified, with tears from my eyes and mucus from my nose and sweat forming a horrible mixture on my face which very thankfully I could not feel because of the pain. The actual Kriya was a different experience all together something had changed dramatically and after a short meditation I got up and was already ready with this post in my Mind.

Now the important part, the knowledge that came to my rescue in my time of need. Mahesh Giriji had said that "We offer flowers, fruits, 'chandan' etc while doing the Guru Puja but you should do something else. Offer your anger, offer your Jealousy, offer all the negative qualities and you'll see that Puja happens by itself and such a Puja will be higher then any other simple Guru Puja". Today I was able to apply this.

Coming back to the starting of the post

So for the first time on this blog I am going to give everyone a task to experiment on. Here's the deal if you can't sit with an Attitude of Gratitude, gather all your anger, hatred, jealousy,greed, fear, laziness and sit for doing your short Sudarshan Kriya. After you finish your 3 rounds of slow-medium-fast just offer it to......... whoever you want, it doesn't really matter. Do tell me your experience, waiting to hear from you all (comment hear or mail me)

Jai Gurudeva,

Love,

Mihir.

P.S. Please excuse the length of the post :)

Jokes

2011-07-20T11:00:00.002+05:30

Now awaiting my Graduation results so nothing much to give here. A course with Anjana Di today in Thane(Yeaaaaa) and DSN with the ultimate duo Bawa N Dinesh, also in Thane (*Lack of words to express excitement*) . A few jokes i got from here and there

Girlfriend(to boyfriend): What can u do for me?

Boyfriend : anything!!!!

Girl : Can u leave ur family for me?

Boy : Yes

G : Bring me money, clothes, jewelry as much as i want?

B : Yes

G: Get me stars, the moon, the sun?

B: Yes

G: Delete ur Facebook account?

B: Now really !! You ask too much

After the death of his wife, man asks friend " Quick get me a laptop"

Friend asks "Why?"

"I want to set my status to Single"

A boy was walking on road in the rain a girl comes to him and says why don't U share my

umbrella?

Boy- No thanks sister I like it this way

Moral............ nothing the Girl was not good looking :)

Jai Gurudeva,

Love,

Mihir

Story Time

2011-07-04T14:13:00.005+05:30

Well its story time again and this time I got a Love story (ooooowww) Without further adieu let the story begin

Some seriously long time ago, when India was under the rule of the Moghul Emperors, in a small village came a young man barely above mid twenties for some work. He stayed there for two months, during that period he fell in love with a local girl and she loved him as well, only her love for him was beyond that of just the regular long gazing in eyes and romantic talks and all the other silly things that people in love so often do. When his work was over he left the village suddenly and no one could tell of whereabouts. The girl, now madly in love lost all sense and of what others would call sanity.

She left the village to find her lover, having lost her mind on her lover, she would ask ever person she passed about him but she didn't stop there she would ask every tree, every animal, every bird that she could, not a single rock did she pass without asking the location of her lover. Walking, walking, searching, searching, she was lost in a forest.

In the same forest was the then emperor of India, out for a hunt with his royal guard with him. In the evening it was time for Namaz. Now this an emperor sitting so of course there was a royal, silk mattress with the finest quality cushion. With guards waiting at one side the emperor began his reading.

Then suddenly the love struck girl marched into his camp and walked past him. This angered the guards, who caught her immediately. The emperor himself was outraged at the disrespect this lowly woman had shown him and towards his most sacred text.

At the height of his anger he asked her "Who do you think you are to insult me while I am praying you lowly woman, to disrespect my Namaz is to disrespect GOD himself..". Before the emperor could continue the woman asked "Is your God important to you? do you love HIM?

The Emperor replied with a prompt 'Yes' Despite being chained and at the mercy of the emperor the girl laughed and said "What love do you speak of? when a lowly girl like me is loving just an ordinary man and so lost that she couldn't even see an emperor, whereas your love for God was so short that you saw this lowly girl just because she passed you by. This is your love for God? Even now your ignoring your lover for a lowly girl and you claim to love God?"

Hearing this the Emperors angered shattered and shards of shame fell on him. He released the girl and immediately sat for Namaz.

Here the tale comes to an awkward end, most would expect a love story to be something different but this is the kind of story that awakens you to a new reality. Where do we spend our time, how involved are we in every act we do, are we really being 100%, to go out of our "hectic" schedules and spend time with those whom we love, to actually Live life rather than get through it

I end this post with a line from Guruji

"Love is not just an emotion, it is your very being"

Jai Gurudeva,

Love,

Mihir

Kung Fu Awesomeness all over again

2011-05-30T22:09:00.003+05:30

Now I am sincerely sorry for the long silences i have been keeping but I am back again so for this post I have a Film review to share

The much awaited Kung Fu Panda 2

Truly an Epic peace of work and full of Sheer Kung Fu Awesomeness fortunately as Po (the lead Panda) says in the first movie "There's no charge for awesomeness". The cast is quite star studded with Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Lui, Jackie Chan, Jean Claude Van Damme and many more. The animation is much beyond good however the story had a few points which could be exploited more like the hints given about Tigress's past (no more spoilers). This time around Po is more confident in his Kung Fu but now faces the ultimate challenge of defeating something that can destroy Kung Fu so Master Shifu sends Po and the Five to destroy the machine.

Po's history is revealed (Yea i know how can he be the son of a goose right?)

more kung fu awesomeness

A soft side to Tigress is revealed

more kung fu awesomeness

A lot of humor and more kung fu awesomeness

Overall more kung fu awesomeness movie :)

One thing I noticed about Po's talking and behavior was that he was more like Bawa ( Yes the one and only Khurshed Batliwala) though laking Bawa's super cool-ness but he did have some resemblance in many scenes. All in all a very good movie and would definitely suggest for everyone to watch it atleast once

A bonus joke for the end of the post

A sign outside a petrol pump says

Smoking Not allowed

Your life may not have much value but Petrol costs a fortune

Jai Gurudeva,

Love,

Mihir

End OF Exams

2011-04-01T14:03:00.003+05:30

Finally m done with my Graduation exams :). Now m Freeeeeeeeeee

Changed the look of the blog significantly to suit the mood for may release of Kung Fu Panda 2.

Nothing Much in this post about anything else. However Upcoming post includes miracles in exams which will again have to wait a few days due to .... well I got things to do :)

Jai Gurudeva,

Love,

Mihir

P.S. A special surprise coming up in the next post so stay tuned and sorry for the long silence

Bhastrika with the Big Bearded Guy

2010-12-12T22:29:00.006+05:30

The concluding part of the summer magic advance course.

After the silence started the next day came sunday. Meaning lots of meditations (Trust me when I say they can be either the greatest pains or pleasures in life, having experienced both) and evening satsang with Guruji at the amphitheater in front of the Vishalakshi Mantap so that we could enjoy Two beautiful sights at the same time. The whole day was in silence when Guruji came in the amphitheater and said it would be the last day of silence " Tomorrow morning you will come out of silence" a bit of a shocker actually.

With a wonderful day the hour before the satsang was quite grueling as we experienced " Life at 40,000 feet", the story of life at Siachal Glacier and various other things that a person who becomes a soldier has to go through. The lesson learned is simple be grateful for having such a peaceful life and the next time you complain about how tough things are for you remember these guys of your age living in hell everyday. After this the satsang was very uplifting even though Guruji spoke mostly Kannada.

Monday started with sadhana and coming out of silence followed by Rudra Puja with Guruji. As if this Divine Experience was not good enough, Guruji met each and every single participant of the course and blessed all of them followed by a Bhastrika and short meditation. Thus ended the advance course.

But wait its not over yet. In the following 2 days we were briefed on the vastness of the projects of Art Of Living, IAHV and WAYE, like Rural development projects. Even so we got a chance to meet 1 more time that day.

On the last day I went to Sumeru Mantap for doing daily Sadhana, expecting the rest of my group but finding only 2 unknown people and couple of monkeys. Nevertheless I did my sadhana, by the time I finished others had come (btw I had started at 5 AM and Yes I had taken a cold water bath before going) so after they finished we did a quick photography session and half of us went to see BnD only to find Bawa praying and Dinesh da talking around on his phone looking full stud in full blue sweater and track pants. After that heard Bawa play a nice piece on his piano( I think it was a sonata). I discovered Gate no. 3 and after a short discussion with Priyamani (refer previous posts) and a smell of a tomato recipe, made from the tomatoes I had just bought (hehe) we left for breakfast and soon leaving Home to go for Home.

Thats all for now

Jai Gurudeva!

Love,

Mihir

A Date with the Divine (Summer Magic Part2)

2010-12-04T22:23:00.008+05:30

After a ridiculously long break all thanks to my exams I can finally add the Part 2 to Summer Magic Part 1

After the first day's amazing morning sadhana, there were quite a few surprises for us in SM some of the most prominent being sessions on Kaara Thandav, Bharat Natyan, Sri Sri Rural Development Program etc etc.

As usual the Magic started with Amazing (G)race modeled after the Amazing Race (although this was a much cleaner version, except maybe for Cina) designed by none other than our beloved Priya Subramanian (as usual). If you have done a single YES!++ or have been around bawa and you still don't know her then go ki....ahem go and do an advance course in Banglore Ashram.Now that being its usual difficult self (its not called Amazing Grace for nothing you know) I was on the other side this time that is to say I was volunteering this time, so it was fun to tort... em irritate others rather than get irritated :).

After that the 1st evening I got to see Him, finally it was complete, the day, life , enjoyment etc. He came in, in His awesome graceful manner sat down on His chair and closed His eyes for meditating and for the first time ever I went into a deep meditation at the same time He closed His eyes. A Perfect Date with the Divine. Of course just because this is Art Of Living doesn't mean there aren't people who will interfere in other peoples dates just for their own greed, as was the case where some one started shouting "I love u Guruji" over and over while He was meditating. Again there was simultaneous breaking of meditation(no way to confirm, but I saw His eyes were only half open when mine were little more, so assumed). Overall it was an awesome first day and the awesomeness continued for the following days.

The next most interesting thing was the session with Rajeshree Patel. For those of you who don't know she is a very senior teacher born and brought up in the US, and by Senior I mean Senior (she's BawanDinesh's teacher so you should get what I mean). At the end of the hour it was a very elevating experience and the value addition is indescribably magnormous. Although the Knowledge is, so if any one wants I will put up a summed up version of the hour on the blog.

That evening after satsang the silence started and this post ends :)

Jai Gurudeva!

Love

Mihir

Sneak Peek: Tomorrow new post Bhastrika with the Big Bearded Guy (SM P-3) keep smiling keep loving, Keep doing sadhana,satsang,seva

Summer Magic- 1st part

2010-09-21T17:51:00.007+05:30

Now firstly sorry for being this inactive for last few months. This is a post i have been working on ever since I came from Summer Magic but just couldn't get it up and running for the blog.

Now the Journey to Banglore Ashram was not packed with exciting events but was nonetheless very exciting to begin and end with. One reason was that there were a lot of familiar faces this time unlike Winter Break(my 1st advance course) like Jaydeep and Neha. Neha was the volunteer in my group during my 1st YES!+ and I was meeting her after a long while so you can imagine this part of the excitement. Another reason was that I was going for a huge Advance course 1500 atleast, apart from that I was gonna meet BawaNDinesh(Big Smile) again and to top it all Guruji was going to be there for the entire course (Extremely Big Smile). Not many events to describe in the train apart from the fact that I was sleeping on top of the goodies that were going to be given during Summer Magic and had the props for Anand & Benaifer in front and Bau's pillow nearby (A big smile for all that).

Coming to the Ashram at midnight is just as exciting as it is in daylight, perhaps a bit more so, yet that wonderful feeling you get upon entering remains just as strong it was the last time I passed through those gates of gate no.5 Ok if I start going into details beyond this, it will become the longest post in the history of blogging so fast forwarding. To my fortune I was in 5 people sharing which turned out to be 4 people sharing and Jaydeep was in the same room with me so again it was quite easy to become friends with the remaining people. Sadhana 1st morning was in Yagyashala, my usual Kriya and Sahaj was never so deep and profound.

Since there is so much to tell I have decided to break it into parts so more next week

Jai Gurudeva!

The Philosophers Stone

2010-06-17T22:37:00.003+05:30

Now I know I am a few posts behind. Did an advance course at the beautiful Triveni Ashram in Pune, some YES!+ experiences, been traveling a bit, off to Banglore Ashram on Sunday, some great Guru Stories, and the list goes on and on. For now I would like to start with very interesting story.

Jai Gurudeva!

In India a Guru is compared to a Philosophers stone, now for those who haven't seen or read Harry Potter, its a legendary artifact that can turn any substance to Gold. This is said to be the similarity between the Guru and the Philosophers stone, that a Guru can, by his mere presence turn even the most ordinary of person into a Golden Soul.

During a debate between some scholars (Pundits basically highly knowledgeable people) one of them asked "What is the difference between a Guru and a Philosophers Stone?" All of them were baffled and argued that the comparison is correct that there was no point to debate such a thing. On this the scholar replied that the comparison is indeed correct but incomplete. A Philosopher's Stone can merely turn any substance to gold but cannot give that substance its properties, whereas a disciple through the Guru's infinite wisdom can bring about a transformation in other people's lives even if the Guru is not with him physically.

So what would you like in your life ? A Philosophers Stone or A Guru?

Second post for the day

2010-04-17T11:42:00.003+05:30

A few jokes from here and there and one from Bawa. Enjoy

Jai Gurudeva!

Mihir

A man got a new Ferrari for his birthday and went to test drive it on the highway. As he was driving he wondered how fast it could go, but before he could get very far he heard sirens. He sped up thinking he could outrun the cop, but then he came to his senses and pulled over.

The cop walked over and asked for the man's license and registration. Then the cop said, "Listen Mac, it's Friday, I'm tired, and I just want to go home, so if you can give me an excuse I haven't heard before, I'll let you go."

The man thought for a minute, then replied, "My wife ran off with a cop the other day, and I thought you were trying to give her back to me."

The cop nodded and said, "Have a nice day."

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Whats the difference between a terrorist and parents? You can negotiate with a terrorist.

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Is Insanity hereditary? Yes, Parents get it from their kids.

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Did you hear about the blind man who went bungee jumping? He loved it, but it scared the poop out of his dog.

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A lawyer was on his deathbed in his bedroom, and he called to his wife. She rushed in and said, "What is it, honey?"

He told her to run and get the bible as soon as possible. Being a religious woman, she thought this was a good idea. She ran and got it, prepared to read him his favorite verse or something of the sort. He snatched it from her and began quickly scanning pages, his eyes darting right and left.

The wife was curious, so she asked, "What are you doing, honey?"

He shouted "I'm looking for loopholes!"

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The Reverend tells of a time early in his ministry when he arrived in a small town to preach a sermon. Wanting to mail a letter, he asked a young boy where the post office was.

When the boy had told him, the reverend thanked him and said, "If you'll come to the Church this evening, you can hear me telling everyone how to get to Heaven."

"I don't think I'll be there," the boy said. "You don't even know your way to the post office."

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Why is God A Parsi ? because we call him Upparwala.

First after exam

2010-04-17T11:15:00.002+05:30

Well I have just finished with my exams now have to study for the next one in May. So decided to take a break and put up a few things over here starting with a story I just heard from Bawa (well not directly but on TV, check out ETV Marathi on Saturday morning at 9:30 Yuva Bharat. Don't worry the programs in English). Well here it is then.

Jai Gurudeva!

A grandfather used to make his grandson read the Bhagwat Gita every single day. The boy understood neither head nor tail of it, yet his grandfather forced him to read it every day. One day the boy got frustrated and told his grandfather " I won't read any further until you tell me why I should read this.". The grandfather said Ok I will tell you. He took a bucket of coal, emptied it and told the boy to fetch water in it. Now this bucket had holes in it and by the time the boy got back from the nearby river, the water was nearly gone. The grandfather said " This much water is not enough, fetch more." So again the boy went and returned with similar results. Again the grandfather sent him to fetch water and this kept repeating 5 to 6 times until the boy got tired and said he had enough again he asked " Whats the point in all this? The bucket has holes, it can never carry more water than this." At this point the Grandfather pointed at the bucket and said " Despite what you say,the bucket is now clean even though it was filled with coal before."

The End.

Some small one's

2010-03-31T11:59:00.004+05:30

Exams are starting so no posts for a while. Till then enjoy these jokes

>Cool Phrases

>============

>Practice makes perfect.....

>But nobody's perfect......

>so why practice?

>-----------------------------------------------------------

>The wise never marry.

>and when they marry they become

>otherwise.

>------------------------------------------------------------

>If your father is a poor man,

>It is your fate but,

>If your father-in-law is a poor man,

>It's your stupidity.

>-------------------------------------------------------------

>I was born intelligent

>Education ruined me.

>-------------------------------------------------------------

>A bus station is where a bus stops.

>A train station is where train stops.

>On my desk, I have a work station....

>what more can I say..........

>-------------------------------------------------------------

>If it's true that we are here to help others, then,

>What exactly are the others here for?

>-------------------------------------------------------------

>Since light travels faster than sound,

>people appear bright until you hear them speak.

>-------------------------------------------------------------

>How come "abbreviated" is such a long word ?

>-------------------------------------------------------------

>Money is not everything.

>There's MasterCard & Visa.

>-------------------------------------------------------------

>One should love animals.

>They are so tasty.

>-------------------------------------------------------------

>Love thy neighbour.

>But don't get caught.

>-------------------------------------------------------------

>Every man should marry.

>After all, happiness is not the only thing in life.

>-------------------------------------------------------------

>Success is a relative term.

>It brings so many relatives.

>-------------------------------------------------------------

>Love is photogenic

>It needs darkness to develop

>-------------------------------------------------------------

>Children in backseats cause accidents

>Accidents in backseats cause children

>------------------------------------------------------------

>"Your future depends on your dreams"

>So go to sleep

>-------------------------------------------------------------

>There should be a better way to start a day

>than waking up every morning

>-------------------------------------------------------------

>"Hard work never killed anybody"

>But why take the risk !

>-------------------------------------------------------------

>"Work fascinates me"

>I can look at it for hours !

>-------------------------------------------------------------

>God made relatives;

>Thank God we can choose our friends.

>-------------------------------------------------------------

>When two's company, three's the result !

>-------------------------------------------------------------

>The more you learn, the more you know,

>The more you know, the more you forget

>The more you forget, the less you know

>So.. why learn.

Jai Gurudeva!

Love,

Mihir

IT HAS BEGUN - The first day

2010-03-19T13:50:00.006+05:30

Its finally started, a 1000+ course with Bawa & Dinesh. Now I know my posts are excruciatingly long so I am going to keep this one short. Obviously the course was great fun with Dinesh Dada taking yoga, and making people run out of breath, the first timers had a tough time on Suryanamaskars and because of that really enjoyed Shavasan. With Bawa continuing from there it was a complete laughter and knowledge packed first day. He also promised to tell about mythological stories, if he is reminded every day. And lastly the coolest description of Ujjayi breath given by Bawa and was personal favorite "Ujjayi breath is that Darth Vader breath". Couldn't stop laughing after that.

Jai Gurudeva!

Love,

Mihir

Gudi Padva New Year

2010-03-15T21:53:00.009+05:30

Hmm.....The first post in March, it was originally supposed to be about how great the party with Bawa, his parents, Dinesh Da and JD and whole bunch of fantastic people was. However due to reason which are even a mystery to me I have been unable to update, like 5 to 6 posts which included stuff like knowledge, stories, jokes, experiences and what not, but since I haven't done it yet I will just say a 'little' bit about everything that has happened.

Firstly I did my Sahaj Course with Bawa and Dinesh Dada incidently I have done most of my courses with them. Obviously the course was fun filled, knowledge packed, and strangely action included. As soon as the daily session would end Bawa would go and play on the swing downstairs. I joined him once or twice but no one to take our photo, since I was taking most of the Photos, which are now posted on Facebook. The following week I met Bawa every single day till the Party. You can imagine my overflowing joy (and satva) because of his company.

Next the Party. It was truly a event worth remembering, the cause, not only was it the Anniversary of Bawa's parents but had the added joy of JD's birthday (hope he doesn't mind me using his name like this, well everyone does in the same way). So along with Guru Puja, Satsang and Anniversary cake, there was also Birthday Cake, music & dance. Not to mention a chaotically funny Musical Chairs. The party had a finishing touch with Bawa's fantastic cooking, a recipe whose name I failed to know. Overall it was a really awesome, great fun filled party.

Alright now the last part (sigh), we heard lots of great stories during Sahaj and sessions with Bawa and Dinesh Dada. It goes without saying there was some wonderful knowledge. Another thing that most people should know by know our dedicated channel YESPLUS TV has new series of Videos called Technology of Spirituality, A talk by our beloved Bawa in Ruia College. Don't DARE to miss watching it here is the link.

Thats all for now Wishing everyone a very prosperous and happy new year this Gudi Padva or rather as Guruji said "Happy Years!" in advance

Jai Gurudeva!

Love,

Mihir

In Contrast

2010-02-25T12:52:00.004+05:30

In my last post I wrote any extremely long, well stuff saying how modern youth are facing a lot of problems and that YES!+ can solve them. In a recent session with Bawa, he said the most interesting thing about YES!+. What he said was

"This course is not especially designed for depressed, sick, suicidal people, we haven't opened a mental assylum. Its very much true that the course helps such people a lot to come out of depression, stress etc. The course is actually for happy people, you know when someone says I am anyways happy with my life I reply that you are qualified to do the YES!+ course. The course is designed keeping in mind the most happiest and the most saddest people and how to bring out the best in each of them so they can enjoy life. I tell happy people if you want to continue being happy do the course"

So now when someone makes fun about us doing the course, we can proudly say that 'I did the course was for my overall personal development and not b'coz I was depressed.' Anyways the YES!+ logo itself says 'Accelerating Excellence' and not 'Curing Depression'. So lets accelerate and make March 18th course a historical course.

Jai Gurudeva!

Love,

Mihir

P.S.:Coming soon some really nice stories (and possibly pictures) from recent course

Protect the endangered species "Stress-free,happy Youth"

2010-02-21T11:47:00.007+05:30

We all from the YES!+ team of entire Mumbai, Navi-Mumbai,Thane to Kalyan(maybe even beyond) have taken up the challenge to protect a rapidly decreasing, now endangered species- "a healthy, stress free, happy Youth". It is quite a challenging task as knowingly or unknowingly everyone is contributing to the end of this very rare species.

Today youngsters face a wide array of problems like handling things. Teenagers have so many things to handle ........ studies, private tutions, emotions, girlfriends/boyfriends, hobbies (which people seem to have to less time for). Relations are a major problem during the age of 16 to 21 the primary reason is that the teenager is considered as a young adult (meaning people say 'you are not a child to have this' and at the same time, 'you are too young for this') so there is absolutely no understanding what he/she should do and not do. Result is constant arguements between parents and children. The child feels parents don't understand him, while the parents feel the child doesn't understand them, incidently both are correct as neither one listens to what other is saying. Well if I continued this post would be endless, the point is youth today are facing problems to which they are unable to find answers. When answers run out the youth see Suicide as the only option (which actually creates more problems then it solves).

Now there are some lucky ones who do find some answers (like me) which help them excel in what they do. Life suddenly becomes a full of fun, enthusiasm and love.

The YES!+ course aims at the overall development of the Youngsters and help them conquer their lives.

For further details click here

Jai Gurudeva!

Love,

Mihir

Company

2010-02-10T11:07:00.004+05:30

Story time.

Once Narad muni asked lord Vishnu what is the benefit of the company of saints, enlightened people etc. Lord Vishnu said,"at a certain place on earth is a certain worm lying in the mud go and ask him he will be glad to tell you."

So following instructions Narad muni goes to the worm and asks him "What is the benefit of the company of saints & sages?".The worm dies on the spot, disappointed Narad muni returns to lord Vishnu and tells him what happened. After a pause Lord Vishnu tells him to meet a certain dog who will answer his question.

Obediently Narad muni goes to the dog and asks,"What is the benefit of the company of saints & sages?".The dog also dies immediately, annoyed Narad muni returns to Lord Vishnu and tells him of the incident. Lord Vishnu directs him to kingdom of powerful king,"The queen just gave birth to a son, ask him he will solve your query".

Narad muni reaches the kingdom and is greeted with all honours. The King shows him to the new born son, however Narad is terrified to ask him anything because he is afraid that like the worm and the dog the child will also die, and should that happen all the hands that were honouring him would turn kill him. Finally Narad muni brings up all his courage and asks,"What is the benefit of the company of saints & sages?"

To everyone's surprise the new born child starts speaking "O Devrishi why do you ask such a silly question, the first time we met I was liberated from the life of worm just because you spoke to me. The next you found me as a dog and again freed me from that form as well, just by your company and now I have risen from a worm to a human birth merely by your company. When I grow old and die I will be liberated from the circle of life and death, for you have come on my birth to meet me.This is what the company of saints & sages does."

Jai Gurudeva!

Love,

Mihir

P.S. Almost forget its my birthday and couldn't remember why I woke up at 3:30 even for sadhana and went back to sleep. Suddenly at 5:00 I woke up and realized it was my Birthday. Quickly freshed up and did my morning sadhana (damn I hate it when I don't do it at 4:00 AM) and was almost late for college, still thanks to his grace I made it in one piece and ready for the day saying 'try me' instead of 'why me'. Completely forgotten where I put the QnA with Rishi Vidyadharji yesterday will post it as soon as I find it

Some Jokes

2010-02-07T12:44:00.004+05:30

Doctor: Do you suffer From wet dreams?

Patient: No I quite enjoy them

Wife asks Husband: What will you do if I die.

Husband: I will die toI won't be able to bear the happiness

A man goes to Ram temple and prays for his lost wife.

Lord Rama tells him: There is a Hanuman temple next to this one, tell him he found my wife too

Journal Entry for Love

Love A/c Dr

To cash A/c

To bank A/c

To gold A/c

To Other assets A/c

To Bankruptcy A/c

(Being love expenses incurred and lover becoming insolvent)

Alcohol is a solution-------------------------------- mostly of ethenol and water

What is the thing that world needs most today?

Bawa: Yoga, meditaion, A lot of Triphala especially with modern eating habits

Jai Gurudeva!

First Q&A

2010-02-07T11:30:00.004+05:30

As said in the first post here's a nice Q&A with Bawa and Dinesh Da from Winter Break

Q1. What is the minimum Time between 2 advance courses?

Bawa: 3 minutes. we absolutely don't allow anyone to do an advance course for atleast 3 minutes after an advance course

Q2. I eat a lot of Tamasik food can I compensate it by eating Rajasik Food?

Bawa: You do this and do about 10 advance courses a year and you will be fine.

Q3. (Angrily)How do we be grateful to something when a bird shits on you?

Bawa: Be grateful elephants can't fly

Q4. How do we separate sound advice from being a football of others opinions?

Bawa: Well the advice you like is sound advice, the one you don't is being a football of others opinion.

Q5. How do we not see intention behind others mistake when some one is doing injustice to you?

Dinesh: You are not supposed to see the intention behind others 'mistake' if someone is bing unjust to you it is no mistake.

Q6. How do we know our meditation was done properly or not if we missed some instruction?

Dinesh: You don't worry about that, you just have to sit, sit and surrender, even if you don't follow some instructions its Ok, understand that it is doing its work, don't worry just give your 100%.

Q7. I don't know whether I am doing my Kriya correctly or not?

Dinesh: Well if you have been doing it properly till now, don't worry, if you are not sure at all then repeat a YES!+ course.

Q8. What are all these symbols (On the pillars of Vishalakshi Mantap)?

Dinesh: They are of various religions, which, you find them.

Q9. Why do experiences of doing the Kriya for the first time differ from person to person?

Dinesh: Every person has different food, habits, personality etc bcoz of this the problems they have and the toxins that are stored in the body are different from every one else. These toxins get released causing different experiences.

Q10. Could you elaborate more on the chakras?

Dinesh: Don't go to much in detail about them, whatever has been told till now is more than sufficient, the more you know about them the more confused you will be.

There is a nice post by Vikram Bhaiya on his blog about a certain article containing a comment by Guruji which has been manipulated and printed be sure to check his blog

Jai Gurudeva!

A Gift (being dragged into a course)

2010-02-06T11:04:00.006+05:30

Its strange in how many ways life can work when you have the blessings of a master.

It has been quite a wish to do all my courses with Bawa n Dinesh Da, no matter the difficulty or simplicity of it. This February there was going to be a DSN with Saleel Bhaiya which I was going to attend, it being my first DSN. To my horror my name somehow managed to get itself from 78% attendance to 78% absent in my college. Immediately by the end of January a parents meeting was held which I attended with my Father. Obviously I was afraid that my father would be angry that why this happened and once the Principal started her lecture (blaming everything on parents really) I was even more pushed because she said permissions were given for us CA students, which was flatly denied to me on my Face.

When I went to speak with my father after the meeting he was really angry (potential miracle no.1) not at me but at the principal who had used swear words in her 'speech' he said to ignore her and continue with studies. The problem was now I was needed to be present 100% of the second term, that is if you can call one month and 9 days as a term, still a DSN meant 3 days which I could not find myself to go to. Here is where all the physical miracles start.

Bawa n Dinesh being in town decided to take the course themselves and postpone it to Friday the 12th. The first day I went one lecture didn't take place as the teacher was not there, incidentally the one that annoyed me (rather all of us) like anything. I decided if there were 3 lectures that were declared 'OFF' Hell with the college, I am going for a DSN. And Finally four lectures have been 'off' this week. Then I looked at the course date, Friday the 12th, reporting being at Thursday the 11th, was infact MahaShivratri, no college :) . Suddenly college decided to put a non-working day on Saturday as well. Anyways I rarely have plans for Sunday, so DSN here I come.

Its strange how things work out so smoothly when you are committed and have the masters grace. You tend to get a lot of gifts, like getting dragged into a course when your thinking "how will I go to the course".

Next post, what experience of the divine comes in the course so lets see what happens

Jai Gurudeva!

Love

Mihir

Meat Goes Out The Window (Flight Actually)

2010-02-01T12:19:00.006+05:30

For all the people who don't know The Art of Living and The Times Foundation have made an appeal to the public to sign their joint online petition to stop serving non-veg food on Indian Flights. A request to all Art Of Living People please sign and inspire more to sign so that Airlines reduce their fares and we can fly to Banglore instead of travelling by train. Here is the letter that will go to the Airlines

To: Airline Corporations

Global warming has reached alarmingly dangerous proportions and governments all over the world now are taking measures to contain it. It is our collective responsibility to join in these efforts in all our capacities to save our precious planet.

A 2006 United Nations report summarized the devastation caused by the meat industry by calling it "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global." Everybody today is aware that the environmental cost for producing a meat-based diet is monumentally higher than a vegetarian one. These costs have escalated to enormous proportions and now pose as very disturbing details.

Additionally, more and more people are increasingly becoming aware of the unhygienic and cruel practices involved in producing meat. Apart from the horrible treatment given to animals reared for meat, they are also injected with harmful chemicals and hormones to add bulk to their bodies, which show strong signs of being poisonous for human consumption. Consequently, health agencies are also recommending people to reduce meat consumption.

It has been established that if a small fraction of the population brings down the meat consumption, by even a little bit, it will do wonders for the environment. Leading researchers all over the world have started recommending a vegetarian diet. Therefore, we would like to solicit your support in declaring all flights meat free. Such a policy change would not only benefit the airline industry, by cutting cost and increasing profit margins, but also the environment and is both economically prudent and ecologically responsible.

It has become imperative that all of us attend to this issue. We, therefore, request all Airways to serve completely vegetarian meals during flights. To increase awareness among people, we have launched a massive signature campaign in support of this drive.

We look forward to a positive response from you.

Warm Regards,

The Art of Living India & Times Foundation.

Click here to sign the online petition

The Start

2010-01-31T19:41:00.007+05:30

Hmmm...... My First Blog.

A little about me, I am a student, doing my Bachelors in Commerce and also training to be a Chartered Accountant. The most interesting part of my life is that I am a volunteer for WAYE the youth section of The Art Of Living Foundation, founded by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravishankar Ji, whom we lovingly call Guruji. The reason for that is, because of the YES!+ course there has been a transformation in the very quality of my life and is now my life's greatest passion.

To begin with, this blog is about anything and everything I can think of (normally or while at a potty break). This includes things like Guruji, studies, games (computer,console,board,outdoor,etc.), The Art Of Living Foundation, WAYE(World Alliance For Youth Empowerment), YES!+ courses, my teachers, friends, Guru Stories, stories, experiences, jokes, riddles etc.

With this said this blog will also include some good Q&A from my teachers and of course dearest Guruji.

Also links to interesting stuff will be posted as soon as possible.

Wasn't really sure what to write, until I sat down to write even so wrote lot more than I thought.

Jai Gurudeva!

Love

Mihir