Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Seeing the Good out of the ugly


I have been very surprised and at the same time disappointed at a certain article which Shobhaa De had written about His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji. Not only was it in very bad taste but it seemed to stem out of some kind of venomous hatred against this great man of wisdom and peace. I wonder HOW she could have penned those words!
I personally have witnessed the enormity of Guruji's work not only in India but even abroad. And one of the most important things that attracted me to Art of Living was that it does not speak of religion, rituals and rites. It speaks of Indian-ness. There are no "shoulds" and "should-nots" whether one is male/female, Indian/Pakistani, Hindu/Muslim/Christian/Jew/Parsi/Atheist. In fact one of my course teachers is Parsi! And he chants our mantras, does Pooja, meditates, teaches this Great Knowledge and is yet Parsi- has not "converted"! There is NO need to convert.
Guruji in all his talks and discourses highlights the greatness of every religion. He speaks of Buddha, Jesus, the Holy Quran and of course the great wealth of Knowledge that our country holds.
His "lifestyle" is something that a mere mortal cannot live upto! He travels incessantly around the world talking to people, resolving conflicts, giving discourses, teaching breathing techniques and meditation and visiting troubled areas be it in cities or rural areas. He has visited Kashmir,
Kosovo, Bihar, Nagapattinam, Vidharbha, Iraq, Pakistan, Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Dharavi, Gujrat...the list is endless. So, what do the skeptics think He does with "so much money"? And look at Him; He wears a white Kurta and Veshti and Angavastram- not brands like Armani, Satya Paul, D&G, Boss etc. What WILL He do with the money???? He is the Master. Money means only a means to an end. And the end for Him is the upliftment of all sections of society. That's all! Does Shobhaa De really think that walking for 3 km in Bihar flood waters(see pic) is a part of glamorous lifestyle?
I hear people often complain about why Art of Living charges fess for their courses. Well, firstly charity never happens with an empty bowl. The money that's left after course expenses(hall rent, food, sound system etc.) is then used for service projects. Art of Living is fully dedicated to serving society. In India itself, it has completely adopted more than 10, 000 villages till now and numbers are increasing. How is it possible to serve without money? Secondly, NO education is ever free. Don't colleges, schools, institutions charge fees? Then why should the Highest Knowledge about the secret of the breath be free? And the tradition of Dakshina has been prevalent since ancient times so that there is value for Knowledge received. But still in Prisons, rural areas etc., courses are conducted without charging a single rupee. And who conducts the courses? Our Volunteers. Isn't it fair that they get paid some travel expenses AT THE LEAST? It's funny how people would pay more than a 1000 rupees for grand Pizza dinner but when it comes to acquiring spiritual knowledge about their own self 1000 rupees seem like a lot of money. I think we REALLY need to re-prioritize things!! :)
One simple question for all the people who think that Guruji should not be treated like God: Don't you respect your own teachers? Either from school, college, or teachers who have taught you some form of art, dance, music or spirituality... The answer would be hopefully "yes". And if such a respected teacher were to visit you, would you offer them a normal chair that every tom, dick or harry sit on or would you offer them the best possible seating? Wouldn't you offer them food in your best crockery? Wouldn't you want them to be as comfortable as possible? Perhaps switch on your air conditioner, offer them a cooling drink if they are tired...you get the idea? Well for around 20 million of us who have been touched by Guruji's wisdom and love feel the same way about Him. He is our teacher. Our beloved Guru. And a Guru's place in our hearts is inexplicable! And therefore WE do the best possible for Him. He never demands it. He gracefully accepts a drive in a BMW of one of His devotees just as happily as He accepts a flower or even a chocolate from poor farmers from Siberia. And I have witnessed it. There is NO difference in His love for everyone.
The painful part is that such a great Master is not respected in our own country. The media does not even want to call Him Ravi Shankar "ji". It's too hard for them to accept that an enlightened Master walks on earth today. So they do everything possible in their capacity to not show Him in positive light. And so I think in that sense Kaliyug has set in for sure in India at least. Whereas in places like Iraq too He is revered and welcomed as a Master should be!

But it's understandable I guess. When even someone like Jesus could be crucified, this is not any different! And even when Jesus spoke, there were people who did not believe Him. But whose loss was it? Jesus'? No way! Same is the case here.
But I have total faith in one thing: Satyameva Jayate- "Truth always prevails".
Let the media and the Shobhaas of India do what they do best: Barking like rabid dogs. While the Master and us-His grateful devotees from all over the Globe have a lot of work to do. People are waiting for this Knowledge, for Sudarshan Kriya.
Jai Guru Dev!

8 comments:

Kaalindi said...

very well said Krish! awesome!

Acoustic Dreamer said...

Thankyou Kaalindi!

Juili said...

well said chitra...and like Krishna said " karmanye vadhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachana ".... i am sure that it is your Guruji's philosophy too.

Unknown said...

Lovely post!!
Great!!
In detail!
Apt!
To the point-crisp !!
And Addressin the post of 'de' in the best possible manner!!
Keep rockin Krish!
Love and regards!
Jai Gurudev!!
Swapnil :) :)

kaushal said...

WOW.....This was perfect answer krish. i think no body haves time to read few authors books these days, so they were trying some other way out....but who cares..we have been taught in art of living to accept people as they are. so let it be..jgd

Mansee's Point Of View! said...

Aptly put Krish :)

Jai Gurudeva!!

Unknown said...

love and true knowledge ARE free. look at baba ramdev, he's enlighting people about much more than mere breathing techniques (which btw are very basics of yoga), for free. :) and its only now that AOL has started calling it "fee". they used to charge money in the guise of "donation" earlier. you had to pay, but call it donation. obviously, its hilarious, so now they call it what it always was, fee. :) what mr ravi does, anyone would, for their sprawling business. nothing at all wrong with it .. just that, some people truly do see it for what it is. :) but i agree, one shouldn't say negative things about anyone, though i haven't read ms dey's (de?) article.

Acoustic Dreamer said...

@omnithere: Hey, thanks for coming by. Yes, everybody is entitled to opinions-they change anyway :) What doesn't change is what IS. Anyway, I am very glad about one fact for sure which is that I haven't compared AOL or Guruji to anyone else trying to show some kind of one-up manship. What Baba Ramdev does is absolutely brilliant too. But there CAN be two ways of approaching the same summit. When Nature herself is full of variety why shouldn't Gurus be two or more of a kind? There's place for everyone and everything. And I personally have always thought that to prove the greatness of one's self, one doesn't need to demonize the other. AOL is largely misunderstood and there's nothing that can be done about it- unless of course the prejudices are set aside. I think it's an amazing thing that AOL charges a donation because that enables it to provide courses(and much more-it's not "mere breathing :)) for FREE where it's really needed; prisons are one such example. But as you know, volunteers go there and teach and they need to have some kind of money in hand to do some really basic stuff. To organize medical camps for example or to build temporary shelters in some affected areas or to travel in remote areas to teach pranayam- everything needs money. And if people like you and I can spend it as Dakshina, why not? By us paying the donation someone completely unrelated in perhaps some tiny village in Tamilnadu might get to go to school! In fact, I think it's superb that not only is AOL a spiritual organization but it is also efficient :)