Yeh kaisa Sur Mandir hai

For some reason today I could not stop humming Yeh kaisa Sur Mandir Hai from the 1974 Hindi movie Prem Nagar. The opening sequence has a beautiful and forlorn Hema Malini singing this evocative and melifluous song while she plays the Veena. I have no idea why I thought of this song, but it just sent me into a chain of thought that I simply had to put into words. The song seemed only to be expounding the virtues of the Sudarshan Kriya and Meditation to me! How you ask? Well here it is:

ye kaisa sur mandir hain jis me sangeet nahi

Our body is a temple of music, capable of the sweetest songs IF all aspects of our existence are in harmony. Disharmony happens due to stress. When we do the sudarshan kriya, this harmony is established and our life becomes a song. We - who are nothing but Sur mandirs - have music again! But without the kriya - alas yeh kaisa sur mandir hai jis mein sangeet nahin😞...anger, fear, jealousy are some of the discordant notes one can hear and be jarred by from time to time.

So in effect this line literally translates to - what is this life without the kriya which makes the song emanate from the harmony it establishes in the Sur mandir that we ARE!

geet likhe diwaro pe gaane ki reet nahi

This seems to me to be speaking of the enormous potential of human existence. Unsung songs of glory, peace, achievement, happiness, are buried deep within each human heart. But we dont have access to them, buried under layers of fear, conditioning, lethargy and stress. Agar kriya ki reet zindagi mein aa jaye, tho gaane ki reet bhi ban jaayegi - seems to be the unspoken message here.

murat rakh dene se kya mandir ban jata hain

The divine resides in every heart. This is true. But it is upto us to treat ourselves as Temples of the divine. And reflect this divinity through our behaviour, actions and presence. Thats what makes us the temple of the divine. A temple with an idol that is not prayed to, adored, worshipped, cleaned and praised and sung to, is no temple at all. Similarly the extent to which we attend to the divine in ourselves, will make us Lighthouses or Temples in the true sense.

yu hi pada rahne se sheesha patthar ban jata hain

A mirror that lies gathering dust, if the dust is never cleaned, can seem like a stone. A mind that is not cleaned by kriya, can behave like a hardened enemy. Giving no peace and spreading no harmony. It is no wonder then that  chronic criminals are called "hardened" criminals. But the truth is their minds are also mirrors needing polishing. Ignore not the dust that gathers in your mind day after day from living this life, it may harden you. Kriya and meditation will keep you shining like a mirror and flowing like water.

wo puja kaisi puja hain, jisme preet nahi

Do you call that worship which has no love in it?  Ishwar bhaav ke bhooke hain goes the saying. That is why they also say, does not matter if you have every material element needed to perform a pooja. These are m, ironically enough, im-material. What matters is the shraddha the love and longing with which it is performed. Let there be love and honour in our kriya practice as well, then it will be a true prayer and work greater wonders. 

Wishing the world be filled with SUR MANDIRS resounding with all our songs of happiness, worship, creative expression, compassion, brotherhood and LOVE❤️

What's LOVE got to do with it?

My Master Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says the whole world is a vibration called love and that is what I am and that is what you are.

What? So what to happens to all the "I love yous" we all go around saying to each other all the time. If all of existence is nothing but love, I may well be saying "I existence you". And what does THAT mean! If I am love and you are love and all of existence is love, then I love you becomes "I I I" or "Love Love Love". Showing us the meaninglessness of words and pointing to the potential and aptness of silence. (Another of my Masters pet refrains!)

Ok maybe lets start with the stuff we are all familiar with. Which is the easy way the words "I love you" roll off our tongues at the slightest "provocation". 

1. "Ill see you later...Love you!"(love you meant "bye" here)

2. "Oh my God this is beautiful...I love you!" ( love you meant "you gave me something I liked...you must be awesome and worth loving")

3. After a friend or someone you know compliments you and uplifts you - "THIS is why I love you...you make me feel so special!" (Love you here meant "you see the worth in me - you then must be worthy yourself and worthy of my love")

What IS this love we keep offering so freely through our words....what's LOVE got to do with it (to quote the fantabulous Tina Turner❤️) Is it worth anything at all? Or does it just convey our own search for validity and meaning, being for a brief moment rewarded through someone or something on the outside. Making us exclaim in joy. For that moment, we feel good, we feel high, we feel validated, we feel LOVE. We feel our very existence.

But as all things outside are - this validation is perishable, changeable and ephemeral. So the same person we said I love you to, in a few months or days or hours, heaven forbid if they kindle something unpleasant in us, we lose that love. Case in point: My daughter - "I love you mom"...."I hate you mom" 😂😂😂..."I love you again mom". This love changes - all the time.

More seriously: Newly married couple "I love you honey" ...few misunderstandings and a divorce later "You make me sick!". This love destroys. 

A Politician winning on an agenda of "I love immigrants - they make our country what it is!" After the election "I hate immigrants - they may bomb us!". This love betrays.

So then this love is not the love my Master talks about. This love is a transaction. This love is an emotion. And like all emotions - it changes. Its definitely not my very existence - this emotional I love you😂. This infatuation based I love you. This attachment based I love you. This transactional I love you. This "as long as you..." I love you. This "as long as its..." I love you. 

Because the Love my Master talks about is eternal, infinite and unconditional. The kind of love He has for me and all of creation. Or the kind of love He IS for me and all of creation.

Thats the love I want BE, not feel. And my Master says I AM THAT. So with this new information - can I just drop the "I love yous" and "you're so awesomes" that I willy nilly hand out day in and day out. I mean why should I diminish you by calling you awesome! You are freakin' Existence! LOVE! Nothing nothing nothing is bigger or better or more awesome than that. You have no potential. You are already the most awesome substance there ever was, is or will be. LOVE.

PS: I love you😂😂😂😂😂😂

Global (Guru) Positioning System anyone?


The GPS is a nifty device. You don't need to know where u r going, just switch it on, fix your coordinates and if you follow the instructions you can reach your destination, without worrying about getting lost. But the analogy of the GPS (Global Positioning system) and having a Guru in my life (Guru Positioning system) is so remarkable, it needs this post!😂. One I see directs me on the roads out There, the other navigates me through the roads in Here. A few observations, musings then:

1. Start with switching the GPS on. GPS can't help you if its available, replete with all directions, but is not switched on. So go get a Guru, have the intention to have one, let Him find you. Whatever the process, but switch Him on❤️He is there waiting to help you. Take that one step to Him and watch Him take 10 steps towards you.
2. Make sure your instincts and intuition tell you the GPS is bona fide. The other day my GPS on my car told me that AbuDhabi was 632 kms away from Dubai. I promptly switched it off and switched Google maps on my phone on instead. So trust your instincts above all when you begin practices with your Guru. Don't feel shy to go spiritual shopping initially. But once the heart tells you He is the right one, handover yourself and blindly follow the instructions.
3. Remember if you chose not to follow the GPS, you won't really reach your destination. BUT. It will never give up on you. It will reroute the hell out of the trip but will NEVER give up on getting you there. And so will Your Guru never ever give up on you, no matter how much you don't walk the path He has laid out for you. He'll just keep working around your peculiar defiances and idiocies, but He'll get you There. You can just do it faster and with no stress if you follow the fastest route He lays out for you😂❤️
4. If you DO find that for some unknown reason, you're one of those people who gets confused by the GPS or just does not like following it even if its on😜...well at least enjoy the detour. Look at the scenery, hum a tune, listen to the radio, and wonder at your own stupidity, you can do that too. Always knowing that a new road has been charted, and safe in the knowledge that You will get there eventually. Because the GPS is on🙏🏻🙏🏻💕💕

The Tenaya Lake

Wow. What perfection. The Tenaya Lake in Yosemite California.

Its a beautiful life

Shankar is in Leh doing an Advanced Meditation course with Rishiji. I kept freaking out today because all my fears about my state of health attacked me in one go and made me feel like I was going to die of a heart attack. And suddenly out of nowhere appeared Veena and Igor. Both Happiness program teachers. Amazing. They both gave me blessings which instantly made me feel better. Igor needed to use the rest room after, to let go of whatever energy he pulled out of me. Veena made me do 2 sets of surya namaskars before she left.

We talked a bit about health and they gently but firmly and lovingly worked on getting me to move and help myself. It is working. Guruji is great. So many people He has working for Him taking care of His own.

Amulya and I picked up a new wardrobe from the tailor. We r happy and have hung them in our respective closets.

What a life. Guruji. Guruji. Guruji. Jai Guru Dev.

Guru Grace

Last evening was magical. We had a Guru pooja conducted by Fuzzy after many many days. A beautiful and magical musical jam of a satsang preceded the pooja. Music, lyrics and harmonies manifested by His Grace on the spot. The culmination of the pooja was Fuzzy playing BY YOUR GRACE by Krishna Das. Simply marvellous ode to the Guru by a true seeker, after every devotee's heart.

If you are lucky enough to be found by your Guru in this lifetime, and I pray and wish you are, you know what I am talking about. Like Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says, sorrow diminishes and joy wells up for no reason. Once you come to the master He says, seeking stops and blossoming begins.

I will end this post with a writing by Dvorahji Adler, a long time devotee of Gurudev in California:

"A TRILLION spiritual teachers DON'T equate to "one" Guru.

In the flesh, out of the flesh -WHERE-EVER :D ......

All I know is:
..If you’re lucky enough to find a Guru in the flesh, standing in front of you, calling your name, you better lay your burden down, because this is your chance to be free.

Never mind about all the questions, doubts, and nonsense you’ve heard. Drop your misery and step into the embrace of that sweet love That Is.

You don’t ever have to worry about finding the right Guru.

He will find you, and that’s a promise–straight from the GURU."

“You cannot separate the wave from the ocean.”
–Sri Sri

Lets see....

So the thing is, my 11 year old daughter models herself on me with a scary lack of filter. Example: if I walk with a limp because my knee hurts, she will be caught walking with a limp around the house. She has a perfect set of knees.

Which if I may extrapolate for the sake of freaking myself out, means, she may brimming with unique gifts and beauty, but since she has an imitative personality, it all depends on how clean MY act is. If she is to shine.

This means my whole focus cannot be making Her great. I HAVE to be great if I want her to be great. And thats something that I can do with some discipline. Its not that bad really. Ill just have to break old habits and  make new ones.

So Ill make this the start of my chronicling my efforts to become more disciplined....and make Leela Great again. ( Note to the self that will read this 7 years later: Donald Trump wanted to make America great again after becoming president)

Cool. Ill see you. Ciao.