Art of Silence Program

Dear One,

It is our pleasure to be able to host you at Chaitanya Bharathi Hall,  Whitefield again this year for the Art of Silence Program from 16th to 19th July 2015.

The sessions will be conducted by Dr Arun Madhavanji who has been with the Master since the beginning days of Art of Living. He has been instrumental in setting up the foundation. 

Arunji is a graduate from IIMA and ​a successful MNC Banker.

 

He has been travelling and teaching ​our​ courses across the world since the last 25+ years. 

Two years ago , when he was at Chaitanya, we all were soaked in knowledge and amazed by the Yoga Vasishta sessions.

Its time to relive it again. 

We have an informal Satsang with Arunji on 20th June 2015. at Chaitanya Bharathi. Would be great to have you with us on this evening 

Love and Jai Gurudev!

Deepika 

RSVP: Deepika 9880514565 , deepika_aol@gmail.com 

The week that was! Madhuram Madhuram rocks:

2nd June 2015: Strange but true, previous visits to the Island nation invariably coincided with Vesak, hailed as Buddha Purnima, This time no exception. The bonus was the opportunity to lead a delightful Full Moon meditation and share Gurudev's wisdom at a venue beside Lankan sea shore. There's nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it's sent away! Our thoughts are no different!
The smiles we carried from the AMP participants were priceless as they happily swayed to the beats of the newly released bhajan "Madhuram Madhuram".

5th June 2015: The Karamadai Ranganath Mandir satsang was overwhelming in devotion. The newly built Raja Gopuram (Temple tower) in seven levels beside the satsang venue was majestic. Reminded the audience that a disconnect with a cell phone tower is nothing serious; but the spiritual connect with the mystic tower has to remain uninterrupted! The evening ended with the waves of Vol 7 bhajans holding sway.

6th June 2015: Deeply appreciative and beholden to the numerous birthday messages today.
The day was spent in a rural belt away from cell phone towers! The on-stage interaction with the well known folk singer- composer duo Dr.Vijaylakshmi-Navneet Krishna was memorable. The couple served as Professors in the Department of Folk Arts and Culture in Madurai University and have recorded more than 10,000 audio albums of authentic folk music.

Evening session at a legendary heritage site.

Friday, 5th June 2015 @ Lord Karamadai Ranganathar Temple premises:

Karamadai, near Mettupalayam ( enroute Nilgiris) earns its name from days gone by, when there was abundance of Kaarai trees and Kaarai breed Cows (Kaaram Pasu) in the area. A herdsmen who had such cattle, found one of them going dry in milch output in spite of being fed well. He began to observe the cow and found out that it had been shedding its milk into a specific spot in the Kaarai bush. He became furious and struck at the bush with an axe. Loud noise ensued with a splutter of blood from the bush. In the process he lost his eyesight. People in neighbourhood rushed to the spot and found a Swayambu inside the bush which they propitiated with reverence. Herdsman’s eye sight got restored. The scar of the axe appears on the top portion of the Swayambu even to this day. In later years, Thirumalai Nayaka, the King of Madurai also was cured of a terrible disease. The present temple was built by him and dedicated to Lord Ranganatha five centuries back.

Srivilliputtur Kumbabishekam Celebrations

The Srivilliputtur tour was very interesting.

Sharing a few images from the   gigantic Kumbabishekham celebrations.

Language no barrier!

    Arunji's Audio Album Releasing from Mani Gopalakrishnan on Vimeo.
     

Dr.Bhupendra Kumar Modi, Global Chairman of Spice Global, who produced the film on Buddha and also set up the first state-of-the-art Modi-Xerox copier plant in India and His Grace the Bishop of Marthoma Church, Kochi  received the first copies of the Celestial Nectar vol 7 from Gurudev.

Thean Amudham Music Trailer

13th may 2015 

Happy Birthday Gurudev! 

Dedicating the new music album on your 
 Shashti Samvathsara Samarambha Mahotsava

Reflections from The Art of Silence retreat with Educators:

Myriads of flowers welcomed everyone at the retreat in Nilgiris- the Blue Mountains. From the blue smoky haze of the eucalyptus trees to the blue coloured Neela Kurunji flowers that bloom every twelve years, giving the slopes the bluish tinge.

The inner beauty comes from our own growth of consciousness that we carry along from many lives. One can go to a plastic surgeon to get a beautiful nose, a beautiful face but does it change one’s being? Inside the person will still remain greedy, full of anger and jealousy; things the plastic surgeon can do nothing about!
Silence offered the participants a unique window of opportunity to listen to the Divine in meditation and fall into the heartbeat of Mother Nature. They blossomed with inner serenity like flowers - a state so beautiful, so musical.

Coimbatore Easwaran Temple Othakal Mandapam Chithirai Car Festival Satsang

25 April 2015

As in previous years, the Chithirai Car Festival satsang at Coimbatore turned out memorable, going by the hearty participation of a large audience turnout, who relished all the new compositions.

Earlier we were invited to a newly built Nakshatra vanam, a short distance away from the venue. Janma Nakshatra is the name of the constellation in which the Moon was located at the time of one's birth. The concept of Nakshatra vana is based on the belief that there is a correlation between the birth star of the person and the the ruling deity with a related tree. Reverence to environment- plant life is deeply ingrained here.

Coimbatore has always been quick to embrace holistic living practices. Kudos to the Founders of the Star forest for such an initiative. It goes a long way in reducing stress levels in the community as people get to worship and meditate under the trees suitable to their stars.

Pada Yatra with a difference

Zen wisdom would have it that whilst walking, in no time at all, you go home to your body, and get well established in the here and the now. Enjoying the in and out breath, when we walk, we come home to ourselves.

Journey by foot, “Walkathon” of contemporary times, has long been an integral part of Indian culture. It has helped to transform individuals from power and pleasure-oriented rut to a life of purity. A valuable experience to feel the unity in diversity.

Padayatris in India are of different hues and tradition, be they bhakti filled varkaris, pilgrims to Palani and Sabarimala. They usually seek blessings in terms of Svasthi, Shanti and Samriddhi – even to get relief from burden of debts, to get promotion in jobs, to get better education, success in exams, to settle marriage alliances, to win elections, court cases and so on.

17th April 2015: It was enjoyable to be part of a Bangalore pada yatra with a difference undertaken by a large contingent of contented, kindred souls to spread joyful vibes of Happiness in the Community. The exuberant drummers of Dollu kunitha folk tradition of Karnataka (pic) gave us a rousing start.

Convocation Dress

As I was returning from a very well conducted Convocation ceremony, a question cropped up in my mind as to why these hooded graduation robes,square caps are still a must- wear during such ceremonies. When medals are placed around the neck of recipients, they get embarrassingly entangled in the caps. The custom in vogue for decades, does involve outgoings as well.

Was looking at the ceremonial visual from Visva Bharati, Shanti Niketan. They seemed to have localised the graduation uniforms without compromising on elegance.

Readers can share their thoughts if it is time to consider such options as we go forward.

Thean Amudham Divya Satsang

Mahabharata amongst flowers!

Krishna Kamal is the name given to this attractive, sweet smelling,delicate flower with tender, needle shaped petals in shades of blue and purple. It has 100 petals that resemble Kauravas, on top the 5 petals being Pandavas and above them 3 petals depicting the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, all connected through a single petal wearing the colour of Krishna's aura.

Well, if you had missed it in the woods around you, time you are reminded of this poem!

What is this life if, full of care,we have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs and stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass, where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,a poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.