Patience and Perseverance will Bring Peace

Gurudev at an Event on Peace at Israel!!

Celebrating Culture Central to PEACE

Gurudev wins the 1st WCF Culture Award in Germany this week. Peace Through Culture is definitely central for World Peace - appreciation of all Cultures and Celebrating the same is the approach that Gurudev's advises to one and all!!

Choose - Confidence & Conviction

I got an email and a call from AOL and IAHV to attend this event in DC, and I've registered my wife Meena who is also the Master of Ceremony on the 7th of November for the Annual Banquet Dinner event of Chinmaya Mission DC. The 2 of us also saw this beautiful video on the conference that was held in B'lore feb 2009. Meena has done a tremendous JOB raising my Arjun who is Autistic. He is verbal, cognitive and integrated in regular middle school today all because of the fact that she choose not to be helpless and choose to stay confident and with conviction help this boy to recover!! She will soon author book on "Amazing Arjun - A Gift in our Lives" (2012/2013), and take the message of Hope to parents with Autistic children all over the world!!

World Peace from Within- writeup

Excellent writeup on Gurudev's approach and work!!

President Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

FANTASTIC NEWS !!

Repeat, Revise and Recover

I got the fortune to repeat Part 1 course at the DC Center 2 weeks back taught by Ajay Tejasvi.. It was a great chance to revise the techniques and recover from the hectic schedule and travel... Cant wait to repeat part 2 again (by Dec with Gurudev!!)

Amol Vasudev from AOL - Albums

A picture of Gurudev I took while at NJ during July4th weekend 2008 (you can see bliss in his face). This week I'm enjoying the CD's I got from AOL ashram, including Amol Vasudev's. Due to their GURU's grace these folks possess a divine voice and attain tremendous creative capabilities. Looking forward to repeating AOL 1 (taught by Ajay Tejasvi) at DC this weekend with my brother and a few friends!! JGD!!

Pleasant and Peaceful Pilgrimage

We had a well planned pilgrimage trip to India and most fortunately everything worked as planned -- along with many pleasant surprise. Myself, my wife and the 3 boys Arjun (13), Trinith and Tushar (11year old twins), we first flew into Mumbai via Frankfurt and reached mumbai on the 21st july morning 2:00AM. Thanks to our relatives in Mumbai after a few hours of rest we covered the 3 very important temples in Mumbai (Sidhi Vinayakar, Mahalakshmi and Mumbai Devi) the very first day. On the 2nd day we caught up with a few relatives and had a pleasant dinner outing. On the 23rd we left for Pune (in a brand new Toyota Inova - similar to the US Sienna - which had a DVD player - hence the kids could enjoy a few movies during the road trips). The mumbai-pune expressway was fantastic especially since we had grand views of several hundred water falls, including the big one at Lonawala. After a visit with a specialist doctor we returned on Saturday -- stopping in all the scenic view areas. Sunday the 26th we enjoyed mumbai in a horse driven cart (Hotel Taj, India Gate, etc.). Monday early morning we left for Shirdhi Baba temple and headed to Shani Shinganapur first and on Tuesday we had the blessings to attend Kakada harthi for Baba (which was the main purpose of this trip to India). Wednesday 27th AM we left for the New Bangalore airport (where Bhaskar -- 20+ year Dad's Chauffer - was waiting with another new Inova). Straight from Bangalore to Parthi in NH7, and lovely darshans until Friday AM. Friday afternoon we reached HH Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Ashram in Kanakapura Road. When my wife and the 3 boys had left to see their grand mom, I stayed back for a very pleasant Sathsang with Gurudev!! Thanks to folks in the B'lore Ashram all 5 of us got to meet Gurudev and get his grace and blessings on Saturday (this was my highlight in this entire trip). I also had the chance to shop for a bunch of CD's, DVD's and Books from the AOL shop (Including Ashtavakara Gita). Surprisingly another AOL member from the DC area was also visiting Bangalore then (Prabhu) and he mentioned Gurudev's planned program (temple tour). That weekend we reached Chennai to see my Grand mom and family (plus my parents) and on Monday we did a trip to Kancheepuram. One evening a fantastic program by Sri Vittal Das at Chennai. Relaxed for a few days (and caught up with friends) before the trip back to DC via Frankfurt (the boys are still in India). Only after this trip did I learn about the significance of the pancha bootham shiva temples in South India. It was indeed one memorable, pleasant and peaceful pilgrimage (20 day trip).

Jai Guru DEV

Ashram, Ashram and Ashram for Arjun

We (myself, my wife and the three boys) are doing a pilgrimage trip to India this summer - starting on the 19th of July (right after the Chinmayandha Camp for the boys) . IAD to Frankfurt, Frankfurt to Mumbai, spend a few days in Mumbai/suburbs - Chinmaya HQ center, ancient Siva temples, etc. Followed by a 2 day trip to Shridhi Sai Madhir (while we see Nasik and other ancient temples). On the 29th we fly from Mumbai to the new B'lore airport and drive up to Parthi (80km) and stay at Parthi with Baba for a few days. Return to B'lore to be in Gurudev's presence (the weekend of 08/1st). Leave for chennai sunday night. Do a trip to Kanchi, Tenangur, Ramana Maharishi Ashram, etc., during the week and then return on the 7th night from Chennai to Franfurt to IAD. Majority of our stays will be in Ashrams.. I will take notes and a lot of pictures!! I have a feeling this trip will be the most memorable one in my life. Yesterday all of us had HUGS from Amma, an experience that every living soul should have..

Guru's Grace on Gurupurnima

Thanks to eStasang, we could join the Guru purnima with live web TV from Chicago yesterday and on Monday. Gurudev explained the reasons why we celebrate Gurupurinima ( and the aspect of Siva as Guru), followed up by a 20 minute guided meditation, followed up with bhajans (including Ajo Ananthaya and other favourite songs as well as newly composed songs).. I was saddened by the fact that I will not be able to make the trip to chicago, and later was delighted to note that their was live webcast. We have a planned pilgrimage tour in India starting July 20th (mumbai, shirdhi, nasik, puttaparthi, bagalore ashram, chennai, kanchi, tenangur and thiruvanamalai-- mostly ancient Siva temples)., for about 3 weeks. With Gurudev's grace we will be in his presence at the Banaglore Ashram the weekend of Aug 1st.

Celebrate in Chicago with Sri Sri and a list of Courses

An amazing July 4th weekend for families that can make it to Chicago, this year. I still remember last year's july 4th at Edison, NJ. There is a course for everyone in a family. I have several friends in Chicago who are part of this program.

Bring Strength, Stability and Smile - into your LIFE

Excellent program wed, thu and fri evenings and Saturday all day next week!! Dont miss it.

Happy BirthDay Beloved Gurudev -Bad Antogast Ashram

Jai Gurudev!! Happy Birthday!! Looking forward to the July 4th weekend.

Living in the Lap of Luxury

If there is one book that has meant to me the most in my life, it is Gurudev's book "Celebrating Silence". I will purchase as many copies I can and gift them as Birthday gifts to family and friends this year. Here is one important quote from this book:

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Contentment still eludes so many people living in the lap of luxury. This spiritual teacher offers the following counsel: "Though the river is vast, a little sip quenches your thirst. Though the earth has so much food, just a small bite satisfies your hunger. All that you need are tiny bits. Accept a tiny bit of everything in life — that will bring you fulfillment." Contentment comes from the freedom that grows out of being satisfied with tiny blessings. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is especially cogent in his suggestions on how to deal with jealousy and handle rudeness. Handling the incivility of others is good training: "The next time someone is rude to you, make sure you do not get upset. Just return a broad smile. If you can digest rudeness, nothing whatsoever can shake you."

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Jai Guru Dev

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Sudharshan Kriya

Its been more than 3 years since I started Sudharshan Kriya. I typically start the day with Bastrika, followed by Sudharshan Kriya, followed by Pranayama and then meditation for a few minutes. The practical benefits that I see are;

• relief from cold and cough
• improved respiratory system (hence no wheezing, bronchitis, etc)
• improved sitting posture (all day)
• no head aches (stress related)
• overall improved energy (all day)

More importantly, the subtle benefits are;

• ease with which I can meditate (transcending to thoughtlessness)
  
• achieving the disconnect required from Body, Mind and Intellect (for meditation)
• balancing of the bodies systemic chakras
• improved immunity system (via respiratory system and removal toxins)
• focused efforts (mind does not sway here and there- always focused on practical things to do)
• calm and peace under different trying circumstances
• improved overall productivity (in the right direction)
  
• improved relationships with a sense of gratitude and thankfulness
  
• nothing is impossible attitude (always feeling connected)

Recently Gurudev answered the following way to the most important question for mankind over time ;

Q. When will all national boundaries dissolve?

A: When everyone starts to do the Sudarshan Kriya. (audience laughs and claps)

(there will be a time when this planet exists as one world and one family with no boundaries - due to the foundation work laid by Sudharshan Kriya and One day all of us will be practicing Sudharshan Kriya -similar to how we brush our teeth today !! I only wish that this day comes sooner than later -- JGD).

Sri Sri and the SKY

This morning I was discussing the fact that we have a new SKY each day in our life - not a single day is the pattern in the sky repeated (cloud formations, position of Sun, intensity of color, moon's position and more).. Similarly Gurudev has a wonderful message each day..

Perspective on handling Percieved Problems

Gurdev at the stathsang last week (03/19th) noticed that many folks were concerned and troubled by jobs, recession, economy, and more. These were his wonderful words that described the truth.

If you have problems, remember five things.
- Everything is impermanent, it will pass, and things will change.

- You are bigger than the problem, it only seems to you that your energy is lower but your own consciousness is bigger than any problem.

- Remember (you can realize from past events) that you have always been supported and helped, know that you will always be supported.

- Think of those with problems bigger than yours, that will shift your focus from yourself.

- Put things in perspective against the cosmos, everything is nothing as the Buddhists say but that nothing is not emptiness, it is emptiness pervaded by our consciousness which is but love and compassion. Everything is nothing. That will give you such deep rest when you meditate upon it....

The Peace Plan and the Purpose Driven Life

I was moved by this email I got today, instead of forwarding it I thought I should post it here;

Rick Warren
(REMEMBER HE WROTE ' PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE ')

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having 'wealth' from the book sales.. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren,

'Purpose Driven Life ' author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:

People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.

I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.

We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.

God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.

I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.

No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.

If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness,'which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.

It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.

You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.

It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.

So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.
Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.

Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the chu rch had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?

Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.
That's why we're called human beings , not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD .
Painful moments, TRUST GOD .
Every moment, THANK GOD.
God's Blessings on you today.

NOW. PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH YOUR FRIENDS.

A Guru of Action and Execution

On Thursday this week before the sathsang at Crystal City Hyatt, an AOL volunteer recapped all the major activities of Gurudev in just one year (2008). Truly Awesome and Amazing. This is only a partial list of all his activities.

Guru Dev is in DC for 3 Days

I've been wanting to go to the DC center for weeks and months, and I finally got to this Center yesterday. Gurdev is in DC 18th, 19th and 20th, with one public program at the Crystal City Hyatt on Thursday, 19th from 7:30pm. This center right next to the Meridian Park was vibrant and full of joy yesterday (the physical building and the people in it), due to the masters arrival. A pleasant evening of sathsang in his holiness presence.

Mind-blowing and Melodious Music

I've enjoyed Sri Vikram Hazra's melodious music since July 2008. Just ran into his blog here. His exceptional songs on Lord Siva are there in his Shankara CD - I listen to it most of the time I do my meditation - It helps me to transcend and to be in ONE with the Lord of Meditation!! Mind blowing melody - literally!!

Music, Mist and Meditation for PEACE

Last week I enjoyed hearing to these two 10 minute videos - an excellent instrument for meditation with the mountains and the mist in your mind (similar to guided meditation). Part 1 and Part 2.

Sydney to Switzerland with Sri Sri

Gurudev comes to you.. Celebrate his presence!!

Midnight Meditation with the Mystic on MahaShivRathri

Make sure you have headphones when attempting the guided meditation by Sadhguru on both Sessions. Enjoy the music as well!!

Nobel Laurette's Listen to Gurudev at Norway -Notes

Interesting and valuable points made by Gurudev.
I'm noting a few points here;

• Individual Conflicts give rise to other types of Conflicts
• Mediator has to be a Catalyst (to resolution)
  
• Anecdote on an Individual being unbiased (MK Gandhi)
• Do not get influenced by Rumors and Misinformation
• Conflict is based on Identity Crisis (forgetting our basic Identity- as Humans)
• Educate children on multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religion
• Stress is the basic cause for mistrust
• Peace is a state of mind (dialogue is the way to peace)
• Gurudev's tremendous impact on recent conflicts (gujjar, JK, SL, etc.)

Blessed to Be with our Beloved Guruji!!

Gurudev's devotees will be delighted to know that he will soon be in DC.

Inner Engineering -ISHA and Ishwara

Krishna Das's melodious prayers to Lord Shiva. If you've done IE courses by ISHA foundation, don't miss the opportunity to do this pilgrimage and pathway to the abode of peace led by Sadhguru himself. Listen to Rishi ji as well.

Chakra Meditation with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

This meditation technique "chakra meditation" when done with Gurudev's guidance and as a seasoned Sudarshan Kriya practitioner, the experience cannot be explained in mere words. See part 1, part 2 and part 3 of this beautiful video.

Diversity Diminishes Discrimination

I noticed my boys (Trinith and Tushar) playing in our cul de sac today with a few of their friends EJ, Sam, Ethan, Judia, Amy and others. These kids are growing up with a diverse set of friends who are Australian Americans, African Americans, Oriental Americans, Latin Americans and Indian Americans.. They are from all races, colors, ethnicity and religous background. Growing up in this manner will provide them with the foundation that diminishes all possibilities and forms of discrimination. Come to think of it this will be a great approach to achive world peace. Folks and Families should be mobile and willing to live in different countries with its own history and civilizations along with its local communities - celebrating the diversity - that way their affinity and identity will be towards humanity and the world as ONE. Look at the smile in each one of their faces.. These are life long friends -especially when you grow up with them.. This diversity in all communities in all countries is the way to go.. with the ease of mobility and migration..

Momentous and Moving Speech at the Millennium Summit

Gurudev at the Millennium Peace Conference..

People and Politics Partnering for PEACE

I Love the IDEA of the Department of Peace !! Mark your calendar -- March 20th weekend in DC!! This needs to happen NOW!!

Intrigued with the notion of Transcending an Individuals Identity

Given that I work in the Identity Space, it was very interesting to hear Dr. Deepak Chopra identify the fact that our President Barak Obama Transcends National Identity, Religious Identity and Racial Identity, which is key reason why I believe Secular Spirituality is possible today.

Partnering with India for PEACE and PROSPERITY

Read this message from President Obama on Partnering with India, Republic Day Jan 26, 2009. Here is an excellent note from Dr. Deepak Chopra on achieving a Peace based Economy;


The following is a memo to Barack Obama from Deepak Chopra

You have been elected by the first anti-war constituency since 1952, when Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected after promising to end the Korean War. But ending a war isn't the same as bringing peace. America has been on a war footing since the day after Pearl Harbor, 67 years ago. We spend more on our military than the next 16 countries combined. If you have a vision of change that goes to the heart of this country's deep problems, ending our dependence on war is far more important than ending our dependency on foreign oil.

The most immediate changes are economic. Unless it can make as much money as war, peace doesn't stand a chance. Since aerospace and military technologies remain the United States' most destructive export, fostering wars around the world, what steps can we take to reverse that trend and build a peace-based economy?

1. Scale out arms dealing and make it illegal by the year 2020.

2. Write into every defense contract a requirement for a peacetime project.

3. Subsidize conversion of military companies to peaceful uses with tax incentives and direct funding.

4. Convert military bases to housing for the poor.

5. Phase out all foreign military bases.

6. Require military personnel to devote part of their time to rebuilding infrastructure.

7. Call a moratorium on future weapons technologies.

8. Reduce armaments like destroyers and submarines that have no use against terrorism and were intended to defend against a superpower enemy that no longer exists.

9. Fully fund social services and take the balance out of the defense and homeland security budgets.

Prestigious Padmashree Awarded to Dr. P Jayaraman

My own "Periappa" -- meanings Dad's elder brother from the Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan was awarded the "Padmashree" for 2009", for his work on Literature and Education. Dr. P. Jayaraman has authored 15+ books and is a scholar of Sanskrit and the Sacred texts of India. It is always a delight to hear him speak and be in his presence. I pray that there will be an interesting event soon in 2009, where Dr. P Jayaraman, Dr. Siva and Dr. Deepak Chopra and a few others will come together -- for something special that is cooking!!

Peace Awards at Pope John Paul's Cultural Center

Today, I recollected attending this event thanks to my Dad, to honor Dr. Siva from the DC Area. This was the 1st time I got see Dr. Deepak Chopra in person. He is one of the greatest Teachers that India offers to the world. If you get a chance to see his youtube videos, do it. Totally amazing!! The most eloquent author and speaker I've come across. I remember this event vividly, primarily because of the amazing achievements of Dr. Siva, from the DC area, our family friend. I am also eagerly awaiting to see the planned US tour of Gurudev in 2009. Hopefully in April/May timeframe!! JGD

Predicting a Positive and Prosperous 2009

Gurudev's message for 2009!!