The magic of having a Guru in your life!
I was in a big dark room
With a single window.
As I walked by the window,
An angel called out to me — -
“Come into the light”
I hesitated — The light seemed warm,
But distant and unfamiliar.
The room was familiar,
But dark and cold.
I took a leap of faith,
And the rest as they say is Jai Gurudev!
Let there be light!
The word Guru stems from the two syllables ‘Gu’ (refers to darkness) and ‘Ru’ (refers to light). As my guru, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says, Guru is the light that swallows the darkness in life. In my experience, having a Guru makes life interesting and fun to move through — Every situation, person, incident, phase of life is a training ground to apply the light of knowledge and keep moving on with a smile. Before I came on to this path, difficult situations were an opportunity for me to sulk at the universe, God, people around me and of course complain. E.g. Life was going well so far, now why did the situation have to change?
How much I would go into misery with my complaints (either in my mind or vocalized to my friends)!! Having been on the path for 10 years, these days, every difficult situation is an opportunity for me to be grateful — At least I am alive, at least I have what I have right now, at least I can smile. And that changes everything — That completely changes how I experience life. Instead of feeling trapped in a situation or falling prey to worries and complaints or cowering with fear when something unusual happens in life or during periods of uncertainty, life now seems like a grand adventure full of twists and turns, spontaneity and loads of good natured fun — I am so grateful to be on this path. Gratitude, according to a recent study is one of the easiest ways to improve well-being and bring in more happiness into life. On this path, there is simply no shortage of gratitude! The situations are the same, the people are a little more cheerful, but what’s different is the internal state of mind and being, what’s changed is a presence and knowing that all is well.
How does the guru help us in all of this? The Guru is our main protagonist, chief honcho, the orchestrator, the conductor, the back-end developer, the pilot of the flight to a peaceful world — He acts behind the scenes to orchestrate profoundly intricate tapestries of events and situations — A cosmic act you can say and help the disciples and devotees grow along different dimensions of life at a phenomenal pace.
First encounter
The first time I came across Sri Sri (fondly referred Gurudev) was actually on youtube. He spoke about the importance of balancing the head and the heart — It made a lot of sense. Most of us, especially intellectuals, are constantly in the head — That is we analyze, cross-question, dissect and question the logic behind each statement. Having the heart makes us more sensitive to what’s going on around us. Gurudev has often mentioned the need to have the right balance between ‘sensitivity’ and ‘sensibility’. Hasn’t this happened to us? — We are in an argument with a friend or significant other and you know you are right and yet maybe the best thing is to not assert your righteousness but hear the other person out? This is in fact one of the key learnings for many of us in relationships.
Right after my first online encounter, there was an internal recognition of what was happening here, an understanding of what Gurudev was helping us with — Profound truths of life explained simply and easily so we get it and can actually internalize it and not let it just be a nice intellectual exercise.
First in-person Meeting
My first in-person meeting with Gurudev Sri Sri happened when he happened to visit Seattle, back in 2008. I had just finished my first workshop with Art of Living, where I experienced and learnt the SKY Breathing Technique (watch the video for scientific research on benefits of SKY). 40 years back, Gurudev sat at the banks of the river Tungabadhra, in India, for 10 days, in silent meditation. During the course of this meditation, the SKY breathing (Sudarshan Kriya) arose spontaneously for him as a technique that could benefit people. Since, then, he has gone on to set up the Art of Living Foundation that is a non-profit with presence in over 150 countries around the world.
Back to my first in-person encounter — I was fresh from the SKY workshop and enjoying the freshness and clarity of mind I was experiencing on a daily basis with the breathing practices. I was very curious to know how it would be to meet him. There was a Satsang (musical get-together) on a ferry in Seattle with the sunset and I decided to go for it. We were all waiting for Gurudev to come into the rooftop room and the music reached a crescendo. I expected him to come give a speech. But he just sat down, closed his eyes and started meditating. I felt drawn to do the same, although people around me were dancing to the music. I had one of my most profound and deepest meditations that night. Without having spoken to him, the guru had already touched me with this beautiful meditation. No words were necessary, the peaceful vibrations in the room soothed the hunger and thirst of my weary soul!
Why having a Guru matters?
Some one recently asked me, “Why do we need a Guru?” “What’s the need?” I switched the topic and told him that these days we have so much of online content that I don’t feel there is a need for the physical presence of teachers or coaches/mentors. He retorted, “That’s not how learning works. It’s so much easier to get technical content from someone proficient at it than break your head over it alone.”
Given that he was a teacher himself, I could understand his sentiment. If for something as specific as a technical subject like Math or Astro-physics or biology, the physical presence of a teacher makes a difference — For something as profound, vast, all-encompassing, in-your-face, ever present, experiential and difficult subject such as life, would it help to have a Guru guide you through life? Isn’t it a no-brainer???
Beyond just learning from the Guru, the personal connection that one has with the guru is priceless. Gurudev meets with millions of peoples from all walks of life — politicians, artists, business magnates and regular folks having a 9–5 job and yet with each one of them, he has a unique personal connection that is inspiring, uplifting and heart-warming at the same time.
And yet, there is some resistance that prevents one from going to a Guru — Who is missing out in the process of holding on to this resistance??
What about fake babas?
There will always be bad apples in a basket of apples. One bad apple should not be used to make the judgement that apples are not good for health! Isn’t that stupid? But that’s what we do — Many of my well-educated and well-wishers point out to me — “Look at this news article of this baba or guru misleading the disciples!” Well, we also have doctors and hospitals in India that steal kidneys from patients and sell them for a good price. Does that make all doctors bad — Of course not!
I would encourage any one and everyone to have their speculations and doubts — But don’t just stop there! Go meet the guru and see for yourself what’s true and what’s not. Media is biased towards the negative, they will twist and contort stories to their own means. There is so much good work being done by Gurus in India — I can definitely vouch for the humongous body of service work done by the Art of Living Foundation across the world — From disaster relief, to providing free education to 100k students in India to helping youths in rural communities blossom into positive and service-oriented individuals, to helping prison inmates transform to peaceful individuals — The profound human impact on a day-to-day basis is quite apparent. Sri Sri is not just a humanitarian and guru to millions, he is a peace ambassador who exudes peace wherever he goes and has deep insight into the human condition, so much so that he is able to negotiate peace deals in war-stricken countries like Iraq, Columbia and Venezuela — Where all other means to peace had failed.
In short, if you are looking for a guru and aren’t sure how to tread the waters — Go shopping, really spend some time with the Guru and the affiliated organization. Make your own judgements and once you do find your guru, enjoy the connection and fulfillment!
Jai Gurudev!