FINISHING SCHOOL

"Twinkle Twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are!?!"

It surely was a joy to look up at the night sky as a kid and wonder if the twinkling little stars could be reached. As the higher classes in the School provided higher knowledge about the celestial bodies viewed in the night sky, the once upon a time Twinkling little stars turned out to be gigantic gaseous matters living in a world of their own millions of light years away from our Solar System and 10000+ times bigger than our Yellow Dwarf Star, the Sun.🌞 The Twinkling little stars mystery was unraveled and so were many other mysteries. The mystery of the atoms and molecules were revealed in the Chemistry classes; the mystery of the living organisms was revealed in the Biology classes; the logical way of dealing with numbers was revealed through the Mathematics classes; the right pronunciation of languages was well put across in the Language classes; and a whole lot of knowledge about the various events in the country and around the world were crammed into my tiny little brain till it suffered a Burn Out!

Burn outs, dead ends, crisis and many more such nasty events are bound to occur in everybody's life. But to become that joyful person, confident, strong, loving, generous, forgiving and with many more such humane attributes which one needs to own to lead a peaceful and a prosperous life; I believe one needs to be introduced to the Finishing School apart from the Regular School.

According to the Wikipedia, 'the Finishing Schools in our country are supplementary, extracurricular specialized schools in most modern cities, teaching and training people from youngsters to seniors, to empower them with valuable self confidence upper class personality and refinements for the social, personal and business lifestyles and society. Empowering topics and subjects include Personality development, Image management, Body Language, Communication Skills, Postures, Gestures and Expressions; Fine grooming, Dressing sense, Fine dining, Handling Criticism and Negativity, Anger Management and Allied Skills. These skills are equally or even more powerful than only academic and vocational skills'.

But the Finishing School that I intend to introduce to you is that School which not only makes children smarter and an absolute winner in every other field, but also guides adults into a world devoid of apprehensions of the future and regrets of the past. I do not refer to the Finishing School that I have already mentioned. The Finishing Schools that I now refer to, do not teach Anger Management or Stress Management, but they help us eliminate Anger and Stress for good from our life. They help us eliminate every other negative thought, emotion and memory from our hearts, mind, every cell of our body and subtle body as well. The Schools have an extremely interesting curriculum which involves Exercises; Yogasanas; Pranayam; Silence; raising the consciousness through Chanting, Singing, Dancing; Selfless Service; Meditation; Introspection and through many other such multifaceted sessions that rejuvenates and energizes the participants in every manner to lead a happy, healthy and a fulfilling life. These Schools are founded by the Mystics and the Enlightened Masters of our country. There are many such Finishing Schools in our country as India is known as 'the Land of Spirituality'. I am sure there are many more such Schools around the world headed by Self Realized souls and Saints who still walk the planet or probably who did once upon a time.

We live in an era where humanity has moved towards scientific interventions, where humans behave like robots or are literally replaced by robots. People are losing their essence of human consciousness. Because of which there is chaos in many parts of the world. There is war, natural calamity,  and the most atrocious behavior are seen in the once upon a time peaceful world. If only human consciousness could move towards evolving into its better self, I am sure that most of the problems that our planet has been facing will dwindle away eventually. If people had this realization, they would have worked towards achieving it as everyone is after achieving peace and happiness. Alas! Most of the human race is still in a deep slumber. We see that people are extremely comfortable living with their negative thoughts, actions, words, memories, unhappiness and ill health in their negative little world. No one seems to want to come out of it even if one lends a helping hand. People are comfortable in blaming each other or their past life Karma (actions/doings) for the cause of their negative situations that they are in right now, forgetting the fact that they still can make a choice for a better future that they are going to live in. It's sad to see people living in such conditions! I really wonder if there is any difference between the Zombie Land and the Negative World created by man.

There was a time when I too was a part of such a Zombie Land, until my Master thought it was time for me to wake up. If you ask me whether I am totally awake now? My answer would be, "NO! But I am aware of the fact that somebody out there with lot of love and concern is using his might and right to wake me up. I know that it is none other than my Master." After I suffered brick bats in life, it looked like my Master took pity on me and took me under his wing. Not realizing the fact that I was being led by him; in a state of haze I hopped on to a divine path that led me to a Finishing School started by him.

A caricature of my Master and Lord Shiv Shivay presented by Acharya Ishan Shivanandji in a comic book for children!

My much revered, much loved Spiritual Master, Doctor Avdhoot Baba Shivanandji who is famously known as the 'Father of Indian healing', is the founder of the Shiv Yog Foundation. That's the Finishing School that I have been recruited into. My Master with much love is called 'Babaji' which means 'Father'. Babaji over a period of time with his life long deep meditation practices has brought out into the world the highly secretive practices that were dying out and were practiced only by the great Siddhas or the Divine Beings. Babaji desired to present these practices for the use of the common man, so that one can make use of this knowledge and live a fulfilling and a complete life; thus making it possible to attain self realization and also attain the liberation from the cycle of birth and death. Thus 'Shiv Yog' manifested. 'Shiv' means the 'Infinite' and 'Yog' meaning 'Merging', hence 'Shiv Yog' means 'Merging with the Infinite'. Shiv Yog has been providing solutions for complete life transformation through the  powerful ancient sacred healing modalities taught in the programs by the Shiv Yogi Healing Sage Avdhoot Baba Shivanandji and Acharya Ishan Shivanandji. For more information about the same please look into www.shivyog.com

For the ample amount of selfless service that Babaji has been providing not only to humanity but nature as a whole, I have been one of the fortunate reapers of one of his humble and divine initiatives for his disciples. The Residential Camp - 'Awakening the Shiva Conscious' at his humble Ashram (a place of spiritual retreat) at Karjath, Maharashtra was one of a kind. A look into my experience at the Ashram will give you a good picture of the same.

I am sure you must have heard or read of the Chinese dualistic cosmology 'Yin and Yang'. According to Britannica Ready Reference Encyclopedia, ''Yin and Yang' are the two complementary forces or principles that make up all aspects and phenomena of life. 'Yin' represents the 'female' energy and 'Yang' the 'male' energy. The interactions and balance of these forces in people and nature influence their behavior and fate'. In the Residential Camp - 'Awakening the Shiva Conscious', we mostly worked on activating the 'Yang' in us. 'Shiva' represents 'Yang'. We have already been initiated into activating the 'Yin' in us by our Master himself. 'Shakti' represents 'Yin'. to bring about a balance between the Yin and the Yang or the Shakti and the Shiva within ourselves, we were with much love put through five days of rigorous exercises, pranayam, meditation, selfless service and consumption of moderate Jain food in the Ashram.

I had always wished to pay a visit to the Karjath Ashram. My excitement was at its peak when I learnt in the month of April 2017 that I will be at the Residential Camp at the Ashram soon.😊 My tickets to travel to Karjath were booked, as the day to travel approached, I found my travelling bags packed and on a sultry summers day in the month of May 2017 I found myself at the gates of my Master's Ashram, Shiv Yog Dhaam, Karjath, Maharastra. I was overjoyed on seeing the ambiance of the Ashram. There were variety of fruit trees, herbs and vegetables grown on the fertile grounds of the Ashram. Animals and birds moved around freely inside the premises. There were cows that were let free to graze around in the pastures; cats that were extremely friendly prowled about; ducks enjoyed swimming in the cool waters of the pond and there were myriads of birds flying around and chirping the gay summer's tune. I was excited to see the almost extinct sparrows flapping around. The animals in the Ashram were well fed and so were the birds. I was amazed to see the bird feed being refilled every time it got empty. My Master always asks his disciples to feed the animals and birds as they too are a part of the ecology and that we need to convey our love and gratitude to them at least by feeding the innocent creatures.

The untouched vicinity outside the Ashram looked dry and barren, but the premises of the Ashram was teeming with life. I wanted to capture every inch of the 85 acre land of the Shiv Yog Dhaam on my cell phone camera, but Alas! video recording and photography was strictly prohibited. Hence you will not find a single photograph of the sacred place here on my blog. 

As soon as the participants of the camp were allotted Roll Numbers we were all warmly welcomed by the Chief Moderator who briefed us about the rules and regulations to be followed during our stay. That was soon followed by a quick round of introduction by the participants who were 82 in numbers. My Roll Number was 78! I was surprised to learn that people from different parts of the country had come to learn, unlearn, love and live life at the camp. Delhi, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Maharastra and people from other places had gathered for the retreat. These people were humble, helpful, kind and loving. No religion, caste, or creed differentiated us. Here at the sacred place we were all children of the Almighty who had come together to evolve and trade the path to reach our ultimate goal.

Everyday was a new divine day with the Sun God looking down on us and gleaming ever more brighter than the previous day. The five days at the Ashram were as routine as the planets of the Solar System orbiting around the Sun. That's because a time table was chalked out for us which we had to follow in 'Silence'. 'SILENCE PLEASE' were the hoardings visible in every other part of the building that we entered. Silence was an essential part of the retreat. We had to deliberately refrain from the gibber jabbar that we normally indulged in when we meet people at such events. Sadly there went my opportunity out of the window like the birds of the Ashram, to befriend all the 81 members who were from different parts of the country. It was mostly a smile that we exchanged or a simple gesture of Namastey. We were restricted to only sign language if the need arouse to communicate. I witnessed many of them doing the Mudras, the hand gestures, while communicating and accompanied by it were the Navarasas, the Nine Emotions. {The Nine Emotions include love/beauty; laughter; sorrow; anger; heroism/courage; terror/fear; disgust; surprise/wonder and peace which the humans show according to situations.} I playing the role of a silent observer was well entertained on looking at the Mudras and the Navarasas. But silence is not everyone's cup of tea. In spite of the strict instructions to maintain Silence, people couldn't help but talk. We had to talk to our Seva Team leaders as the voluntary work that we had taken up was guided by our team leader. I also observed that people who thought that Silence was extremely essential for everyone to follow during the camp were the ones who were the most talkative. In fact they would come up with theories on How, Why, When and Where we had to maintain silence. With such being the environment, even I was forced to talk. The very idea of going into Silence was to go deeper into meditation as we had four sessions of it everyday; to come in contact with our true self by first keeping quiet and then silencing our mind; and to let in the flow of the cosmic energy easily into our self. Now that's my theory on Silence at the Ashram!😉

MEDITATION!

Our First Session of meditation would start at dawn break. After A sip of herbal decoction, our regimen would start with Exercises called Sookshma Kriya which would start at sharp six 'o clock in the morning which would be soon followed by Prana Kriya, the breathing techniques and the first round of Meditation. This would be soon followed by breakfast and selfless service to the Ashram. I shall let you know of our eating habits and the voluntary work that we indulged in, in the course of time. We would soon assemble in the meditation hall for the Second Round of Meditation once we freshened up after the service executed under the blazing sun. Attendance was strictly maintained at every meditation session, every day and late comers would be alerted. But the best part is that everyone would assemble in the hall on time. So the second session included a powerful round of Self Healing followed by the chanting of the sacred mantras.

Our Master, being 'the Father of Indian Healing', with conviction proclaims that, "Good health is everybody's birth right". Hence he has been making every effort to help the masses to gain good health by initiating them into the secretive ancient practices of healing. He also considers the modern medicines very helpful specially in curing chronic diseases. Hence while people take medicines for their ailments, the Masters ancient healing practices add to a faster recovery. In many cases there have been people who have recovered completely from chronic illnesses and diseases for which medicines have still not been found, only through practicing my Master's meditation techniques and have baffled the Medical world. Currently the Master has been trotting the globe and has been selflessly initiating people into self healing and healing their loved ones. 

We need to realise that every emotion, thoughts, words and actions leave either a positive or negative psychic impression in our Subtle Body. I refer to the Aura when I mention the Subtle Body. The negative or positive experiences in our life manifest according to the psychic impressions created. The good psychic impressions manifest in terms of success, prosperity, good health, wealth, love, joy, etc. The negative psychic impressions manifest as loss, poverty, sickness, failure, etc. Hence we need to realise that we are the creator of our own destiny. But it is sad to see children born with incurable illnesses or even people who have lived a happy, noble, virtuous life suffer from incurable ailments or face problems in life. This too has a fit explanation by the Master. But the explanation cannot be generalised as everyone is unique. One of the reasons to all problems in everyone's life is, Negative Psychic Impressions. Impressions that have been carried forth from the past lives or the ones created in the present life. When the time is ripe for the Negative Psychic Impressions to bear fruits, it manifests in terms of ill health or loss or any other problems.

I am quite aware of the fact that many people around the world do not believe in Past lives. People do unless and until they themselves have an experience of it or have come across someone who has had one. But the fact is that it has been scientifically proved by some of the renouned Psychiatrists and the Psychiatric Institutions around the world that such a phenomenon exists. 

Do take some time out to read books authored by Dr. Brian Weiss who is an American psychiatrist, hypnotherapist, and author who specializes in past life regression who lives and practices in Miami, Florida.

Some of his bestsellers that I have read are: Many Lives, Many Masters; Only Love is real; Same soul, many bodies.

You can also get a grip on books authored by Dr. Deepak Chopra who is an American author, public speaker, alternative medicine advocate, and a prominent figure in the New Age movement.

Some of his books that I have read are: Life after Death; Ageless body, Timeless mind.

It's not just the saints around the world who recommend Meditation but in the present era the Doctors and Psychiatrists also recommend the same for a better body, mind and life as a whole. When such is the scenario in the medical field, my Master who is Love personified has been very lovingly and generously been giving people the sacred life giving Sanjivini Energy to heal away our problems and lead a healthy and a happy life.

SANKEERTHAN/ Singing praises to the Almighty!

Having tarrayed away from the actual topic, let me lead you back to Shiv Yog Dhaam, Karjath, Maharastra. After a moderate amount of lunch at the end of the Second Round of Meditation, the 82 of us got into the unfinished volunteers work and gaired up for the Third Round of Meditation. Sankeerthan, which includes singing praises to God emits a lot of positive energy when done in a group. My Master who himself is an excellent singer, through his deep voice full of devotion manages to bring down the Gods to the third dimension. Such is the experience of a session of Sankeerthan along with him. Babaji says, that we being in the materialistic world invariably tend to think thoughts that are not very conducive for our spiritual growth. At times we are even forced to talk words that are not pleasing to the ears. Connecting to the Almighty through Sankeerthan not only energises; rejuvenates; cleanses our mind body and soul; but also takes one into a state of meditation. Further more it also activates the energy centers, the Vishuddhi Chakra located on your throat. The Vishuddhi Chakra governs the anotomical regions of the thyroid, parathyroid, jaw, neck, mouth, tongue and larynx. Chanting singing humming and reading sacred text aloud are wonderful ways to open the Vishuddhi Chakra. For more information on Chakras do visit http://www.chopra.com/articles/what-is-a-chakra#sm.00003ofi2aajsf61vdk11z2937xgf

During the Third Session, the Sankeerthan was soon followed by the Gratitude prayer. Babaji in his teachings has always emphasized on how important it is to be grateful not only to our friends, family members and the entire world but also to the very body that we live in. This is one aspect that the great saints of yore and the saints of the present era have been time and again enunciating. This would be immediately followed by chanting the sacred mantras. One can imagine the amount of positive energy this divine meditation hall harbours. After a short tea break, as the day started slipping away into dusk, we calmly settled down for the fourth and the final round of meditation session. 

Nachiketagni Dhyaan! The little Nachiketa, the ardent devotee of Lord Maha Vishnu the sustainer of life; when wanted to know the answers on how to lead a fulfilling life, a life free of sorrow, old age  and death, it is said that he was directed towards Lord Yama, the God of Death. The little Nachiketa's patient wait for eons of centuries for Lord Yama at his door step, paid off well when one day the mighty Lord finally appeared, not to take away the little Nachiketa's life but to answer his questions. In the course of time the God of Death initiated the most sacred Nachiketagni Dhyaan to him to practice it and lead a fulfilling life; goes the ancient mythology.

So the Final Session of the day was blessed with the sacred Nachiketagni Dhyaan. We were all guided into it by the sacred and deep voice of our Master. Gratitude and unconditional love are the major essence of this hour long meditation. My Master who is Love personified has time and again stressed on the fact that a lot of our problems in our life manifest because MAN does not forgive or love himself or the others unconditionally. The feeling of resentment or hatred will surely lead not only to a breach in the relationship; but will manifest in terms of health issues. On the other hand conveying gratitude, he says brings in abundance. Our thoughts travel in the form of vibrations every time we think. A message gets transpired into the cosmos when a person conveys gratitude, saying that he likes such good experiences in his life, hence in the course of time more of good experiences follow suit. The much revered Sufi saint Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī has beautifully quoted, "Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life." So the Nachiketagni Dhyaan was immediately followed by the Gratitude prayer and at the end of this we exit the meditation hall to return refreshed and rejuvenated the next day.  

If meditation, chanting sacred mantras and singing praises to the Almighty is food for the soul; a Vegan diet in the Ashram surely nourished our physical body. The Jain Food which excludes onions and garlic was what was recommended by the Master for all of us. Except for fruits, no other food stuff was allowed to be consumed by the participants. Our Master, a fitness expert who was once upon a time an ace Boxer by passion before he adopted the saints life, advises on our diet saying that our food must consist of an equal proportion of Water, Bulk and Fiber. It was a must that we, at the Ashram consumed moderate amount of food. A good amount of gruel prepared out of wheat consumed for breakfast would keep us all energetic till afternoon. Rice, dhal and cooked vegetables would keep our tummy full, all through the afternoon. A hot cup of tea/coffee, puffed rice with roasted chickpeas would keep us agile and alert for the last round of meditation in the evening. Porridge made out of rice and a side dish of vegetables would suffice for the night. What I appreciated the most at the dining hall was that every participant would be present while dining; be it morning, afternoon or night. Once the food was served, all the 82 of us, including the moderators sat in a large circle and would chant aloud the sacred Gayatri Mantra five times before and after having our fill. How Divine! 😊

We had to drink gallons of water every now and then as the participants indulged in selfless service in the Ashram premises during the day time.The temperature was so high that it looked like every gulp of water that entered my body would come out as sweat, not through the pores of my skin, but it looked like the pores had turned into holes. Hence no amount of water would quench my thirst. But the volunteers at the kitchen were kind enough to serve everyone cool herbal or fruit juice time and again. 

SELFLESS SERVICE!

Our magnanimously generous Master proclaims that selfless service to the mankind and nature as a whole brings in a lot of purification within. Selfless service or seva is a way to convey gratitude to nature for our very being. Hence the 82 of us at the Ashram were segregated into different teams to indulge ourself into serving. There were participants who took care of the kitchen, which involved chopping vegetables, cooking, cleaning and serving food; there were other chores like taking out the trash; maintaining the garden by cleaning, watering the plants and trees; cleaning the common toilets in the Ashram; maintaining the meditation hall; thus there were many other chores where the young and old joined hands and served. To monitor all the activities of the various teams, there were team leaders. We even had to maintain the beautiful and comfortable rooms allotted for us in a neat and orderly manner. 

Our Master has constantly stressed on the fact that one shouldn't boast about his service done. One should not draw attention of the masses by announcing the charity work done, nor should he expect anything from the recipient of the help. It is then that the act is considered selfless and he will be blessed with abundance in his life.

While we tirelessly carried out our service inside the Ashram premises, my attention was drawn towards some women with dark complexion who were draped in sarie in a different style, who wore heavy metal jewelry, move about inside the Ashram lending a helping hand in the Kitchen. It was then that I learnt that the Ashram had adopted the tribal community that lived close by. Education, books, clothes and food were generously given them. So much so that we participants were also blessed with an opportunity to serve food to the school children from the near by village who would prance into the Ashram without hesitation. 

If the tribal women and children were a sight to behold, yet another conspicuous but a benign sight was of a tall, lean, young man who took great care of a physically challenged girl who was wheel chair bound. Be it at the meditation hall or the dining hall or the kitchen, one couldn't miss seeing the unconditional love that the young man poured out to the girl through his service with a smile. 

One night I happened to sit next to the young girl who was wheel chair bound, to dine in the dining hall. I didn't mean to get chatty with her as we had to maintain silence, but a simple question by me on what her name was and where she had come from, took me by surprise when she candidly let me know about her family and her marriage. So much so, I didn't have to probe anything from her. I was astonished to learn that Seema and Sathvik (names changed) got married in a weeks time after their first meet. While we see young adults of a marriageable age take months and years together to get to know each other before getting into a wedlock, here was an astonishing true story being narrated to me. Seema let me know that she and her husband met on a matrimony site. They spoke to each other for three days over the phone and got to know each other; became friends on a social networking site and in a weeks time got married. They have been married for 4 years. It seems when Sathvik was asked by his friends the reason he got married to a physically challenged girl like Seema. It seems he gave an unflinching humble response saying that, "if his wife were wheel chair bound after marriage, he would have taken care of her even then. So now when he likes Seema he took her as his wife without any hesitation." I was overwhelmed to see the love in Sathvik's eyes for his wife.

As Seema narrated her sweet tale, a head popped beside her. An elderly lady with a glowing face and a much brighter smile was introduced to me by Seema as her Mother-In-Law. She who was listening to Seema's narration with attention, happily and lovingly let me know that Seema was like her daughter. 

I had read and heard about people who have married a physically challenged person. But here I was astounded, awestruck, baffled and dumbstruck when I met this loving family from Madhya Pradesh. I wish and pray that may our Master and the Almighty bless them with peace, prosperity, health and happiness for now and for ever. 

The Ashram's dining hall which was quite large had no walls, doors or windows, but only had the roof made up of asbestos sheets. The flooring had no fancy tiles, but was smeared with cow dung. "Yuck! cow dung" probably that would be the reaction from people who do not have the knowledge about the various medical properties that the dung of a rural bread cow possesses. Here is my knowledge about it... The cow dung possesses antiseptic qualities; applying the cow dung to the walls of the house keeps the negative energy from outside at bay; the cow dung cakes are also used to burn the sacred fire; and when the cow dung cakes are lit with fire, the smoke emitted from it keeps the mosquitoes and other insects away.

I found the last night of our stay in the Ashram exciting. The chief moderator had made an announcement during one of the meditation sessions that all the 82 members will be putting their back into giving the floor of the dining hall a fresh look by smearing a fresh coat of cow dung. That night we were done with our dinner early. But sadly not all thought handling cow dung was a pleasant task. Some thought it was dirty as it was practically animal s-h-i-t; some others found it too smelly; and a few of them left the place as they had to catch up with some sleep. Those who stayed back were the ones who had enough strength to do the job; some were crazy people like me; and those with much devotion and love for the Master and the assigned job.

Be it young or old, men or women; people took turns in spreading the cow dung. Some poured water and some others cow dung. There were those who brought both in large drums; and the rest cheered and encouraged the others. We did the work with a lot of joy and as instructed we did put our back into it. At the end of the ordeal, mine did hurt. Ouch!!!😫 Our efforts were surly a super successful one. I proclaim that confidently as the floor had got dried up the next morning and it was soft and safe to walk on. WOW! When I think about the entire experience of messing around with the cow dung, I feel proud as well as amazed that I have finally learnt a skill not many know or would want to do! 😉 

On the day of the departure the members finally broke what ever little silence they had maintained and got all chatty. A final round of exercise and meditation was soon followed by a sumptuous breakfast; exchange of phone numbers; a group photograph of the 125th batch; video recording by the Shiv Yog team, of member's experience at the Ashram... trust me it is not easy to talk into an inanimate object like the camera; and ultimately we parted our own ways with memories never to forget and with a much healthier mind, body and soul. Some participants had entered the Ashram with a long face or a grumpy or a grouchy face, but I was delighted to see every one leave the Ashram with a Big Broad Smile. 😊

The five days at the Ashram which were as routine as the planets of the Solar System orbiting around the sun, brought us priceless gifts. It was at the end of the camp did I realise that even if a single planet goes off track, will there be a calamity in the solar system. My Master had planned the residential camp well for all of us to reap maximum benefits, and it really showed physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Least did I know that the Finishing School that I have got into would be so interesting and exciting. It surely was a different world at the Ashram and the people, divine. I know that my Master who is a living Buddha is waiting to give us all that he can. To receive the spiritual wealth from him, one has to cleanse himself and evolve, for which one has to regularly practice the meditation taught by the Master; indulge in selfless service to mankind starting from ones own home and nature as a whole; and through Sankeerthan. The journey so far for me at the Finishing School was filled with surprises, peace and happiness. I really wonder what more surprises are awaiting me. My Master says that his grace will always shower on his disciples, but it is we who need to be open to receiving it. My Heartfelt Gratitude to my Master for all the grace that he has bestowed upon me! 😊💗

May the Almighty shower his choicest blessings on you for now and forever! 😊

Namah Shivay!