Moon Meditation: A Close Encounter

Moon Meditation: A Close Encounter

The road was winding through the hills and plains .At times it used to take a serpentine bend and at times it would lay itself like a long bitumen carpet and as our car sped to the remote rural landscape , it was an utter feast to the eyes. It was strewn in a riot of colors with green fields complementing the yellow sunbathed grain farms with water ponds rushing past our vision,  in between. Water lilies, lotuses and the water birds inviting us to participate in nature’s play.

As we sped past, my thoughts kept dragging me to the beautiful water lilies. I have often wondered as to why we hurry to destinations leaving such glorious spots in between just to picnic at a place which is sometimes so arid and barren . Why not just choose a lovely spot on the way for the picnic than to aim for a destination. As my thoughts drifted to the excitement of exploring the imaginative picnics, I felt a nudge. Minaxi was pointing out to a heron in flight, its wide wings spreading out its double fold. The bird in full control of itself in flight,  swooped past the surface of another passing pond and as it soared upwards , had a fish in its beak…..Ooohs and aaaaahs followed at this Aha sight.

By and by we reached the ashram. It was a wonderful scenic place with a Shiv temple besides a small lake. Soft cool breeze from the lake and chants of Om Nama: Shivay welcomed us with the serving of lemon juice - A perfect refreshing recipe to the journey - weary. As we were resting,  people continued to come in twos, fours and larger groups. By and by we were a group of more than 100 people who had arrived for moon meditation on the full moon day.

Slowly we walked in and around the temple .There were trees laden with flowers and fruits, cows shed where we could feed the cows and see them being milked, vast open spaces and the jungle beyond the lake.

As the evening shadows stealthily progressed to a starry night, we were served a delicious simple meal and told to rest for a while as the moon meditation was to start at 10 pm sharp. I remember as a child, we could enjoy starry nights even in the hustle bustle of Mumbai, then. Today as you peek from the airplane while landing at Mumbai, it looks like a city adorned with jewels and diamonds dazzling to fade the shine of the stars above.

The arrangements for the meditation were simple but special. Just outside the ashram the floor was smeared with cow dung now sun baked and having a distinct aroma of its own. A large picture of Shivji was placed in the porch of the ashram  and durries were spread on the floor. Beyond the durries, plastic chairs were lined up for the elders. As the arrangements progressed, as luck would have it, there was a sudden load shedding and the power supply seized. We were in pitch dark with the stars above. The full moon was still young and rising. Slowly and surely at the stroke of 10 o’clock the music was played on the battery powered system. People assembled for the event. Some sat in padmasan, some in vajrsan and some just sat in sukhasan. As the kirtan began men and women , young and old were all merged in the Lord’s name.

By the time the kirtan came to a high pitch we never realized that it was close to midnight and now the full moon in all its glory shown almost right over our heads. The soft white cool light, the murmur of the lake, the small lamps flickering in the dark, the silhouette of the temple in the background -  all was so very mesmerizing. The black sky with its starry studs had shrouded us. We below and the moon above. As we sat still we were guided into meditation.

We relaxed and laid our mind to rest. With every instruction, we were merging deep within. From body consciousness to soul consciousness – it was an inward journey. Our bodies slowly started becoming lighter as if floating in the waters of the lake and then further lighter rising into the air like feathers till a point came that we became unmindful of our bodies. A thought free existence. A serene and calm feeling…..wait a minute….should I say feeling? Cause we had gone beyond feelings.  If you ever had a close encounter with the cosmos, you would exactly understand the mysticism. In those enchanting moments, divinity oozed from the universe into our souls. It was as if the kind moon was bestowing freely the spiritual energy in abundance. Every soul was submerged in the celestial, all alone, despite being in a world full of existence, oblivious to the footsteps of time. Each soul was emerging stronger to reinforce positive energies and an aura with the awareness of the subconscious.

As we sat there in harmony with the universe, slowly we were awakened to the soft chants of OM. In a split second we were brought to the material world. As we rubbed our palms and placed them on our eyes to slowly open them, we realized that we had experienced a priceless know-how of the journey within.

Anagha Hunnurkar

14^th May 2011.

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My experience with Brahma Vidya

My experience with Brahma Vidya

When I joined the basic course on Brahma Vidya, little did I know what lay ahead. I am basically a joyful person looking to enjoy life at its abundance. At the same time I do not have a casual attitude and am passionate about whatever role I am placed in whether a mother, a wife, an employee …whatsoever. The best part is that I have never ever considered work as drudgery and so am always enjoying my work. I always had an inborn curiosity to know more about the amazing secrets of life. Life to me was sometimes too meaningless and sometimes it revealed to me great treasures, great joys that I would revel at. So while riding on these waves of ecstasy and sorrow, I never realized when I turned 50. My heart was still that of the girl in her teens and yet there were sure signs of ageing. As my children grew up I realized that I was slowing down. So when my sisters urged me to join this course, I joined to know whether I can get answers to all my tribulations. As a person with spiritual bent of mind I always had this conviction that in so far as I don’t do bad to others nothing bad will happen to me.

And yet life had something else for me. In my deepest sorrows I kept on wondering why I had to suffer. I kept on analyzing the vents and yet could not seek a befitting answer except the all enveloping ‘karma’ theory which goes further behind to past births. Since we have no clue whatsoever what we did in our past births I was still seeking answers.  Kept on asking myself is my ‘karma’ so powerfully bad that I have to suffer? In a material way all was well. I have a nice family with husband and two young kids- a boy and a girl, a good job, a good home, good health  and generally all those comforts that a lady would want for .And yet there was something amiss, a void due to unanswered questions of life.

Brahma Vidya gave me that completeness - that whole picture. Initially when I was undergoing the course I had lots of questions which were unanswered. Yet the lessons were to be imbibed with ‘feelings’ and with an unquestioning mind. I thought to myself, why not give it a fair try without much questioning and reasoning – after all it is only a matter of six months. So week after week I went on practicing unquestioningly, whatever was being taught. With the innocence of a child I kept on pursuing the teachings of the course. Without fail I did all the breathing exercises and meditation. Sometimes I used to feel lost in the milieu because there was no seeming change in me or to the circumstances around me.

The same ego issues, the same anger …I wondered where is the change?  Yet I did not give up the practice. And slowly but surely I started enjoying life. I started looking forward to each day. Every dawn was eagerly awaited for practicing the breathing exercises. I used to look forward to every night for practicing meditation. The sleep thereafter started to be so deep, dreamless and blissful that I wake up crisp and fresh to take on a new day. It gave me a different high. Life around me did not change but my response did. This gave me an added boost. It is just about four months into the course but now I feel that I am on the right path. I have no fear for tomorrow.

Even before joining this course I have been through other courses on Yoga & Vedanta and each of them helped my progress. I have also read many other books that tell you what life is, what you are etc. etc. But Brahma Vidya takes you by your little finger and guides you through step by step. It reveals to you not just the ‘why’ but the most important answer of ‘how’ to solve riddles of life. 

I am a very sensitive and emotional person by nature. I always nurtured this thought that it is my greatest weakness. It was Brahma Vidya that revealed to me that in fact emotions are powerful tools. We have always learnt that ‘Knowledge is power’. Today I can say with conviction: ‘Emotion (Feeling)’ is POWER and Brahma Vidya teaches us how to harness this to achieve our goals.

Anagha Hunnurkar

amrutahunnurkar@yahoo.com
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The tale of two ladies - a lesson on planned savings and growth

The tale of two ladies -  a lesson on planned savings and growth

By Anagha Hunnurkar

Let me narrate a story…a real life observation.

Vasudha a friend of mine and then a colleague at my office, used to spend all her money on good clothes, good food and generally indulge in luxury as she believed that good living is the essence of life. As a well placed executive she was convinced that it was absolutely necessary to maintain a high standard of living. As a friend, I used to cajole her and urge her to save. There were good loan facilities available for her but my advice used to fall on deaf ears.

On the other side was my house-maid who was also single like Vasudha. She was able to etch out a living by working in a hospital and working part time with me. Now this lady had applied for a house under the Government scheme for low income groups. The demand for these houses is so high that the allotment is made on a lottery basis. In fact, out of lakhs of applicants just a few hundreds get the allotment. Well as luck would have it she got the allotment.

Before going any further I would like you to know a few things of her income capacity. She was coming from a very poor family .She had left her village as a child and migrated to the big city of Mumbai in search of a livelihood. Her total monthly income, when she got the allotment was just ` 3000/- and the house would have cost her around ` 1-1.5 lakhs. Now for a girl with such meager income it was a tall task. So she was contemplating to give up the allotment in favor of another person as she would have got ` 12,000/-  as compensation.

On one Saturday when I had a holiday and was at home, she told me of her plight. I persuaded her not to give up so easily. She rather preferred to have ` 12,000/- of hot cash, immediately in the pocket as she had no resources to finance the house. I convinced her that the very fact that she had got the lottery indicates God’s will to help. ‘So just decide that you will do everything to build this house.’ – I convinced her.  I on my part assured her that I would give her all the help required. Mind you I did not give her any financial donation at all.

Our struggle for accumulating resources began. The only advantage of my intervention was that I could talk to the local banks, co-operative societies and find out ways to finance her house. Now the payment schedule for the housing scheme was structured in such a way that the entire sum had to be paid in tranches spaced out over 18 months. This meant almost 100 months salary for Pushpa (her name) while she would have got just 18 months salary then. The yawning gap mean that her needs had to be funded with additional outside finance.

Yet God had some other design for her. Due to resource constraints, the construction of the project kept on getting delayed and consequently the requirement on her to pay further installments kept getting postponed. Many a time when we visited the site, I used to feel a bit of a fear that I have pushed this girl into taking the plunge and if things don’t materialize, she would blame me all her life. However the delay by itself was a blessing in disguise as this helped her to take up many more odd jobs and save much more than what she would have normally done. She summoned her brother from the village, who started working as a night watchman and continued his school in Mumbai.

The long and the short of it is that today after 12 years, Pushpa is a proud owner of a house (part of which she has rented out and earns ` 4000 as rent.) The house itself is valued now at ` 12lakhs. While she continues to work at the hospital, she has left all other small jobs that she had to do then.  Thus she enhanced her standard of living and is assured of a secured return all her life. Life became more sweeter as she was now in a position to send her brother for higher education, an achievement she is very proud of.

Looking back I feel it is a miracle. This is the power of savings my friend. And as for Vasudha she still stays in a rented apartment with no savings to her credit.

So the culture of savings is not something that is in-born or inherited. It involves sacrifice, will power and a strong urge to improve one’s standard of living. Savings like any other habit has to be inculcated .You have to set a goal and work for it. One of the sure shot ways is to start early and save consistently. India is currently on a riding horse of progress and many opportunities in the form of empowerment schemes are being introduced as Government’s effort to reduce poverty as well as to develop a vibrant capital market. . It is said that the sun does not shine on the poor. Poor means ‘Poor’ in thought, ‘poor’ in action and not poor in resources. If one is short on resources there are ways in which one can fund oneself through banks and other micro finance mechanisms but if one is short on action or will power, then the sun refuses to shine.

anagha hunnurkar

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भूतदया

भूतदया

श्वेताला  लहानपणापासूनच प्राण्यांचे वेड. सातेक  वर्षांची असताना विस्फारल्या डोळ्यांनी तिने मनीमाऊला  घरच्या कोचावरच विताना पाहिले होते. आपल्या पोटाशी त्या पिल्लांना घेऊन मनी  पाजायची व  शेपटीने  गोंजारायची  तेव्हा ती पिल्ले मऊ मऊ लोकरीच्या गोळयान्सारखी दिसायची. आजी बरोबर देवळात जाताना ती हटकून गाईला चारा घालायचीच. शहरी वातावरणात सुद्धा तिला प्राणी आणि पक्षी निरखण्याची ,त्यांना खायला देण्याची खूपच ओढ.

जेवायला  बसली  तरी  पोळीच्या पहिल्या तुकड्याचा मानकरी हा कावळाच. त्यामुळे जेंव्हा ती सासरी गेली आणि दारातच बोलण्याऱ्या काकाकुव्याने  तिचे  स्वागत केले तेव्हा तिचे परकेपण क्षणात नाहीसे झाले. होता होता वर्षे गेली आणि घरात माणसांबरोबर कुत्री, मांजरी , मासे ही एकत्र नांदत  होते. तिचा मुलगा आशीष तर त्याही पुढचा. गल्लीतल्या सर्व कुत्र्यांचा तो म्होरक्याच. त्यांना खायला घाल, गोंजार, कुत्री व्याली तर तिच्यासाठी घरची चादर व दुधाचा रतीब. आई ओरडली तर आजी कडे मागायचे पण कसे तरी त्या कुत्र्यांना खायला घालायचेच. 'अरे बाबा ती कुत्री पाळीव नसतात, त्यामुळे त्यांना हात लाऊ नये' बाबा समजवायचे पण एक ना दोन . त्यामुळे जेव्हा स्वारी गल्लीतून चाले तेव्हा कॉलनीतली सगळी कुत्री स्वागताला हजार असायची. 'हा ब्रौनी, हा युकी, हा ब्लाकी' आशीष आपल्या आईला कौतुकाने त्या कुत्र्यांची ओळख करुन द्यायचा.

आज अमितचे बॉस जैनसाहेब घरी जेवायला येणार होते. आशिष ने बाबांना सहजच विचारले 'बाबा , मी जसा तुम्हाला बाबा म्हणतो, आई अहो म्हणते, आजी अरे अमित  म्हणते, तसे तुमचे बॉस तुम्हाला काय म्हणतात' 'अरे मला ते अमित अशीच हक मारतात' 'आणि तुम्ही त्यांना काय म्हणता? ' पुन्हा आशिष .'अरे मी त्यांना सर म्हणतो' इति अमित. अशा  काहीशा गप्पा होतायत तोवर दारावरची घंटी वाजली. जैनसाहेब नमस्कार करत आत आले. धर्माने जैन असल्यामुळे निरामिष  अन्न तर होतंच पण मिसेस जैन कांदा, लसुण पण खात नसल्याने अगदी ब्राह्मणी पद्धतीचा बेत   होता. जेवणे उरकत गप्पा रंगात येत होत्या. मध्येच  काकाकुवा काहीतरी गोड म्हणत होता 'वेलकम , हाऊ  आर यु ' वगैरे ऐकून  हळूहळू विषय पक्ष्यांवर आला. बोलता बोलता जैन म्हणाले की आमच्याकडे  गावा गावातून भूतदया पाळली जाते. मुन्ग्यांसाठी कणकेचे गोळे, सापांच्या बिळाशी फळे, कुत्र्यांना पाव बिस्कीट  अश्या  अनेक गोष्टी त्यांनी सांगितल्या. आवडता विषय म्हट्ल्यावर श्वेतालाही हुरूप आला.

'आम्हीही भूतदया पाळतो ' ती म्हणाली. 'ही कसली भूतदया? पक्ष्यांना पिंजऱ्यात   कोंडता  , कुत्र्याला बेल्टने  बांधून ठेवता.त्यांना मोकळे करा व मग भूतदयेच्या गोष्टी करा' जैन बोलून गेले. श्वेता तर अवाकच झाली. पण  कुठेतरी  तिला  त्यांचे  म्हणणे  पटले  सुद्धा . अशातच  एके  दिवशी  अचानक  तिने  PETA (people for ethical treatment of animals)ची   जाहिरात  वाचली .तिने  PETA चा  कोर्से केला आणि तिचे मन भरून गेले. घरी आल्या आल्या तिने काकाकुवाच्या पिंजऱ्याचे दर उघडले. पक्षी असला तरी तो बावचळला. मग सुरवातीला    बाल्कनीच्या   कट्ट्यावर तो उडून बसला. कधी पिंजऱ्यात येई तर कधी बाहेर जाई. शेवटी श्वेताने त्याला अक्षरश: हाकललेच .तरी तो काही जाइना. पण श्वेताचे सातत्य. त्यासमोर एक साधासा पक्षी तो काय करणार. बघता बघता एके दिवशी तो उडून गेला.

ते बघून दुसऱ्या दिवशी श्वेताने घरच्या मनीला व कुत्र्याला बाहेर सोडले . कुत्रा लगोलग खिडकीतूनच आत आला व आपल्या आवडत्या स्टुलावर  मक्ख्पणे बसून राहिला. मनी मात्र पसार झाली. ते पाहून श्वेताला थोदाबहुत का होईना पण आनंद झाला.  अमित आणि आजी बोलत होते 'तो जैन काहीही बोलतो आणि तू लगेच मनावर घेतेस. अगं ज्याचे त्याचे विचार असतात.' आशिषलाही   आपल्या आईचा राग आला होता पण शाळा, खेळ आणि टी.व्ही .यात  तो ते सगळं विसरून जात होता.

अशातच दोन दिवसातच एका माणसाचा फोने आला. 'अहो देशपांड्यांचे घर का?'
'हो' इति अमित
'अहो तुमचा काकाकुवा आमच्या अंगणात आला आहे.'
'अरेच्या तुम्हाला कसं माहित?'  'अहो तो सरखा इंग्रजीत बोलतो आहे.' फोनवरचा माणूस म्हणाला.
'Hello this is Deshpande's residence and you have dialed XXXX XXXX. I can't attend your phone right now but if you leave a message at the tone, I will call you back'.

आता  अमितच्या  डोक्यात  लक्ख  प्रकाश  पडला.  काकाकुवाचा पिंजरा त्यांच्या फोनशेजारीच असल्यामुळे त्याने अंसेरिंग मशीनचा मेसेजही पाठ केला होता.
'अहो त्याला कसंही करून घेऊन जा. दिवसरात्र हेच बोलून तो आमची झोप उडवतो आहे.' फोनवरचा माणूस. अमितला हसू आवरेना . लागलीच काकाकुवाची सोय परत पिंजऱ्यात करण्यात आली.

हे नाही होत तोवर मनी अचानक घरी आली. येताना तिने एका सश्याच्या पिल्लाला तोंडात धरून आणले होते. जणू काही श्वेतासाठी तिने भेटच  आणली होती. घरात तर हे दृश्य पाहून सगळेच हसत होते. श्वेताने घाई घाईने ते जखमी पिल्लू (मनीने तिचे दात चांगलेच खुपसले होते) एका खोक्यात घातले व गाडी काढली. थोडे दूर जाते नाही तोवर तिच्याच गाडीखाली  एक खार आली व दगावता दगावता वाचली. ती खार श्वेताला  जखमी अवस्थेत विव्ह्ल्ताना दिसली. तिने गाडी थांबवली व लागलीच खारीलाही त्या खोक्यात घातले. जवळच असलेल्या वन उद्यानात ती गेली व तिने  सशाचे पिल्लू व खार असलेला खोका  वन अधिकार्यांना सुपूर्द केला. आपल्या जाणीवेचा तिला कोण अभिमान वाटला. वन अधिकारी म्हणाले ,'अहो आम्ही जखमी प्राण्यांचे काहीही करू शकत नाही.' आमच्याकडे तशा काहीच सोयी नाहीयेत.' श्वेता हिरमुसली झाली. तेवढ्यात ते म्हणाले , ' पण  बरे झाले . आम्ही निदान घुबडाला तरी हे खाद्य देऊ शकतो.'

आता  तर श्वेतावर  कपाळाला  हात मारण्याची पाळी आली. तिने लागलीच खोका परत घेतला व प्राण्यांच्या डॉक्टरांकडे मोर्चा वळविला. शेवटी काहीही झाले तरी काही  प्राण्यांना माणसे ही हवीच असतात.
भूतदया म्हणून मोकळं सोडणे हा उलट त्यांच्यावर अन्याय आहे. नाही का ?

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