After a very stormy night I got up a little later than yesterday as I had to go and meet with Dr. Pandya and Jiji today at 7:30 am. As usual the people in Abroad Cell, my guides, were late in getting there. The meeting went well, Dr. Pandya already knew about my arrival – as he does about everyone’s arrival. After the meeting I went on to my morning lecture.
Morning session
It was all about Gayatri mantra and its power. It is supposed to give everyone sadbuddhi. The other way to get sadbuddhi is by the path of knowledge.
There was discussion about social reform
- keeping the environment clean
- social elevation of women
- elimination of the dowry system and
- getting girls as educated as the boys.
Afternoon session
It was all on the importance of guru. One can learn everything from a guru, so chose your guru carefully.
Evening session
History of Shantikunj. How Sharmaji got the calling from his guru to go the Himalyas and to do the jap he did. Through the Divya Dristhi given to him by his guru he was able to see the 7 Rishis (saptrishi) in the Himalyas. They were sad that their way of life did not exist anymore, so they asked Sharmaji to bring it back. Each one of the saptrishi have their special place in our culture. Sharmaji is trying to carry on that culture in his own way. (I tried to take good notes but sometimes some things got away from me…)
1. Charak - ayurved: Shantikunj has a full fledged ayurvedic pharmacy.
2. Parashuram – eradication of unjust customs and traditions from the society: This is one of the seven revolutionary constructive movements run by Gayatri Pariwar in the society.
3. Valmiki – sanskaar, proper management of family, creation of Vedic literature. Sharma ji, through his books and regular training sessions, promotes Indian values and culture. Shantikunj is an embodiment of a huge family.
4. Vashishtha – politics guided by righteous duties (dharma) and wisdom: Through his books and lectures Sharma ji encourages people to take just decisions and develop a righteous stand on national and global issues.
5. Yagyavalkya – yagyopathy. At Shantikunj, yagya is done on a daily basis and there is scientific proof that this can improve life and purify the environment. (Yagya is a fire ceremony, which is done by burning different kinds of herbs and wood, and the aroma or fumes from these can have a purifying effect).
6. Vishwamitra – Made Gayatri Mantra available to everyone: Sharma ji also says that Gayatri Mantra is for everyone. He explained in detail the meaning of Gayatri Mantra and demonstrated its benefits for the holistic development of the entire humanity.
7. Bhagirath – removed vices by propagation of righteous knowledge; just as he brought river Ganga on earth to wash away vices of his ancestors; Sharma ji does this through his books – he gives righteous knowledge to people for their all round development.
For anyone coming to Shantikunj the purpose is usually to
1) Learn about yourself; that you are part of God – not some independent entity.
2) The 9 day shivir can help people make small changes in their lives to improve it.
3) Learn about our ancient culture.
4) And in general just be away from everything else in this world for a few days.
Personal Thoughts for the Day:
Today was a hard day for me as the food did not agree with me at all (can food be too Satvik?). I could not keep any food in me today, so in general I was very weak today so did not get to do a lot of jap. On the whole I really like the idea of satsang, one gets to listen to good poeple and great thoughts. I just wish the other people there would be more serious as they are disturbing me when I am trying to pay attention!
Butt is really aching today after two days of sitting on the floor :-)
Butt is really aching today after two days of sitting on the floor :-)
(PS: Please correct me anyone about anything that I may have written wrong)
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