5th June: Shivir – Day 5

I have had tea only once or twice during the last 4-5 days, mostly because the canteen is too darn crowded all the time.  I am not having caffeine withdrawals but it would be nice to have a cup of tea sometime.

Morning session

“The one solution to all our problems” – that was the book discussed this morning! And I have already read it.  Oh well…here are some points:

1.       You become what you think and do – so better to think good and do good things.

2.       Try to be quiet for some time during the day and keep your mind free of all thought.

3.       Slogans are part of life, but there is no point shouting them if one does not follow any of those. 

4.       Poem:

Nazar badli to nazaare badal gaye

Kashti ne rukh badla to kinaare badal gaye.

So try to change your view and take your life to a different direction.

5.       Water said it wants to be friends with milk, milk said but what will I get in return.  Water said, when time comes I will return the favor of being friends.  Now the price of water went up because it is mixed with milk.  One day when milk was heated up, water started evaporating.  Milk said, you are my friend and you are leaving me? Water said, I will evaporate myself but will not let you get hurt  – that is the concept of marriage. (I guess that would be one way of looking at it)

6.       Soap never gets dirty, it only cleans other things.  Guru is like soap.  He will cleanse you.

7.       Gayatri mantra is like shreshtha vichaar – best thought – this can only think well for everyone.  So best to say it a few times every day.

8.       Yagya does not just mean doing only swaha – it means you have to implement good karm in your life.  So make your life a yagya.

There was no afternoon or evening session. Today was the midsession! I wanted to use the internet – as usual the people in Abroad Cell stood me up.    

I decided to go to Har Ki Pauri in the evening.  I really wanted to see Ganga Aarti.   Har Ki Pauri is a great place for shopping….and I did buy stuff! The crowd started settling in for the aarti at 6 pm! So I had to also get there to get a nice spot.  It was something else sitting in the sun for an hour and half, sweating like cold bottle of coke in hot weather! Thank god I had water with me.  And the anticlimax came when the aarti finished in 5 mins!! Oh c’mon – at least do it for 15 mins. But no matter that it was only 5 min it was still a very moving experience for me.

It was a hot and sweaty day – but a good day.  Another little incident today on the way back from Har Ki Pauri made me write a whole essay on being a single woman in India.