Oh, how could I forget July of 2009. It felt as if it this was the time I waited all my life. Being a mother of two girls, a travelling husband , and a full time IT employee gave me no room for even a few minutes I could call mine. Like most women, I was doing all permutations and combinations to keep sanity in my life and each time failing more miserably than before. At about 35, career and home were at crisis. Both needed my 100% . I would go to work and think about family and what kids would be doing until I reached home and once home would rattle my brain on what I could not complete while I was physically at work. So at no point was I mentally present at the place I was supposed to be. Life slowly became heavy and dragging and it showed on my relationship with people and on my health. There came a point in life where I literally called it quits as my health went for a toss.
This is when my husband's work had arranged for an Art of Living retreat at Bangalore. Life stated changing ever since. He came back and told me that the program(Sudarshan Kriya) had really something to it and I should try it. I would always brush it away saying "Oh, how I wish, however where do I have time and who will take care of the kids". A typical answer that most of us give, least realizing that I would get more time and energy if I did the program. The more I saw my husband's energy and enthusiasm the more curious I became about the program until I accidentally visited the ashram. I have never seen paradise, however felt I was in one ever since I stepped into the sprawling campus, which would soon become our real home. I had already convinced myself that I would enroll into the program once I return back home and was just waiting for that little push. Then came H. H Sri Sri Ravishankar (we fondly call him Guruji) who casually asked me "Are you Happy" and I realized that I really was not and seeing all the happy people around me, including my husband, I made my final plunge into the program.
Until I did the program I did not realize what I was missing. We often feel we don't have time and we would need to sort out things and then one fine day some miracle will make us attend such programs. Like most of you, I was wrong too. We just have to take that first step and life falls into place on its own like jigsaw puzzle suddenly coming together,
It is four years now and my responsibilities have only increased. I have a larger project and a bigger team to manage, kids have grown up into early teens and more work at home as well. Not only that, today I am an art of living teacher and an active volunteer in many projects in and around our area. I also counsel people and spend atleast an hour everyday, 365 days on my kirya and meditation. Life has not suddenly become easy, problems and challenges have not vanished, however my attitude to life has changed. I have got the untarnished smile and ever enthusiastic mind. Now, I give my 100% to what I do, so when I am at work, I think of work, and when I am home, I think of home . Just this switch has increased my productivity. I now not only have time for just the mundane things, I have started singing and dancing and writing, hobbies that I had long forgotten.
I realized that instead of pursing happiness we could create one and that is just right under our nose. Yes, Sudarshan kriya, a very powerful breathing technique is a Key to find that Happiness we are chasing . Why do we want more wealth, or better health or greater relationship, only because we hope that it will bring us happiness, least realizing that Happiness is truly a state of mind.
I sincerely wish and pray that more and more people get to experience Sudarshan Kriya.
Jai Gurudev!
Shoba
This is when my husband's work had arranged for an Art of Living retreat at Bangalore. Life stated changing ever since. He came back and told me that the program(Sudarshan Kriya) had really something to it and I should try it. I would always brush it away saying "Oh, how I wish, however where do I have time and who will take care of the kids". A typical answer that most of us give, least realizing that I would get more time and energy if I did the program. The more I saw my husband's energy and enthusiasm the more curious I became about the program until I accidentally visited the ashram. I have never seen paradise, however felt I was in one ever since I stepped into the sprawling campus, which would soon become our real home. I had already convinced myself that I would enroll into the program once I return back home and was just waiting for that little push. Then came H. H Sri Sri Ravishankar (we fondly call him Guruji) who casually asked me "Are you Happy" and I realized that I really was not and seeing all the happy people around me, including my husband, I made my final plunge into the program.
Until I did the program I did not realize what I was missing. We often feel we don't have time and we would need to sort out things and then one fine day some miracle will make us attend such programs. Like most of you, I was wrong too. We just have to take that first step and life falls into place on its own like jigsaw puzzle suddenly coming together,
It is four years now and my responsibilities have only increased. I have a larger project and a bigger team to manage, kids have grown up into early teens and more work at home as well. Not only that, today I am an art of living teacher and an active volunteer in many projects in and around our area. I also counsel people and spend atleast an hour everyday, 365 days on my kirya and meditation. Life has not suddenly become easy, problems and challenges have not vanished, however my attitude to life has changed. I have got the untarnished smile and ever enthusiastic mind. Now, I give my 100% to what I do, so when I am at work, I think of work, and when I am home, I think of home . Just this switch has increased my productivity. I now not only have time for just the mundane things, I have started singing and dancing and writing, hobbies that I had long forgotten.
I realized that instead of pursing happiness we could create one and that is just right under our nose. Yes, Sudarshan kriya, a very powerful breathing technique is a Key to find that Happiness we are chasing . Why do we want more wealth, or better health or greater relationship, only because we hope that it will bring us happiness, least realizing that Happiness is truly a state of mind.
I sincerely wish and pray that more and more people get to experience Sudarshan Kriya.
Jai Gurudev!
Shoba
