He looked beyond my faults and saw my needs -Unknown.
How true !!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Lucknow Trip 23rd July 2010
The special train for the Bandara at Lucknow started from Chennai on 21st July at 9.30 PM with around 1500 abhyasis and more than 100 volunteers who worked tirelessly for uploading and distributing food and water for all the abhyasis.
The 46 hour journey gave us ample time to take individual sittings in train and get introduced to our fellow travelers. The formal introduction gradually turned out to be a discussion of our experiences with The Master. It was amazing to see how people from different walks of like, who spoke different languages and in different profession where strongly united by the same Master, Mission and
Method .
Though initially many of us were little frustrated due to unexpected delay in the special train by one day yet the satsangs conducted in the train made us witness Master’s presence strongly. We reached the celebrations venue at Lucknow on 23rd July at around 9 PM. The venue was such a massive piece of land with a big meditation hall which can accommodate around 40,000 abhyasis, Master’s cottage, tents for all the abhyasis, canteen, Kitchen, Comfort dormitories, Kids zone, book store, general stores, medical centre etc. Thousands of volunteers were working for twenty four hours in various areas like canteen, security, house keeping, transportation, medical, children’s zone, book stall, meditation hall etc.
During these Bandaras Master gives us a chance to live a simple life and be identical with nature. Taking bath in cold water be it early morning or midnight, staying in a tent, sleeping on the floor, sharing common toilets all these would never appear to be discomfort because the heart is joyously awaiting to participate in the birthday celebration of the Master.
More than 40,000 abhyasis gathered in the meditation hall on 24th July at 7.30 AM in pin drop silence, you listen to the Happy Birthday tune and Master enters the meditation hall; even if you have met the physical Master 1000 times in your life and been in Sahaj Marg for more than two decades yet you cannot control those drops of tears which rolls down the eyes. They are drops of love and gratitude emanating from the depths of our being. what else will you pray for except your Master’s good health and long life. They are moments of inexpressible grace. Does a abhyasis feel elsewhere or does he/she has the consciousness of existence at all? How lucky is the one who has a living Master who creates such a moment for all His disciples.
Few books and DVD’s were released. Rev.Master solemnized few weddings and gave though provoking speeches.
Yet another remarkable aspect of this Bandara was that 25th July also happened to be Guru Poornima day. A day when your spiritual progress is many folds. We boarded the special train to Chennai on 25th July at 11.45 PM. We met our fellow passengers as strangers; slowly exchanged eatables, gifts and rich experiences and within a short time a strong feeling of brotherhood prevailed.
Whether we are able to perceive it or not, in every Bandara Master inculcate in us brotherhood, tolerance, simplicity, service and devotion and then makes us taste the divine nectar.
From the spiritual perspective Master has always remarked that when many people meditate together the progress is exponential. Babuji has beautifully put it in Whisper’s that they are days of special grace you can imagine as if electric current surrounds the entire globe. The only question is are we sensitive enough to perceive it?
Even before we reach home the heart starts longing for yet another Bandara. A Persian poet has remarked “Whenever you look for Divine grace, keep your heart fully empty because it is often like a full bottle of wine poured over a small cup”. So let us start to prepare ourselves for the next Bandara.
The 46 hour journey gave us ample time to take individual sittings in train and get introduced to our fellow travelers. The formal introduction gradually turned out to be a discussion of our experiences with The Master. It was amazing to see how people from different walks of like, who spoke different languages and in different profession where strongly united by the same Master, Mission and
Method .
Though initially many of us were little frustrated due to unexpected delay in the special train by one day yet the satsangs conducted in the train made us witness Master’s presence strongly. We reached the celebrations venue at Lucknow on 23rd July at around 9 PM. The venue was such a massive piece of land with a big meditation hall which can accommodate around 40,000 abhyasis, Master’s cottage, tents for all the abhyasis, canteen, Kitchen, Comfort dormitories, Kids zone, book store, general stores, medical centre etc. Thousands of volunteers were working for twenty four hours in various areas like canteen, security, house keeping, transportation, medical, children’s zone, book stall, meditation hall etc.
During these Bandaras Master gives us a chance to live a simple life and be identical with nature. Taking bath in cold water be it early morning or midnight, staying in a tent, sleeping on the floor, sharing common toilets all these would never appear to be discomfort because the heart is joyously awaiting to participate in the birthday celebration of the Master.
More than 40,000 abhyasis gathered in the meditation hall on 24th July at 7.30 AM in pin drop silence, you listen to the Happy Birthday tune and Master enters the meditation hall; even if you have met the physical Master 1000 times in your life and been in Sahaj Marg for more than two decades yet you cannot control those drops of tears which rolls down the eyes. They are drops of love and gratitude emanating from the depths of our being. what else will you pray for except your Master’s good health and long life. They are moments of inexpressible grace. Does a abhyasis feel elsewhere or does he/she has the consciousness of existence at all? How lucky is the one who has a living Master who creates such a moment for all His disciples.
Few books and DVD’s were released. Rev.Master solemnized few weddings and gave though provoking speeches.
Yet another remarkable aspect of this Bandara was that 25th July also happened to be Guru Poornima day. A day when your spiritual progress is many folds. We boarded the special train to Chennai on 25th July at 11.45 PM. We met our fellow passengers as strangers; slowly exchanged eatables, gifts and rich experiences and within a short time a strong feeling of brotherhood prevailed.
Whether we are able to perceive it or not, in every Bandara Master inculcate in us brotherhood, tolerance, simplicity, service and devotion and then makes us taste the divine nectar.
From the spiritual perspective Master has always remarked that when many people meditate together the progress is exponential. Babuji has beautifully put it in Whisper’s that they are days of special grace you can imagine as if electric current surrounds the entire globe. The only question is are we sensitive enough to perceive it?
Even before we reach home the heart starts longing for yet another Bandara. A Persian poet has remarked “Whenever you look for Divine grace, keep your heart fully empty because it is often like a full bottle of wine poured over a small cup”. So let us start to prepare ourselves for the next Bandara.
Master Mission and Method
Master, Mission and Method form the three fundamental aspect of Sahaj Marg. Our Master always says that all the three M‘s are vital in the life of abhyasis. During the initial days of practice we may begin with one aspect but with a passage of time we need to pay equal importance to all the three M’s.
Some of us could be emotionally attached to our Master; some of us could find it easy to serve and some others find it easy to follow the method strictly. Some of us are of the opinion that it is enough if we serve; to serve is a wonderful thing but how can we perceive our progress and be sensitive to what is happening within us if we do not meditate. Some of us are too greedy only about our progress and have no concern or the attitude that the mission is ours and ashram is our home and it is we who need to do our small part to help Master in His mission. Only when we take part in the activities of the vision tolerance and brotherhood would grow. Both the Mission and method is nothing if we do not have heartfelt love and craving for our Master. But what is the point in blindly waiting to see the physical Master alone and have no interest in sadhana, and no sense of duty towards the mission.
Spirituality is a journey of love. Love for the Master is the solid foundation of a spiritual journey; service forms its building blocks and the journey is complete only with our sadhana. Looked from one angle they look like three different things and when viewed from other Master, Mission and Method looks like one and the same. We could begin with any of these as it may vary with individuals but with passage of time let us try to catch up with all the three aspects. May be for isolated cases Master becomes both the mission and the method but for all of us who are privileged and have the opportunity Master, Mission and Method becomes indispensable.
Some of us could be emotionally attached to our Master; some of us could find it easy to serve and some others find it easy to follow the method strictly. Some of us are of the opinion that it is enough if we serve; to serve is a wonderful thing but how can we perceive our progress and be sensitive to what is happening within us if we do not meditate. Some of us are too greedy only about our progress and have no concern or the attitude that the mission is ours and ashram is our home and it is we who need to do our small part to help Master in His mission. Only when we take part in the activities of the vision tolerance and brotherhood would grow. Both the Mission and method is nothing if we do not have heartfelt love and craving for our Master. But what is the point in blindly waiting to see the physical Master alone and have no interest in sadhana, and no sense of duty towards the mission.
Spirituality is a journey of love. Love for the Master is the solid foundation of a spiritual journey; service forms its building blocks and the journey is complete only with our sadhana. Looked from one angle they look like three different things and when viewed from other Master, Mission and Method looks like one and the same. We could begin with any of these as it may vary with individuals but with passage of time let us try to catch up with all the three aspects. May be for isolated cases Master becomes both the mission and the method but for all of us who are privileged and have the opportunity Master, Mission and Method becomes indispensable.
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