Something Something: 2012

It has just rained in the afternoon but it’s not cloudy now. There is no sun but it’s not dark yet. The rain has made it a touch wintry but it’s not cold, just enough to cause transparent wisps of mist gliding on the lake. There are droplets falling but it’s not a drizzle.

From somewhere within the thick growth of trees around, a nightingale is leading a song with and other birds join in. Little splashes being made by the fish serve as the background rhythm. Tiny blobs all over an otherwise placid surface of water show signs of perpetual life bubbling underneath. Faint chants from children in the Veda school at the other end of the lake add sanctity to this spectacle.

Like a seed germinating into something else, the mind sprouts into an overwhelming moment of epiphany in which the trees, the lake, the birds, the fish, the sky, everything comes together and through them this whole creation says,

“Hi…. I’ve been waiting.”

The heart melts into a flame, tender but certain, barely a whisper yet louder than thunder.

“So have I.”

You can't say who's telling whom because the distinction is beginning to blur.

Nature secretly puts on display her grand magnificence regardless whether anyone is watching or not. And her innocent persistence makes dissolving in love with her inevitable. You cannot miss that here. You cannot miss the magic of this place. This is our ashram. This is where I live.

Created and nurtured by a man who has spent his life showing people how beautiful they are and how fulfilling life can be. People wonder if he comes from the house of God. He will not tell you but if you allow him, he can turn you into God.

Friday, April 6, 2012

The Controversial Sri Sri

First of all, he didn’t say what they said he said. He never said that all government schools produce naxalites. Check the footage. That’s how the media spun it. Even Mr. Sibal's initial reaction to the media was, "I'm sure the individual you're naming could not have said this." But when one, two, five channels say something, it becomes true. There are many people who got upset and hurt because they had studied in government schools or worked in them. Look at his track record. He would never say anything to hurt anybody, let alone sincere, hardworking people. He said it is found generally that naxalites have come from government schools. It is only people who have seen government schools in naxalite areas themselves who can gauge if this is true.

Second, the kind of efforts Sri Sri has made to reach out to insurgent groups from all parts of the country, to engage with them and have them forsake violence and join the mainstream is nothing short of phenomenal. When this controversy broke out, 200 people who have now dissociated with naxal activity signed up in a flash in his support, some of them putting themselves at risk, saying they really did study in government schools. When he says something like this, there is a huge body of work and experience behind it.

Mahatma Gandhi shares in his autobiography that, as a lawyer, he settled more than half the cases that came to him outside the courts. It took little time for both parties to be convinced of his noble intentions. All over the world, in areas of conflict, so many talks and negotiations fail because they are tainted by motives. Both sides want something from the other but they are not able to trust each other. Wherever there is a conflict Sri Sri offers to mediate. What is behind this confidence? He knows how to generate trust in people.

Following his example, his volunteers also venture out unarmed into dangerous conflict areas with negligible regard for personal safety. What is the idea? Of course, there is ground work involved but principally, it’s just “Go and say hello with a smile or even give them a hug.” There are no calculated moves, just a genuine intention to reach out and be friendly. You’ll be surprised how favorably and how strongly people respond to such a gesture, whatever their past or background. So many deadlocks have been broken like this. Yes, they are suspicious in the beginning but they soon realize that these volunteers have nothing to gain for themselves and just want peace in those areas.

When a crime happens, its impact is evident. But when a criminal gives up crime, the impact is not so apparent. The PrisonSMART program has eliminated violent and vengeful tendencies from thousands of prisoners all over the world. How much crime was dealt with before it could even happen!

A friend of mine, Shivaprasad, was once assisting a PrisonSMART program in a jail in Mumbai. The first day, an inmate walks up to him and says, “Go back where you came from or else I’ll find out where you live. I’ll hunt you down and I’ll hunt your family down.” Just pause and think for a moment how you would react if you were threatened like this by a convict in a jail. Never short on intensity himself, this guy took out his card and said, “Sure, this is where I live. Drop in anytime.” Can you imagine what fire it takes to come up with this reply at that instant? The inmate came on the last day of the course and apologized.

A few years ago, Rita Singh, a teacher shared her life experience in front of a large assembly at the ashram. Her husband had been brutally killed in front of her eyes by a group of naxalites. The trauma was too overwhelming for her. Over several months, Sri Sri offered her solace and encouraged her to start teaching. She did. One day, she finds herself about to begin a course with her husband’s assassins sitting in front of her in the class. “I could look at them without a feeling of revenge or malice”, she shared. Those people who were already not able to see eye to eye with her through the course, just broke down and fell at her feet on the last day. They had irreparably altered her life and she had come back with a gift of smile for them.

What does it take to prepare people like this? Whatever it is, it is not ordinary. It is not a trick or a gimmick. It is the real thing. We are in gross error if we overlook their sincerity and selflessness. Dismissing this effort with frivolous sarcasm is unbecoming of the truly educated. You can continue finding faults but Sri Sri and the Art of Living have been able to inspire people by the thousands to go out of their comfort and do something to build India. And it’s beginning to show!

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Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Why they don’t like Sri Sri

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar did not become famous because of his name. He took care of that long ago, by differentiating it from the already famous sitar player. He did not become famous because he had friends in high places. He did not have a headstart to reach where he is today. He started alone and all he did was share some of what he knew. You can argue that yoga, pranayam and meditation have always been known and there's nothing new in what he does. The bottom line is people liked what he had to offer and they kept coming to him. Like it or not, spirituality was not fashionable until Sri Sri.

Whatever it was that he did, he did it long enough and well enough to be known all over the world today. So far so good and things would have been fine if this was all it was. But the trouble is that he doesn't want to stop at that. He seems to want to be everywhere. It would've been fine if he had stuck to teaching breathing exercises, working in villages, reforming prisoners, teaching organic farming, planting trees etc. No problem. But when he wants to be active on political issues, mediate on issues he doesn't need to, voice opinions on matters that are not spiritual, well, that's a problem. Because then, he is encroaching, edging past people who had headstarts, who have the right surnames. And that is a serious breach of territory.

He can close his eyes today and put his finger on any city in India and gather lakhs of people there. Which politician today in India can do that? The strength of his popularity and connection with people, all these years, was visible only in the form of service projects like trauma relief. No matter where disaster strikes in the world, he is able to mobilize people and resources, even during the floods in Sindh last year. Good, more importantly, harmless.

But when that strength is moved from fringe issues, that affect a section of society, to core issues, that affect the bulk of the population, it starts shaking the seat of power. Suddenly, there is a fear that he may have political aspirations. Jesus, after all, was crucified on that very accusation. It starts showing up in remarks like "Swamiji, stick to spirituality, leave the politics to us." The condescension gives away that someone is rattled.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar embarked on a tour of Pakistan a few days ago. You don't agree with what he does, fine. You question his intentions, it's your right. But by any account, somebody as widely known as him, going from India on a peace mission to Pakistan is big news. Consider the ground work: He has managed to portray spirituality in a way that nobody finds it an infringement in a religiously orthodox atmosphere. His volunteers directed relief operations in a country where our government has no influence. He has been able to tap the significant but unexpressed sentiment - “Fine, whatever, let’s just be friends now”. He has created a demand for himself when nobody in Pakistan has a reason to welcome anything or anybody from India. The breakthrough is historic, at the very least. Nope, not to our media. Peace mission? Boring.

Our media likes to believe that people love watching them sit in their studios and argue over the day's developments in sophisticated vocabulary. These people reach millions of people on a daily basis. But they are so busy being full of themselves, that they fail to connect with common people. How many times have you heard anybody say anything nice about any of our news channels or newspapers? Nobody today has a kind word for the media and you have to say, they’ve worked very hard to get there.

Without any support from this media, Sri Sri connects with people on the ground, in millions. Why? He adds value to their life, in some way or the other. You can choose to remain skeptic, or unimpressed by what he says but you cannot deny that what he does requires extraordinary commitment. He may well be the most traveled human being in the world today, and since planes are still recent to our civilization, in all of history.

It was not easy going to Pakistan. Apart from those who regularly criticize him because they find him elementary, for this trip, he had to face opposition from the fundamentalists on both sides. "Who are you to interfere? Who asked you? Let the governments handle it." We have seen what the governments have achieved over the last 60 years. It is beyond them. This issue requires a large-heartedness impossible for politicians. Making policies or signing documents does not bring the hearts of people together.

People are very simple and they connect to his simplicity. What he is doing may not be sensational but it's solid. What is sensational is forgotten within days, what he is doing will be remembered much longer. This was an opportunity for our media to show some class. Skepticism is healthy, cynicism is not. Skepticism keeps windows open to find reality, cynicism closes them all and shuts you from reality. And the reality is that today, you cannot ignore Sri Sri. He IS everywhere.

These words from Mahatma Gandhi make a great quote, but nobody thought of them as a prophecy: First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. The sad part is that “they” are our own people.

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