I salute the education capital of India for supplying her with intellectually, socially nourished distinguished stars from Vinoba Bhave to Baba Amte, to the land that gave birth to India's ever glowing beacon of hope and darling choice of every engineer, Infosys.
Pune has always been special in some way or the other. Pune has this rawness that makes me like it very very much. It is neither too urbanized nor is it too villagish... it has this half raw-half bakedness which woos me always..
My weekend visit wasn't any different and in continuation with my previous post, this post is about the people ...oops the dots, I connected to and things that I soaked in like a sponge..
I absolutely love learning about people, their experiences and places, influences. They teach me continuously
Sometimes I strongly feel that mistakes that we commit are predefined for they have their own hidden agendas that unfold in this phenomenon called LIFE. Here is how it unfolded.
I forgot my Identity Card, and hotels need government authorized proof to allow guests before checking in.. so I missed staying in Virgin hotel( I love this brand for the way it connects to its consumers). So prof. Prasad had to stay alone and I was fortunate to stay with Prof. Shibaprasad at his place.
The first dot,Prof Shiba Prasad as I learnt stays with Sajjal(another dot), cooks his own food, gives meditation classes to people, is deeply involved with Bhramakumaris. He is a passionate teacher and wants each of his kids to learn things better and grow better...He had to leave me alone at his place for his meditation classes. I asked if I could accompany him for a visit..he promised me of one at night...
I powered the notebook and utilized my time in jotting down my day's learning. I was eager to meet Sajjal too.. and out of curiosity I knocked at his door. He invited me in and I learnt that he has been busy studying for his CAT exams and utilizes his weekends for rigorous 8-10 hrs study.. I inquired him about his current Infosys experience and received often heard answers but they still continue to surprise me...(coz i love Infy founders and the values they uphold)...Unlike other bachelors he is very different...
He practices purity in thoughts and actions and this i learnt out of the human element that exists in each one of us.
Prof took me to Bhramakumaris center at Pune and explained me their ideology and their concept of Soul, which was really very nice...I recommend all to visit the center atleast once..It's FREE...FREE...FREE
We returned back and Sajal was cooking his own food and shared with me his experiences..
some questions that I asked him were thus
me: why do you cook your own food?
S: I become sure that the food that I cook is clean and this calms me more than anything else.
This calmness allows me to have less number of thoughts and hence I can focus much better. He said that these days with the immense work pressure, and stress lids flying off like bullets, it becomes more and more difficult to keep thoughts, emotions in check.
The mind is full of so many thoughts (good, bad , ugly) because of so many influences (social circle, work place, TV, internet, etc) and it is difficult hence to be in peace.
Staying at home and cooking ones own food restricts us to cook food, hence reduce time spent out which further reduces the external influences.It is all about feeling happy..""Wow.."
me: So, does that mean your office circle doesnt influence you? how doe you overcome peer pressure?
S: I have lived that kind of life too..I used to sleep at 4 in the morning...Eat in restaurants every alternate day with friends..But after some time it just couldnt make me feel happy....We all do things for our happiness...If things that you do make you feel happy then you should do it... See, you should learn from all, but dont be influenced by anyone.....""Whoaa.. this seriously blew me"
You have to draw a line for yourself.. and if you know yourself.. you will understand what suits you and what doesnt...What makes you happy and what doesnt..""I always felt 'how can one be anybody else?' ... but when he was narrating.. I could understand his perspective so much better"
me: How do you draw a line? I mean how do you benchmark your state of mind..? How do you know yourself to draw a line?
S: See, we are driven by influences..Everything around us influences us... this influences our thoughts.. The influences around are so varied that they do not allow a thought to settle...This leads to so many thoughts...
This Chaos makes one go crazy leading to sleepless nights "you know I too have this 'so many thoughts' thing, and I shared this with him.. but told him that I sleep like no one's around..lol...He appreciated that I get good sleep and lamented that not many are as lucky as I am "...
So .. when one cannot feel happy .. they look for a state of equilibrium.. this state defines the line and once ou know it.. you just come to know it inside you..."Absolutely amazing"
"The pressure cooker whistled and I too partook a small "khichadi" serving, which indeed was nice...
....
The next morning was again a fantabulous(fantastic+fabulous) experience with a very delicious lunch at Brahmakumaris center, meeting with people...
We rushed back to LBS campus to have a quick status update of the students (btw i was the youngest there) who were already in the Mandi doing their Dhanda.... some of them could sell and I think that is when they did taste blood.. and the enthusiasm in their narration was just so infectious...
I strongly feel that my ID loss was pre planned and the entire journey and meetings that happened would have never took place, but for that mistake...
This journey has gone in my remembering self as one of the most beautiful one and has truly enriched me...
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