With Smiles Of Gratitude

Words fail when I sit down to write about my overwhelming gratitude towards my Guru, Poojya Gurudev, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji, whom we lovingly call “Guruji” across the globe. Our Loving Guruji…. May HE live a long and healthy life, is our only prayer for HIM during this very difficult pandemic times. His unending unconditional love for Humanity IS our daily propellor…. for millions of ardent devotees and volunteers of Art of Living global family.

 

Guru is not a personality, but a presence … He is NOT a Vyakti but a Shakti. With every breath I take I thank Him for holding our hands and guiding us through our journey…for being our light of knowledge and wisdom. It is said that the greatest blessing is to have a living Master, and we truly are so so fortunate! I feel immensely grateful that I am walking this planet with, Poojya Gurudev. I bow down to the lotus feet of my Guru, who has filled my life with the nectar of love, service, fulfilment and beauty! A mere remembrance of the enlightened one can dissolve any kind of uncertainty, fear or anxiety and fill our hearts and consciousness with that unconditional loving presence! Life’s greatest pursuit is to find a Guru and YES, the greatest blessing is to have One. Even when it was a gloomy pandemic for the whole world, It is ONLY His knowledge … That has kept the light lit in our lives. Thank you for making US yours Thank you for being the ray of hope in the darkest of times Thank you for being an epitome of service Thank you for imparting values through your wisdom, humour, and love Thank you for guiding us on the path of peace, health, and well-being Thank you for gifting SUDARSHAN KRIYA to millions around the world through the Art of Living. I am often asked how I came into Art Of Living. Well, I come from a family where everyone was a Ramkrishna Mission devotee. I tried that path…I was still thirsty. My grandmother was a Sanyasin who gave ‘Diksha Mantra’ to many. I guess I had it in my genes… I was searching… searching for my Guru. I had done quite an amount of Spiritual shopping… I tried SRF by Paramahansa Yogananda, visited Putaparthi, met Sri Sathya Sai Baba…. Still something was missing. And then my husband fell ill with a rare kind of rheumatism. It crippled him with pain. And blew the light out of our lives, emotionally. He became bedridden. The year was 2000, and a dear friend of ours registered my husband’s name for this new “Workshop” that was happening in the neighbourhood for “wellbeing”. My husband refused to go claiming how can ‘breathing techniques’ take away my pain? Since a payment was done, I went and sat in the “Course”. And that was it. There was no looking back after that. The course rekindled my faith in the goodness of life. The anger and sarcasm born out of harsh experiences of life was replaced by faith that it is possible to live the values of love, sharing, compassion, honesty and selfless service. Something very deep in me was touched, filling me with a joy and bliss I had never experienced before. It was a fantastic experience. I felt my whole being was empowered with a newfound energy! In a month’s time my husband did the course unquestioningly. Within a month of this, I was sitting in an Advance Meditation Course and in three months I was visiting the Art of Living International Centre Bangalore to participate in the Advance Meditation course in the presence of Sri Sri Himself. The day I arrived at the Ashram I knew I had reached home! And the minute my eyes saw Him from afar, a delicate looking person, clad in white with a radiant smile and an unusual simple personality, tears started rolling down my cheeks. I was not sad but I did not know the source of these tears. I met my Guru. The love that He radiated and the expression in His eyes was a completely new experience in my eyes and I knew I was perceiving the divine in a human form. Practicing Kriya everyday just changed our lives. My role as a professional Rabindrasangeet stage singer was totally replaced by one stage performance after another as a lead Art Of Living Satsang singer …. Singing for masses and in His presence. My husband was totally healed, and being living evidence of that, we did not have to convince anyone about the benefits of the Art of Living Courses. We were soon organizing the biggest courses in no time. Almost miraculously we both got initiated by H.H. Sri Sri Ravishankar to become Art of Living teachers together and there began our journey with this most amazing organization called the Art of Living Foundation, with its luminous teachers & selfless volunteers, all spread across around the world in more than 156 countries. A true global family, it became a real-life experience for me with my Art of Living world family. In an amazing turn of events, I continued to prosper and progress as an “Educator” from a schoolteacher to a lecturer and Head of the Humanities Department, getting promoted from one role to the next and at the same time taking joyous strides along the path of spirituality. For the past two decade and a half of my association with The Art of Living, I have seen Poojya Gurudev work tirelessly day after day, to make this world a stress free & violence free place. I have seen him travel from town to town and country to country sharing his message of love and peace, teaching people how to live happy & healthy lives and giving hope of a better tomorrow to the world. And when the Pandemic hit the planet, Gurudev recognized that the fear and anxiety of the pandemic, the stress from the lockdown and isolation and how the uncertainty about the economy, jobs and future were affecting people’s mental health and well-being. He immediately launched the #WorldMeditates campaign. Millions around the world have been reached on social and broadcast media through these efforts. Relentlessly He conducted two guided meditations every single day online since March 22 nd , 2020 and statistics says that over 37 million people have viewed him online, since the lockdown. In 2007 we moved countries, left India and settled in Canada, but settling down in a new country was not at all a challenge as we were wrapped in His Grace. One miracle after another followed and life continued to be a celebration. In the years that I have been with Art of Living, I have felt complete with a purpose in life. I feel everything I have ever wanted to know and needed in my life was present on this path. Service, Knowledge, Love, Celebration, Peace, and Happiness. I feel so blessed to have discovered the Art of Living and most importantly Poojya Gurudev. Friends have often asked me how The Art of Living has impacted me. I often fumble. Only because it is tough to express how the organization unites us to reach higher and unleash our innate talents, gifts, and skills. Even though I moved countries, it really did not matter. I started teaching Art of Living Courses in Toronto. In my workplace at Humber College, I started the “I Meditate Humber” project, leading Satsangs, conducting ‘Breath and Meditation’ workshops for my colleagues who are professors, staff and students across College campuses prior to and during the pandemic and leading the chanting session for ‘Billion Chants to Heal the World’. Thus, responding to His clarion call to light the hearts and minds of people, as best as I could, spreading ways and means to combat mental health issues during this monstrous pandemic. The Art of Living with Gurudev’s immense Blessings has brought out the best talents and qualities in me. It amazes me again and again how this global family has been able to unify the brightest, most brilliant volunteers (who are all Gurudev’s devotees) from around the globe in truly unparalleled projects. Being part of a supportive, like-minded community of volunteers who can help you more quickly and easily catalyse your dreams is worth far more than any of my life experiences. If there is one thing we get excited about at the Art of Living, it’s actually witnessing the brilliance of the global community of volunteers. Where each one’s personal lives have been impacted by “Sudarshan Kriya” and meditation, so, they are ready to share with others. And this is a secret we all carry in our hearts across the globe. What I truly marvel about Gurudev is that He does not keep us dependent on Him. It is not true that life has always been a cakewalk. Life kept throwing hurdles at us. But doing Sudarshan Kriya and becoming meditators empowered us to solve the riddles of life, untangling the knots of ‘samsara’ because our awareness was raised to a level where we could see the truth for ourselves. Today, as part of His global initiative of ‘I Stand for Peace’ I see myself as someone who has a role to play. If enough people say ‘I Stand for Peace’ then that collective energy and vision can create ripples of peace across the planet. To conclude all I want to say is that, life is terribly busy, it can be very tough to find time to do an Art Of Living course. Honestly, please make the time. Give it a shot, come learn the life-transforming breathing techniques and experience the unfathomable benefits of meditation. Remember you and only you are responsible for making your life beautiful, so that your presence becomes peaceful to all those around you, wherever you are, your home, with friends or at work. 

- Sanjukta Das

Toronto, Canada

With Smiles Of Gratitude - Sri Sri Stories