shared his experience few days back at The Art of Living International Center
"When I was about 18-19 years old, I was content, happy, whatever I knew I used to teach other people. Then I met a very wise & great saint Maharishi ji. He was world famous and very knowledgable. I saw that these Swamijis have a very different outlook in their ashrams. If you say that you want something you won't get that, such were the saints in olden days.
My Guruji, (Pt. Sudhakar Chaturvedi) he is still alive, now he is 118 years old. He used to teach Bhagawad Gita to Mahatma Gandhi. After Gandhiji he never taught anybody else. One day he looked at me and said that you come to me. When I used to come from school for lunch, first I used to go to him. His house was just five blocks away from ours. And he used to make me write three shlokas everyday and then he used to tell it’s meaning. I had interest and willingness to learn new things.
I had heard that Masters are very strict, all the fields were like that. If you go a teacher to learn Veena / music, then also teacher would not impart his knowledge easily, they would test you. These tests were to check student’s endurance level and willingness to learn. I had only one hour to be with him as I had to study for my exams. I had to make rasam, write those mantras/shlokas, learn their meaning, all this in just one hour.
He never asked how you are, what do you want. nothing. I never had any wish, never asked him for anything. He used to give a lot of respect to me, he never allowed me to sit down with others, he used to make me sit on a chair or asan. If somebody would asked him "I want to go to Kashmir or Italy", he would say "forget about it", it will not happen at all. They will go everywhere else but not that place! This was the method or way of saints in those days, so that your desires are removed along with it’s roots. So that you are hollow and empty. If you express that you want something, they would do exactly opposite. Today’s youth cannot be in that environment even for a day. No bhajan (song), nothing which makes you feel like you are enjoying, no smiling, no dancing at all, forget about it! No entertainment, no fun, you could not ask any question, you couldn't even say that you are suffering from pain otherwise they will say it is your karma, go through it! Not even slight compassion towards us, nothing. Just that if you do good karma you shall have good results, if you do bad karma then bad things happen to you, suffer, bear it. In such difficult environment one becomes strong and independent.
But our Art of Living is completely different! If anybody wants something then let them have it. I thought that if all your desires get fulfilled then you will think beyond all this, ask about knowledge, about meditation, you will be above all these things.
There was an old saying which says ‘if you are running behind comfort, then you won’t get knowledge; if you run behind knowledge then you will not get comfort as it demands hard work.
Nowadays people don’t want to do hardwork, but want to live happily and also want knowledge. Those who make an effort, even from them only few get to know ‘me’, not everybody, they will keep talking nonsense. This is what Lord Krishna said. There were thousands of incidences to doubt the Master, they used to create such situations. And if we are focused and stick to our path then only we would survive. This is one Science, two different ways: one is to remove your desire from the root itself and make you hollow and empty, second is to fulfill all your desires and then you will become centered somewhere on the path. It depends on our strength and capacity.
One more thing if I don’t meet anybody one day then they get angry with me that I didn’t meet them. In olden days if a Master/Saint tells you to keep a chair at a particular place then they would later ask who told you to keep these chairs here? You can’t even say that ‘You only told’, no, you cannot argue with them, you just have to say ‘Yes’, nothing else. Even if you are right on your part and they tell you are wrong, then also you have to just listen to it.
Earlier it was said that keep your brain separate and do not think. It might sound strange, but what used to happen is you get a glimpse of an ocean of possibilities, then you get into the habit of saying yes completely.
Our own mind is our enemy and our best friend. If something makes you sad it is your own mind. Faith and doubt, both arise from that same place."
