During the late 90s, Gurudev had asked us all to read Swami Venkateswarananda’s Yoga Vashistha. I couldn’t wait to get started. It was perhaps only half hour into the book I realized I had got stuck on page 7. I could not comprehend a single sentence! I felt stuck in a maze and put the book away. A few months later, I traveled to the German ashram. I went to the meeting room, sat at his feet. He looked at me with those smiling eyes and asked, “How was it?” For a few seconds, I didn’t quite understand what He was asking about. And then, I got it! And I just said, “I hated it. I couldn’t understand a single thing in that book.” Gurudev smiled and said, “I have a solution for your problem. Don’t read the book.” I was so relieved. But then, my Master is not ever just a few steps ahead, he is always infinite eons ahead.
During the evening Satsang, a young girl came up to the stage and read out a small excerpt from the Yoga Vashistha as dictated by Gurudev. Hearing it, I was floored. There was this inexplicable power, a divine pull, that made me go through a deep experience. It had the telling warmth of a reassurance and the breathing largeness of infinity. Gurudev looked at me with a smile. And this reassurance became my foundation for the years of travel that Gurudev not only blessed me to embark on, but also led me through, moment to moment.
My desire to be a full-time Art of Living teacher came to fruition in 2000, traveling and teaching across the Gulf countries. In 2001, while I was on the phone taking His blessings on my birthday, He just said, “Go to Egypt” and the call ended. And the first panic thought was oh my god! I don’t know anybody in Egypt! Slowly I began to realize the futility of worry, not because I couldn’t get the answers but just knowing that if he has asked me to go, he will take care of the “going” and everything else after.
Before I knew it, in just a few days, I was packing for Egypt. On a whim, at the last minute, I decided to put the Yoga Vashistha into my suitcase.
My almost on-and-off 3-year stint in Egypt was a journey of introspection, realizations, redefining trust, affirmation of faith, and the beauty of wonder. And right through, Yoga Vashistha became my strong companion. Did I understand the Yoga Vashistha then? Not at all! But, somewhere, somehow, it was working. Increasingly, it was becoming an experience. I would remember what Gurudev once said, our consciousness is so ancient and so deep, it holds all the knowledge, we just need something to awaken it.
Egypt was all about realising two things : that the mind is one big monkey and the power of surrender. Knowing that there is a greater power at work is extraordinarily liberating. My different hosts helped me see how beauty, hospitality, and warmth take all shapes and forms. An Egyptian driver ferried me around day after day for months, without uttering a word and I realized how language was not made up of words but by silent kindness.
Food, during those days was a challenge for vegetarians. Come lunchtime I would take a break and walk down the pavements looking for a “suitable” place for a bite. On one such occasion as I stood in front of a restaurant debating on whether to enter or not, a call came on my phone. It was Gurudev, and his first question was, “Are you getting proper food to eat?” After that, I was taken care of.
An experience in Alexandria remains etched in memory. It was a reminder that my Guru knows; and if my Guru admonishes me, it is a blessing! I had finished a program in Alexandria and was beginning to feel a little homesick. But I was to get back to Cairo where a large course was being organized. But I had also heard about a visit by Gurudev to Lebanon. This grandiose plan of making a quick dash to Lebanon to be with Gurudev began to form in my head. On reaching, I was told by the organizer that the course had to be postponed. I’m never happy when a course is cancelled. But for the first time, I was ecstatic that it was! It meant I could actually fly to Beirut.
I called Gurudev, who said a stern no and then compassionately asked me to drive back to Alexandria “where 27 executives were waiting to do the course”. As I got ready to take the ride back to Alexandria, an organizer called. I could feel the enthusiasm rising. And out of curiosity, I asked him how many people there were for the course. He said, “27”...
What a journey it was a life journey made up of excitement, witnessing the unknown, savoring the surprises, embracing the Grace, and a constant overwhelming gratitude to Infinity, to the Divine, to my Master.
And yes, I continued to have Yoga Vashistha as my companion till I returned to India. When I entered Gurudev’s Kutir on my return to the Bangalore ashram, He asked me, “So, how was the book?” This time I knew. I said, "Amazing!". And he had a good laugh.
