The Happiness Club Meet :)

The day I felt my worries were small.

The day I was again made to know the truth.

The day I was again happy from within.

The day of Happiness club.

The day - 9th Feb’14

Today I woke up with a fresh feeling and an anxiety that kept the freshness alive in me from early morning as I somehow knew it was  going to be a great day and i was indeed true at the end of it only to find that every coming day was going to be the same.

I had registered for the meet of happiness club which is a human charging station formed by some very positive happy people who love sharing their happiness, who are completely filled with compassion and love and want to share it with the world and the society we live in. I knew the founders Mr.Ashok Mishra(a lovable person who is a HR with Imagesbazaar) and Govind Swaroop Saini(another  40+child who smiles and has an aura of happiness around him) earlier, so in no way I was suppose  to miss this meet.

I dressed modestly to enjoy Delhi’s weather and left by the another modest delhi  DTC bus to Pragati Maidan. It’s so amazing when have a nice beginning to the day , you kind of  generate positive vibes to everything you come across in your safari and you automatically feel the buzz or hallow of goodwill around you. I later went straight to the metro station where volunteers were supposed to guide us to the venue. To my utter surprise i met Mr.ashok and Mr.Govind sir nearby who greeted me warmly which was equivalent to a cup of chai in the springs of Delhi. They both are very sweet and carry the sense of a well read person with a child within waiting to play the very next moment. I love them. We all left in a auto and on reaching the venue being fortunate we were able to arrange a few things like getting the posters done on the wall and giving volunteers their ID so they could guide the neophyte guests. We did lil bit in the ad-hoc  ab initio. I enjoyed it. I could recognize almost every face there as most of them had come in the seminars of Sandeep Maheswari.
The event started at 11 with a bang and a booster speech from Ashok sir. He was the main Anchor who kept giving chance to everyone who simply wanted to share his/her experience and add some value to everyone’s life. Tempo was constantly at pace prima face of every coming neophyte. People who spoke were from varied background. We had Doctors, Engineers, Film Makers, Directors, Nlp Trainers, Writers and Students. Few had even come from places far away as Nagpur and Bhopal. An uncle who is a trainer had come all the way from Australia. In another surprise a well known guy Swapnil who is a great singer joined us live via phone from Raipur and also sang a few song to soothe our ears. It added to the mojo of the event. Everyone was so happy so happy that you couldn’t stop smiling. . I loved listening to every single person who spoke there. It was wonderful to listen about everyone’s experiences. Everyone was so talented and i was made to feel that talent is everywhere so it must not be specifically used only on watching something extraordinary in someone. It’s there already inside waiting with its latent power.

Everyone has that carte blanche so go explore your oyster.Inter-alia there was this one person i got stunned on hearing whose name was laxman Rao for  whom I regret not having proper words in any of language to describe .I would simply say he made me spellbound to the state where i was completely stumped and didn’t  know what to utter. It was debut  to know such a person live in front of me. A simple description about him which i would advice you to read thrice to make sure your brain actually accepts this and doesn’t consider a fallacy or spoof.

“Laxman Rao is a simple Indian chai wala who has been selling tea near hindi bhavan for the last 40 years and is also a well read author who has also presented his book to the president of India in the recent past.”. Now the best part, this man has his roots in Amravati,Maharashtra(IN) , ab-initio after passing 10th he took 40rs from his dad and came to Bhopal only to earn 90rs from doing labour work after which he decided to come to the capital. He was incredibly passionate about literature and kept practicing it. He came here and starting selling tea/paan  to meet his needs and support the family but this great kept following his passion even while selling tea and when one day he went to a publisher to discuss about publishing his book. The Publisher said him-“get out! you chai walla’s don’t understand what publishing is all about” to which he says he was fortunate to hear because that incident made him open his own publishing house and eventually till date this man has published 23 books and has been featured and awarded by several organization. He is active on facebook and has also spoken at an TEDx event!, such is  his greatness that on the timeline of his facebook page he can be seen  handing over one of his gems to the former president of india Mrs.Pratibha patil. He even made a documentary after meeting Indra Gandhi on her request. He is very happy and has two children, one of them does CA and other pursuing M.Com from DU.”

My Killing instinct to do something at that very moment on knowing about him was like anything. I felt i could even be the President of USA one day. lol. who knows because probably even Barack didn’t know about it. Well lets come on the land again and so all i want to say is in the end it was a great day for me, meeting interesting people from all wakes of life and getting to know what happiness is all about as one described it as a “state of emotional and internal well being” and not just a mask showing that you are really doing happy. I wish everyone of you who reads this gets to attend one of these meets. Keep being happy and keep helping others unconditionally.

Have a lovable great day. :)

                                     MY VIPASSANA EXPERIENCE     (15^th jan-26^th jan, 2014)

15 jan' 14-

I get out of my house at around 12 with a heavy head after a disturbed sleep last night due to anxiety with just a single bag on my shoulders loading my modest needs. No wonder many people like me were standing at the pickup point in groups with baggage’s carrying clothes and other accessories for the isolated voyage of 10 days. I chatted with few people and was relaxed to know that all were freshers. People came from diverse backgrounds and were from age group of 17-70.We were all nervous especially thinking about the rule of "No talking or looking at each other for 10 days", which actually worried the girls more so they were continuously flapping as if it was their last chance to talk and somehow even the males didn't miss the opportunity. Bus arrived at 4.30 and we set our self for the ultimate safari towards inner peace in the midst of this loud mind full of thoughts. Inside the bus most of the people were quiet as if mentally preparing them self to be bold and face the fear and take-up this challenge, few were talking to the most loved contacts on their cell phone because they knew it’s going to be 10 days without any gadget, they all echoed "acha se rehna,mumy ka khyal rakhna,ye wala kaam kardena,meri uss cheez ko mat touch karna and all" while a few also made their folks on social sites worry about them for 10days by posting status of bid adieu. Going away from home is no big deal because mobile helps us to be in touch, but living even a day without any communication is like being kidnapped with nothing to keep us busy and this was a 10 days isolation so it was obvious for people to prepare. I was an exception because fortunately i didn’t have any gadget or phone. After a 1.30hr trip from a loud city like Delhi we reached the Vipassana centre(dhamma sota)situated near a small place called rahaka(nimod police post) in sohna(dist.gurgaon). The journey embarked picturesque landscape with arravali hills in the background. Usually such centres are away from cities or towns in a silent serene place. Such was the gravity of that place that somehow we knew it was a peaceful place.

On reaching we all gathered at the reception where volunteers welcomed us and instructed us to read a booklet containing code of discipline and rules. After 15mins we were again made to fill a registration form and then at the reception a volunteer went through my form and asked-"iss umar mai iski kya jarurat pad gayi"(i was like what the heck is he saying, are they going to do something unusual to me or am i really small for such a thing). He then politely allotted me a room no. and seat no. for acquiring the aasan in meditation hall. Every student gets a separate room with separate bathroom. I went to my room and was surprised to the cleanliness of the room. It was a small room with a shelf, a bed good enough to sleep and a big window which was actually like a giant 45" T.V because outside the window one would always see peacocks, monkeys, birds and plush greenery.

Day 0(15/01/14)- later that evening  we submitted all gadgets and reading material and were just able to keep  the clothes and basic amenities like brush, shampoo etc with ourself.  We then went to the mess to have a little breakfast of yummy khichdi and fruits. Mess was neatly maintained and posh, it had a big rack in which you have your plates in the same shelf as your room number , you have to take out your plates- have food and then yourself wash them and put it back only to be taken out by you the next time you eat so it’s always your plate for the rest 10days, and the mess is designed in such a way that you don’t face anyone.  It’s buffet system .The food is pure vegetarian and made with lots of love and compassion. I won’t over-rate it but it’s by far the most delicious and tasty food i have ever tasted in my life. It will be 10,000,000 times better than the best you will ever have at a 7star hotel. later that day we were again made to listen to the instructions and then guided to the main meditation hall which had two male teachers and two female teachers who look so simple but the moment they start talking in different languages ranging from high profile English to simple yet clean Hindi language then you understand that you are in presence of some extra-ordinary people, they are all highly qualified and educated people. My both teachers were retired Brigadier with shinning sun brightness on their face. Meditation hall (Dhamma hall) is the only place where male and female sit together as the residential quarters for both male and female are different thus the campus is divided into two parts. In the meditation hall we use to workout according to the audio tapes played time after time in the voice of SN Goenka ji. later every evening from 7-8.30pm a video tape was played in which this genius great man(SN Goenka) use to tell us what we did today and what we will be doing tomorrow with wonderful examples and in a very relaxed and sweet manner  along with reason/logic behind everything we did. He even made us laugh. He is really sweet and watching him for 1.30 hr every evening from 7-8.30pm was like recharging your body to meditate again the next day. He explains spirituality so easily that anyone can relate to and what do i say about his English. its just flows like a river. Superb sense of humour.

This use to be our time table from  Day1.

4:00 a.m.            Morning wake-up bell

4:30 . 6:30 a.m.  Meditate in the hall or in your room

6:30 . 8:00 a.m.  Breakfast break

8:00 . 9:00 a.m.  Group meditation in the hall

9:00 . 11:00 a.m Meditate in the hall or in your room as teacher instructs.

11:00.12 noon    Lunch break

12:00.1:00 p.m.  Rest, and interviews with the teacher

1:00 . 2:30 p.m.  Meditate in the hall or in your room

2:30 . 3:30 p.m.  Group meditation in the hall

3:30 . 5:00 p.m.  Meditate in the hall or in your room as teacher instructs.

5:00 . 6:00 p.m.  Tea break

6:00 . 7:00 p.m.  Group meditation in the hall

7:00 . 8:15 p.m.  Teacher’s discourse in the hall

8:15 . 9:00 p.m.  Group meditation in the hall

9:00 . 9:30 p.m.  Question time in the hall

9:30 p.m.           Retire to your room; lights out

Day 1,Day 2,Day3-

These 3 days we were taught a technique called Anapana which is to observe you natural breath as it comes and goes without uttering anything or even controlling your breath, just observing it. Because i had no earlier experience of meditation so it was very difficult for me to even sit cross-legged for 15mints, so i had thoughts of running away from that place. i got very frustrated for the first 3 days. I was like “am i a fool who opted to spend his holidays here and made to foolishly watch his own breath” .Fortunately all these thoughts were proved wrong on 10^th day eventually making me feel the best spent 10days of my life. I use to wake up early at 4 but it was like forcing my body to get up, my body resisted it for a few days but later it’s so amazing that our body adjusts so rapidly according to the conditions. Every odd day we had personal counselling i.e. the teacher will call your name and talk to you and solve your problems if you have any and also meditate with you personally for a short while. They are very frank and you can be as open as possible with them, the more you open up the more it is of help. In these 3 days I realised how uncontrollable our brain is. It’s always thinking about the past or evaluating the future in which we miss living in present. it would get very difficult for me to concentrate or rather focus on my breathe because of the usual routine of my mind to always keep thinking about something or the other so i struggled to have that equanimous state of mind but i was happy for the change i was undertaking.

As its famously said “Our brain is like that of a monkey’s which has been bitten by a scorpion and its tail is on fire!”.

There were a few funny moments as well when someone would suddenly doze off and snore loudly. :) , Few people because of a bad stomach farted like hell in that silent hall and i would burst badly due to laughter going in the washroom. It still makes me laugh till tears. Another funny moment was when we would listen to SN Goenka in audio tapes as he sings pali and hindi hymns through nose, it sounds very very  funny. He does nasal singing that is singing from the nose.lol....i was like Oh god! how the heck will i meditate listening to him but few days later you adapt to it and then it becomes fine. Every now and then i use to look at the clock and think “aur kitni time tak bethna hai, yaar koi to bell bajado(a temple type bell is the signal that the session is over)” . Many a times i myself had this peak urge to go and ring the bell relieving me and the ailing rest people from that hard job which ironically was to simply observe the natural breath, on the 10^th day i got to know from people that everyone had the same urge. :)

Day 4,5,6,7,8 & Day 9-

They teach you Vipassana on the 4th day which is simply observing the sensations that automatically arise on your body and not reacting to it while realizing that everything around us has a nature of impermanence(in Hindi its like sab kuch anitya hai,nashvar hai bhangur hai). It seems very simple but it’s very challenging to keep the body stiff for 10hours daily! Though there is a frequent 5 mint break after every session.

We first start observing sensations from the area around our nose and then move over head and then keep on moving our attention from head to toe and toe to head. There are a few more things that happen but if i tell them to you now, you will be confused and won’t understand much. In between these 5 days I had some very nice experiences. I once even meditated for complete one hour without moving any part of my body. I loved it!. Much to my surprise i was loving every bit of my stay there after the 4^th day. While a few people left because they lacked patience and it isn’t easy as they won’t leave you unless you make some baby reasons to get out. Still Through all these days everyone wanted to give their 100% so we use to all change our legs, sometimes stretch and bend to make the body free from aches. It was like everyone was taking and giving energy to one another to have and give their best. Normally such places have enormous amount of positive energy which you feel from day 1 itself.

On day 7 everyone is allotted a special meditation cell in the beautiful dome structure called pagoda which has many individual cells in it like small cubical rooms where you can meditate as long as you want without any disturbance. They are also called shunya-ghaar’s. All Vipassana centres across the world have a pagoda. It’s very silent inside as now any noise which otherwise came in the main meditation hall is eliminated.  It’s really silent and peaceful there.

Many a times despondency came but those video tapes in the evening were like boosters. I use to even talk with the teachers and sometimes the volunteers. it was very touching to realize that they were ready to help you in every way possible. It was an incredible goodwill gesture. They all just want to see you happy when you go from there and that too without any greed or trace of any reason. I learned from there to be compassionate towards every being which eventually led to seriously ban myself from eating any form of non-veg ever again. I also learned to help anyone in need unconditionally without a second thought of getting anything in return.

Day 10- This day is always the most important day at vipassana. This day we were taught compassion and the way of loving friendship. This day we also break the noble silence after the 9-10am meditation and trust me when you talk that day and hear your own voice for the first time after 10 days, it ‘s a feeling of humongous happiness, you feel like a kid having keys to a Ferrari. I was on cloud 9.I was literally in heaven. I was so happy so happy that I can’t tell you how I was feeling not because I was again able to talk but because i could really feel what peace meant and what happiness meant. That feeling is unbelievable , you are happy for no reason. I mean i don’t know how should i give words to it kyuki words ki bhi apni limitations hoti hai. In my entire life of 19 yrs i was never ever that happy and for no reason. It was an incredible feeling. I realized how loud and myriad is this world and its urgent of equipoise. Everyone was happy and giving positive vibes. We all talked to each other, hugged and shared our experiences, few even cried out of happiness. Later that noon we were handed over our submitted materials .Then our teachers shared their cell numbers and e-mail id so we could contact them in future. it was a great day. Mai dil se chahta hu ki iss duniya k har insaan ko vaisi feeling har second ho. I really wish every one in this world should attend this 10day vipassana course. Mera koi kisi janam ka punya hoga k i got this heavenly chance to attend the course. In more ways than one it has opened my eyes and realise the truth of life. On 10^th day we could talk to each other even in the mess so it was a jovial environment there and everyone had lovely candour behaviour. I loved every single person there right from the cooks to the sevaks(volunteer) to the people which ranged from moneywise poor to the top executives. It was fabulous to see everyone with a rejuvenated mojo on their face while departing unlike the lot of nervous faces we had on arrival. :) . Waow it was really great. I later slept at 9.30 as usual only to wake for the last meditation session tomorrow morning from 4-6.30.

Day 11(last day)-

Today was 26^th January(65^th republic day of India)-we attended our last session and then after a yummy shot of breakfast and exchanging numbers and emails we packed our bags and gathered outside where we were again back to this world after 10days.i really felt nice in simple watching the tarmac road. Everyone was happy like child gets when he gets his most desired toy. People who wanted to donate donated and others promised to donate next time but not even a single time any person forced,pressurized or even said a word to give or donate money in return for what they did for us. It was an amazing show of selfless service. I was in shock at their service and loyality. The way they treat you like god. Those people are really sweet. Though i am very soon going to donate for such a cause so that next some other student might benefit from my money as these courses are run by the donations given by old students and there is no any organization or single wealthy person funding them. Even if you can’t pay them they will still be happy for you afterall they all do this because they want you to return happy after 10days. They accept donations from 10rs to anything you are capable of. later a very generous Bengali uncle gave me a lift in his car till my home as he was leaving the centre. On reaching home my family had left for india gate to witness the parade and trust me the moment i reached home i started shouting,hooting and laughing to myself looking in the mirror. My body was automatically sending vibes of happiness and i was like waow! It just felt so amazing to simply breathe. I am so glad so glad that i attended this 10days course. May everyone on this planet gets a chance to attend one of these.

Conclusion- By far the best experience of my life. One of the many changes i have had in my self is that i am a strict vegan now, i will never eat non-veg again in life. I am no more an atheist. Though i may not be practising even 20% of what they taught there but now i atleast have a direction to head in my life. I know ways to keep myself cool in most of the situations. I am meditating daily for some time and it feels so refreshed. My concentration has increased and i am comparatively living more in present unlike in past. I now think good for everyone and my ego whatever little it was even before this course is only in traces right now. Some changes are so deep and minute that i don’t have words to phrase them here. Problems are inevitable and so they will surely arise but now i have begun to be more stable in them. You can ask my mom who earlier feared me going there to become sanyasi(lol) but i have returned only to be a better son.                                                                                                                                                                               In one sentence-“problems are inevitable but suffering is optional”

LOVE YOU ALL,

HAVE A GREAT LIFE.

ULHAS SAKHARE.