Velliangiri Padayatra with a Ratha

    My 1st Isha padayatra in 2020 was when I realized this padayatra is not just a walk, its much more. Come 2023, its not just a padayatra, its a padayatra along with carrying a Ratha. This takes 19 days to reach Isha Yoga Ashram starting from Bangalore, and I could be a part of this only for the last 6 days. Still, enough experiences to last..

   One contrasting difference in walk vs walk with Ratha is in just walk, the intensity is much more because when you walk, walk and keep walking, you get into a zone, you get lost in the mind, things start reflecting, what not. With Ratha, you are moving slowly and always in a group so you getting into your own zone is lesser. However, the biggest advantage of a Ratha is the number of lives we touch upon along the way.  As Sadhguru tells, What can be more joyful than putting seeds of Bhakti along the way? 

padayatra is not just a walk

      It was Dec 31st 2019, when I was going over my last years goals and finding out what got achieved and what not. As I started dotting for 2020, the thought of going for padayatra crossed my mind. I knew during Mahashivratri, Isha meditators go for padayatra from their respective places to Velliangiri. I wanted to do this, a padayatra from Bangalore to Velliangiri temple in Coimbatore. The only issue is the number of days I had to take leave. Couple of weeks later, the dates got announced, its from 7th Feb to 19th Feb. Excluding weekends, I had to take 10 days off. I applied, and my boss immediately approved it. Never I thought this will end up as the most wonderful time of my life, and I will never forget my boss for this.

my experiences during the yatra

 

 13 days, 13 locations, 2500 people, 70 buses and our Velkudi Krishnan Swami, who took us to Ujjain,Dakor,Somnath, Dwarakapuri(Gomathi & Bet Dwaraka), Nathdwara, Pushkar, Kurukshetra, Haridwar, Brindavan, Mathura, Gokul, Nandagram  & Govardhan and showed us  Krishna, Krishna and more Krishna. I have been following Swamiji for the last 2 years, and this trip for me is all about being in the divine presence of Swamiji. In order to be fully in the moment, I almost  disconnected myself from the outer world. It was a break and recharge which I was looking forward to very badly, however, I ended up learning  a lot of things.

    I was part of bus number 29, named Thirumalai Nallan, a very lively bus with 38 people on board. Our 2 volunteers, Suresh and Ravi sir, a youth and experience combination, they were actually rocking. Ravi sir conducted an introductory session in the beginning where every yatrika  got to introduce themselves and get to know others as well. It was a fantastic initiative by him which actually broke the ice and helped people to get going with others.  And our Suresh, a person with a excellent sense of humour and great socializing skills. His socializing skills were such that where for the last 2 days we were part of a different bus, and in no time, he had quite a few people get going with him. For me, it was lots of learning from him  throughout, and being his roommate all along made it more easier. 

Run.... Run Isha.... Run for Isha

     I am not a runner, I never was. However, I eagerly wait for the month of December every year, when my employer JP Morgan Chase announces a 5Kms run scheduled for February in the following year. Just the announcement gives me a motivation to kick start my practice. The exact date of the event is in-fact the biggest motivation. Looking at the date everyday, I start increasing my running distance, and a week before the event, I make sure to reach the target of 5Kms. My goal is simple: I want to run non-stop and complete the run. My run timing is not great, does not matter anyways. It gave me a good opportunity to increase my fitness level, it gives me a good 2 month break to enjoy with the nature. 

    I am going to run again this year, TCS World 10k run on 21st May 2017. This run is going to be a lot different from the earlier one. Because this time I am going to run for a cause, Isha Vidhya.   What is Isha Vidhya? Isha Vidhya is a chain of schools run by Sadhguru's Isha foundation, 8 in Tamil Nadu and one in Andhra.  Around 60% of the schools studying in these schools receive full scholarship, meaning their education is completely funded by donations. The remaining children are charged a nominal fee. In addition, Isha Vidhya adopts a lot of government schools where Isha trains the government school teachers. But, why am I campaigning for Isha Vidhya? Because I was in one of the Isha Vidya schools last Saturday, the one in Dharmapuri, and I saw what they do.

Sri Ramanuja Anu Yatra 2016 - As it happened

 Sri Ramanuja Anu Yatra 2016, conducted by Kinchitkaram trust, under the guidance of Velkudi Krishnan Swami started on 14th October 2016 at Ujjain and ended on 26th October in Vrundavan. After starting from Ujjain, moved on to Dakor,Somnath, Dwarakapuri(Gomathi & Bet Dwaraka), Nathdwara, Pushkar, Kurukshetra, Haridwar, Brindavan, Mathura, Gokul, Nandagram & Govardhan. This yatra is to visit the Krishna temples  and the places where Krishna leela's took place. I already shared my experiences during the yatra, in this article we will see about the different places where Swamiji took us. All yatrikas had to come to Ujjain on their own. From here, the yatra starts.

Pejavara Swamiji's 5th Paryaya

        

The countdown begins. The 2016  paryaya when our own Swamiji Sri Sri Vishwesha Teertharu assumes paryaya, his turn to worship Udupi Shri Krishna for the next 2 years, is on 18th Jan 2016, just a few days away. As many of us know, Sri Sri Vishwesha Teertharu will be assuming paryaya for the record 5th time. This is a great moment for all the Madhwas, and we should try our best to be present in Udupi on the day of Paryaya.

Why should I attend Paryaya?

       The great swamiji, who is revered by one and all, is going to assume the temple responsibilities for the record 5th time. Only Shri Vadiraja Teertharu has assumed 5 times before. This is a once in a lifetime moment and a proud one too, we may not witness any such in future. It is a great occasion for us. We should consider ourselves blessed if we can be there in Udupi and take Swamiji's blessings on that day.

My biggest achievement till date

   Looking at the title, if you had thought I am writing about stuff after having achieved something really big in my personal life, you got it wrong. Or if you had thought I had done something astonishing in my professional life, you have still got it wrong. Some of you might already be thinking that finally some girl telling yes to marry this crazy guy has to be the biggest :), no you still got it wrong. Well, all I have managed is to get a driving license for a 2-wheeler . And yes, I do consider this as the biggest thing I have achieved. I can already hear somebody asking me, "Hey, you are 28. Getting a 2-wheeler license now!! What the fuck you were doing all these years :)?". I would answer you telling, "Actually, actually,.........".

Dont worry, life is just the same as yesterday

    Life is running faster, in fact much faster than what it was a few years back. Things are happening pretty quickly. The pace is very unsettling. We think we are living in the moment, but constantly worried and planning about that "tomorrow" which may or may not happen. A look at certain things reveals life has not changed much from how it was yesterday, all the thoughts of things going wrong or awry did not happen. We are managing it somehow and moving on, isn't it? If things are going on somehow, why should we worry? 

It's free lunches in Tamil Nadu

    "Free mixie or Grinder for families. Free laptops for senior school and engineering students. Rice at Re.1 per kg. 4 grams of gold for brides from poor families." This is how the manifesto of political parties looked like in the recent Tamil Nadu elections. Elections in Tamil Nadu are fought differently these days, in fact from the 2006 election. Its all about throwing freebies. The more freebies you have in your manifesto, the better are your chances. The concept of freebies started in the last term when the ruling government started giving Free color television for the people of Tamil Nadu. And guess what, it worked wonderfully well until the 2G scam came and spoiled the party. By the way, is it a government's job to buy things for the people?

Dhoni is super lucky, rite?

  India won the T20 world cup. People said Dhoni is lucky. CSK wins IPL3. People say Dhoni is very lucky. CSK win Champions League. People say Dhoni is very very lucky. India crowned Number 1 in the ICC Test Rankings. People say this Dhoni has always been lucky. Now, the mother of all: India wins the WORLD CUP. What now? Dhoni is the most luckiest person on this planet? Or Super Lucky? Hey, hold on. One can be lucky once, or twice, or thrice, or max say for an year or two. If we say somebody is lucky all through his career, aren't we  kidding? 

A leader Who had No Title - A Review

  "A captivating story that teaches as it delights" read the quote of Paulo Coelho on the cover page of a book titled "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari", authored by Mr. Robin Sharma. The quote made me to add the book to my cart.  When I finished the book, a feeling perhaps it has to be the best book I have ever read. Googled more on Robin Sharma, and realized Mr. Robin Sharma is one of the top leadership guru's in the world. Felt a little ashamed that day that I never have heard about Mr. Sharma before reading the monk who sold his ferrari. Googled more on Mr. Sharma's books and realized every book of his is a best seller.  The day I finished the ferrari, I rushed to crossword to pick up the next one :"The Leader Who had No Title".

This world cup format sucks...

 2 groups. 7 teams each, 4 teams who play cricket, and 3 who are learning. 4 from each group qualify for the quarter finals. Look carefully, all the good teams need to do is to beat those 3 dummy teams and you are into the quarter finals. Once in quarter finals, now, all a team needs is to play 3 days of good cricket and you will be the World Champions of cricket, immaterial of how good or bad you were during the league stage. Just 3 days of cricket to call somebody a champion? 

And they say, we are a developing country

  15th August, my country got its Independence. 26th January, which passed a few weeks back, my country became Republic. With Independence, India became a country which can be ruled by its own people, whether you like it or not. Republic, gave a constitution to us, formulated with it the fundamental rights for every citizen. Today, a simple question I ask myself: Are we democratic?  Do we still enjoy our fundamental rights?

Waiting for "The Modi's India"

  On my way back from office, and just got down from the office bus. Headed straight to a small tea shop by the road side. Had a tea, and picked up a Kurkure packet. The packet was so dusty, asked the guy to give me a different one. "All packets are like this", said the guy. I told him you could have at least cleaned it once before keeping for selling to which he replied angrily: " These bastards are relaying the platforms for the last 2 years. Things become dusty in just a matter of minutes". He went on adding "You are talking as if you are coming straight from America. The road projects only starts, never gets over. These politicians are all for money. Nobody cares a shit for the people using these platforms". Typical words heard from an Indian. I said in  a jest, wait for sometime, looks like this Karnataka government can fall anytime. "So what? Nothing changes." he said, and added something more which took me by surprise: "There is only one good politician in the country and it is Narendra Modi".

I may not remember Sachin for his 50 centuries but....

  No Indian can deny the fact he had a small tear at the corner of his eye when Sachin raised his bat after scoring the 50th century against South Africa. I don't think any other player would have invoked such a kind of feeling in us. The same man had raised his bat so many times and looked at the sky to thank his dad, yet this moment will remain with us for at least quite sometime. 

If everyday could start at 7....

  Its around 3:30 in the afternoon. A mail from HR stating a change in the office timing for one day, i.e., the next day, its 7 to 3 instead of the regular 9 to 6. The reason being internal precaution. Slowly, I realized the same thing is being circulated in many other IT companies.  By the way, the next day is the verdict on  the Ayodhya dispute.

those 2 days with Mr.Raj Mali

6a.m in the morning. Day started as usual, getting ready to catch my 8:15 office bus near Karve Nagar, Spencer. A bag on my back with only a newspaper inside it. By the way, carrying a bag gives you the nice office-going look, does not matter what is there inside. Bus arrived. Started searching for a corner seat. Because this  IT guy needs to read the newspaper freely, and the window seat is considered to be a disturbance, one of the reasons being you need to

What is 3G? What are the benefits for the end user?

   When the world is getting ready to embrace 4G,  Indian telecom ministry finally realized its now high time to go ahead with 3G after a deep slumber. Convince yourself with our all time favorite dialog, its better late than never.  Welcome to the 3G world, its just a few days away before you can see your friend on video while calling him.

Anna, aap Hindi nahi boltey ho kya...

It was one fine evening. I was sipping a cup of coffee. A call from one of my old roommates who had left for Chennai a month back on a new job offer. As I received the call, these are the exact words he said to me: “ Tumaare Chennai ke log aisa kyun hai yaar. Mein Hindi mein kuch pooch raha tha, wo English mein jawab de raha hai..bohoth gussa aaya muje. ……………………………..Waise, Idar Hindi kyun nahi boltey ? In logonko hindi se kya problem hai?”.

Perhaps he vented his entire frustration on me J . I had a tough time