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.