Saroj's Spiritual Journey

At the last meeting on Feb 4th, Saroj shared a lovely piece about her spiritual journey so far. Since we all loved it, by popular demand it is posted here...

My Enlightenment Experience

Seeds of spirituality were sown in me while I was still in school.I grew up listening to the strains of Gurubani at home . I also regularly visited The Ramakrikshna Mission to participate in the recitation & speech competitions .On Sundays’ I went for a discourse on the Gita by Swami Ranganathan Nanda along with my father.But my actual journey started in 1991 when I lost my husband and decided to live by myself.Besides the emotional truama of my loss and the choice of an untraditional way of life,my health problems made my journey more difficult.

In the eighties ,after struggling with allopathy for two years to treat my sciatica pain I gave a try to naturopathy.The results were amazing.The discovery of the healing powers of my body with the help of just food, water,mud and Sun therapies and yoga was the best thing that happened to me in years.So I decided to walk on this path of natural healing once again much to the consternation of my family and my friends.

As a first stepI went to Sivanand Ashram , located on Neyer Dam in Kerala to learn yoga.In a week’s time of yoga,right diet and meditation I could climb stairs without the mandatory Sorbitrate.

I came back to Delhi and to my job- feeling much better.Next I attended a camp on reversing heart disease through lifestyle changes organised by AIIMS in collaboration with Sadhna Kendra. I gave up coffee,became a vegetarian and followed completely whatever I learnt at the Ashram.In three months there was a remarkable improvement in my condition.

After my first initiatives the path unfolded on its own.I was being led and I was only responding.I participated in workshops etc at Sivanand Ashram- Delhi. Went for a Bhagvatam Saptah to Uttarkashi.An old friend – took me for Diksha from my first Guru-Shakuntalaji(Maa) of Ramsharnam . Another friend gave me the Talks on the Gita by Vinoba Bhave.I read this simple yet profound book again and again for two years.Then I read The Divine Romance by Yoganand.During this time Life Positive also played the role of a friend and a guide. In 1995 I went for a trip to south all by myself.It was a very special journey of self discovery.

In 1996 I moved to Gurgaon and retired in 1997.I was lonely ,my health was at its lowest.I could not even go to Panipat At this juncture Art of Living basic course came my way.I attended the same.This was the beginning of the most beautiful and important phase of my spiritual journey.I have done almost all courses of AOL.

Initially I could not accept Sri Sri Ravishanker as my Guru since I already had a Guru.But His Grace kept pouring in despite my reservations and hesitations –now Guruji’s photograph along with Maa’s photoraph adorns my little temple.

I can’t say I am 100% happy and there are no slips in my health or emotional state but I am surely on my way.At 67, I live alone, lead an active life and live life on my own terms.What more can I ask for!

starting out...

Nandini & I felt a great desire to have a community of spiritually bonded people and so out went an invitation to those we knew... on the afternoons of the first sundays of a month we would gather in her home to share, exchange, meditate and grow.

The first session, on the 4th of Feb 2007, brought in six interesting people - a pranic healer, a student of Indian classical music and philosophy, two writers, an executive from a pharmaceutical company and a spiritual psychotherapist. Each shared their unique spiritual experiences and set the mood for a short meditation done to a Tibetan singing bowl. Saroj read out a piece recounting the spiritual quests of her life and her contentment at the way they shaped her. Bikram shared his understanding of pranic healing and metaphysical concepts from Theosophical thinkers. I shared my learnings from the Satish Kumar workshop - the three gunas when applied to Time. This led to a lively discussion about Ascetism versus material abundance in pursuing spiritual life. Everyone jumped into it with experiences and views culled from their lives.

Nandini lead a guided meditation on the theme of abundance in nature she created a wonderful imagery of the sea with words and music. It took all of us a little time come out of the deep levels we were swimming in. The look on everyones face reminded me of the Cheshire cat after a bowl of cream had been smacked clean!!

The candles, the fragrance, the flowers, the swirling sufi cushions, the music created a space for good energy to flow . This made Bikram want to redirect this abundant energy towards Mother Earth, the group, family, friends and people at large. I certainly felt a warm flow of current from the centre of my hands, particularly the left on.

Finally we had herbal teas and Dhoklas and Sandesh- all colour coordinated in yellows and white! And mighty yum too. Looking forward to the fourth of march now.

Bulbul

An Introduction

>Mission
We aim to create a friendly, informal and intimate atmosphere to share our joys and sorrows on the spiritual path with other seekers. We will all offer what we know and be open to what we can learn from others as we pursue our own unique and individual journeys. This is an opportunity to cross-pollinate in the hybrid world of spiritual matters.

Philosophy
Everyone is welcome - all ages, castes, communities, religions, backgrounds, physical shapes, sexual orientations, professions, culinary tastes :-)... We do not believe in labels nor subscribe to any particular ideology, religion or Guru. We believe all paths are equal and valid ways of realizing our Source and every individual journey is uniqe and special.

Format
We propose 3 core aspects:

1. Share and Learn - Everyone shares a little piece from their own recent spiritual quest/ realizations - a story, a poem, a song, a chance meeting, a piece of art, a strange co-incidence, a spiritual experience, a person who influenced their life, a book they read or anything that contributed to their growth and was very meaningful and why. Everyone contributes and discusses.
   
2. Soak in the Presence - A guided meditation with recorded music and possibly chanting and lots of silence.
3. Future Visualization
   

When/ Where?
The next session will be for 3-4 hours on Sunday, March 4th at 3.00 pm at my place 501/3, The Palms, South City I, Gurgaon, Haryana Ph:9871620526.

What Next?
If the above interests you, please leave a comment on this blog or send me an e-mail (nandinigulati@gmail.com) or call to confirm your participation. If you think anyone you know would be interested in participating, please feel free to forward to them.

Who are we?
I (Nandini) am a 38 year old trained spiritual psychotherapist, NLP Master Practitioner, past life regressionist etc. and Bulbul, 45 is an author and a media professional but above all we are spiritual seekers just like you.

We hope to see you as part of this group and even if you decide not to join, we wish you much growth on the spiritual path.

Sunny Wishes,
Nandini & Bulbul