A Gift for Gurudev (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar)
Gurudakshina is an ancient tradition of expression of
gratitude for our Teacher, for the knowledge and wisdom we have been blessed
with. Through honoring the source, we tune into a greater flow of prosperity in
every aspects of our lives. Sri Sri taught us that love is the essence of the
universe and love in action is service.se We recently celebrated the International
Yoga Day event at the Mahatma Gandhi Plaza located in Irving, Texas. It was
also our service (seva) to the beautiful celebrated statue of Gandhi which bears
testimony to the tolerance and harmony between people, culture and faith. The Yoga
Day was also a journey renewing the team spirit of Art of Living ,
Dallas chapter. We decided to prepare a photo album of those inspiring, joyful,
compassionate and loving moments. The
album titled 'A day in harmony with Nature , Gandhi and Gurudev' was presented
to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on 3rd of July 2015. during his stay at the hotel InterContinental
in Dallas. The executive body of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial of North Texas (MGMNT)
was also present during the meeting, MGMNT also extended a warm invitation to Sri
Sri to visit the plaza. The photo album was prepared courtesy of LINEINMOTION
studio and the caption lines were taken from the article below.
Ankur Bora
21st June, the international day of Yoga was a
historical day for the entire world. Millions of yoga enthusiasts across India
and much of the world took part in the Yoga exercise to mark the first International
Yoga Day. It was a day of peace and harmony which made us realize that we, the
global citizen, can stay connected and create an intimate place for fellow
human being. In the city of Irving, a suburb of Dallas , Texas , we celebrated
the day with Art of Living (AOL) in association with Mahatma Gandhi Memorial of
North Texas.
The Mahatma Gandhi Memorial plaza is one of the most
recognized landmarks in the state of Texas. The memorial plaza was built, last
year, through support and contributions from all regions, religion and races
joining hands together- a symbol of unity which Mahatma Gandhi lived and
sacrificed his life for. The Art of Living (AOL) was founded in 1981 by global
humanitarian, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. AOL has thirty-four years of experience servicing
Yoga to more than 30 million people globally. With 22,000 volunteer yoga
instructors globally, AOL operates in a 152 countries and works in special
consultative status with the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council on a
variety of health and educational initiatives.
Walking as an exercise is a Gandhian ideology. The noble
statue itself, him holding his legendary walking sticks and in a walking
posture, is a searing image of healthy body and harmonious mind. Gandhi also taught
us Karma yoga (the yoga of action) – to yoke our emotions to intelligence and
perform our duty with equanimity. Mahatma brought up in the tradition of bhakti
yoga (the yoga of devotion) - to see the Divine in everything and to find
wisdom and beauty, even in a way of life different from our own. There is no
better place than Gandhi Memorial to explore our theme of Yoga for peace and
harmony and that’s how we decided to organize the maiden International day of
Yoga at the plaza. Surrounded by lush greeneries, plants and the translucent
water of the lake flowing across, the park provided the perfect spot for our
event.
On the event day, we were greeted with intermittent rain showers.
It was not the most auspicious start to the event and we were worried. The
early morning shower, though, could not dampen the spirit of hundreds of
participants who turned up for the event at the complex. Not only did the rain
fail to forestall the festivities, it heightened the spirits among those brave
souls who refused to be scared off. As the event progressed, many of us, in
fact, began to embrace the rain.
The function commenced with a recitation of the immortal
shloka - “Asato ma sadgamaya, Tamaso ma
jyotirgamaya”. The chanting was a
perfect doorway to our Yoga practice. All of the participants were instructed
to follow the teacher and we began to chant in rhythm. The Sanskrit verse, praying to dispel darkness and enrich the individual and the humanity
with enlightenment, peace and prosperity, reverberated sweeping across the surrounding.
When I was deep in recitation , I felt the soft touch of the rain – falling in
perfect liquid soft beads – as if the sky is inhabited by milliards elegant
beings wearing transparent beads who decided to tear the threads from their beads
and let them all drop down to us below. The chanting continued for nearly ten
minutes, then the air came to a stilled hush and the meditation commenced.
The next session was “Pranayama”. A senior Teacher with the Art of Living
Foundation explained to the audience, “Prana means “breath” or “life-force”
while ayama means “regulation” or “control”. Together, they refer to the
prolongation of breath and as well as restrain and control. Under the guidance
of the teacher, we set about a series of pranayama postures. Sitting in an easy
cross legged position in the Yoga mat, with the feet directly beneath the
knees, we began to take deep breaths of equal proportions. Breathing in through
nose and exhaling only through nostrils, I tried to develop a comfortable
rhythm. We gradually felt a harmony of thought, word and deed. Even the rain
stopped bothering us. The sound of the rain, the touch of water and the fresh
air brought by the rain revitalized our entire body at once and we became
completely in peace with Nature.
We began the next session with a series of “Hatha Yoga”. The
Yoga teacher shared the deeper life enhancing aspects of this rich tradition
while instructing the attendees. Hatha Yoga, which is commonly referred to as
asana, is the most well-known Yoga practices; the activity of this form of
asana involves low-impact physical exercise with slow, even breathing. We were
told to move at a deliberate pace with the emphasis on proper alignment and
execution. We were explained – “The aim
is to gradually improve flexibility, balance, and strength. Hatha Yoga (“Ha”
meaning sun, “Tha” meaning moon) which refers to a vast area of doctrines and
practices centers on harnessing the prana, or life-force energy, that
circulates throughout the human body. The meaning of the word itself conveys
the intention of bringing two world of opposition together. It is a physical
practice towards a spiritual goal”. Throughout the practice of asana, we were
using the body as a tool to shape ourselves for the experience of union with
our higher or supreme consciousness. Through the twisting of body and focused
breathing during the practices, I felt my internal organs and bloodstreams were
purified.
The mind is compared to the surface of a lake ruffled by the
wind. It is said that the purpose of the Yoga is to cause the wind to subside
and allow the waters to return to stillness. That day, none of us rushed to the
car or looked for shelters when rain started. Instead, we acquired a steady
yoga mind to enjoy the soft, warm and clean raindrops
While many people use Yoga to improve their physical well
-being, the deeper life-enhancing aspect of this rich tradition had largely
been unexplored. Fortunately, over the
past several decades there has been an enormous increase in Yoga-related
studies which is bringing the profound depth of the inner teachings of Yoga
into focus. There is expanded awareness
from the narrow view of Yoga as a posture to the broader and deeper
understanding of Yoga as a whole system of health and self -awareness. As Yoga
has become increasingly popular as a form of exercise and stress management, a
lot of people are now eager to explore its potential for spiritual growth and
personal healing. With the heightened awareness, brought forth by the
International Day of Yoga, this ancient tradition will certainly take off into
a place of deep, lasting peace, harmony and happiness.
Many of the world’s current problems are rooted in supposed
differences. We stand divided by man-made concepts of separation. The teaching
of Yoga is that every-one of us are part of the whole; no matter what our beliefs,
we were born together into humanity. It is possible to create resilient and
adaptive global communities that welcome our diversity as well as togetherness.
That day, as we converged to the statue
of Gandhi, joining hand in hand, many of us were transformed with new
perspectives – a resolve to incorporate compassion and mindfulness into daily
life and to bring a sense of purpose. All
of us felt the call to maintain the temple of the spirit—the human body, to
enhance one’s wellness, to fight against prejudices, and to reach a place of
deep, lasting peace, harmony and happiness.
