Conflict Resolution: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Naxals a.k.a DIALOGUE IN ACTION!

The current headline grabber in the newspapers is Naxalism and the Government of India's response to the crisis. It is interesting to see people of different hues taking position and talking and talking and talking....

-  Some would justify the Naxals violence. They would  point out how the corruption and uncaring attitude of Government officials was the reason for Naxalism and use this to justify their violence as a reasonable means of protest
- Others would justify the Governments plan to fight the Naxals
- Others would support the Governments gesture to the Naxals to get into a dialogue and renounce violence
... and keep talking and talking and talking

Lets see what Guruji has to say on this:
HE has said that
- the 'naxal' youths are good and committed people, just disillusioned by the corruption, apathy / non responsiveness from those in power. They are not to be treated  as outcasts, rather  they need some love and tender care.

- HE is willing to take up their cause with the people in Government if they give up their violent means and has urged the public to also support them in their efforts to join the mainstream 
Click here to watch Guruji speak:

Lets see what HE has done..

- HE has convinced several Naxal leaders to participate in the electoral process.
Click to read an article in the Wall Street Journal  and   Another article from The Times of India

- HE has inspired Naxal leaders to lay down their arms and change their approach.

Click to view Naxal leaders transformed

-  Transformed youths who have either received training from Naxalites or  been at the receiving end from the Naxals/Govt (caught in the crossfire), who have resolved to bring about a transformation in the society. Not only have they overcome their personal losses, they have been inspired to  build schools, wells and water pumps,  provide health care facilities and teach meditation!!    Click to read OR Click to watch

I don' t understand these politicians who go on talking about using military force. If  you are really serious about making a difference and want to use force, why not  use the GREATEST FORCE  (love, spirituality)  instead of settling for some small guns and puny bombs!

Conflict Resolution 101

www.artofliving.org got a new look today.

I was intrigued by the rather novel menu headings -especially Action for Peace and while browsing through the same, it  triggered  this train of thought:

Q: What does it take to create a conflict?/ What are the reasons behind a conflict? ( I thought this was easy)
- Lack  of sattva
- Stress
-  Difference of opinion/religion/political views/upbringing/race/
- Huge egos
- nothing! A conflict can start out of absolutely nothing!

Answer: Any or all of the above and many more that i haven't listed here!!


Q: What is absolutely essential e to resolve a conflict?
- Great diplomatic skills
- Good Education
- Good people skills
- Lot of courage and patience

Answer: Something is missing..., can't say what.  Each answer only seems partially correct and at the same time quite capable of not making  even the slightest difference. There must be some X factor...

Thats when i stumbled upon the following:

-  'White one' unites two warring tribes in Ivory Coast:  About Dipali Patel, a wisp of a girl from Mumbai India, was instrumental in dissolving the mistrust and disharmony between the Deula and Guere tribes in Ivory Coast  (Click on    Sustainable peace in the Ivory Coast  to read more). She and The Art of Living Foundation were honoured by the Ivory Coast Government.

Really interesting,  what all can happen when people meditate together :).

San-gachhad-wam, A mantra for this age

The blog title  means " Let us move/progress together" marks the beginning of the last hymn  of the Rig Veda.


While I am no authority on the Vedas,  I am nevertheless captivated by the economy of expression in this phrase.  It seems to convey everything that is worth communicating to one another. It makes a call for progress to be achieved TOGETHER, not at the cost of the other, not by pulling down the other... truly revolutionary (although a very very very very ancient idea :)


One could brush it away as a utopian fantasy or on the other hand use it as a clarion call to inspire and to unite.


During the public meeting to kick-off the Meri Dilli Meri Yamuna campaign on March  16, 2010, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji gave another dimension to the 'clean-up' campaign. HE urged everyone present to see this as a campaign against pollution - not just in the river, but also against pollution in the form of hatred, greed, jealousy, lust, anger, depression,.. and with spirituality as the foundation, the success of this  campaign is guaranteed.


HE then invited Mahesh Giri ji to address the gathering. The dynamic Guru sevak who had been involved in the preparatory work with hundreds of volunteers of The Art of Living said in no uncertain terms that where Sri Sri was involved success was inevitable and then  made everyone present at the meeting, hold their neighbours hands and  repeat this phrase, several times...


San-gachhad-wam

San-gachhad-wam

San-gachhad-wam

......

I truly felt that this was a mantra for our age and time

Then and Now ..... Meri Dilli Meri Yamuna

The water was poisoned and the villagers neither entered the river nor did they bring their cattle. Of course, what to say of the birds, they had long abandoned this stretch of the river Yamuna.


The above lines seem to aptly describe the Yamuna of today as well as the Yamuna of 5000 years ago!


More than 5000 years ago, Sri Krishna, little more than a young boy then,  encountered a similar situation when the dreaded five-hooded serpent Kaliya had poisoned the waters of the River Yamuna making it dangerous and unfit for the innocent villagers.  The story goes that the young Lord,  on hearing of the predicament, ventured into the water,  daring Kaliya to stop him. Sure enough, there was a fight, the news of which brought all the villagers rushing to the banks,  fearful for the life of their darling Krishna.  But what they saw was the young lad, dancing on Kaliya's hood !!!  Kaliya accepted defeat and left vowing to never disturb the peace and purity of the place!!


If it was Kaliya's poison then, now it is 3.6 bn tonnes of untreated sewerage that flows into the river daily!!!  Then a young Sri Krishna (almost) playfully evicted Kaliya, Now Sri Sri Ravishankar , who refuses to grow up:),  is the catalyst and rallying point for millions of citizens of India's capital to raise the banner for cleaning the holy river.


Today (March 16), the Krishna of our times - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is formally launching the Meri Dilli Meri Yamuna  - an initiative to clean and revive the holy river. An initiative which was started by enthusiastic Art of Living volunteers, with the blessings of Sri Sri,  soon caught the interest of the citizens of India's capital. Now there are a whole host of partners who have pitched in - as though proving the dictum for this age: Sanghe Shakti Kaliyuge i.e. In the age of Kali, the Sangha (the group) is the source of Shakti (power).


Visit Meri Dilli Meri Yamuna for more info...


and truly when Sattva is at the core of the Sangha, the power that it gives rise to is unstoppable...

Success with a smile

So many times, I have heard people ask Sri Sri Ravishankar ji,  HIS definition of Success. The setting could be different - in different countries,  but the answer has been consistent.

HE would say (not verbatim) - Usually success is seen as an outcome of a lot of stressful activity giving rise to the impression that stress is necessary and inescapable for success.  But if stress was indeed necessary for success, then Beirut would be the most successful city in the world, because people are really stressed out there! Look at all the so called successful people,  they may have lots of wealth, but they will also have stomach ulcers/diabetes/heart problem..... People spend half their health to earn their wealth and then spend half their wealth to recover their health!! This is not a sign of intelligence.  For me the sign of success is a smile that never fades  (This was a sattvic knockout punch, if ever there was one...).

The Forbes magazine launch interview

The first time i heard this (several years ago),  it left me thinking about what is needed  to achieve this success. I, somehow, never doubted what Guruji said,  but my personal experience had been different ...I had found it easier to 'not smile' while working towards an objective irrespective of whether I was successful or not!!

 The scientist in me took over.  I thought about  the obstacles to the smile and listed them as below:

-  Doubts and Resistance in the mind leading to half-hearted action
- Obsession with the end-result that creates pressure and clouds ones thoughts
- Getting bogged with  emotions :)

.... and these, i realised subsequently, were also the obstacles to successfully completing the task at hand !! Thus, one is free to focus on the smile or the 'success' - the tools are the same :)  regular Pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya and meditation.

I realised that Guruji's definition of success was not merely referring to the state of mind at the end of some event, rather HE was emphasising an approach to be followed all through the journey - at the beginning, through the middle and of course at the end.

And don't we know the effectiveness of Sudarshan Kriya and meditation, millions have benefited !!! Visit...Sudarshan Kriya et al on www.artofliving.org. If you need one more reason, here it is - it will ensure success in the true holistic sense, a success that is not based on greed or fear, a success that is much needed in today's world that is slowly recovering from the economic crisis brought about by a rather shortsighted view of success.

Sattva : The Secret of Success

In a recent Satsang,(Feb 7, 2010)  someone asked Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji: " I am working very hard, but why is it that success eludes me"

Guruji answered (refer Wisdom From Sri Sri Ravi Shankar )
When more sattva/purity rises in your life, the more easily your tasks get accomplished. The amount of sattva/ purity in us decides the productivity of our input. If you put in a lot of effort and the result turns out to be less or below your expectations, it means that there is a lack of sattva/ purity in life. When we meditate, then our work happens easily. People are unaware of this secret. They think why to spend 20 – 30 minutes meditating, when that time can be spent to earn them money. It is very important to meditate whenever we get time, so that you accomplish your tasks more efficiently and with ease.


At other times I have heard Guruji say - " When you meditate in groups, the effect is multiplied manifold"

So what do you think Dr. Madhav Pol did to bring some relief to  Dadasaheb Khatar and his fellow villagers?  Did he pick up the shovel straightaway and start digging the earth to build those 28 check dams to collect rainwater? Did he sympathise with the villagers, feel sorry for them and organise trucks of water to reach the village?  NO

He adopted the most brilliant step here - He started with teaching the villagers to meditate :) Yes,  he started teaching Nav Chetana Shibirs where the villagers were taught how to meditate along with the essentials of the 5H program (Health, Hygiene, Human Values, Homes, Harmony in Diversity) and the rest as we all know is pure magic and very very inspiring.

In a very simple manner, Sri Sri has revealed the secret to becoming successful in our initiatives i.e.
- attend to the levels of  sattva  in yourself and/or in your group by meditating individually as well as in a group.

I am sure readers of this blog will have their own stories to share.....

Dadasaheb Khatar

Its almost 2 years since my last post... in between, I did get a few comments and nudges asking what about Dadasaheb Khatar. I somehow didn't take out the time to write till now...

Nevertheless these 2 years for this news, is a lot lesser than what Dadasaheb had to wait for water to flow in his village and farms. Yes, for 4 long years they suffered near drought conditions till Dr. Madhav Pol, Art of Living teacher, decided - enough was enough. Do click this link to know more.

Bringing Water Relief

Dr. Pol, is an extremely unassuming person, you may not even give him a second look, but the transformation he has brought about in the drought hit villages in Phaltan will make anyone's eyes pop out. In fact the people in those villages want him to represent them in the Parliament!
Another example of how the Guru brings out the Butterfly in a devotee not just that, how a drought hit parched land got transformed into a water-abundant 'ocean'!!! ... very easily rocks the world.

Now that the water has started flowing, I really hope to continue this.... AND

Thank you everyone for all the great encouragement.