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

So What !!

A close friend of mine after reading my earlier Post exclaimed.."SO WHAT? WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT A CATERPILLAR TURNING TO A BUTTERFLY, IT'S NATURAL!! How is that related to your Art of Living and your Guru?"

I could see that 'Nature' did not hold any great magic for my friend. I thought about this a bit and the following came up:

I asked him, " Have you heard of this phrase: Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya?" ( a line from an ancient prayer in Sanskrit ).

He: "Of course, it was part of a prayer I used to recite in school. It literally means - Lead me from Darkness into Light."

I: " What does it mean to you?"

He: (after a little thought): " It is like asking a bigger power to show me the right way. This world is anyways full of negativity (darkness), therefore please bless me with some brightness in my life"

I (reminded of an email i had read earlier) : " Does darkness have an independent existence?"

He: " What?"

I: " I mean, can you make something more dark, can you add darkness to an existing darkness?"

He: " What do you mean? I don't get what you are saying."

I:" Darkness is not a physical substance. It is just the absence of light. Right?

He (slowly): "Y..e...s"

I: "When you extinguish the light then what you get is darkness and not the other way round."

He: " Yes. Of course. That is known to any child. But what are you getting at?"

I: "To me, the prayer means, help me get over the darkness within me (Tamas) and realise the (Jyoti)/Light that is within me, the Light that I am. Thus what the Prayer is hinting at is that You are the light."

He: ""hmmm"

I: " Nature doesn't just leave it at abstract prayers, it shows this truth to us practically when the caterpillar transforms into a butterfly. You see and realise that within every caterpillar is a beautiful butterfly!"

To take it one step further Sri Sri says (not verbatim) " Everyone is inherently good. If someone does something 'bad', it is because of stress".

Thus this prayer could also mean - Please help me get rid of the stress in me... and thats what The Art of Living does - Breathe out the stress and know that you are the Light.

The biggest secret however is that this is just the beginning.... To know more you have to ask Dadasaheb Khatar, a farmer in Maharashtra....

More on this later...