Spirits to Sudarshan Kriya
Astrologers blamed my problem and misfortune
on planetary configurations and the stars, clairvoyants postulated theories
that it was bad fate- Karma, science opines that alcoholism is perhaps genetic.
Well some relatives had become alcoholic. An uncle fought back through the
fellowship of Alcoholic Anonymous. The fact of the matter was that I had a
severe drinking problem and like all alcoholics was in denial mode.
Substance abuse, smoking and alcohol have a detrimental
effect on human body, mind and soul. Repair is an arduous and painstaking task
which necessarily requires Divine intervention. Science would vouch for
professional help. But the addict is absolutely oblivious to any help and is
cocooned in his world of self denial and arrogance, and refusing any form of
help and closes all doors. I have seen it happening with myself and a few
colleagues succumbing to the lethal disease.
When the addict surrenders to Divine mercy, that professional help works
as a miracle.
Those struggling to cope with addictions and
really desirous of a 360 degree change in their lives should invariably and
without any hesitation clutch the hand of the Divine, whose manifestation is a
Guru, in order to survive and help themselves and their loved ones.
Today, I recall those wintry weekends of
Bikaner, when I hit the bottle after performing a part of my official duties
where I was in charge of passenger and freight operations. Infact, railway
operations involves a 24x7, 365 days effort. All those involved have to be
extremely sharp and alert and here I was mixing my work with alcohol. A typical
weekend meant speaking with my bosses at Delhi with a mixture of false bravado
but primarily trepidation, over several packets of cigarettes, taking a quick
shower, a light breakfast and then settling down with my precious bottle of
gin.
Later in the afternoon, I would settle down
with yet another bottle of gin. All through, spar with supposedly non
performing staff, quibble with my wife and shout at my children and literally
sleep over lunch , while the telephone
from the railway control office would be ringing incessantly .The
pattern continued . It was a strange fixation with the drink . I vomited only
to drink more. One could call it drinking bulimia. As the sun sank in the
deserts of Rajasthan , shadows lengthened in our railway bungalow , the
prestigious Palace on Wheels chugged along , coal rakes were being supplied to
powerhouses, gypsum and food grain was getting loaded and I was trying to handle the second bottle of
gin. As a routine it became one a half bottles of gin on weekdays and over the
weekends there were two bottles. Nothing to trumpet about .It was a wretched
life to lead, no friends, no social gatherings it was only alcohol. Whenever we
were invited for lunches or dinners, my family was absolutely petrified as a
drunk and violent person accompanied them for the outing.
This
was the scenario every weekend and holiday. My mind was always desperately
pining for that bottle of Gin. Why Blue Riband Gin? The fact was that I thought gin did not stink.
Gin is euphemistically referred to as a lady’s drink, but the stuff has almost
40% alcohol in it.
It is indeed a matter of surprise to me as to
how the official establishment accepted and tolerated me. I reckon it was the
deep prayers of my mother, grandmother and those of my wife-though she was
losing faith in the Divine and lamenting her fate.
Year after year, starting, somewhere in 1995
to end 2006, I was drinking like a fish and smoking like a chimney. And this
was across all my postings on various railway systems and different places. The
consumption was 2 bottles of gin; around 3 to 4 packets of Wills Navy Cut and
several packets of Pan Parag (I hoped that it would camouflage the odour). Essentially,
I was revolting inside. My body, mind and soul were all tormented and I was
looking for an elusive succour. Perhaps I was enjoying the pain. However the
guardian angels and almighty God were protecting me.
Sometime in November 2003, my wife registered
my name for the Part 1course of Art of Living at Jaipur, which I attended. Upon
completion of the course that Sunday, I rang up my mother and could discern
palpable happiness and gratitude in her voice. After years, her son had spoken
in a sober condition over a weekend. Tears of gratitude flowed for the Master
(HH Sri Sri Ravi Shankar), who cognated the unique breathing technique called
Sudarshan Kriya. She had by then seen
Gurudev at a Satsang in Hyderabad, apart from watching his discourses on
television. However, I was still to give up drinking.
A few years later in 2010 when my mother met
Guruji, the only questioned he asked her was,”Amma are you happy?” I had quit
drinking by then.
It is essential that a participant who
undergoes the Part 1 course (now called the Happiness Programme) should attend
the weekly follow up of Long Sudarshan Kriya apart from practising the short
Sudarshan Kriya every day without fail to receive full benefits of the
programme . And also attend various programmes from the bouquet of courses
designed by Guruji and imparted by the Art Of Living Foundation. Unfortunately,
I did not fail to attend the weekly follow up schedule, nor did I attend the
Advanced Meditation Course. The organisers of the course were quite considerate
in accommodating me as a non residential participant, so that my dependency on
Bacchus would reduce. But my mind was transfixed as to how I would be able to
survive the evenings without alcohol and the desperation for cigarettes during
the day. Primarily these were all self made barriers which I had yet to
overcome.
Though
I did not attend the weekly follow ups nor participate in any other course of
Art of Living, by the grace of the Gurudev continued to practice the Short Sudarshan
Kriya at home daily. Why that happened
is a mystery. My wife and father took me
to a liver specialist in Hyderabad a
few years later. The doctor exclaimed and wondered as to how I was moving
around given my history of drinking , my answer was that I practice Short
Sudarshan Kriya every day( despite consuming alcohol), drink plenty of
buttermilk and consume Liv. 52. She acknowledged that Sudarshan Kriya did have
immense therapeutic values and benefits.
Several medical practitioners’ agree that this
unique breathing technique increases the level of prana (chi) and helping it to
virtually permeate into each cell of the body. And the weekly long
Kriya session imparts a tremendous boost to the immune system and totally
detoxifies the human body. There have been studies conducted in AIIMS, NIMHANS
and several other hospitals which corroborate this point of view.
During my stint at Guntakal Division on South
Central Railway, I happened to visit the mutt of Raghavendra Swami at
Mantralayam. The alcoholic mind smuggled a bottle of gin and a few cigarettes
into the precincts of the holy shrine.
After paying obeisance at the shrine, I was desperate to consume liquor
in my room at the mutt. I was shocked to see the bottle absolutely empty. There
was no crack in the bottle nor was the seal tampered with or broken, yet the
entire alcohol was spilt outside on the carpet and my clothes. Only my Puja
material and the notes of Part 1 course of Art of Living which I had jotted
down at Jaipur were spared. To me this was a strong signal. This was no hallucination, but a clear message
sent to me by Raghavendra Swami and Guruji that enough was enough! I had to
quit drinking. The seeds of change were being slowly implanted.
Some months later, as the winter chill was
setting in, November 2006 to be exact, I started having apparitions of HH Sri
Sri Ravi Shankar and Satya Sai Baba virtually every day, exhorting me to give
up alcohol. Now these are things which science would turn down out right. But
those nights were quite miserable. I was drunk and kept dreaming of Gurudev and
Baba. Through all of this every morning even though I was literally a zombie I practised
Sudarshan Kriya. And then quite suddenly, by the grace of the Master, I stopped
drinking in early December 2006. And it is once again purely his grace that I
have not touched alcohol despite all provocations. It is now seven years of
sobriety.
Thereafter I did various Art of Living courses
including the Teacher’s Training Course and have become a part of the faculty.
I recall during one mega Advanced Meditation Course, Guruji met all the
participants. I broke down and thanked Gurudev for pulling me out of the morass
and quagmire I was in. So did another youngster sitting next to me, from the IT
field. We did not know each other, yet happened to sit together at Vishalakshi Mantapam
(at the Art of Living Centre Bangalore). Interestingly we both had given up
substance and were at the feet of the Master.I think that is what Gurudev does
when a person surrenders unflinchingly. One has to surrender, bow down and
leave all the impressions gathered over a period of time and then the magic
works.
Guruji asked me to share my story with the
whole world to motivate them to take to this path of Happiness. By his grace
several railwaymen have done the course across the length and breadth of this
country with startling benefits. We have testimonials of drivers giving up smoking,
drugs and alcohol. Similarly, loco pilots who could barely sleep and only saw
signals in their dreams, now enjoy a sound night’s sleep. This has been video
graphed by a former Divisional Railway Manager of Trichy. Similarly office
staff of Divisional Railway Manager, Bangalore had to undergo lung function test.
Smokers, who had undergone the part 1 course of Art of Living, were surprised
to observe there was no trace of tobacco in their system unlike smokers who did
not participate in the programme. Such is the power of Sudarshan Kriya. If
Indian Railways is the Life Line of the nation, Sudarshan Kriya is the life
force. Regular practice of Sudarshan Kriya and surrender to Gurudev has
transformed the lives of millions across the globe. Let everyone experience his
grace.
Last year , I travelled with Guruji by a special train - SRI
SRI Express. Anugraha Yatra travelled across the undivided Andhra Pradesh. The
moment we crossed Kurnool, Guruji gave me Prasadam from Mantralayam. I was
taken aback and reminded of the incident at Rayar’s Mutt ( Raghavendra Swami’s
Mutt), where I had carried liquor in the holy precincts. I thought to myself if
Rayar taught the theoretical aspects of science of breath, Guruji provides the
practical explanation. It is only divinity which transcends body, mind and
spirit.
Guruji
spreads waves of happiness and transforms lives of millions through the unique
breathing technique called Sudarshan Kriya.The grace should keep flowing across
the globe.
