ALCOHOLISM TO SOBRIETY – GRACE
OF THE MASTER
Astrologers and
soothsayers blamed my quotidian drinking problem on malefic
planetary
configurations and the stars, clairvoyants postulated theories that it was
ill
fated - Karma, science opined that alcoholism was
perhaps genetic.
In our family some
relatives had been alcoholics. An uncle fought back through the fellowship of
Alcoholics Anonymous and others regrettably
succumbed to the pestilence. 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 calamitous effect on human body, mind and
soul. Rehabilitation
is
an arduous and a painstaking task which necessarily
required Divine
intervention.
Today,
I recall those wintry weekends of Bikaner, when I hit the bottle after
performing a part of my official work where I was in charge of
passenger and freight operations.
All those involved have to be extremely sharp
and alert and here I was mixing my work with alcohol. A typical weekend meant
speaking to 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.
Year
after year, starting somewhere in 1995 to end-2006, I was drinking like a fish
and smoking like a chimney.
Science vouchsafes
for
professional help. But the addict is absolutely oblivious to any help and is
cocooned in a world of self-denial and
arrogance, refusing any form of help and shuts
all doors. I have seen
it happening with myself and a few colleagues who sadly succumbed to the pestilence.
When the addict surrenders to Divine mercy
it is only then the almighty manifests in the form of himself, a Guru or
medical/professional help.
MIRACLES some years later
The time
was 11 a.m. I was drafting a letter in my airconditioned cubicle. My
personal assistant pressed the buzzer and mentioned that someone
from Britannia Industries wanted to meet me. The gentleman hailed from
Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. He was planning a trip
to Tirumala (the abode of Lord Narayana) and sought help for an
emergency quota by train.
During our
conversation, I mentioned that in the
year 2005, I had
worked on Guntakal Division of South-Central Railway. Guntakal is essentially a
railway town which was once with Central Railway, then Southern Railway
and now is a strategic division (business unit) of South-Central Railway.
A large
number of freight and passenger trains crisscross the jurisdiction of this
division. It is an important freight loading point and a money-spinner for the
railways. The town does not have much to offer, but the division houses several
important pilgrim, religious, spiritual places like Tirupati, Srikalahasti , Mantralayam , Pannapakam and Kadiri
among others which are singular
religious spots in the rugged and arid
area of Rayalseema which attract the faithful in humungous numbers.
Adjoining
Guntakal Division is the Bangalore Division of South Western Railway. Prashanti
Nilayam of Shri Sathya Sai Baba is located in Bangalore Division of South
Western Railway. At Bangalore, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has established the
Art of Living International Centre. Thus, there are a large number of places of
spiritual importance which are
located in the vicinity of Guntakal.
We were
broadly recalling the importance of these significant
places. Then the visitor
mentioned a famous Hanuman Temple at Guntakal, which I had forgotten to recall.
Every railway officer who joins Guntakal Division first offers obeisance at the
Hanuman Temple before joining duty.
Lord Hanuman is the
perfect devotee. Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says “Only one who is strong can
surrender”. Lord Hanuman the mighty warrior surrenders effortlessly at the feet
of his Lord - Sri Rama. If you think about it this aspect of Surrender and Strength
is one of the biggest lessons that lord Shani is attempting to teach us.
There is a verse in the Hanuman Chalisa that
says
राम दुआरे तुम रखवारे। होत न आज्ञा बिनु पैसारे॥
rāma duāre tuma rakahvāre। hota na āgyā binu paisāre॥
This verse in literal translation means
“You are the one who guards the door of Lord
Rama and no one can enter it without your permission or command”.
The deeper significance is
Lord Hanuman is called Vayu Putra - the son of
the wind God Vayu.
Sage Parashara teaches us that the planets are
the avatars of Lord Vishnu. Lord Rama is connected to the planet Surya - Sun.
The Sun represents our soul, the inner light. To reach the Sun God (Rama) we
need the permission of Lord Hanuman (Vayu). So, through the practice of
Pranayama (Vayu) we are able to activate the Ajna chakra (third eye) and that
is the door way to Lord Rama (soul, inner light).
That is also the reason why the worship of Lord
Hanuman is one of the most powerful remedies for Saturn related problems.
Saturn is Darkness, Sun is Light. So, through Lord Hanuman (Vayu) we get access
to the Light (Sun). When there is light there is no darkness
Thereafter
our conversation veered to Mantralayam.
Mantralayam
is the place where Shri Raghavendra Swami entered Tejaroopa (spirit) in 1671
AD. That is where he was interned in a tomb upon attaining Samadhi. The
faithful believe that Raghavendra Swami would be in the state of
Tejaroopa for a period of 700 years. Raghavendra Swami succeeded his Guru
Sudheendra Teertha as the head of the Mutt and served the Mutt from 1621–1671
propounding the Dwaita philosophy. He is also believed to be an incarnation of
Bhakta Prahalad.
If one looks at any
photograph of Raghavendra Swami and the seeker is struck with the images
of the trinity of
Hanuma-Bhima-Madhva and Raghavendra[pa1] .
There is a
tradition at all Mutts of Raghavendra Swami about the lineage, of Hanumanji,
Bhima, Madhavacharya and then Raghavendra Swami. This is how the Divine spirit magically flows between
these mystical figures.
And they are all connected with breath. And
breath has a bearing on the mind.
Born
Venkana Bhatta in 1595 to
Gopikaamba and Thimanna Bhatta, he was married to Saraswati Bai.
Following
this discussion over a cup of tea and some Brittania biscuits, the gentleman
left. No sooner had he left, within a matter of a few minutes, someone entered my room,
with the Prasadam
of Raghavendra Swami. This was inexplicable!
For things
to materialize, we need to develop a highly positive intent. This positive
intent sends signals to the Universe and inn
return the Universe conspires to provide us with what we really need. However,
for the cycle to continue, humans need to be extremely grateful. This is no
rocket science. It is not so distant from our inner self. This is an intuitive
ability which we need to develop and harness.
Yoga is
not just performing merely
Asanas. It
has eight limbs to it — Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana,
Dhyana and then reaching a state of Samadhi.
Samadhi is the state of complete bliss. It is in that state, miracles keep
occurring seamlessly.
Several
years ago, when I was posted at
Guntakal, when I was an established
alcoholic.
Along with my maternal aunts, I went to Raghavendra Swami Mutt at Mantralayam.
I smuggled a bottle of liquor in that state of hubris.
My mind was fixated on the bottle and was
conspiring to circumnavigate the rules of Brindavan so I could consume the
spirits. This is the character of the monkey mind. Brindavan is the place where
Raghavendra Swami is in Samadhi in his Tejaroopa (spirit).
There was
an unbearable stench in my room. To my amazement, the bottle
cracked [ss2] and the
liquor had leaked from the bottle. The seal was not broken. Everything was
drenched with liquor except my puja material and the notes of the Art of Living
Part 1 course. Thus, Satan cannot affect
what is pure and Divine. This too was a miracle.
However,
the human mind ignores and rubbishes such claims. Years later, while travelling
by a special train, Sri Sri Ravi
Shankar smiled in his inimitable manner and gave me Mantralayam Prasadam
as we crossed Kurnool district. This
is the area where Mantralayam is located. Yet another miracle had occurred, I
realized.
Faith is
an integral part of any miracle. Faith is complete trust or confidence in
someone or something. It is a strong belief in the doctrines of a religion
based on spiritual conviction than proof.
When the
tunnel is really dark and our mind is plagued by fear, we deeply pray for a
miracle to happen so that we do not get subsumed by the vortex of negative
power and thinking. While thinking negatively, we transmit negative signals to
the Universe and thus in return we get shrouded by unfortunate events. Thus
prayer, faith and miracles are all intertwined.
But for
all these to happen, the intent of the
human needs to be extraordinary.
‘There are
only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The
other is as though everything is a miracle,’ wrote
Albert Einstein.
Positive
Thinking to all
our readers. Jai Guru Dev
MY RECOVERY
Sometime
in November 2003, my wife registered my name for the Part 1 course of the 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.
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 practicing the short Sudarshan Kriya every day without fail to
derive full benefits of the programme. The participant should also attend different
programmes
from the bouquet of courses designed by Guruji and imparted by the Art of
Living Foundation.
Unfortunately,
I did not attend the weekly follow-up schedule, nor did I attend the Advanced
Meditation Course. Though the organizers of the course were quite considerate
in agreeing to accommodate me as a non-residential participant in a residential
programme, so that my dependency on Bacchus would reduce. 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-erected impediments which I had yet to overcome.
Though
I did not attend the weekly follow-ups nor participate in any other course of
the Art of Living, by the grace of Gurudev, I 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 value
and benefits.
Several
medical practitioners agree that this rhythmic breathing technique increases
the level of prana (chi), helping it to virtually permeate into each cell
of the body. The week-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 of the Art of Living course which I had jotted down at Jaipur were
spared. To me, this was a strong manifestation from the divine. This was no
hallucination, but a clear message sent to me by Raghavendra Swami and Guruji
that enough was enough! I had to singularly abstain from 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 Sathya Sai Baba
virtually every day, exhorting me to give up alcohol. Now these are things
which a rationalist, atheist, or even science would ridicule. But those nights
were quite wretched. I was drunk and kept dreaming of Gurudev and Baba. Through
all of this, every morning, even though I was literally a zombie, I practiced Sudarshan Kriya. Then
quite miraculously, by the grace of the Master, I stopped drinking in early
December 2006. It is once again purely his grace that I have not touched
alcohol despite all provocations. It is now nearly ten years of sobriety.
Guruji
asked me to share my story with the whole world in order to motivate them to
take to this path of Happiness. By his grace several railway men 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. Such is the power of the
Sudarshan Kriya. If the Indian Railways is the lifeline 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 Hhis grace.
In
February 2014, I travelled with Guruji by a special train —Sri Sri Express.
Anugraha Yatra travelled across the then 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 into the holy precincts. I thought to myself
if Rayar taught the theoretical aspects of the 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.
In the song celestial, the dialogue between Lord
Krishna and Arjuna, the fabled archer was to say -
Arjuna uvacha
madanugrahaaya paramam guhyamadhyaatmasamjnitam
yattwayoktam vachastena moho'yam vigato mama // 11.1 //
Out of compassion towards me, you have spoken words of ultimate profundity
concerning the Self and they have dispelled my delusion.
And thus, witnessing the Lord’s
Vishwarupa Darshan, Arjuna is emboldened and is able to shrug off despondency
and pusillanimity. There is an outpouring of a similar experience by regularly
practicing the unique rhythmic breathing technique of Sudarshan Kriya which clears the cobwebs from ones mind.
Guruji says, “ Rama is the light in one's heart.
When the light within is born, life is filled with love & completeness.
While Rama is wisdom, Lakshmana is awareness, Bharata is brilliance &
Shatrughna is one without an enemy.”
Gurudev spreads waves of happiness
through various programmes of the Art of Living and ignites the light in our
inner self . So one should spread the
message , attend the course , heal oneself and become mentally robust.
Jai Guru Dev- Victory to the Big
Mind
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