From Russia With Love

well where to start from....The Dramas started even before i landed in Russia...to be more precise, i was in Stuttgart, Germany, for a Health and Happiness program on the night of 11th of May...after the Program i was taken to a Devotees house for the night. The House was in a very beautiful village just next to the Black Forest in Southern Germany...well if u guys have an idea of Black Forest and Stuttgart..then you would appreciate what i am narrating...Stuttgart is almost an hour away from Black Forest..which means to catch a train from Stuttgart at 8:30 am...i had to leave at 7 am...that gives me 5 hrs of rest as i reached my host's home at about 1 am...the previous night(or morning rather)...
well life is hectic hectic...a little bit crazy as far as logistics are concerned....
what to do? no choice...
Well we almost missed the train from Stuttgart to Berlin...and i am thinking....no train...no passport ...no visa...how am i going to Russia???

The Saga continues....One person called me in the Train and said that he will bring back my passport from the Russian Agency(who were doing my visa)...So the passport was coming back at 2pm...i reach by 3pm...a little food and rest and 7 pm back to Tegel Airport in Berlin for the Moscow ...

well that was the plan...and as life plans for us...i reach Berlin...and my dear Friend Peter Mittermiller was there to pick me up...He had the passport.(thank god)...the visa was there(phew)...

Then i noticed something...my name on the Visa was spelled wrong!!!!, there was no photo on the Visa...!!!!, Also visa issued on the 12th of May and Date of Valid entry into Russia was 13th May(OUR BELOVED'S BIRTHDAY...THATS WHAT I WANTED TO DO ...CELEBRATE GURUJI'S BIRTHDAY WITH THE RUSSIAN TTC)....
well i found out my flight would land in Moscow at 2 am Moscow time...Phew...what a relief!!!...all went well....just before i boarded the flight i called GURUJI and wished HIM...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!...WHAT a sweet voice...i could just talk to HIM ...forever...and i told HIM...about going to the Russian Ashram....

The flight to Moscow was ok(nothing much to write about)...what happened when i landed was interesting....I felt i was in a bus rather than in a Plane...the moment the plane landed all the passengers started getting up and taking their overhead luggage out...well!! well!!, can u imaging German Airline (Berlin Air) with German Staff ..but Russian Passengers....what a scene...i felt like telling them....Hey guys we havent reached the gate yet!, but how could i communicate...most of them dont speak english...as we got out i saw everyone started running....i thought something was wrong...found out it was just a hurry to be in the line for customs and immigrations...Well we say Chaos is the gift of Indians to the world....Well either i was in India or the Russians suddenly became Indians...it was like someone was selling a great product at discounted price in the Bazaar....
2:30 am...and i was still looking for my luggage...well there was one more hurdle ...the customs....it was again 400 people passing through 2 small gates...o my GOD ....WELCOME TO RUSSIA....

AS i came out....my eyes started searching for Alexei...my Russian host(contact)....suddenly from behind so many people ...one guy came out holding a Placard of my name...i smiled...and asked :

Are u Alexei...
No, he said. I am ...
i asked: "where is Alexei?"
He said: in the Toilet!! and he smiled....well at 3 am in the Morning having started from Stuttgart then Berlin and Reaching Moscow...it didnt sound like a joke. (so why are u smiling Mr.)
Then suddenly Mr Alexei showed up!. and i had to skillfully remind them to take the 2 bags from my hands, i was sooooo tired. I said...so where to put these Bags...as if they understood...and took the 2 bags and we came out to the car....well they don't speak much english...and most conversation with them at 3 am (its important to remember the time....) was ya ya...good good...where is the bed...are we there yet?....hahah smile smile....

But honestly they were sweet people..
Finally we reached Alexei's Home...He had a Brand new car...so i thought well the home would be good and i would sleep comfortably...Well GURUJI SAYS: Expectation Reduces the Joy in Your Life....what to say..sweet person, nice car, interesting home. It was funny...the largest country on the planet...we so much land and space...but the home was a very small flat ...(somewhat like in Hong Kong)...
The Bathroom was so small that if i entered walking straight then my shoulders would touch the walls...not that i am big...Alexei was bigger than me both in Length and Breath.....(well its like Mark Fry and a half) ahahahah....i was so tired that i couldn't care less...just wanted a bed...next flight was at 10 am..so had to leave home at 7 am again...which meant sleep for 3:30 hrs...only...wake up at 6:30 and leave by 7 am...

Well, i woke up at 6:15 am...went for a bath...O MY GOD....NO HOT WATER....the whole bath was UI UI UI...AH OH AH....(Indians will recognize the song...thande thande paani se nahaana chahiye)....well that song writer never visited Russian, how he would know what is Cold water!!!!

So finally we got out of the Bonsai Flat...in the car....i was happy to fly again...at least lots of space in the Airport...Well, reached there by 8 am...There, another person joined me for the Flight to Sochi...(my dear friends the journey is quite long...even after another 2:15 hrs flight...another 3 hrs of drive or train ride to our beautiful Russian Ashram was still awaiting)....Me and Ruslan checked in (Ruslan is the Russian Teacher who was accompanying me to the Ashram)...

Felt very happy...now i can relax ..have some food....well Man proposes GOD disposes....
Our flight got cancelled...so after 2 hrs at the Airport they tell us we cant fly...wooooow...and i had to be there that night for Satsang and GURU POOJA...IT WAS THE 13TH OF MAY!!!!!...

So the Airlines tell us to collect our baggage and get refund...so we go to the baggage area like obedient children...a little glum...but what to do ?..no choice...well everyone's baggage came...mine was no where to be seen....i asked the airlines...they were confused too!!!...i told them i just checked in...never flew...so where is my baggage???.....(in the meantime..the Russian ashram people are frantically trying to get us to fly to Krasnodar..another city 3 hrs away from Tuapse Ashram),,There were 5 women who started seaching for my baggage.....they couldn't find it...i looked at Ruslan...and said...WELCOME TO RUSSIA...
They looked and looked...and sounded like they were about to give up...suddenly i had an idea....lets create Panic....well i told them ...my next flight was in one hour...so search fast...they looked at me...and let me be honest....they were very nice ....they did give their 100%....i was too giving mine (100% panic)....

Finally one of them after an hour said...they found one baggage ...i was relieved ...now atleast we would be able to take the 2 pm flight....woooow..what a day...well the baggage came back...u wont believe...it had a lock...yes my dear friends it had a lock...Oh let me tell u something about my check in Suitcase...i never put a lock...my dhoties and Kurtas are not afraid of anyone or anything...they like to be free...so i dont bind them...if they want to slip out of the Baggage and go for a walk ....they are free to do so.....have a breather...hahahaha....

well but this situation was funny ...becoz the suitcase had a lock!...whose lock?...a zipper was broken...so was one of the handle...whats going on?...and the baggage tag on it was not for Sochi....it was still the old tag, from Berlin to Moscow....so many questions? popped up my mind!!! was some one really wanted my dhoties...or wanted to give me something....is there something in the bag that i need to know off?...was there a surprise gift?...well when Ruslan got to know of this he got nervous...(well it's your own country and you know your people best ...so u better be nervous)...he said: Swamiji please check if there is something inside...i asked how ...its locked...!! then he broke open the lock...and my dear friends ...my clothes for the first time came out to greet me openly in an airport...16 years of travelling with them...they never saw an airport..i never let them out in this mad world of travel...what if something happens?!!!!!....anyway...there was nothing unusual inside...though my clothes did take a breather!!!!

In the meantime...another flight was booked and and we got an intimation from the Ashram...so went for the Second round of check in ..to Krasnodar....yeaaaaahhh!!! Fight was ok...nothing much...landed...
there was our dear Driver waiting to receive us...well again he ignored my two suitcases (i dont know whats with the hospitality here....they like us to carry our own suitcase...what if there is something inside!!! hhahahah)

again i skillfully reminded Ruslan...where to put the Baggage?!!!...he understood...
well we went to the car....and started driving...what a drive!!!..i just could look at the driver sitting in the front seat...no dear ones..nothing wrong with my neck...or there was not visible wall between us...it was actually an invisible wall of stench....dirty teeth...cigarette....and who know what not?....i opened the window ..and promised not to look beyond 90 degrees...because at the 91 degree angle there was the wall of ...u know what????.....stench.....

every on the highway was driving at 120 or maybe 140 km/hr...and we were ar 80 km/hr...and i said in my mind...here we go ....here we go again!!! Man ...its not stop entertainment.....its was interesting....the drive turned from boring flat lands....to suddenly beautiful mountains...lush green....amazing views...i wish i could describe....one look and i forgot all my tiredness and hunger and thirst....wooooooow....sooooo beautiful.......and guess what...something suddenly happened to our driver...he was driving slow on the flat lands...now in the hills he started going 120km/hr.....like on a rally!!!....amazing people....
after 3 hrs...we reached the Ashram on the Black Sea....beautiful 930 hectares of land!!! wooooww.....what a beautiful place....we entered....and i could hear the sweet sound of the Satsang....O TTC ...here i come...

rest next time...

...Coming to Lithuania....

It was really wonderful coming to Lithuania...As i landed in Vilnius, the capital, and walked to the Baggage Area...it just felt nice to be in a rather smaller Airport more warmer, than the gigantic Frankfurt Airport which can be very cold, like a machine ..There was hardly any security..people were more smiling...As i picked up my Baggage and came out i saw quite the usual expressions on people's face of surprise, awe and mystery at seeing a man with beard and long hair in complete white. Especially when i am not wearing much warm clothes and other are wearing so many layers including big jackets..(no wonder GURUJI calls me Polar Bear)..

As i came out my eyes starting searing for some familiar faces...or rather i should say some familiar smiles or 'JAI GURU DEV'...I didn't know i was being subjected to a test by the two teachers, Jurga and Aukse, who had come to pick me up for a further 300 km drive to Palanga (city where the Adv Course was being hosted).
I just saw these two persons huddled together looking at me and also at others (not wanting to reveal who they were), but somehow (sounds blue starish) i straight away approached them and said Jai Guru Dev....well that broke the ice and they broke into laughter...i passed the test of recognizing them...(what to say, what not we have to go through!!!! ahahahaha)
then we went straight to the Car ..loaded up...and on the road again to Palanga.

When i heard the name of the city where the Course was...i coudnt stop laughing ....Jurga and Aukse were bewildered...well !! Palanga in Hindi means a Bed. So it felt like going to "Bed" for an Advance Course...hahahhhaha....well seemed more funny for the fact that we shall be resting in Vertical position for the next 5 days with 140 people...

Like most road trips are ...this was no different...except the fact that some people clicked our smiling (mine probably sleeping) pictures with a nice camera, zooming on the highway...well someone will get a mail for speeding!!!!

Palanga!!!, was really nice city..a small resort town on the Baltic Sea...
Yeaaah!!! here i come...for a nice, beautiful and sweet Advance Program with very warm Lithuanians...different than the German people (who dont like others to see their teeths..you know what i mean). Some people just smile less!!! what to do?1!...
But not Lithuanians, they are very warm and smiling...

More next time!!
Tschuss!!!!

HERE WE GO AGAIN

"Here we go again", I am in a new country, a new city....but basically nothing has changed...Being in Berlin, Germany...with a Amazing group of people from atleast 20 different countries having our headquarters in the Berlin Centre...working for the WORLD CULTURE FESTIVAL....Well!!!! its Silver Jubilee all over again....

The Vision is amazing...the task is huge, but as GURUJI said we are going to have a GREAT TIME...Today on the 1st of March...exactly 4 months away from the Program every things seems so crazy and hazy..but its really fast......In our limited vision ..to be able to see 70,000 people in the Olympic Stadium would be !!!!!!! what to say ?, i have really no words to describe...yet at the same time from the "EYES OF THE MASTER" , this Event is already HISTORY!!!.(it's already done, Like Silver Jubilee is like a dream now, this program too, is a dream!!).

SO coming back to the day to day Dramas....wow...i have already travelled to Hamburg, Lubeck, Frankfurt (Oder), Koln...Meeting people, Volunteers...teachers...THE fire is lit..the excitement is there...Now just got to make the Fire Bigger and bigger so that people from far far away can see it and feel it...even around the world...GURUJI is sending an amazing group of Swamiji's and Teachers from different parts of the world to Join the German Team...
woooooow!!!! cant wait to see 70000 people screaming and shouting and singing with our dear BELOVED GURUJI...

till next time
chao

Berlin...

Today, in Berlin, I was reminded of the story of the priest and the bus driver, in which the bus driver was given a place in heaven and the priest was sent to hell...

During my today's work of meeting and visiting places in Berlin, one of the volunteers, who is a designated driver for me, could definitely be that driver!... by the way, he is German and he was driving like an Indian in Berlin... He broke every rule in the book and I was saying "Om Namah Shivaya" so many times. I'm sure that both of us as well as all the pedestrians we were about to hit will all go to heaven.

Guruji, please bless us all!

Panama - The Journey Begins

I checked-in at the Montreal Airport at 5:45 am....it was incredible to see the lines of people even at that hour. Some were traveling and some others had just come to say Asta La Vista...The airport was a mixture of just waking up to the new day, yet there was some frenzy at the Mexicana Counter...with everyone wanting to just Check-in and Relax at the Boarding Gate. I was no different....wanted to just sit and close my eyes alone at the Boarding Gate...


Once I checked-in and went through the security, the whole airport seemed quite deserted...not too many flights. I thought to myself..."Ok time to catch up with sleep". So when I reached the Boarding Gate, I just sat there and closed my eyes.

I was startled by a very strong French voice announcing the Boarding time and I reluctantly, like a child going to school in the morning, dragged my Black Bag to the plane, found my seat and just sat and closed my eyes...The Journey was pretty smooth, other than the occasional shakes of the planes and the air hostess wanting to serve food or drinks En Espanol.


My flight till Mexico City was nice....but the whole idea of connecting to another flight with a 3 hour gap at the airport was not very pleasant. I was soooo hungry. Didn’t eat much in the flight and interestingly could find nothing at the airport to eat...Guess us vegetarians have to either include chicken as vegetable in our dictionary and diet or Lobby strongly for nice fresh Vegetable Sandwiches or Fries or just any and I repeat any vegetarian food to be made available at the airport for long haul passengers...

Anyway as GURUJI says "the only thing permanent on this universe is CHANGE", well it happened to me also. The time changed and moved and I found myself in the plane again for another 4 hrs of flying to Panama...One consolation was at least I would get a hot meal on arrival before going for the TTC in Panama (I hope I would be able to show my cheerfulness to my hosts and look dispassionate towards the nice warm food when I arrive).

As I came out of the Airport, I was greeted by Familiar faces of the Art of living teachers and devotees. It was nice to see the smiles of the people there (the warmth already greeted me in the garb of the weather. Very warm and humid. O Canada...where are you.... the land of Coolness)

And then it happened, the drama, which we (in Art of Living) are so used to. I have a name for it – Non-Stop Entertainment.

The Person, who had come to pick me up, could not open the door of the car. Somehow the keys would not work. The person checked and checked again...then went to the back of the car to read the number plates VOIALA, it is my car, not somebody else's. So why it’s not opening....kept trying every door...even the trunk and it would not open. And I am thinking woooooow....been flying since 5:30 am this morning ...and I am this close to the Warm Warm food....my mind says noooooooo....please GURUJI let this car door work... I want to shower, want to rest, want to eat and go see my Beautiful TTC participants...and VOIALA like magic the car opens (now don’t call me a blue star, at least not now. U will get plenty of opportunities later).

Thank god we reached the hotel. Took shower, ate a nice warm meal, wooooow....and as I started to go towards the elevator, I could already hear the sweet sound of the Satsang...
The Door opened and got in to the elevator and was so anxious to see the TTC group. Sometimes these elevators seem to take millenniums to move just a few floors. At last it reached and opened.


I was greeted with a deafening sound of Joy and Celebrations....

The rest next time.......
Asta La Vista

Latin America, Here I come!

Jai Guru Dev,

Hi All,

The adventure begins.  I'm going to Panama tomorrow and I'll be posting some nice stories from there - live and exclusive.  Also, the next few months, I'll be travelling to Central America, so there'll be some spicy news from that part of the world as well.

Wait for the upcoming updates...

Take a deep breath in and keep holding it... till the next post!

My First Guru Poornima

It all started with me rushing to Guruji's room as soon as I got ready and when I entered his meeting room, there were already a few people waiting to have his Darshan.  The room was very quiet.  All of us were just whispering and wondering when will He come out.  Slowly the room started getting filled up with more and more people walking in.  After a while, His bedroom door opened and here comes out our Guruji ever so fresh in a sparkling dress with a beautiful smile and a comb in his hand.  He just sat in his seat and people started offering their gratitude and Pranams, and he looked into everybody eyes as if showering His blessings and love just by that look.  Then Bhanu Didi lit a lamp and did Aarti and we started singing bhajans and the number of people started swelling more and more.  It was a very beautiful yet emotional time.

From there we went on to the meditation hall where 5,000 people were waiting to have his Darshan.  As me and Swami Pragyapadji took our respective seats, Bhanu Didi and the rest of the singers started churning out one beautiful bhajans after another.  The whole hall, with more than 5,000 people, was thundering with celebration.  That is the time that Pragyapadji and I were invited to speak a few words and address the audience.  I just couldn't say anything, the only thing that came to my mind was the song "Raanjha Raanjha".  Then, Pragyapadji also spoke a few words and really touched everybody's heart.

As we continued to sing, the doors opened and the whole hall went into a roar as Guruji walked in.  And as He sat down, after the bhajans to start Guru Puja, the contrast was deafening - there was complete silence.  Everybody was glued to Him, waiting for His next move and as He started singing the Guru Puja the whole hall followed.  As one wave after another reaches the sandy shores and moves back into the ocean, the wave of devotion of the devotees touched the feet of Guruji and dissolved back into Him.  It was one of the most fulfilling and beautiful days of my life. and I really felt very grateful and honored to be in His presence.

Only one thought came to my mind, like a prayer: "My dearest Guruji, just keep me near Your feet and in Your heart always."  Jai Guru Dev.