To my parents - Ashok and Kiran Mehta - for loving me when I needed love, screaming at me when I needed a scream and bringing all the change in me.
Believe nothing, No matter where you read it, Or who said it, No matter if I have said it, Unless it agrees with your own reason, And your own common sense. Buddha
AUTHOR’S NOTE I strongly believe that a book says less about the characters —or the people being featured in it—and more about the author. But this book is not about me. It’s about US. About the problems that we all face at some point or the other, in one way or the other—be it intolerant parents, dwindling careers, bankruptcy, resentful in-laws, or life-threatening diseases. It doesn’t really matter what MY or YOUR problem is. What matters is whether we have found a way to solve it. Because just as when we are done with solving the problem, it ceases to have an ‘emotional hold’on our psyche. For example, do you really think back to the time when you were slapped by your mother as a kid? The humiliation of being slapped may have appeared like a big blow on ego back then, but it no longer matters NOW. It is something that you are done with. Something that you forgot long back. A problem forgotten is a problem solved. Still, a problem is a problem as long as it has a hold on our minds. Whether it’s about seeing dreams of deadly snakes every night and waking up in frenzy or dealing with a drunkard abusive father. And believe me, there is nothing cheap, dirty or shallow about discussing something that is bothering you. It doesn’t really matter to problems whether you are a head honcho of an MNC or a scuba diver in Goa. What matters is
whether you have been really been successful in solving a problem. Because most people ‘talk’ about the problem and do not take part in the change that the solution of a problem requires. Come on, everybody knows that smoking is bad for health and yet people smoke. You know for the fact that you should always think positive and yet, you sometimes find yourself on the brink of sheer negativity. And this is not the way to live life. Most definitely not.
CONTENTS 1.Sri Sri Ravishankar – The Art of Living
Right from childhood, there were signs that there was something extraordinary about Sri Sri RaviShankar. Barely 25, Sri Sri went into 'silence' for 10 days and devised a simple relaxation technique called Sudharshan Kriya, which is now being taught in 152 countries across the globe. As one of the most magnetic personalities of the world, with an ever growing following that runs into millions, his message is simple: Make your smile cheap and your anger very expensive. 2. Bejan Daruwalla – Astrology
Much before the earthquale hit Gujarat in 2001, Bejan Daruwalla had already predicted it.Once a professor in English, he is now acknowledged as one of the greatest astrologers in India. . A bestselling author, he appears worldwide on TV shows and writes columns explainithat astrology is not a science, but a shashtra—a sacred text. 3. Trupti Jayin - Raaz Peechle Janm Ka
As the face of Raaz Pichhle Janam Ka, Dr Trupti Jayin is the most celebrated past life therapists in India. The day her father died, Trupti had an occult experience, a ‘vision’ that changed her life forever. Several years later, Trupti became the face of healing through her show. 4. Paula Horan – Reiki
It's Paula Horan who brought Reiki to India. A psychologist by profession, this feisty lady has had three tumors, all of which she cured through alternate healing modalities. An international author and seminar leader, Paula travels to all four corners of the world, teaching—The body can heal itself.
5. Sanjay B Jumaani – Numerology
Sanjay Jumaani is the man Ekta Kapoor swears by.So does Karan Johar. For 17 years, Sanjay Jumaani struggled with his sales job, until his father asked him to change his name to Sanjay B Jumaani. Sanjay's life took a roundabout change in the next six months. Today, Sanjay stands tall as an aid to almost the entire Bollywood and half a dozen cricketers. Whenever a film has an extra alphabet added to its name, people are bound to say, 'Looks like it’s a Jumaani's job!' 6. Ramesh Chauhan – Ozone Forum of India
Ramesh Chauhan can well be called the water king of India. His brand Bisleri commands a 60 percent share in the bottled water industry. Miffed with paying consistent loans to employees for medical operations and the missing common sense approach towards health, he started promoting a low cost but highly effective oxygen based approach known as ozone therapy. 7. Pandit Gopal Sharma – Vaastu and Feng Shui
His client lists include the Birlas, Ambanis, Thapars, Saharas, Jindals, the Sheikhs of UAE and many leading coompanies in Europe and USA. Besides being a luminary in many fields, Pandit Gopal Sharma clarifies the subtle energies that lie in the sun, wind and water and how life can be made more productive by introducing small changes at home/workplace. 8. Nithya Shanti – Happiness Joyshops
After doing an MBA in HR form XLRI, Jamshedpur, Nithya chose tofollow his heart and became a monk. Six years later, he gave up his robes for the same reason. He wanted to make the ancient wisdom relevant (and available) to the modern world. He does the same today, through his 'Happiness Joyshops', workshops where people have an opportunity to reconnect with their natural wisdom. 9. Bindu Maira – Tarot and Crystals
A people's person, Bindu has been a tarot card reader and a
crystal healer for the last 15 years. Since a very young age, Bindu has always had a deep and abiding interest in all things spiritual and esoteric. Thispaved a way for her many mystical experiences. Travelling extensively in India and abroad, she has repeatedly been quoted in leading newspapers and magazines like HT and ELLE. 10. NanditaSanker – Emotional freedom Technique
At anage when girls brood about pimples, Nandita suffered a massive brain haemorrhage, only to find her right body paralysed. ‘Chances are very slim—she will barely be able to walk again’ was what the doctors said. Today, Nandita is happily married and is a mother of two beautiful girls. She not justwalks but runs all across the world, teaching Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)—a tapping procedure that cures migraines, aches, pain, and phobias within minutes. It is aprocedure that makes the impossible, possible. 11. Shivani Ben Verma – The Brahma Kumaris
While flicking channels on TV, one willdefinitely come across Sister Shivani on Aastha channel. Since 2007, she has been appearing in the TV programme 'Awakening with Brahma Kumaris'. Her message is simple: You are not this body or name that you identify yourself with, you are a soul. A consciousness that is eternal.
THE ART OF LIVING
Sri Sri Ravishankar
Right from childhood, there were signs that there was something extraordinary about Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Barely 25, Sri Sri went into 'silence' for 10 days and devised a simple relaxation technique called Sudharshan Kriya, which is now being taught in 152 countries across the globe. As one of the most magnetic personalities of the world, with an ever growing following that runs into millions, his message is simple: Make your smile cheap and your anger very expensive.
I make fun of Sri Sri when I first see him on T.V. 'Kaun hai ye baba,'isthe first thought that strikes me, followed by 'Only women speak like that!' This is when I was 17. Deeply frustrated, I used to find 'temporary pleasures' in taking a dig at others. Little did I know that one day, I’ll be yearning hard to meet him. In person. To listen to his soft soothing voice, that has become his trademark. It all starts with an Art of Living poster that I see at a stationary shop in Udaipur, my hometown. It is Mahashivratri and the 'Art of Living guys' are organizing a satsang. I think I’ll enjoy loads, but to my dismay and amazement.I find myself crying. For no reason in particular. Or I suppose, for many reasons in particular. These impromptu tears intrigue me to take up the basic course. On the very first day, I observe that my Art of Living (AOL) teacher smiles all the time, making it easier for me to confide in her. I tell her that I cried during the
statsang, still feeling a bit awkward at sharing something so silly, yet so private.
'Hota hai…’ she tells me. ‘Maybe you were “holding” on to something.Isko cleansing kehte hain.Hota hai.'
In the many satsangs that follow, I find myself crying a bit more, often relishing in the cheap wicked pleasure that a few others arealso crying. And that I am not alone in shedding my grief. Cleansing of the soul. I travel down the South to be with Sri Sriat the Bangalore International Ashram. I want to know more of this man, who has literally taken to all over the world with his soft soothing voice that I once made fun of. After writing him a dozen mails, I finally get the chance to meet him personally. When I reach there at appointed hour, I see him engrossed in talkswith various administrative heads. And then, he suddenly looks up from the group and smiles at me. I smile back.
It is in that moment that I realize I have never been in a presence so mystical yet simple, so powerful yet compassionate, so busy yet so easy. I scrutinize his entire room and find that it is filled with shivalingams and teddy bears – God and toys – being kept side by side, almost symbolizing that spirituality doesn’t mean seriousness, that it can actually be fun. This presents a contrast to the generalized view of a spiritual master,
who usually maintains a ‘strict’ face and appears intimidating.
I wonder who is Sri Sri? Why do the Art of Living guys keep saying 'Jai Gurudev' to each other? And how have a simple breathing technique and a ‘course’ been able to bring happiness to millions of people; all across the globe? How?
One evening, in the month of December 1992, a beautiful girl named Sangeeta Jani, stood in fornt of the mirror during another of those routine night outs with her friends and thought to herself, ‘How can I follow a herd of people who make a lifestyle out of partying and shopping?’ With this thought in mind, she silently prayed, ‘I know you are here. I know that you are aware of all my actions and thoughts. You know me better than myself because you created me. I am asking you for guidance. Please show me the reason for being here. Please talk to me.’ A few days later, a friend asked Sangeeta if she wanted to do a course called the Art of Living. Taking this as a message from the Divine, Sangeeta attended a session and loved it. When Sangeeta met Sri Sri, he looked at her and said, ‘So, you are here.’ Sri Sri had already been expecting her! To many Sri Sri is a manifestation of God on earth?
When Krishna was alive, only three people knew He was divine, only seventeen recognized the Christ as holy and a few could understand the Buddha in His true essence. What if Bhagwan Ram was present today? His devout follower Hanuman would have probably made an 'Official Bhagwan Ram Fan Page' on Facebook and we would have shunned him on account of seeking cheap publicity. Similar is the skepticism about aguru who calls himself the ‘garbage collector’. As he puts it, ‘Surrender your garbage (worries) to me and set yourself free.’ To millions of people all across the globe, Sri Sri Ravishankar is a ‘Living God’ – an avatar who descends upon earth once in many thousand years. His merest touch is said to sweep away the karma of lifetimes. His very grace, presence and technique have touched and transformed numerous lives. Having achieved the highest consciousness possible in human form, he has the power to attract the masses like the legendary Pied Piper. An ambassador of LSD – Laugh, Sing and Dance - Sri Sri's Art of Living foundation is now spread over 152 countries and is considered the world’s largest volunteer-based NGO! There has been phenomenal growth since its establishmentin 1981 for Sri Sri didn't allow publicity of any sort till 1995. The Art of Living owes to its credit Mohammad Aforz, a former Al Qaeda terrorist; naxalites form Bihar and prisoners who have all transformed. From the richest business barons to the poorest farmers, from MTV VJs, Miss India contestants to the remotest parts of Mongolia, Sri Sri has touched 370 million lives so far and still counting! An incredible feat indeed.Especially when nobody works within the organization on a salary basis and all the projects and courses by AOL are run by volunteers. The value of peace increases, especially if it is lost in the conundrum of murders, rapes and robbery.
‘Where is God? Is He on a leave?’ I ask Sri Sri during my visit. He tells me a story. ‘Once, there was a barber who didn’t believe in God. He believed that if God was actually present, there wouldn’t be hungry, poor people around. One of the barber’s clients got to know of his atheism. The client said to the barber, ‘You don’t exist!’ The barber got confused. What does his client mean by ‘you don’t exist?’ Of course I exist, he thought to himself. The client said, ‘If you–the barber– really existed, there wouldn’t be anyone with overgrown beard and unkempt hair.’ It was only then that the barber understood the theory of God – if you haven’t reached Him as yet, it doesn’t imply that He doesn’t exist.’ Sri Sri continues, ‘Of the six billion people on this planet, there are hardly a few thousand who cause terrorism and the whole world is affected. Don’t you think that with the same law, the reverse will also work? Just a few thousand of us, being really peaceful, loving and caring for the whole planet — can we not bring about a transformation?’
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