I still remember the thrill of running away every time one of us broke a glass while playing cricket. Every single evening the whole complex was buzzing with activity. There was noise, chaos and every inch of space was used to play either the regular or self Invented games.

Injuries were something to be proud off. Fights and arguments were fierce but quickly forgotten. To ultimately resolve an argument there was one sincerely Honest person whom all of us trusted. He was the big guy and he never lied. All accepted his decision and only after he gave his verdict the game would continue.

Those were days when there was no Internet, no cable tv, no fast food joints, no mobile phones and no coaching classes. Those were days when the building compounds were considered to be a heaven for all resident children. All sorts of games were played, right from Cricket to lagori, from tennis(with a plastic ball and both hands as the racket)to goti, from football and badminton to langdi and ofcourse cant gorget games like chor police, poison medicine, land and water etc.

5 pm onwards was the official play time. During school days 5 pm was magical time. An hour before one suddenly became extra studios and would be seen with books silently convincing the parents that all is perfect at the academic front. If you were sick that day, at around 5 PM you would start feeling better.

The only way the session would end was with loud Impatient cries of angry parents from their respective balconies or kitchen windows calling us back home. Back home was some regular nagging, some good food and then we would watch some really classy and fantastic TV serials like "Ye jo hai zindagi", Nukkad, Hum log etc.

Nobody hid behind their main doors and plonked themselves in front of their own TV sets. I harldy watched a cricket match in my own house. Important cricket matches often resulted into building get togethers. Zindagi was vibrant in every single nukkad and there was a lot of Hum ness between Logs.

Here I would like to introduce you to a rare brand of English language. The English we spoke was a direct translation of Hindi. A few examples...
Coming then come fast. What to do re, he is like that only. Then what (instead of "ofcourse"). Morning morning dont eat my head. Gone mad or what. Anyways your fathers what goes?(this we never said. but I could not resist the temptation of adding it here.)

Now its for you to figure out the original Hindi sentences.

JaiGurudev
Rashmin


I shall declare to you the essence of all wisdom. Listen and let it perfume your whole life. "Bondage is the craving for pleasure and its abandonement is liberation"

What else is left of a greedy man except a handful of ashes? But, he who looks upon the world as less valuable than a blade of grass never comes to grief.

Wealth is the mother of evil. Sense pleasure is the source of pain. Misfortune is the best fortune. Rejection by all is victory!!

That which generates attachment and craving in the fool, generates detachment and cool indifference in the wise.

If from moment to moment your mind dwells on what is and drops it effortlessly at once, the mind becomes no-mind, full of purity.

O sorrow, salutations to you; you spurred me on my quest for self knowledge, it is by your grace that I have attained this self knowledge; hence you are indeed the bestower of delight.

O mother craving! Give me leave to go; you are now left alone to wither away, becuase I have reached the state of supreme peace. O lust! in order to conquer you I befriended your enemy "dispassion"; forgive me, I proceed to freedom, bless me!

Equanimity is sweetness itself and this sweetness is beyond the senses and the mind. Whatever is touched by that equanimity instantly becomes sweet.

The delight derived from sensual experience is fleeting. A repetition of that experience does not afford the repetition of the same delight. Who but a fool will entertain desire for sucha momentary joy?

If you cling to this ever changing phenomenon called the world, you will surely perish in sorrow.

"who am I?" this enquiry is the fire in which the very seed and roots of the tree known as the mind are burnt completly.

Rest in the self as if you are deaf, dumb and blind!!




I wanted to become a teacher (I had just met BAWA). BUT I was playing chess for the western railways and they also made me work for half a day. My dad was mad at me because I was giving him ample signs of quitting job. I was also "trying" to get a girl fall in love with me!? I was in a mess, complete mess.

It was during that time that in one of the satsangs I heard Guruji asking all of us to read the Yoga Vasistha daily. My brother Saleel bought a copy of it and I started reading it.. daily.

"He who listens to and reflects upon the exposition of this scripture enjoys unfathomable wisdom, firm conviction and imperturbable coolness of spirit"

I read this sentence in the introduction of the book and at that point of time I definitely wanted to be one of the "HE" who enjoyed "coolness of spirit" among other things. In the next four years I read the whole scripture 4 times without a break. I still continue to read it and it has become a part of my life. Every time just a few moments of reading, gets my scattered mind back and something in me consolidates.

YOGA VASISTHA aligns me with the very fundamental reason of my being on a spiritual path, of having a Guru in life. It gets my mind to contemplate on things that are worth contemplating. All mundane issues drop off and meditation becomes deeper.

The next post is going to be all about some Unfiltered, direct, inspiring and exceptionally beautiful quotes from the Yoga Vasistha.

Jaigurudev!
Rashmin


Sri Sri…

Praising me is not enough. I am not satisfied by your praises,gratefulness and gratitude. Do not just keep me on the stage, on the altar, put flowers and say, Jai Gurudev!' Keep me in your heart.When you are grateful, there is also a lot of gratitude and you feel like praising. But all this should be converted into your soul and make you blossom.

Once in a while when you have a problem, you come and say JaiGurudev. Don't say it only some times, say it all the time,everyday and every minute. All these qualities you see in me are also in you.

Only when you keep me in your heart, does guru ship arise in you.Otherwise just doing pad puja (worshiping the feet), saluting and running away, nothing will be born in you. If you only want to garland flowers, then go to temples. There are many idols there. There is no need of a Guru then. Not only that, there are many people in the world,who love to sit and be garlanded. Go and garland them.

If you have come to me, then change. Change from inside.

There is no happiness in the world which you cannot get by being on the path of
knowledge. Once you taste this nectar, everything else will be bitter. Once you begin to float in this, you will never experience a lack of anything in any way in your life.

Don't keep me at a distance. By staying far away from me you have no benefit whatsoever. You are just wasting your time and mine too. Whatever I am, you are that too. Whatever you thought was impossible for you, I have come here to show you that it is possible.

This body, this prana, has only one mission. It has come for one reason - to introduce you all to your own self, to reveal the true self to you. Who are you? You are truth. You are shiva. You are beauty.

See, many people come here. Some come just to visit the place and say, "oh! nice." some feel nice inside and say, "oh! nice energy!"they take few deep breaths and go back after one or two days in a good state of mind. Few others come and stay a little longer, while, while others just loot every thing. They take every thing. And that is good. Those are the kind of people I want. They must loot everything.

The shop is open. So loot all you can.

JaiGurudev!