Kanha Shantivanam 1st April 2024

Daaji had invited Mr. and Mrs. Sethi from Rajasthan, along with their son, for breakfast. He gave them a meditation session after breakfast. He then met an abhyasi from Kolkata who came to give him his daughter’s wedding invitation. Rajesh from the tool room came with his son Dinesh to meet Daaji for some work that was assigned to the functionary present there. A little later, many practitioners from West Bengal also met Daaji for a while. Shri Milind Patre from Pune and Dr. Shweta with her two children from Bangalore came to see Daaji. Daaji guided the young ones regarding their further studies. 

In the evening, a brother from the UK called Daaji, saying that Swami Brahmavihari of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya was remembering Daaji and asked if it was possible to speak with Daaji for a few minutes. Daaji spoke with Swamiji briefly. 

Around 6 p.m., Daaji met a few members of the American Telugu Association who had become avid meditators over the past couple of years. It was a lovely summer evening, promising some fresh evening breezes after a hot April day. Madhu Bommineni and Sunny Reddy, along with a few other members, spent some time with Daaji, after which he conducted a short meditation session around 6.10 pm. Daaji shared some ideas with them regarding what they could offer to those who sought Heartfulness.

He suggested that we could offer the Heartfulness Gitopdesh programs, Heartfulness yoga training, Brighter Minds, Heartfulness Polarity, and other such techniques. If children could learn how to heal the fatigue and sleep-related issues of parents so that it could help parents sleep without the need to resort to medication, it would be an immense service to the community. He also suggested that traditional cooking classes could be offered. Daaji hoped that special attention would be given to the youth. 

Daaji then signed and dedicated a recently released Heartfulness publication on Mudras for healing. This book was intended for Shri Prakash Shah, his friend from college who is now teaching Mudra healing at Kanha. Prakash Shah has been instrumental in editing the book on mudras, which was recently published by Heartfulness. 

Then Daaji took them for a walk in the garden. Seeing the splendor of his unusual garden, there were naturally many questions from the visitors. Daaji answered them and showed them around with obvious joy. They had planned to have dinner at Faustos, the Italian restaurant in Kanha. Much to the delight of many having dinner there, Daaji showed up with the group to have dinner there.

After dinner, Daaji went from table to table, saying hello to each other and spreading such good cheer! The staff and chef had a few words from Daaji, which lit them up no end. On his way back, several people lined up to get a glimpse of Daaji, and he managed to meet all of them. By the time he got back in his car, he had developed a slight headache. He has been recovering from his recent bout of recurrent vertigo and flu after the Global Spirituality Mahotsav, which cost him a high price to pay in terms of his own health and energy reserves. The gentle Kanha evening with a smaller crowd was easy to handle, and one could begin to sense that he appreciated the slowdown after the heavy rush, which somehow kept surging up and on in his life.

A recent guest who had attended the Global Spirituality Mahotsav mentioned that she came from a lineage of spiritual gurus, and her father is the current leader of their tradition. This wonderful person stayed in Kanha for a few days, participating in the daily life here with great passion. When she saw Daaji meeting people and receiving several devotees in his home, she was moved to tears. She felt that while many seek Daaji as their spiritual guide in silent, intense meditation practice in his presence, there are always the few who still seek him for other mundane matters in their personal lives, unable to handle the pain and suffering. She said that her father faced this every day, and for decades she has watched how they surrounded him in a demanding stance, to which he acquiesced with a lot of love and care. She felt moved in her heart to see Daaji’s situation, which is multiplied several times over from their tradition, which does not have as many members as Heartfulness does. Her concern for Daaji was moving, as she saw her father in him, and she prayed for his health. It was a truly profound aspect of the Global Spiritual Mahotsav when we began to blend into one another's lives so seamlessly and became members of a vast human family with similar cares and concerns and similar loves and feelings.

Daaji tries his level best and even more so to cater to the millions of demands by email and in person made to him. As more and more people clamor for his attention and guidance, it is vital to begin thinking about how our rightful living can be a contributing factor to his overall health and happiness as he serves without caring for himself. The joy of being the other son and not the prodigal one is a case of study by itself for the sincere heart, isn't it?