Thank you...

I walked into the Office Yoga Hall 20 minutes late. There were people waiting, just for me, some of them were senior managers! Usually I get worried and anxious when something like this happens. Today, it was different. I was happy and smiling effortlessly! The morning sadhana had firmly fixed me into the present moment. And the guilt of making busy big shots wait on me, wasn't enough to shake anything in me! I had a lesson to learn here, I took my lesson and made the required resolution. And that's about it.

The Kriya started and finished. I saw it happen one more time... the super magic of Sudarshan Kriya!

Now, there were some blissful souls sitting in front of me. I narrated to them them a little story; of a barber and a Pandit ji, and they smiled and giggled like little children! We got up to leave, and one of them came up and hugged me, another few came up and said thank you! Now in office, the smile's are mostly plastic and the thank you's are superficial. This was different... this was amazing!!!

In the restroom, I looked in the mirror... there was a glow on my face! I smiled to myself before a hearty splash of water! And then walked down to my workplace, where some super delicious sandwhiches waited for me. Neha had got up early and got the breakfast and the lunch ready in time!

I realized that I get the hug's and the thank you's, and it is appreciated that... when most people are just busy fixing their own lives, I go out and fix some other lives too. No one realizes, that I can do that... because someone takes care of me, because someone keeps my life beautiful and fragrant, because someone instilled the right values in me, because someone let me do what I wanted to do, because someone taught me how to walk and talk and read and write, because someone taught me how to teach. I feel contented and so full of gratitude for Guruji, for you and for so many people who have shaped me as I am, and who in their own way... are helping me learn and be myself... more and more, more and more!

There is no greater joy in the world, than the joy of being in gratitude and in service.

Jai Gurudev

love & gratitude,

manish

My first course...

It is said that true love is where you come back... and come back one more time... and then never go. I was 18 and my father did not like me sleeping late in the morning, and so I was enrolled into an 'Art of Living' Youth course. 'Art of Living' because he had himself done the course recently, and found it exceptional!

I was not looking forward to it at all, and neither did I look back much at it after it was finished.

A few things stayed with me though. I still fondly remember the monkey process, that kirayedaar story, oh yes... the Dog and the Bone game! :-) I feel so full of gratitude everytime I share the same stories or play the same game with my students. Satnam Singh and Lata Singh were the fabulous teachers!

I went around flaunting the knowledge from the course, and did it impress my friends! It somehow never occured to me to acknowledge the source of my sudden found wisdom though.

It may not have lasted long, but for atleast a couple of weeks I was very aware and very much in the present. It was very interesting to realize that I am opening the door and Hey! I am so aware that I am opening the door! :-)

I failed to realise the value in the practices, and eventually didn't bother doing them. In the next two years, I sat down to meditate exactly once.

home

coming back to Delhi...

I think there is a switch somewhere inside me... and when first words in haryaanvi accent from the 'airport taxi desk' greet me... the switch swiftly points itself to home!

And then, as the taxi speeds past the familiar wide roads in Delhi Cantt... leading to Hari Nagar, the furniture market on Jail Road, ... Mira Model School... and finally to Vikaspuri... it seems like I have never been anywhere else! Aundh, Baner, Hinjewadi... sound like funny words, just like they sounded when I first heard them about three and a half years ago!

small is beautiful

I have written a little memoir of the Hinjewadi Yes!+ in November

Check it out...

http://yespluspunediary.blogspot.com/2009/01/hinjewadi-november.html

Vacation Plan ?

Boss: It's very important for us to ensure that we don't miss our deliverables.
Employee: here we go again. True. nods.

Boss: I will be very straight about vacations. It's okay to take vacations but they should not affect the timely delivery of... ... ... our deliverables! Vacations are important. But so is a timely delivery.

Employee: ting tong. vacations ? Right.

Boss: And especially the Release times... we are hit by truckloads of work during Release time. You should never take vacation at the time of the Release. Your one month leave last time caused a big turmoil. We had to change the rules of the organization!

Employee: smiles. will you ever get over that one?

Boss: Now, you are planning for a big vacation. I know marriage is special. But we should try to keep our deliveries on time. I cannot say that we missed the deliverables because someone was on vacation.

Employee: ah... yeh kahani hai

Boss: We should try to finish the work early, to reduce the load at Release time. You can work on Saturdays, stay up late to compensate for the slag in work that will be caused by the vacation.

Employee: This is how I see it... the leave quota is fixed, one big vacation would mean no small vacations. Its fine to work on Satudays to compensate for the slag caused by the big vacation! But then, since there will be no small vacations later... there will be a ramp up in work. Will that mean I can take random off's ? leave early on some days ?

Boss: looks haphazardly at his computer monitor to find some other work... ... ... gaining back his senses. Ha ha ha

Employee: Ha ha ha

Employee: Are we done ?

Boss: Yes... ... thanks!

Integration Testing

Tens and Hundereds of Software Developers, in their 8 X 8 X 6 feet cubicals, write tiny and seemingly insignificant pieces of code. Then one fine day, it's all compiled together and a BUILD is published. The software flutters its first wings, and comes to life!

A couple of months, spent in a few thousand lines of uninspiring code and some mundane algorithms, suddenly begins to make a whole lot of sense! You see a Developer's eyes... they gleam with amazement of their own production! A click here, a little click there, a little drag and drop from there to here... and thats it, you are all set to fly!

Oh! This is so exciting, let me do it one more time... Ugh! CRASH!!!


Integration Testing is ON.

The sun shall rise again

The only thing fancy here is the title! :-) :-)

The past whole week I was stuck with a complicated job to be done, in quick time, and in the guidance of a rather linear personality!

It's not done yet... but the problems are all resolved and its in a working state! And I am feeling bright again!! Opposite values are complimentry :-)

Jai Gurudev!

Happy Birthday to ME!

I don't know where to start from ... :-)

Ok, First and foremost - I got a very special gift from ... yes ... GOD himself! :-) Too bad, I cant reveal what he gave me today ... it's a secret!

My day started, with some special birthday wishes!! And then the most special gift... from Guruji, the Sudarshan Kriya, and there I was - right in the present moment! I reached office, 5 minutes late ... straight into the daily stand up meeting. Now, if you are late for a meeting and its your birthday - relax ... all anyone can say to you today is "Happy Birthday!!!"

And then it was kaju roll, mango burfi, ice cream, more kaju roll, more mango burfi and once more mango burfi and once more kaju roll and I continued filling up sucrose in every cell of my body ... after the office, it continued with the cake that Himanshu got for the party, more ice cream and a gulab jamun and one more gulab jamun ... phew ... at Mezza9! And it has ended (hopefully) with a brilliant kheer, Shantam prepared for me at home!

Birthday wishes came in from family, friends ... some really unexpected! I did not have phone numbers of so many people who called me and wished me today! Parag called me from the US just like that... and I tell him to wish me, its my birthday!!! Ravi, a dude who was with me in Advance and TTC, and we never spoke for the 25 odd days we were together... gives me a phone call and he doesn't know why he has called me... of course I informed him of the noble purpose of his call! :-)

Birthday resolution - CUT THE SWEETS from next month! (Not this month because I got to finish the pinni's mummy prepared for me and also the sona halwa I got from Delhi)

Oh that reminds me of a very cute birthday wish I got from Sona, Neha's niece! Sona also holds the honor of being the first person to call me "Manish Uncle", yea... I know there is more to come!

I can be nothing but grateful for having such lovely friends and family... Thank You:-) (When Menka called me today I said Hi and Thank You even before she could say Happy Birthday... Thank You has been so much on my tongue... HeeHee!!)

Whats going on?

LOTS to say the least.

I want to go for the YES!+ TTC. And I need a cool 4 weeks off for that. So I just walked in to my manager's cabin and asked me give me a 5 week off, so that I can attend the TTC and also spend a week at home. Well, he was all smiles. And he didnt know what to do. He said he would schedule a meeting with the senior manager.

Now, to add to the fun, TTC calls would not come before 10th. So till then, its just...call ayega, nahi aayega, aayega, nahi aayega...chutti milegi, nahi milegi, milegi, nahi milegi...and I am trying to be calm in all this. I tell you its useless. I try to be calm, I never succeed. Its not an intellectual decision that you make to be calm or to be stressed. Stress happens to you, and peace also happens to you. Sadhna, Seva, Satsang and Knowledge and peace happens to you! Thanks to Guruji! :-) :-)

How Stupid ?

I dont write very frequently...even though I want to. When I do sit down to write sometimes, I dont know what to write. And thats simply because I am somewhat stupid! (Adding a somewhat, because a plain stupid sounds somewhat rude!)

Now, I am not here to publish a book on philosophy, but, somehow I am always striving to write philosophy! Even when I know, how futile is philosophy! I have decided, I would just come here and write anything that comes to my mind. Even if its gibberish! So many good things happen all the time, they are worthy of a record here on this blog. Dear blog, and dear good and bad events, and dear good and bad people, I promise...I will pen you down more often! :-)