When grace comes calling what do you do, you bow your head and receive it with your arms
outstretched gently praying that every tiny bit of you is drenched and soaked up in his
grace. Navi Mumbai was showered by our Guruji’s grace on the September 13th, 2015. All
roads led and converged at the Kharghar Ashram venue. The atmosphere was magical and
was reverberating with joy and excitement. The arch of flowers at the gate and the beautiful
rangolis at the entrance, temple music being played live and devotees craning their necks to
get that first glimpse of Guruji, either in the lens of the eye or that of the camera …the
happiness was palpable.
At about 10.30 am, Guruji arrived and was greeted with Purnakumbha and Aarti. Guruji was
at his most compassionate best, as always, taking care of every heart, body and soul! When
Guruji looked around, each person felt special. One didn’t feel that the World wide head of
the Mission was in front, but an indulgent favourite elder whom one has known all along.
Guruji unveiled the Temple of Lord Vishnu and of Gurudev, after which all proceeded to the
auditorium. No one wanted to miss even a moment of the rendezvous with Guruji!
Guruji enraptured us with beautiful bhajans. During the Q & A session he emphasised the
importance of knowledge in the spiritual quest. He reiterated that we must keep reading
the scriptures to lead us to the Lord. Answering a seeker’s question, he beautifully explained
that the nature of the mind is ever changing. He said it is useless to fight the mind instead
he said we should learn to accept that change is the only constant and whatever we resist
persists. He encouraged everyone to develop a calm attitude and become “Sthitha
Pragnya”.
Guruji blessed and felicitated the sponsors, the sevaks and sevikas of various programmes
and projects of Chinmaya Prerana. The icing on the cake was still pending though…. We all
parted only to meet again soon at the venue for Guruji’s evening talk, at Vashi (Cidco
Exhibition Centre Auditorium). As the sevikas bustled about devotedly cooking for Guruji’s
Bhiksha in the ashram, the sevaks were working nonstop behind the scenes…The resident
Acharya of Chinmaya Prerana, Br. Ved Chaitanyaji, Parindra Kadakiaji (Trustee), Gopal
Krishna Mallyaji (President), Manjula Suresh and the CHYKs had to ensure that the last detail
was in place for the evening programme.
The packed auditorium with around 1000 seekers was testimony to the fact that people
from far and near yearned to hear Guruji’s words. The evening began with a video clipping
of Pujya Gurudev’s talk on the Bhagwad Geeta. This was followed by an audiovisual on the
activities of the Chinmaya Mission. After felicitating Pujya Guruji and the other guests of
honour, the Chief Guest (Dr Sanjay Deshmukh, the Vice Chancellor of Mumbai University),
spoke on “The Relevance of Geeta in Ecologically Sustainable Development”. Quoting from
the verses of the Geeta frequently and eloquently, he sent out a powerful message that
education is not completed with just a University degree….. The Geeta completes it!
And then the moment arrived for which we were all waiting most eagerly for. Pujya Swami
Tejomayanandaji started his talk on “THE RELEVANCE OF GEETA IN TODAY’S WORLD.”
1. Guruji first appreciated the fact that we at least accepted that the Geeta was indeed
relevant in the modern day!
2. Going on to describe the modern world’s maladies…the fast life, the cut throat
competition, guided missiles in the hands of misguided people (!)… Guruji drew a
parallel between the then Arjuna and the modern day Arjuna. Time and again he
finds himself in a state of dilemma & despondency caught up in action or seeking
answers, swayed by cravings and aversions. Only the intensity or degree has changed
perhaps. Thus the Geeta which roused Arjuna from despair is all the more relevant in
today’s world!
3. In this age when technology changes by the minute, this 5000 year old scripture
provides a path - a solution, no matter wherever one is stuck in life.
4. Guruji said that we had to learn to work with Vision/Knowledge, Understanding and
Fortitude. Purification of the self has a cascading positive effect that can change the
whole scenario.
The talk was rich in content interspersed with wit and humour. Guruji had the entire
audience enthralled – be it the jean clad youngster or an octogenarian. The talk ended much
too soon. However the message had gone across. Lord Krishna never tried to change the
world, He empowered Arjuna to change from within and face the very same world. If
Arjuna, our friend in a predicament similar to ours, could transform from the Geeta, so can
we, so can we!