Where the roots and leaves meet

At Bidadi Ashram, the home of many devotees from many parts of the world, young and old, one can see the magical coming together of technology and ancient spirituality. Some of the typical sights in ashram, which anyone who has spent time at Ashram would relate to:

-Fresh faces at sunrise, with a yoga mat tucked below one arm, guru puja kit in the other hand, streaming into the sabha for the beautiful morning routine

- Rows of laptops at meetings and the accompanying sound of keyboards in action

- Sound of evening aarati song, temple bells, fragrance of camphor and sandal

- Technical team discussions at the restaurant, members being truly international, some blonde, some NRIs, some Indians, but all dressed in Vedic costume (dhoti or saree)

- The delightful sight of an avatar draped in graceful saffron, suddenly appearing in front of you!

- Quiet faces in deep meditation under the mystical banyan tree

- Blackberries downloading emails at real time for enhanced work efficiency

- Spiritual debates and inner healing sessions

- Dancing away to the latest Nithya dance hits

- Gurukul kids playing badminton, football and other games in their playground

- Fashion accessories at Ashram - Rudraksh mala, Nithyananda bracelet, kumkum, vibhuti

- The list goes on...

To summarize, Bidadi Ashram is the most beautiful place on planet earth - where you get to experience the peak of the inner and outer worlds, with joy! After all, it's the home of God!

If you have a sight you want to add to the list, please feel free and leave your comment.

Nithyanandam!

Upanishad - Sitting at the feet of the Master

Eternity unfolds itself every time we sit at the feet of our beloved Master. Nobody has any track of time or space, as we sit in a deep silence in His presence. Indeed, this is what the ancient rishis meant by the word "Upanishad", sitting at the feet of the master. The Master's presence is like that of the sun, the rays of which simply penetrate the surroundings. If a cube of ice is put in the sun, it melts in no time.

Just like that, our samskaras simply dissolve in the intense energy field of the Master. The sun does not think about who is coming near it and then decide whether to shine or not. It shines no matter what. Master's compassion does not have logic. There is no calculation involved or an ulterior motive when the Master radiates his love and compassion. It is whether we want to allow ourselves to melt or we choose to hold back.

It does not matter what He talks, every word is like an arrow hitting our inner space and killing the demons of ego and conditionings. The Master wants our transformation, our growth, our joy. Why should he be so bothered about our growth? For no logical reason. This is called compassion.

Nithyananda Ashram - Tiruvannamalai, Shortcut to Instant Samadhi

Tiruvannamalai, the spiritual incubator of the world, ...

- the place where Shiva rests as the Mountain - Arunachala, the Linga and the Master,

- the place, the name of which when uttered, brought a 16 year old kid running towards It who later became the enlightened Master Bhagawan Ramana Maharshi,

- the place which has seen an unbroken lineage of enlightened Masters continuously grace planet earth,

- the place with the huge Shiva temple which attracts devotees from all over the world,

- the place which is now seeing the enlightenment expression of living avatar Paramahamsa Nithyananda...

This was my second trip to Tiruvannamalai with Swamiji for his birthstar celebrations (the first trip was also on the same occasion three years ago). But it felt as if I have always been there. This place has such tremendous energy that anyone, from whatever culture, creed, country, religion, tradition they are, feels at home. More than a 100 Life Bliss Engineering participants, majority of which were westerners, all of them had the same response - Its brilliant.

Its literally a home coming for anyone who goes there. Ofcourse it would be... it is Shiva's place after all or should I say the whole place is a Shiva linga, as someone told me.

This time, my trip was even more fulfilling. This is the first time I was visiting Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam Tiruvannamalai. I reached the ashram late night on 7th Jan. Let me explain you the morning of 8th Jan; this particular morning has filled my inner space with unfathomable joy and bliss.

I wake up at about 4.30 am and got ready by 5.30 am and came out. The darkness was just then being replaced by Sun's soothing morning brightness. As I come out of the ashram, I see the Arunachala formed a beautiful backdrop behind the ashram, just a few meters away. That was a breathtaking sight. The ashram is located right at the foothills of Arunachala. I kept gazing at It with awe and deep fulfillment, just looking at the beauty of the mountain. Low lying cottony clouds moved past the peak of Arunachala making it even more beautiful, as if Shiva has been crowned by them.

My awe was just the beginning. I walked a few steps, backward, without losing my sight of Arunachala. And then in my viewing pane, I see the 1008 Shiva Lingas beautifully clad in white and rudraksha and the mighty Arunachala was overlooking them.

That was the sight of my life:

Morning breeze bathing everything with its coolness, the 1008 Shiva Lingas all systematically installed radiating the energy of Arunachala, that is overlooking them like a proud father and the soothing Sun rays massaging everything around with their warmth.

My joy knew no bounds but was it the end... I don't think so.

A few steps behind me were Anandeswara and Anandeswari dressed in white, bejewelled in gems and smiling at the 1008 Shiva Lingas.

I was in instant Samadhi, seeing all this at one go. What a blessing... what an opportunity and this was not all ...

Because in a few minutes, Shiva Himself was going to step out of the Ashram to celebrate His own birthday :-)

Ah! that's it! That's all one needs for this lifetime...

(Watch Swamiji speak about His fond memories of His birthplace in this video)