Three Days of Bliss

This summer I completed writing my entrance exams for getting into under-graduate level. Suddenly I found a lot of time at my disposal because I didn't have to study throughout the day anymore right now. My family being interested in spiritual matters, one Sunday evening, I accompanied my parents to Ramakrishna Mission to listen to discourses on Bhagavad Gita by Pujya Swami Srikantanandaji, the Director of the Institute, a Swami with a highly mesmeric and captivating personality. I was totally overwhelmed by the experience and started thinking how I can be like Swamiji. After that, we were taking a round of the campus, and as if God sent, we saw a notice calling students in the age group 18-25 for a Residential Youth Camp to be held at the Vivekananda Institute of Human Excellence, in the Ramakrishna Mutt itself. I immediately expressed my willingness to join the same. I really wanted to do this course from the core of my heart because I thought if one hour of Gita discourse can have such profound effect on me, what a change a residential camp might bring about in me! I started dreaming about my life in close contact with the Swamijis. Gauging my enthusiasm, my parents readily agreed and we enquired about the same. The decisive day was 5th June when Swamiji himself would interview the applicants.

Finally, it was the 5^th of June and we were called for an interview for the much-coveted 3-Day Residential Youth Camp. As the final hours (for the interview) were drawing close, we were increasingly becoming jittery as we were told that there were “limited” seats. Then the actual interview took place with Swamiji. He seemed rather excited at the prospect of selecting some youngsters whom (I presumed with vanity) Swami Vivekananda called, “The brightest, the strongest and the most patriotic youth of today”. I was, by his and God’s grace, selected. A few formalities were to be completed after that and we were asked to report on the evening of the 8^th of June in white.

The opportunity of spending 3 days with Swamijis in such a holy atmosphere and meeting like-minded people of my age, was mouth-watering, to put it simply. So meticulous planning started on that very day.

Then the much awaited day - 8^th June - arrived. We reported in time. And then we were clustered into small groups and sent to different rooms. Then we were given an hour-by-hour schedule for the 3 days to come. We started off with a tour of the entire campus. Initially, we were all ultra-formal in our approach, uttering words we never normally do easily: please, sorry, thank you, excuse me et al.

We went to various blocks, starting with Gita Darshan, where the most famous shlokas from the Bhagavad Gita are affixed on the wall, with their meanings explained, one can also listen to the shlokas on headphones provided there;
Sant Darshan, where there are pictures and short biographies of great sages like Adi Shankaracharya, Ramana Maharishi, Paramahamsa Yogananda, Swami Shivananda, Annamacharya, Mira bai, Sant Tyagaraj etc.;
Vivekananda Institute of Languages, where English, Sanskrit, German, Spanish, François etc are taught;
The Vivekananda Library, which is a store house of voluminous information with around 50000 books, magazines and encyclopedias on a wide spectrum of topics. I couldn’t have enough of it. I thought that the 10 minutes allotted to the library was too paltry. I could’ve spent years together in this place. Unwilling to leave, we were taken to the temple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and the auditorium, where a discourse was going on. We were then escorted back to our respective rooms and told to report in 5 minutes at the meditation hall, an ultra-modern air conditioned hall with a serene and tranquil atmosphere. The grand hall can silence even the most argumentative and hotheaded souls. The hall was very inviting, what with lots of lovely red asans! We were allowed to sit on these very asans, and just as the digital clock in the room touched 20.00, Swami Srikantanandaji emerged. The first impression was that he was a very strict disciplinarian who led by example. After a brief introduction of what to do and what not to do in the campus, what they expected from us etc., we were asked to chant Omkara three times. Scores of students chanting the divine Omkara in the room, and the walls reverberating in resonance, was not only spiritually intoxicating but also a moment of tremendous bliss. Mere words can’t translate that feeling. We then were given a lot of “food for thought” regarding religion, spirituality, life, death etc. We chanted a few prayers and proceeded to have “food for the body”. The dinner was both tasty and nutritious and helped to ease things up among us.

We were taken to a monstrously large hall where mattresses were laid and we were required to sleep after an “informal” introduction. This was an opportunity to make friends, as we were asked to speak about who we are, what we do and the reason for joining the course. The volunteers, Dhananjaya Deshpande sir, Santosh sir and Vijay sir were extremely altruistic, good humoured and sweet tempered. They did their very best to bring the students closer to each other and augment the comfort levels. After that, three Swamijis - Swami Anupamanandaji, Swami Srikantanandaji and Swami Deshikatmanandaji held a satsang to dispel our doubts regarding spirituality, religion, life, modern challenges etc. They responded to our questions with sagacity, clairvoyance and had shlokas from The Bhagavad Gita, The Upanishads, The Puranas etc on their fingertips to drive home the points they were making. Their responses cleared many a cloud of doubt regarding the issues mentioned and were illuminating to say the least. Then at 22.30, sharp, we were put to sleep.

The next morning (9^th June), we were awakened by the plethora of alarms at around 4.15 AM and after the ablutions we left for the temple for Mangala Aarti. The prayer hall was illuminated with pradeepas and we prayed in silence. The milieu was quiescent. Subsequently, we advanced to the meditation hall by 5.00 AM, for meditating. The ambience, as mentioned earlier, was sacred. Swami Srikantanandaji arrived on time, as usual. After greetings, we chanted Omkara thrice and a short prayer to begin with, followed by mild indoctrination, a “moral” story, and we were initiated to the concepts of meditation. The sense of humour of Swamiji was slowly beginning to unveil. He explained how people in the name of meditation doze off. For them, Yoga Nidra becomes Nidra. He gave us some examples of hypocritical behaviour of “religious” people and had us in splits. Then the “real” lessons on meditation started. He raised and answered questions on why to do meditation, what we stand to gain, how to do it, when to do it et al. After that, was our first session in yoga, conducted by Deshpande sir, a reassuring and emboldening soul, and a proficient master, who was ever ready to dispel doubts from our minds. After the loosening exercises and basic asanas itself, most of us were feeling exceedingly tired, as earlier we never did asanas. Then we did our favourite asana, called Shavasana, where one is required to lay like a dead body, loosening all organs and limbs from toe to the head mentally. Most, including me, never did any of the “mental loosening”, we just went to sleep - Nidra. Then we were made to do the easier part, though higher in the hierarchy (of Maharshi Patanjali), breathing exercises called Pranayams. After words of hope and encouraging pep talk from Deshpande sir, we proceeded to our rooms, forming queues for bath. The waiting part of it was not boring at all. Actually it was quite interesting and broke a lot of mental walls, as absolute strangers were queuing for bath. We exchanged pleasantries there and discussed who did what, where and why and our experiences at the Ramakrishna Mutt so far. Thereafter, we proceeded to the meditation hall again. Personally speaking, the meditation hall was the place to be for me. I wouldn’t mind spending a lifetime there. We chanted Omkara thrice, and again I was reminded of my earlier experiences of blessedness, and then learnt a bit more about meditation. We chanted a few Shanti Mantras, and then it was time for breakfast. We were served idlis with sambar and also beverages like tea and coffee. The sambar was yummy! We were given the privilege of carrying a cell phone and we had the opportunity to speak to our parents about what happened in the last 15 hours. The cellphone sessions followed during every breakfast and dinner from then on.

From 10.00 to 13.00 and 14.00 to 17.00, each day, we had academic and interaction sessions, conducted by renowned academicians, career guidance experts, management gurus and Swamijis.
At 10.00 sharp, Swami Jnanadanandaji, the President of the Ramakrishna Mutt, Swami Srikantanandaji and Swami Anupamanandaji formally welcomed us. The topics for the session were mainly related to human values in life. We had enlightening and illuminating lecture on Education for Human Excellence by Swami Anupamanandaji. He spoke on what was wrong with the present education system, how to correct it and how to shine in these turbulent times.
Values for Peaceful Living by Swami Deshikatmanandaji followed. He threw light upon how to live graciously, affably, and congenially with others for the betterment of all of us.
Thereafter, we had a presentation on Effective Leadership Skills by Shri M.C. Das, a master orator and an acclaimed management guru. He elucidated the differences between a boss and a leader, for example : how a boss drives, depends on authority, instills fear, says “I” etc. whereas how a leader coaches, depends on goodwill, instills confidence, says “we” etc. He spoke at length on how a leader should be, what qualities, habits and traits he should possess etc. His voice was extremely well-sounding on the microphone and the session was highly interactive. We all listened in rapt attention. He received a roaring applause after his lecture ended.

Then lunch followed. It was a scrumptious meal, yet very Indian and very healthy (why “yet”? because we thought good food meant western snacks like pizzas and burgers – how preposterous our ideas were!)
At exactly 14.00, the second session began. This session had lectures mainly on Personality Development. Swami Vireshanandaji spoke on Education for Personality Development. He was very cheerful and direct. Shri M.C. Das lectured on Inter Personal Relations. In this session too, he was so interactive that you’d feel that he was speaking to you alone.
The third speaker was Dr. Sasi Kumar, a research scholar at ADRIN. He discoursed on the Role of Science and Religion for Total Human Development. He spoke marvelously connecting religion and science. We always wanted to hear something like that. We noted down almost every word that he said and he gave detailed explanations on perceived contradictions regarding “unscientific” rituals and disentangled many a complex maze concerning religion and science. He received a standing ovation, which is practically reserved only for Swamijis. We bugged him till late after his session was over, falling over each other to collect his e-mail ID and asked him questions. We initially thought that the post-lunch session might be boring, but how wrong we were!
After a short recess, we did what is called the Shramadan, for example: plucking out weeds, picking dead leaves, and clearing up mess at the numerous gardens in the campus. Subsequently, after cleaning up ourselves, we went to the temple again for Aarti, and then my favourite place, the meditation hall. After a brief spell of meditation, we were shown a documentary on the history and propagation of the Ramakrishna Mutt and Mission and another one regarding value orientation. Later, we proceeded for dinner. By now, members of each group knew each other to a certain degree and interacted during supper. Post dinner, we went to our super large “bedroom”, if you like it. There was again the satsanga - “informal” discussion and questionnaire session with the Swamijis. Man! They know just too much. Any question on any topic, phew! You have the answer, with a shloka from our scriptures most of the times. They even answered several uncomfortable questions, things that go against their philosophy and were able to hit the nail on the head, time and again. We were awestruck, obviously! Were the answers practical and to the point? Absolutely. But not all of them can be implemented in today’s (un)modern context, atleast according to me. The Swamijis at 22.30 wanted to wind up the session. They did it technically. But some of us asked questions even while they were leaving. They were benevolent enough to answer almost all our queries till they reached their quarters. We felt sorry for throwing their schedule off gear, but then they wouldn’t have minded, we’re sure. After the deluge of information exchange and high-end spiritual talk, we went to sleep. Others might have slept, but I was constantly thinking of what they told. Trying to put things into perspective, unable to tell my subconscious mind that all values must be followed not just in letter but also in spirit. After some soul searching, I closed my eyes.

The next morning (10^th June) too, it was the same schedule, till 10.00. I had the same feelings of contentedness, though the perceptibility definitely increased in those meditation sessions. And yes, I was able to stretch a bit more in the yoga session. After bath, I took a few photos, 13 to be precise, of the campus, the multitudinous number of trees there, and a whole lot of other things. After breakfast, we reached the Academic Hall. This day was more about Swami Vivekananda’s ideal of “Universal Religion”, of the concept of “Harmony of Religions”. There were lectures on Swami Vivekananda’s Views on Religion by Swami Vireshanandaji, The Concept of Harmony of Religions by Dr. Kamala Jaya Rao and Similarity between Islam and Sanatana Dharma by Shri Mohammed Ghouse. I was really waiting for this session. The reason was that I was looking forward to rip apart Islam and Christianity, as I didn’t agree with the concept of Harmony of Religions. This was a personal feeling. The picture in my mind regarding Islam is that of a persecutory cult, with its followers indulging in terrorism under the guise of Jehad, treating their Allah (and no one else) as the sole creator of the cosmos and historically insolent, disrespecting and ever ready to plunder (and terrorize) nations and people belonging to other faiths (kafirs). This applies to a moderate level to Christianity as well. Don’t they want to show “light” to us pagans?

Hence, even now, I can’t accept the concept of Harmony of Religions whole-heartedly. For me, it always appears to be one sided, Hindus speaking of universalism and not getting any response from the other side. Doesn’t it take two to tango?
Apart from this one teaching of Swami Vivekananda, I agree with every thing else. Wherever He is, He will definitely not curse me. Didn’t He give me the right to question and put reason and logic while placing arguments? Well, I’m waiting for a convincing response on this front from enlightened souls. Even during the lunch (which was as delicious as ever) hours, we were intensely speaking on these topics and I felt; quite a few weren’t satisfied with the concepts of Universalism and Harmony of Religions, especially in today’s time. Thus unexpectedly, I found some kindred souls.

The post lunch session began at 14.00 sharp, as usual. Prof. Siva Ramakrishna, former HOD of English at Osmania University, spoke of Swami Vivekananda’s contribution to World Culture. The lecture was exceptional both in terms of content and on a literary scale. He was very witty, jovial and extremely entertaining.
At 15.00 there was a Group Discussion. Students were divided into three groups, with each group having a Swamiji and an academician as moderators. Two students from each group were supposed to make the final presentation. After the stipulated 45 minutes of discussion, members of our group (the second one) proposed my name for taking up the job of presentation along with another girl. Our topic was “Contribution of Swami Vivekananda to the World Religion.” Each group followed the concept of “Ladies First”. So, I was the 4^th speaker. The first two spoke on Education for Character. I found that my presentation partner had already covered all my points. She spoke well, albeit a bit too formally and seriously. Then came my turn. I had to immediately change my proposed speech (presentation) and make it sound apt and spontaneous. And this is what I said, “Pujya Swamijis, respected academicians and my dear friends, a very good afternoon to you all. As you know, my topic is Contribution of Swami Vivekananda to the World Religion and also that my friend has covered all the points, my job now is to hammer and to drill the points into your brain. Let me start by asking you a few questions…. Who was the first religious leader, you can take any person from any religion that is, who first elucidated the concept of Universalism of Religion? Of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam? Of Universal Brotherhood? The answer as you all know is…our very own Swami Vivekananda. See, in 1893, at the World Parliament of Religions, when every other religious leader was busy self-aggrandizing about why his religion was better than the others, Swamiji caught everyone’s attention by speaking words of wisdom which bowled everyone over. He didn’t go there to preach that Hinduism is the greatest religion and everyone should embrace it. He spoke of the concept of One Divine Religion. For him, religion was above narrow differences, of putting down people of other faiths etc. He spoke of that religion, which benefits everyone, which helps people to manifest the divinity already in them. Just imagine, if I’m to debate with say Muslims, I’ll say something, they’ll retort, after sometime we’ll come to blows, leading to social tensions and communal problems. Do we want that? Our first aim is to bring people together, of all religions, of making a common cause with them. Where will all this debating and fighting lead to? I’m all for lectures and seminars on similarities between religions, today you heard one of them, regarding Islam and Sanatana Dharma. I’d be glad if we had one regarding Christianity and Sanatana Dharma too. Don’t you think so Mr. Murthy [the compere]? As far as his contribution to India’s image, he explained to the Western world that India wasn’t the land of superstitions, snake charmers and incoherent mumbo-jumbo. He spoke very highly of India, its value systems, its vibrant culture, its scriptures etc. There was a standing ovation just when he began and after he concluded. No one, and I mean no one, has done so much good to India’s image in the West. It is Swamiji whom we need to thank. After his lectures, the world looked up to India. We know Albert Einstein, Erwin Schrodinger, Oppenheimer, Nobel laureates all, and pioneers in their fields, were highly inspired by him and made the Vedas and Indian scriptures, as Einstein once exclaimed, “Base for all scientific research”. Isn’t that a tremendous contribution? Of course, he spoke in a much better way than I did. [cheers and claps] As I’m running out of time, let me read to you a few lines that are there in my book, hmm. He said essence of every religion is ultimately to realize God, he said religion is about being good and doing good and that religion is that concept that lifts animal to man and man to God. You can find more of these quotes if you just walk across the campus! So with these lines, and apologizing for overshooting the time, I conclude.”

After me two others spoke on Swamiji’s Philosophy of Work. During the tea break, many students, whose face I saw for the first time, apart from so many I’d become close to, came over to me and congratulated me for “speaking well”. I was floored and the response was truly overwhelming. In the very hall where I spoke, there is a board with a quote approximately reading, “Truth, Purity, Unselfishness: where these are there, no force above or below the Sun can crush such people” I immediately reflected upon it. Truth – As we didn’t speak much in the campus, we were never given the opportunity actually to lie – the atmosphere didn’t permit us to! Purity – We were leading lives like sages, already. Unselfishness – Picture this, in my group, there was a guy from IIM-Bangalore, one from IISc, so many students with M.Techs, MBAs, yet they trusted an untested junior, who just passed out his 12^th, to speak on their behalf,. Isn’t that a remarkable testimony to the quality of unselfishness?

I was very high on confidence after the group discussion and the feeling of being congratulated was slowly sinking in. I was charged up nonetheless. But here is a confession : I spoke a lot of things that I didn’t believe in, those very concepts of Universalism and Harmony of Religions. Yet speaking what I actually felt would be totally inappropriate, in fact uncongenial and inconsonant to the topic. I was the like a lawyer who was defending a given case. A lawyer fights the case for his client; he doesn’t necessarily have to subscribe to everything his client has done or said. Isn’t it?
After all that, the usual Shramadan took place, followed by Mangala Aarti and meditation. We were shown a documentary called “Who am I?” It was extremely intriguing and highly thought provoking and confused us thoroughly. After the documentary, every one (including me) was wondering who he actually was! We completed our dinner in this bewildered state of mind. Luckily, satsang with Swamijis followed. We again grilled them and they were ready with answers to every question. How stupendously they quote from the scriptures! - leaving everyone unilaterally amazed.

The “last day” (11^th June) arrived. After the morning routine of the Mangala Aarti at the temple, we went to the meditation hall. We were taking baby steps in spirituality now. We just started understanding things slightly better. We were asked not to expect fruits of meditation overnight. It was supposedly a seed, which we all have. The onus is on us to sow it, water it, nurture it, wait for the stems, buds, flowers and finally fruits. It is after that, that we could relish the fruits of meditation, according to them. Then again we chanted the Omkara thrice and had those exhilarating feelings of ecstasy. Those resounding reverberations from the walls gave us all that divine kick. The yoga session followed. Deshpande sir, our crackerjack yoga teacher was at his facetious best. He however wasn’t taking things easy himself, nor making it easy for us, at least physically. He made us stretch to the extreme, then smiled (as usual) and was generous enough to sanction the permission to do our favourite asana, the Shavasana. We asked him a few general doubts regarding what to eat, when to eat, when to practice yoga, when not to do certain asanas etc. As he is highly proficient in his field, his answering without batting an eyelid didn’t come as a surprise at all to us. We then proceeded for bath to our respective rooms. Here we decided that we (people whom we were closest to) would congregate in front of Swami Vivekananda’s statue, just after breakfast, and I was bestowed the opportunity of photographing. We then, unanimously approved the proposed idea of starting an Orkut group so that we can remain in touch, atleast online. After bath, meditation, and breakfast, it was now time for the photo-session. We assembled at the designated place and had a jolly good time. I had a great time clicking those group photos. Then, a few of them, very shyly approached me for individual photos. They were quite embarrassed to ask me. I couldn’t figure out why. The answer flashed in my mind, almost immediately. They didn’t know that digital photos were for free! When I told them that, they shed their inhibitions and asked me to take their photos at places of their choice and gave me their e-mail addresses for me to forward them their photos. I was delighted - after all, photography is one of my cherished hobbies.

We then proceeded for the academic session.. It started with a discourse on “Art of Living” by Prof. I.V. Chalapathi Rao. He has been the principal and vice-chancellor of many universities, director, registrar, honourary chairman, honourary president etc. for numerous Govt. appointed commissions, committees, several prestigious institutions etc. He is a voracious reader and has penned 22 books, yes! Some top gun eminent members of the society released his books, wrote forewords etc. And Prof. Chalapathi Rao is 84 now. His language, diction, phraseology etc. were second to none. He quoted at length from Dr. Samuel Johnson, Thomas Hardy, Francis Bacon, Winston Churchill, and Swami Vivekananda. There were several high points in his lecture, especially his tongue-in-cheek comments on a myriad of issues, like this one on politicians: “Politicians are Niagaras of words, Saharas of action and Himalayas of corruption”. He gave a practical, implicit and a highly specific guideline of things to do and not to do. That was the Art of Living according to him. Incidentally, there is also a book by him called “The Art of Living”, released by Dr. P.V. Narasimha Rao and its foreword is written by Swami Pravarthananda ji. He deserved an applause and received a thundering one at that.

Swami Anupamanandaji spoke at length about the Power of Positive Thinking, giving edifying examples from The Mahabharata and how to deal with life especially when the chips are down. Then Dr. Sumita Roy, an associate professor at the Nizam College, articulated how to train one’s mind in an analytical and logical fashion in 8 steps. The steps obviously were easy to read, but hard to follow. But then, who said life is easy?

Special lunch was organized for us, as it was the last day. Rasna and payasam were the specials, apart from the usual gratifying meal. During the lunch session, we were busy exchanging e-mail IDs, and phone numbers.

The topics in the post lunch session were mainly on self-improvement: Time Management by Shri V. Venkataramana, Director of VIST and Management Skills by Sri Sudhakar, a renowned management consultant. As most of us are constantly caught in a dilemma of prioritizing our activities, planning for future, both in short and long terms, Mr. Venkataramana’s talk was a grim reminder of the harsh realities we’re going to face in the future. He made uncomplicated tables contrasting the time management skills of successful people and that of the ordinary junta. He also taught us a lot of tricks that we might require in life, like saying “No” when we have to, instead of feeling guilty about refusing an invitation etc. when we have a lot work to do. He gave a realistic set of rules for setting deadlines, planning activities, and how not to procrastinate things etc. He received a standing ovation for his extraordinary efforts.

Now it was teatime, things were getting gloomy. Everyone was getting jaded. Time passed too soon and we didn’t want to leave the premises. Unfortunately, we would have to pack our bags and depart, as only the concluding speeches were left. Then, at 16.00 sharp, Swami Srikantanandaji, Swami Jnanadanandaji and Swami Anupamanandaji spoke, patted us on our backs for attending the course. They also gave their future plans, and were certainly looking forward to having us with them in the future. They called 5 people, to give their feedback. I was one of the lucky ones, again! But I realized my mistake as soon as I took the stage because now I was not in a proper mind to make a jolly speech. I was too pre-occupied with the thought of having to leave the Swamijis and Ramakrishna Mutt to concentrate on a coherent speech. Hence, this time I became nervous. I was scared of loss of words and started trembling. I somehow said what I wanted to, but the effect wasn’t there, atleast according to me. I’m sure some (or most) in the audience must have felt the same thing. And this is what I said (albeit with a highly palpitating heart and quivering fingers), “My pranams to the Pujya Swamijis, honourable academicians and my dear friends. What is your mental picture of heaven? Ask yourselves. For me atleast, it is: Lots of trees, tranquil atmosphere, learned Swamijis, meditation, brotherly attitude among inhabitants, peace, purity, truthfulness, unselfishness, and a sense of immense joy in every one’s hearts and souls. Can heaven be much better than what it is here in Ramakrishna Mutt? My friends, if there is heaven anywhere in this world, it is right here, right now! We have gained in every aspect of life immensely and I’m very sure that the majority of my brothers present here would seize every opportunity to get involved and would be yearning to be associated with the Ramakrishna Mutt. Speaking from a personal point of view, previously whenever I prayed, anywhere, I would always ask for entry to certain university, marks in a particular exam, money etc. but here, I found out, I didn’t even think of them even once! When we went to pray at the temple, I would only think of three things: Om, Om and Om. Nothing else! Such was the change that you brought in me. I have no doubt in my mind that others would also have had wonderful experiences here. What we’ve been receiving here is value-oriented indoctrination, and the onus is on us to follow and implement it in our lives. Leaving this campus is like being born into the Earth again. How we enforce what we’ve learnt here is the question we need to ask ourselves. We would like to continue our association with the Ramakrishna Mutt whenever and wherever possible. Thanking Swamijis and the staff from the bottom of our hearts, I hereby conclude my speech.”
Others also spoke the same thing more or less. Swami Jnanadanandaji then distributed certificates and we dispersed from the Academic Hall. We then bid adieu with a heavy heart and bleary eyes to our newly found like-minded, patriotic and spiritually oriented brothers.

Before joining the camp, I expected a change in my psyche. A “change”! And how! The Swamijis have totally weaned a soccer crazy, news-hungry, mother’s pet teenager from his staple diet of newspaper, TV and computer. It is my heart-felt realization that these three days in Ramakrishna Mutt have been the most enlightening, rejuvenating, and immensely enjoyable time of my life. I believe I can spend an entire lifetime here and yet be insatiate. I promise to myself that I will definitely try to live up to the ideals taught by the loving Swamijis here.

This blogger can be contacted at utsavmitra@hotmail.com