Another time, in a public talk, someone asked Guruji - "Why does the Art of Living give so much emphasis to helping the middle and upper class people manage their stress? Why not focus all of one's energy only to providing material relief to people who belong to economically weaker sections of society?" Sri Sri's answer, as always, was sensitive beyond imagination. He said (and I paraphrase based on my memory) "Just a comfortable bed does not bring restful sleep. Even rich people often suffer from deep grief and stress. We cannot exclude anyone from our efforts. In the same way, just bringing material comforts to the poor is not enough."
I confess that neither of the above experiences touched my heart. I really felt that only the poorest people, in the poorest countries, truly needed and deserved help from any organization, especially from a humanitarian organization like the Art of Living.
In 2005, I went to the US to do my masters in intellectual property law. Close to the end of my LL.M, hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. The US Art of Living group was calling to people around the US to join them in their relief efforts. A good friend of mine, Emily Peck, an Art of Living teacher, called me and asked if I could join them for a week or so. My first thought was, "why do people in a developed nation need help from the Art of Living? What is their loss and suffering compared to the loss and suffering of people in developing countries which are constantly suffering all kinds of natural and man made disasters?" Nonetheless, I said "yes." I joined Emily and her team in New Orleans for 1 week.
Doing what they are truly experts at, the Art of Living was conducting free trauma relief workshops in communities affected by the hurricane. I hung around with them wondering how I could contribute... I was not a trained trauma relief teacher and honestly, compared to what I had seen in India during the course of my life, the city of New Orleans looked fantastic! The only thing out of place was the air (or maybe it was the vibe?) - it was so heavy! I felt half drunk and sleepy almost all the time! On mentioning this to Emily, she said in a her ever caring style - "yes, the city atmosphere is dull because its people are shocked and in low spirits."
I frankly could not understand where the grief was... everyone who had lost their homes had been provided fantastic shelters in fully equipped large vans that doubled as huge cars! They had mobile homes! They could go caravaning!
On the second day that I was there, I went with the team to assist a trauma relief workshop. About 20 people were in the workshop - people from all kinds of social and economic backgrounds. The workshop seemed not too different from the Part I course of the Art of Living. I attended the workshop like one of the participants, sharing some experiences here and there like I always do when assisting a course. At the end of the course, as always, the teacher asked if anyone wanted to say or share anything. A local lady, who I thought was mostly disinterested in the workshop, was the first to raise her hand. She started crying and talking all at once. The only thing I could understand was that after the very 1st day of the workshop, she was able to finally sleep a full restful night of sleep without nightmares of the hurricane taking over everything, her whole life. She spoke of how the smell in the mobile homes donated to them was nauseating and she feared that the paint was poisoning her. She was so grateful for the relief that the workshop had brought to her.
It was in this instant that I first appreciated the weight of Sri Sri's words - "Just a comfortable bed does not bring restful sleep. We cannot exclude anyone from our efforts."
Since then, the weight of Sri Sri's words has struck me over and over again in various ways. Most recently, in my own life, struggling through a short but extremely painful period of bad health, repeated infections, rapid weight loss, and bouts of unexplainable, severe depression, I have recognized the full force and meaning of his words. During this time, more than during any other in my life so far, I have experienced the benefit and depth of the Sri Sri's teachings. Having finally understood the medical cause of this bad health phase, I am not only grateful for the speed with which I am now recovering, but most deeply, for the compassion, advise and moral support that Sri Sri himself and all the wonderful teachers and volunteers of the Art of Living (including my dear husband) have showered on me during this time. It is Sri Sri's words of wisdom and the compassion of those around me that has kept me afloat, far far away from taking extreme steps that I had, during much less difficult periods of my youth, often contemplated.
Grief, whether or not logically justifiable, cannot be quantified and cannot be judged. In order to overcome grief, misery, suffering or pain, one needs compassion, skill and knowledge. A single gesture of compassion and a few words of self knowledge can go a long way for one who is in deep distress, for reasons that are often incomprehensible.
This time, when Art of Living Germany has called out for help in its flood affected regions, I do not hesitate to say, yes - help and compassion are needed here, as they are needed anywhere else in the world. It is beautiful to see how so many people from so many countries are here to help. But more are needed. And even if our contribution may appear small and meaningless, as many a wise men and women have said, every drop contributes to making the ocean. I invite you all to take some time out and contribute to these efforts. Who knows? You might unknowingly help someone suffering silently come through an extremely difficult phase of their life. And who knows? You too might benefit from the exercise in mysterious and unimaginable ways.
For the "official" invitation from the Art of Living to join the flood relief efforts in Germany, click here
For an energizing recipe to help anyone and everyone come out of grief (even if momentarily), see below:
Zero Sugar Energy Balls
Ingredients
4-5 unsweetened Dinkel Zwiebacks (spelt rusks) (If you don't mind sugar, use chocolate filled double cookies instead)
10-12 medjool dates (please remove the seeds!)
2-3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoons coconut flakes (or fresh grated coconut)
4 tablespoons almond butter
5-6 pieces each of any nuts of your choice - e.g. walnuts, cashewnuts etc. (I would not include peanuts though, as they make the taste strange)
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
1-2 tablespoons honey (I used Akazien honey)
Method
Put all the ingredients into a blender and beat up well. Scoop out the mixture from the blender and roll into big or small balls. Roll the balls over extra coconut flakes, or, if you don't mind some sugar, dip into melted chocolate before serving.
Note: If the mixture comes out too dry or too sticky, add more dates/almond butter or Zwieback as needed.
Beautiful! :)
ReplyDelete