Get wise the spiritual way

SITTING ON a carpeted floor, among a group of people huddled around a speaker, is generally not my kind of weekend. But, that was precisely what I did for two full days of a recent weekend. The fact that I did enjoy every minute of it baffles me. There were about 50 people in the large ballroom of a star hotel in T.Nagar on a Saturday morning. People from all walks of life, both young and old, were paying attention to the young man, seated cross-legged on a raised divan.

He was Bharat Thakur, barely 27, probably the youngest spiritual master in India. This guru in designer kurtha could easily be mistaken for a model waiting for his turn on the ramp. Yet, his every utterance establishes him as a wise master who has come down from the mountains.

Incidentally, this is true, since at the tender age of four, Bharat was taken to the Himalayas by Guru Sukhdev Brahmachari. He lived under the master's tutelage for over 13 years. During this period he was taught yoga and some of the most powerful meditation techniques. When Bharat returned to 'normal' life, he was already a realised master.

Though he missed out on a formal education early in life, Bharat caught up rapidly. He obtained a doctorate on 'The effect of yoga on the cardiovascular system' and is currently doing research on the effects of yoga on cancer. He has learnt Sanskrit and speaks nine Indian languages fluently. Well-acquainted with the sacred texts of all religions, he quotes fluently from the Gita, the Koran and the Bible as well as from the more recent masters of Zen and Sufi. With stories and allegories in simple language, he lucidly explains spirituality, meditation and awareness.

The first day of his two-day seminar focusses on clearing the body of emotional blocks, fear and disease. Bharat uses a combination of yoga postures to tune up the body. "All asanas are meant to prepare one's body to sit still for hours to meditate," he says. He places much importance on yoga as part of one's spiritual transformation. Before every session his disciple Karoline, a German yoga teacher, demonstrates yoga asanas and pranayama. Even those who have been doing yoga for years, like myself, picked up a few new asanas as well as useful tips.

On the second day, Bharat teaches how one can transform one's mind using a few powerful meditation techniques.

"Meditation is the art of losing oneself. Meditation is to kill one's mind, so don't ask the mind to meditate. One need not be alone in a dark and quiet room to meditate. One can even do so in the middle of a busy vegetable market." Instead of making meditation separate from life, one has to make it part of living.

He warns against falling in love with the process, skill or technique of meditation. "One should make every action as meditation. Then there is no need for a separate meditation session."

Bharat spends a lot of time defining and clarifying the idea of spirituality. "Spirituality is a sense of tenderness. Making the body insensitive by lying on a bed of nails is not spirituality." Doing abnormal things will not make one become spiritual. "Fasting and other rituals cannot make you spiritual. They are only mind trips."

He believes that everyone needs to have a guru or a master. "You can see everything with your eyes but cannot see your eyes. In the same way you can see the whole world but you cannot see yourself. A master is like a mirror. He helps you by showing you your true reflection."

Talking to him during the lunch break, one is impressed by the clarity and depth of his knowledge. Speaking about wars in the name of religion around the world, Bharat says truly religious people do not fight. "A man who really understands his own religion will never hurt someone from another religion. It is religion that separates one man from another."

Does this modern master find conflict between science and religion? Bharat claims that science does not speak about absolute truth but only about the results of today's experiments, which may not be true tomorrow. Being human beings scientists cannot grasp metaphysics. The reaches of science end where spirituality begins.

Friendly, informal and very accessible, Bharat does not preach but tries to explain serious subjects in simple terms for the layman. His measured and precise words as well as his subtle but effective sense of humour captivate his audience. He is unorthodox, controversial and often irreverent. Deeply committed to propagating his vision among the people, he tours the country to cities as well as villages.

At his first ever seminar in Chennai he was delighted with the response. He says that he has fallen in love with the city and wishes to organise more seminars, to bring home his message to more Chennaiites. His next seminar will be on July 28 and 29 at Walaja Hall, Taj Connemara.

For details contact phone - Ms. Vandana on 8228098/8228529 (Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) or 4891649.

RAJ KUMAR

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