Luck Lucky 13th

13^th July- An Experience of a Lifetime

I had absolutely no idea what taking a course would be like. The only reason I still wanted to do it because I will do all that Guruji means for me…So I had to start…. And what better date than 13^th to do it….

When we began with the intention there was Anusha, Anita (My dear dear volunteers) and I. Anjana was doing all she could for Gaurav and for the Course. Tanvi too…

HONESTLY, we just began with a team spirit. Anita did so much of running around work while anusha was talking to just about every person she knew to get to a decent number. Since I am simply amazed with Arvind Bhaiya’s way of taking the course I really wanted this course to begin with him taking it.

With all of it, even on 11^th we didn’t really know if there would be a course since we had only 8 participants.

This is when Arvind Bhaiya stepped in and encouraged us to still go ahead and give it our best.

Somehow, thanks to the support of all those people who just heard of the course, we had 17 participants in the hall on 13^th.

The best part is that we had 17 really really cute participants in the hall…..

And Thanks to Hema Di, I landed with a Goddess of Bindaas-ness(if at all there is such a word or pls add it to the dictionary with her pic too ) Tanushree…

When I thought I had almost completed thanking Guruji for all of this, I also landed up having 6 more volunteers at the spot… Nagraj, Dr Anusha, Siddhart, Ramana, Deepak,Tanvi…..It was almost like they’d dropped from the sky.

SO, we began with such a Big BANG!!!

Each one had an impact on me in a profound way.

Like our dear Jayanth, who looks naughty enough to run from spirituality but still sat through the sessions with such sincerity that it touched me.

Ujwal struggled so much with the vajrasan, yet i learnt through his determination and persistence of the kind of effort he was putting into it.

Adarsh stood out as a perfect student from the first moment. Doing exactly what was told, exactly the way it was told to be done…. I realized that even I did not have that kind of obedience to anyone so far…

Manu was really inspiring with his honesty. It takes heart to come into a course and open up yourself the moment you enter the door… and he certainly had that …

Naren is so so so cute…really candid and certainly willing to discover himself… he looks like a chocolate hero who is also good at heart… (a rare package)

Manju was someone with such a commitment , a yearning to understand and the openness to identify it too..

Ananya’s eyes would speak… so loud. Every time she listen with such sharpness and get it across through to her life, her eyes would show it…

Sowmya had this “I’m not giving up” attitude till the end. What was striking is that, through all her silence she still bonded so much with me…

Chetan was a beautiful blend of humour, sincerity and playfulness. It was good to have his jokes to lighten the air.

Cherry, it was so hard to see even a hint to dullness in this girl. She had a smile all the time and the energy about her was too good…

Rekha was this graceful girl who’d participate with an energy very contrasting to one could expect out of her… I was really inspired.

Amit was a person who I saw digging deep inside. I was amazed with the kind of effort he was making to mould himself into what he wanted.

Komal was this really sweet girl. Spontaneity and smile were really her logo.Yet, the eagerness in her was very prominent.

Chandrakala wow!!! It was humbling to see the kind of interest, creativity and effort she took into participating with all…

From Poornima was this attentiveness that was so striking that I was really amazed. She looked so soft and gentle yet while discussing I realized the depth of her being.

Nagraj, Anusha, Dr.Anusha, Siddarth,Anjana,Anita, Ramana, Deepak and Sidanshu…. What a team?

Needless to say, Arvind bhaiya’ssession was extremely knowledgeable and a learning experience of a kind…

I was of the opinion that something had to be taught. By the end of the course I realized that I had learnt so much from each one….

This being my first course, I really wanted to run away. I had no clue why I was subjected to being someone to spread spirituality by Guruji.

But, at the end of the day, I’d known that connecting with such wonderful people in a span of 6 days ,it is the most meaningful thing I have done and can ever do in this lifetime….

First times in our life are very precious… First time a baby say’s “ma” or the first time we win something, first love, first time we pray from the core of our being in a really difficult situation, first ……….everything…..

And this was My First Course…..And my first set of 17 Precious Jewels as students, 9 Precious Jewels in my team and 2 Ever So Precious Jewels Mentors…..

Can Life Get Any Better??? …… Most Certainly so…..

The Brand

It’s funny how we expect quality and brand name to go together.

It’s almost like because Kareena Kapoor endorses Vaio it should be good. At least I used to think that she is a person of refined taste …. I mean just look at her performance in all her movies….

Right from Border… where she was cute, but……. a cute potato she’s come to being a size zero. Not just that, her acting…!! She has grown so much in her acting also…. It was for all of us to see in Jab we met too….Just compare all her roles from her first movie till date and it is pretty obvious..

She also won awards for her performance since she’s been in the industry. What works more is that even Saif thinks the same of her… their chemistry though on screen doesn’t seemingly work but definitely works magic off screen…
SO, if SHE endorses VAIO, VAIO it is for me….

It used to be this way…. For a while…
People like each other, or they like some things or they like money at a moment and they do things to reach out to what they like…the cute bearded man in the ashram says that celebrities will market whatever they want but …. They take no responsibility for it.

I sat down to think if I am doing what others wanted me to do, OR what I wanted to do for myself…. That’s when I found the need to know what I wanted, I liked, where I wanted to be and what I wanted to do with my life….

Kareena was doing what she wanted all along… and when I could do that, I’d be far higher than anywhere imaginable…

For some it is Kareena, others it may be John or Tom Cruise or Dhoni or Ronaldo…. Whoever….. the question really is… is it me?

Of course, I had decided this long long long time ago…
I strongly believe (actually …..I know…) that each one is too too too beautiful in their own way. To be someone else would only take away a part of that beauty….

Shine on… Gracefully and just as YOU are!
I belong to you anyways!

As I am.....

Rehana in Arabic means tulasi. And Firdous means paradise. So technically, my name symbolises a garden that is filled with the essence of purity.

It’s amazing how two apparently very different religions (Hinduism and Islam) say the same things in their scriptures. And that’s precisely what I am learning and yearning to learn at the Art of Living.

Hmm... A bit about me.... I was born in Bangalore, and grew up here till my 1st standard. I then did my schooling till the 6th std at Muscat. I continued my schooling from 6th -10th at a boarding school in Manipal. This was a tough. It was here that I discovered that I had the skill of writing and dance in me.

Later we shifted to Bangalore where I continued studies and went on to graduate as a Dentist from R.V Dental College.

Then came the confusion of so !what next...?? Initially I took a 3 month break to kind of see all that people do in life for a living. Just for the kick, I applied for a job in the H.R. And very surprisingly I GOT IT TOO!! In the first month itself I reached my targets and my boss got annoyed. So he hiked my target triple fold. That’s when the reality of corporate industry hit me hard.

Of course I quit in style, and invited my boss for my clinic opening. I practised for quite a while and then,....... I met Guruji. It was the most meaningful event of my life!!!!

I never really intended to be a teacher but You know Guruji....

It doesn’t really matter what we intend when He intends...

I cannot remember how many people told me that I was definitely a Teacher Material... But it was a BIG joke.... I dismissed each of them as nice people who love their Guru. And I love Him too but I thought that’s all I am meant to do....

It’s been a great journey up until here... and Now it’s even better... with a Guru, Guidance and a Huge Goal....

I’m Really loving it!!!

If there’s anyone wondering how long it’ll be to get there......

Duh!!! Wake up!!! You are already where I am@%^&*!!!