From Vijayawada, Sheetal Vaidya will go to Kolkata and from there she will return to Ahmedabad. At the end of the journey, she would have completed six months on the road

A year ago on 2nd of March I started my Bhaav yatra. The day is significant as it is my grandmother’s death anniversary. In a year’s time so much has undergone transformation, each experience brought understanding and the path to awaken.

I had carried the ashes of John’s son (JT) and was offering it in all holy rivers and oceans I visited on my way. Every time I did that I connected with the ultimate truth of death, at the same time deep down felt blessed by JT who traveled with me everywhere. It also made me conscious about my own life span and how can I be and offer myself in totality to serve.

After coming back I was asking what is it the outcome? To start with one self there was a list of what was received but some self doubt on anything being shared. Suddenly, felt the moral pressure of “doing something” or “connecting everyone so something happens” may be my ego was looking for gratification. As this reality of ego play seeped in I focused more on policing the ego by silent observation. When this was happening inside in the outer world ripples were happening and slowly the power of love pervaded.

A school at Vizianagaram on the east coast of India started experimenting with Smile decks. Mukeshanand ji visited Preethi – www.soulfree.org and one more connection is now leading her to give boost to her work. A few days ago received a call from these two small villages (population 1000 ppl) that after our recent visit the women in the village have formed a committee and opened bank accounts to start a cottage industry! They are going to launch the program on 8th March, on “International Women’s day”.

We often talk about leading with inner transformation. Starting with People then flowing into Projects and later Impact. I am experiencing this exactly after a year. The beauty of this is there’s a sense of being a channel rather than of owning the experience. This subtle reality surfaced after last Wednesday’s reading about Karna’s giving and realizing a conversation I had with my teacher about ‘giving” where she pointed out that we own nothing and if we just operate as channels giving and receiving both will flow.

All of this simply makes me conscious of my span of life as a channel and how can it be an offer to serve. The ripples are in flow – it is up to me to connect the dots and keep them going.

Some touching songs from Vipul Rikhi …

From mid-July to beginning of August I was on a yatra with Sheetal Vaidya, who is doing a 6-7 month ‘bhaav yatra‘ in her small Santro Xing car, and I was lucky enough to be part of this journey for 3 weeks. We drove together from Chennai to Kolkata, with further stops at Shanti Niketan and Belur Math. We stopped often at educational institutions, orphanages or homes for specially abled children.

It was an overwhelming experience. Interacting and sharing stories, music and the spirit of service with so many children, students, teachers, and volunteers who believe in service, in or around Vijaywada, Vishakhapatnam, Bhubhaneshwar, Kolkata and Shanti Niketan. And also praying a lot. …

It was inspiring to be with Sheetal and I was very happy to be able to bring some bhakti music to this space of seva and connecting with people. You can find some updates by Sheetal here.

I wanted to share some of the songs that meant so much on the yatra (especially singing with kids everywhere). I made simple, basic recordings at home of these songs so that Sheetal could carry them wherever she went. Hope you enjoy them too. Please feel free to share.

Kaachi Che Kaya Tari (you can also download here):

Kin Sang Karan Sneh (you can also download here):

Guruji Jahan Baithun (you can also download here):

Maat Kar Maya (you can also download here):

The bhaav yatra continues. After last years 7 month yatra so many friends were asking about “next bhaav yatra”. The villagers from Somaj-Delwada were repeatedly calling and they wanted to host more friends. I had to give in to their bhaav and decided to take a few friends by the banks of Narmada from 24th to 28th Jan, it being a long weekend. The idea remained the same, going to the village and immersing with the eco-system with emerging bhaav, learning, sharing and of course having a good time. As we shared our intention there were quick registrations. It was decided to take a group of 15 and friends will contribute for transport and miscellaneous expenses to avoid taxing our hosts. As the day came closer there were cancelations and it looked like I should drop the plan. Then the voice within urged to go. So we; a healer from Egypt- Rose Marie and I; went on 23rd. She joined to be with nature and connect with locals. She was missing her country side and was longing to be in a space that offered her the chance to unwind, walk a lot and also have her inner time. We were hosted at Arunbhai’s home and the whole village was super enthused to see us, a little pained to know that a lot of people didn’t come. Rose seamlessly connected with everyone and by end of day she had offered to address a group of women advising them on home remedies. To our surprise not only women but also the male crowd joined and they did a satsang where they sang bhajans. Post which Rose explained the uses of onion as medicine and amidst a lot of questions, laughter and amazement from the group I tried to translate and share everything.

We took a walking tour to Nareshwar and pilgrim place 15kms from the village. About 15 friends became our co-pilgrims as we walked this path. They were in awe of Rose as at the age of 70 she was walking faster than all of us. When we asked her she shared that she walks everyday in the desert with her camels and this was a cake walk for her. When we made a stop at a random home to take a break both Rose and I were touched by the generosity of the family who openly allowed us to be in their space. It brought memories from the yatra and rekindled humility in my heart. At Nareshwar, we all sat in silence and prayed together. By night fall, we all had formed a strong bond with love as core value.

Next day we embarked on a journey to kabirvad. Two families joined us and to our surprise the women and children had never visited it. They joyously shared that as we became friends they took the liberty to enjoy this day out with us. Again we prayed, played and meditated at the place and returned by evening. In those three days Rose and I commuted in all transports starting a motorbike, boat, tractor to various public vehicles which was a new thing for her. The funniest of all was taking a 6 seater auto in which we were 11 of us! We defied all rules of safe travel and had so much fun ☺

Next day was 26th January and the school kids, 30 in all, had planned a cultural program. We were invited as chief guests and Rose was enjoying being garlanded and welcomed by all. In her speech, she shared how she was moved to see a young boy dressed up as Gandhiji, till date she had heard, read and visited Gandhi museums but here she felt Gandhi came alive.

The day before we had also planned a village feast where everyone would cook and eat together. So khichdi was prepared in bulk and was served with butter milk. By the end of the program our time to depart had come and everyone was repeatedly asking us to come back again. They also promised that they will prepare at least 2 friends to speak English so next time we have a foreigner visiting it wouldn’t be a problem. For them it was a big thing that someone from Egypt came all the way to the last village of Gujarat. To Rose she felt the warmth of people and felt happy to be in the fields and shared about villages in Egypt. To me, Bhaav yatra was about connecting hearts and that happened. From the depth of my heart I felt gratitude for my family at Somaj-Delwada and Rose for their loving support.

I took a sabbatical since my last update about Bhubaneshwar, seemed like yatra halted at kolkatta. Well, it did in some sense and yet life flows. Inner journey took a year to sink in and understand deeper stuff… work in progress forever. But the compelling break seems to be coming to an end and yatra stories are once again alive.

Kolkatta is known for its rich history, it is a place that is close to my heart for various reasons one of them is, it was my maternal grandparents home. The long drive of 450 odd kms. Lengthiest distance so far brought us to the most famous howrah bridge. As we drove on it I was filled with excitement and joy and a sense of reaching this far…from kutch to kolkatta..west to east and 5 months!

We reached Jhanvi’s home where the entire family was awaiting our arrival. Felt like homecoming. As we settled down the plan for a next few days emerged. We were visiting Shantiniketan and Belur math and hosting a sevacafe+satsang at an orphanage.

Next day to our surprise Sukanto-my brother in law joined us on the yatra to Shantiniketan. It made things easier to have Sukanto manage all communication in Bengali. Thanks to Kasturi didi we were guests of Social works dept. staying at the University. The name Shantiniketan was given by Rabindranath Tagore’s father Devendranath Tagore. Rabindranath gave it the shape of Viswa Bharati University in 1921. His vision of teaching in natural environment is visible even today when classes are held in the open under a tree. The art dept. has beautified the space with sculptures. We visited the handicrafts village Amar kutir which works for rural development since 1926. It is known for its contribution in instilling political awareness among agricultural and industrial workers by Subhash Chandra Bose. During world war II it was training farmers in martial combat to tackle any warlike uprisings. Today, it is engaged in developmental activities. Here the famous handicrafts of leather purses, baatik prints and other arts are displayed. This age old space works towards nation building through forms of art. Next day we had a sharing session with dept. of social work where students were posing questions on current state of affairs with social work in India, Smile deck was a wonder for them. Vipul then took over to sharing kabir with them and everyone was left with a hope that there’s a better tomorrow.

Following morning we left for Belur math. The prayer to stay at Belur math was finally answered owing to Jhanvi’s pursuance as they adhere to strict entry rules of Ramakrishna Mission. Belur math and Dakshineshwar are located at either side of river Ganga both places blessed by Swami Ramkrishna Paramhamsa. Our aim was to meditate and we made most of it. Just before the evening prayer at Belur temple we sat watching sunset by river side. River Ganga, sunset and Belur was creating a perfect synergy in the being of the soul.

Instead of driving to Dakshineshwar we opted the boatman to sail us through the flowing waters. The sight of people bathing at various ghats is like being in 19th century India. So much faith in a dip in Ganges! It also reminded me of immersing brother JT’s ashes. At Dakshineshwar we were shocked to see the unending queue to the temple and for a moment thought of going back. However, some energy was pulling me and I just wanted to have one glimpse of Goddess Kali in the temple. So I just took the steps up and to my surprise no one stopped me. We had a magical few moments in front of the mother. There’s no logical explanation to how we did the darshan without being in the queue.

Afterwards, we made our way to the sacred place were Shri Ramakrishna meditated and it was completely empty as if waiting for us! We sat and meditated, became one with the vibrations of Shri Ramakrishna. The mind was quietened and there was only divine love in that moment. Before taking the boat back we shared a coconut with this old lady who blessed us with toothless smile.

Quietly watching the river flow and hearing the oars row we reached back to civilization, to reality of traffic and our flowing lives!

In the evening seva cafe and Satsang were organized at an orphanage by Jhanvi and friends. The person who runs it is an old man who has dedicated his life and his savings for the welfare of the kids. Children have made their small dwelling place vibrant and clean. There is no government support or it is not even a famous NGO, it purely runs on personal donations. We were welcomed with a beautiful flower rangoli. Kids had also prepared dances so we had Kabir flowing and Shiva dancing! Afterwards, all children gathered around Vipul flogging him with questions on how to play Tanpura! Thanks to yummy Kolkatta Puchka (Pani puri), the Tanpura was saved.

Kolkatta brought a glimpse of various facets of life in a couple of days- children’s home, university, arts and crafts, historical temples, meditations and the sacred mystic river Ganga.

Just before Vipul would leave and my next co-traveler would join, all of us greedily requested Vipul to sing our favourite kabir songs that had made an unforgettable impact and were transforming us with every struck-unstruck chord.

Next few days flew at Kolkatta and Ranjana my next co-traveler joined me. With the Kabir bliss flowing within, the wheels turned towards Jharkhand known also as Singhbhum- meaning land of lions. Hari uncle was our angel once again. When he heard that we were driving in Jharkhand unaware of anything he put on his army hat one more time and within a day we became the guests of Jharkhand state police.

The drive from Kolkatta was via Chaukulia and Ghatsila forest area. The moment we left outskirts of Kolkatta road condition started depleting and scenic beauty took over our senses. Dense woods, fragrance of rain filled soil, lush green trees and mountain ranges. Amidst the beauty the beasty heavy unmanned traffic of lorries was a clear irony in this space. As we drove past the forest area we stopped at an HP petrol bunk for a short break. As we parked we saw no-one except one boy so we asked him about the washroom and he guided us. Till this point I had not feared even once but as we walked to the place we spotted 5 men playing cards close by. My heart leaped into my throat. For a minute my mind raced in 1000 fearful directions and I could hear drumming in my ears as these men casually asked if we needed something. BothRanjana and I looked into each other’s eyes, prayed and became still. We found some strength and both of us swiftly attended nature’s call and exited. Nothing odd happened but the sheer thought of “what could have” gripped us in those few moments. A message in Marathi by Swami Samarth Maharaj that is etched into my heart flickered..“tubhiunakos, me tujyapathisiaahe”…which means “do not be afraid, I am watching your back”. Probably, that was the last time I feared a situation like that.

Commoners like us have no clue how the system in “forces” work. We are so unawares of police protocols. These words were jargon until suddenly we hit the Jharkhand border and were welcomed by first set of police van who was waiting for “sahib” to arrive. A funnily awkward situation was created when they could not see any “man” in the car and got to understand that it was a “woman” who was the guest. We were equally embarrassed as we did not know how to react to 6 policemen suddenly saluting and one taking over the driving seat.

We were surprised as we had nothing practically that could be looted but she said Sundari (our car) had quotes on it in English and any such car with something written on it is taken as government vehicle which is a reason enough to loot, or kill or do anything. For the first time I realized even “peace” quotes can become deadly if not perceived correctly. She also invited to come again with more time so we could visit some places interiors and spend more time understanding the area. I was humbled by her invitation and saw a loving glimpse in a woman who was otherwise so feared by her staff and pretty strict. Before we parted we left a little gift with smile card for her and hugged her. Something in her melted in that brief energy exchange.

Except for stopping at Deori temple of Goddess where Dhoni- our cricket captain regularly pays visit, we drove without a break. Something that the mind had understood in the night we felt during the day; Emptiness/ lifelessness on the road. No tea stalls, no petrol bunk, no telephone range, no human being and only one or two vehicles in the entire stretch of 2 hours. This dreaded beautiful road was to be covered quickly the logic being with your limited intellect you cannot guess where a gunshot can be fired from or an arrow can flatten a tyre within seconds. The driver was narrating incidents of death, abduction and looting that had happened here and how it was important to pass through it during day time. That too before 2 pm!

Those 2 days brought out so many contrasting features of spaces, people and self within. There was a lot to reflect upon before boarding the “life line express”