Several years ago, while in college, I scripted and directed a street play by this name. This was around the time of the Kargil War. We were trying to understand the experience of our soldiers - the one's who came back victorious. Was there joy in their victory, was there sadness, was there pride, was there a sense of shame, were they innocent, were they guilty - we wondered. We grappled with the inner conflict we experience in the face of war, and came out unresolved. It was a powerful experience.
My understanding of 'war' has been redefined several times since - through education, by the media, by the experiences of people in my life.
As a psychologist in training I worked with war veterans in the United States and discovered the world of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is apalling to see how these soldiers come back disabled for life - emotionally, physically, cognitively, or some combination of these. Despite this, most veterans claim that they would have chosen this path if they were to live their life all over again. A huge range of benefits and services are made available to them, but is that enough to restore their lives to normalcy?
Last year my brother joined the NDA to train for the Indian Air Force. While I am very proud of his decision, drive and commitment; I am also very concerned. And last week I reconnected with a dear childhood friend after several years, only to learn that he was getting ready for an Afghanisthan military deployment. Suddenly deployment took a whole new meaning and I had a very strong psychosomatic reaction.
What drives one to choose this path? Isn't violence frightening in any form - physical, emotional or verbal? However, it seems increasingly plausible to me that humans are inherently violent. And in some sense all this violence is self-destructive. Can we use violence constructively?
June 22, 2009
April 13, 2009
'Good' news!
My excuse for not watching the news or reading the newspaper used to be that they were filled with 'bad' news. I recently discovered NBC's weekly series - 'Making A Difference' - featuring 'good' news. This was created in response to viewers who shared my complaint!
I am compiling a list of news links with positive inspiring stories, and would appreciate any input :)
Here's the NBC web link: Making A Difference
I am compiling a list of news links with positive inspiring stories, and would appreciate any input :)
Here's the NBC web link: Making A Difference
March 25, 2009
Play for CRY
A child's world is magical, filled with hope and optimism, where everything is possible and the sky is the limit. I've been working closely with children in various countries for over 5 years now. I've been their dance teacher, tutor, counselor, therapist, or I've just been their friend. Childhood is a crucial period in human development and it is imperative to support children through this phase.
Today I chanced upon a CRY initiative: http://www.playforcry.org/ I played some fun games, learned more about the lives of children in India, and helped spread the word about the child rights movement. The website reads, "A time will come when all children will enjoy their childhood" and I believe it will. It made me smile and strengthened my faith in my goal. The joy of bringing a smile on a child's face is priceless :)
Today I chanced upon a CRY initiative: http://www.playforcry.org/ I played some fun games, learned more about the lives of children in India, and helped spread the word about the child rights movement. The website reads, "A time will come when all children will enjoy their childhood" and I believe it will. It made me smile and strengthened my faith in my goal. The joy of bringing a smile on a child's face is priceless :)
August 24, 2006
'The path of Dhamma' - the Vipassana Experience
A brief introduction:
Vipassana literally means to see things as they really are, and is one of India's most ancient techniques of meditation. It is also known to some people as 'silent meditation'. This technique was rediscovered by Gautam Buddha 2500 years ago and was taught by him as an Art of Living - a universal remedy for all universal ills. Handed down over the generations, Vipassana is now taught by S. N. Goenka and is very widespread all over the world. Goenkaji, despite being of Indian descent, was a Burmese national and was introduced to this technique by Sayagyi U Ba Khin. It is taught at 10 day residential courses where the participants are required to follow a strict code of discipline (www.dhamma.org/code.htm). During these 10 days the participants learn the basics of this method and gain preliminary practice, often times enough to experience some benefits.
My Experience:
INTENSE! POWERFUL! HARD! INTRIGUING! CHALLENGING! CALMING! RESTLESS! REASSURING! PEACEFUL! HOPEFUL!
It was a 10 day roller coaster ride for me. Going into it, all I knew was that I had to be silent for 10 days with no communication with the external world, and that sounded blissful. This was true, but there was a whole lot more - the only activity was meditation! There began the challenge. We had a time table drawn out for us and the 18 hour day began at 4 a.m. and ended at 10 p.m. There were fixed meal times, and some time allotted for rest :) In the evenings we sat in on a discourse by Goenkaji, that was the highlight of my day - it was my incentive to get through the day. He is a phenomenal speaker, and his speech is like music to the ears. I couldn't imagine 10 days with no form of physical activity (apart from walking in their loop) and no form of mental activity (apart from meditating). But those days went by, and I more than just survived - I learned a whole lot, and grew a whole lot.
The philosophy is very beautiful. The non sectarian, non religious aspect is most appealing, and at certain moments a very challenging situation. In essence the path of Dhamma, the universal law of nature is taught - when you help others, simultaneously you help yourself; when you harm others, simultaneously you harm yourself. In accordance with this law one cannot harm others without generating a defilement in the mind, neither can one help others without generating love, compassion and good will. 'Liberation' is seen as the final goal of life, and this technique is considered a means to achieve the same. The 'karmic' math is a constant presence at some level. What sets this apart from most other experiences in this area is that here a concrete path is explained. Abstraction is minimally used.
This technique is a way of self transformation through self observation and focuses on the deep mind-body connection. This is where it really struck a chord in me. The mind-body connection is the founding pillar on which the field of dance/movement therapy rests. Now I had two techniques - movement therapy and Vipassana - so similar yet so radically different. While in the former approach we move the body to still the mind, in the latter we maintain perfect stillness to observe the movement in the mind! The manifestation of any emotion on the body level before physical reaction is an intriguing phenomenon. In this technique the emotions of desire and aversion are seen as the two broad causes of misery in human life. Introspection - a skill unique to human kind is the main tool used here.
'Anichcha' - the Pali word for impermanence has been echoing in my ear constantly since. Everything is life is ephemeral, transitory or impermanent - hence, desire and aversion have no meaning. This is a very interesting concept. However, just like the concept of God is illusory, so is the state of permanence or 'Salvation' or 'Liberation'. I found myself grappling with this a lot, but what I couldn't agree with more was that each one fought his/her own battle. We come into this world by ourself, and leave this world by ourself again - all our encounters with the living or non-living world fulfill some need at some level. This seems like a cold attitude towards life, but there is so much depth in the idea. Coming back to the idea of impermanence, they break down our entire being to mere vibrations of wavelets - rising and sinking constantly. Scientists have proved the same thing, only here there is a small twist to the subatomic vibrations. The argument is that with every reaction of desire or hatred, the vibrations forming what is referred to in the western world as the unconscious mind are going to be burdened with misery, and the realization of impermanence will help alleviate the same. I have to say that my mind often wandered off to a physics lesson in grade school, and then Goenkaji's voice would jolt me back to the present.
The emphasis on being present seems to be everywhere. Coincidentally this book I am currently reading is called the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, and it is constantly talking about being present in the now and preventing the mind from taking over your life. Observing the mind seems like a complex task because we are tricked into believing that the mind is the entity capable of observation! It is evident that all we have is the NOW, and the past and the future are only thought forms. So how does one stay in this much talked about 'NOW'? Vipassana is one answer to this and a fairly concrete, well explained one.
I can talk forever and ever, but given the impermanence of everything, this too must end :) The 10 days of solitude is an incredible experience in and of itself. You begin to really see your life in new light - needs become obvious. I would recommend this to one and all. There is a lot you can take away from it and they only ask for a 10 day commitment. What you do with your life after that is your wish. I have to share one last piece - on the last day when we got back our voices (Lord! thats was a bizarre moment), the question EVERYONE asked me was, "is this your first time?" And I was like, "Yeah! Isn't it your first time too?" Apparently not! There were people attending it for the umpteenth time, and there is actually a progressive intensity! At that moment i was convinced that they had lost their mind, but now i can see why people might choose to do so. It is a very intelligent idea. One is always looking for a centering force, and you never know what might work for you when.
This entry is incomplete without the most repeated phrase during the camp, "Bhavathu Sarva Mangalam" - May All Beings Be HAPPY :)
For detailed information on the technique visit the website www.dhamma.org.
I invite any comments or questions you may have ...
Vipassana literally means to see things as they really are, and is one of India's most ancient techniques of meditation. It is also known to some people as 'silent meditation'. This technique was rediscovered by Gautam Buddha 2500 years ago and was taught by him as an Art of Living - a universal remedy for all universal ills. Handed down over the generations, Vipassana is now taught by S. N. Goenka and is very widespread all over the world. Goenkaji, despite being of Indian descent, was a Burmese national and was introduced to this technique by Sayagyi U Ba Khin. It is taught at 10 day residential courses where the participants are required to follow a strict code of discipline (www.dhamma.org/code.htm). During these 10 days the participants learn the basics of this method and gain preliminary practice, often times enough to experience some benefits.
My Experience:
INTENSE! POWERFUL! HARD! INTRIGUING! CHALLENGING! CALMING! RESTLESS! REASSURING! PEACEFUL! HOPEFUL!
It was a 10 day roller coaster ride for me. Going into it, all I knew was that I had to be silent for 10 days with no communication with the external world, and that sounded blissful. This was true, but there was a whole lot more - the only activity was meditation! There began the challenge. We had a time table drawn out for us and the 18 hour day began at 4 a.m. and ended at 10 p.m. There were fixed meal times, and some time allotted for rest :) In the evenings we sat in on a discourse by Goenkaji, that was the highlight of my day - it was my incentive to get through the day. He is a phenomenal speaker, and his speech is like music to the ears. I couldn't imagine 10 days with no form of physical activity (apart from walking in their loop) and no form of mental activity (apart from meditating). But those days went by, and I more than just survived - I learned a whole lot, and grew a whole lot.
The philosophy is very beautiful. The non sectarian, non religious aspect is most appealing, and at certain moments a very challenging situation. In essence the path of Dhamma, the universal law of nature is taught - when you help others, simultaneously you help yourself; when you harm others, simultaneously you harm yourself. In accordance with this law one cannot harm others without generating a defilement in the mind, neither can one help others without generating love, compassion and good will. 'Liberation' is seen as the final goal of life, and this technique is considered a means to achieve the same. The 'karmic' math is a constant presence at some level. What sets this apart from most other experiences in this area is that here a concrete path is explained. Abstraction is minimally used.
This technique is a way of self transformation through self observation and focuses on the deep mind-body connection. This is where it really struck a chord in me. The mind-body connection is the founding pillar on which the field of dance/movement therapy rests. Now I had two techniques - movement therapy and Vipassana - so similar yet so radically different. While in the former approach we move the body to still the mind, in the latter we maintain perfect stillness to observe the movement in the mind! The manifestation of any emotion on the body level before physical reaction is an intriguing phenomenon. In this technique the emotions of desire and aversion are seen as the two broad causes of misery in human life. Introspection - a skill unique to human kind is the main tool used here.
'Anichcha' - the Pali word for impermanence has been echoing in my ear constantly since. Everything is life is ephemeral, transitory or impermanent - hence, desire and aversion have no meaning. This is a very interesting concept. However, just like the concept of God is illusory, so is the state of permanence or 'Salvation' or 'Liberation'. I found myself grappling with this a lot, but what I couldn't agree with more was that each one fought his/her own battle. We come into this world by ourself, and leave this world by ourself again - all our encounters with the living or non-living world fulfill some need at some level. This seems like a cold attitude towards life, but there is so much depth in the idea. Coming back to the idea of impermanence, they break down our entire being to mere vibrations of wavelets - rising and sinking constantly. Scientists have proved the same thing, only here there is a small twist to the subatomic vibrations. The argument is that with every reaction of desire or hatred, the vibrations forming what is referred to in the western world as the unconscious mind are going to be burdened with misery, and the realization of impermanence will help alleviate the same. I have to say that my mind often wandered off to a physics lesson in grade school, and then Goenkaji's voice would jolt me back to the present.
The emphasis on being present seems to be everywhere. Coincidentally this book I am currently reading is called the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, and it is constantly talking about being present in the now and preventing the mind from taking over your life. Observing the mind seems like a complex task because we are tricked into believing that the mind is the entity capable of observation! It is evident that all we have is the NOW, and the past and the future are only thought forms. So how does one stay in this much talked about 'NOW'? Vipassana is one answer to this and a fairly concrete, well explained one.
I can talk forever and ever, but given the impermanence of everything, this too must end :) The 10 days of solitude is an incredible experience in and of itself. You begin to really see your life in new light - needs become obvious. I would recommend this to one and all. There is a lot you can take away from it and they only ask for a 10 day commitment. What you do with your life after that is your wish. I have to share one last piece - on the last day when we got back our voices (Lord! thats was a bizarre moment), the question EVERYONE asked me was, "is this your first time?" And I was like, "Yeah! Isn't it your first time too?" Apparently not! There were people attending it for the umpteenth time, and there is actually a progressive intensity! At that moment i was convinced that they had lost their mind, but now i can see why people might choose to do so. It is a very intelligent idea. One is always looking for a centering force, and you never know what might work for you when.
This entry is incomplete without the most repeated phrase during the camp, "Bhavathu Sarva Mangalam" - May All Beings Be HAPPY :)
For detailed information on the technique visit the website www.dhamma.org.
I invite any comments or questions you may have ...
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