Saturday, June 11, 2016

Meditation at Aikya

We are currently living in Aikya Apartments, Off Banergatta Rd in Bangalore. Madhavi, our younger daughter, designed this complex. We moved in to Aikya in December and we immediately noticed a sense of unity (true to its name!) and fraternity in this complex. Behind this is Mr. Ranga Rajan, a venerable elderly gentleman, who gives more than 10 hours per day all around the year, unstintingly and whole heatedly, in self-less service of the community. He is ably supported by the managing committee and we started enjoying the wonderful energy in this community. We have plans to travel to Europe and USA for 3 months and thereafter shift to our new home at Devlali. In a conversation with Mr. Ranga Rajan, I expressed my interest to give back something to this community that has welcomed us with open arms and where we have experienced some delightful atmosphere that was so elusive in the countless communities we lived in the past 45 years. The short workshop on meditation was result of that conversation.
The vent was very satisfying and fulfilling to me because of the wonderful, focused and attentive participation of the group which many having deep rooted interest in yoga, spirituality and personal growth.  I am grateful to Mr. Ranga Rajan and the managing committee for the opportunity and do hope that I will ahem more opportunities to share with such a wonderful group.

Stress Managment at Arrow

My old friend Sanjeev Keskar has moved from PMC to Arrow as the MD. Sanjeev has been wonderfully supportive and encouraging. he gave me two opportunities at Freescale , another at PMC and now at  Arrow. I enjoyed the short workshop and it was a great privilege to share with a sales team which was willing to keep their mobiles  off and focus on how to manage stress. I congratulate Sanjeev for his leadership and the team for their participation and willingness to tryout new tools and techniques with an open mind and an open heart.
I keenly look forward to a deeper engagement with this group.

Wellth Managment Retreat at IMT, Nagpur

This event was very special to me in more than one way Prof. Brahma, a friend of Gen Chatterjee in Auroville, has become a friend over the years. he and Mrs Brahma liked my workshops very much. Prof. Brahma teaches at IMT, Nagpur and in a conversation with the Dr. Subhajit Bhattacharyya, 
the Director, suggested me as a possible visiting faculty in the area of Personal Growth.
When I spoke to Dr. Bhattacharya, he wanted me to first do a week-end program for the Faculty Members! I was more than delighted, in fact I was ecstatic to have an opportunity to share with such an erudite group - the faculty members of one of the top business schools in India. Wow! But, at the same time, I was apprehensive and scared to do a week-end retreat for such a  learned group! I decided to grab the opportunity and thanked the Director for his enlightened leadership!
The actual event took off here the prelude started. The IMT campus is about 40 km from the  city and most of the faculty members stay in the city and commute to the institute.  I was very pleasantly surprised to learn that all faculty members living in the city have checked into the guest house on Friday evening! The most pleasant surprise for me was the spontaneous participation of the group. Sometime, I saw a lot of reluctance in closed groups  in workshops. The participation in IMT points to an open environment with curiosity and thirst for learning - the true hall marks of an educational institution. I congratulate the management, leaders and every one of the group who contributed in building such an open culture.  It was my pleasure and privilege to have had an opportunity to share with such a wonderful group.
The icing on the cake was the learning's I had as a facilitator and the highest reward was the friendship with many of the group.
I really look forward to go back to IMT and enjoy a long and fruitful association with this great institute.  

Monday, March 21, 2016

Auroville workshops

Ah! One more visit t Auroville and this time in February - the month of goodwill and celebrations in Auroville. I was very happy to meet so many friends not only Auroville but all those who visit Auroville in February, form all over the world. So, it was great meeting the many friends from AVI who so generously hosted me in my travels and helped me in my mission to spread health, harmony and happiness, It was very nice meeting them in Auroville, the fountainhead of my mission. I was so happy to see the network spreading its reach in Auroville and we have begun the work on the pilot project to connect homes. I am grateful to the team for all the work and the help and cooperation form so many people. The icing on teh cake was to offer a meditation workshop at Savitri Bhavan and Pranayama workshop at Unity Pavilion. The Pranayama workshop is the largest ever I have done in Auroville! I left with heart full of joy and gratitude and look forward to the next visit.

Workshops at IIM, Bangalore

This is the third year in a row that I am fortunate to have the opportunity to offer Good Health workshop and Stress Management workshops at IIM, Bangalore. The proximity of IIM to my home adds more ease and grace for the events I do at IIM. It is beautiful campus and I love the ambience of this institute. I also find the participants to be more interested and spontaneous in their interactions. This year, it was even more so and I started a new blog called "Wellth Management" . The pictures and pot can be seen at http://wellth-managemnt.blogspot.in/


Workshops at Auroville

After shifting from Auroville as a place of residence, this was my first visit to the place where I discovered the purpose of my life in spreading health, happiness and harmony. The optical fiber network project is going great, thanks to Chandresh, Manu, Dyuman and others who have formed a well-knit, professional and quality conscious  team. It was great meeting the many friends and I felt grateful and happy for the opportunity of offering two workshops: Meditation for inner peace and Wellbeing workshop. I am sharing a couple of pictures.
I do look forward to more visits and being connected with Auroville - at various levels

and layers.

Integral Development Lab at Van Niwas, Niainital for IIMI

This was the 6th IDL that I conducted and one of the most interesting and exciting experiences for me. The sixth one in a row,! It all began with the seed sown by Prof. Ravichandran , The Director of IIMI. I designed and planned the program alone but Prof. Srnivas joining me to conduct the first program was a great thing. For me, his friendship was one of the most rewarding outcomes and for IIMI, the scaling up he has done to create the out-bound learning program is history.
Over the period of six years, IDL matured into a valuable program for the students and a rewarding opportunity for me to be with a new group in the incredible foot-hills of Himalayas . This year was special because my wife joined me and we visited Haridwar and Rishikesh on the way.It was wonderful meeting Sri Nalinji and his marvelous team
It is always fun to do a week-long program for a new, young group. As the other groups are purely oriented as Adventure, the students want more fun and les of development. That means my personal contribution content is coming down and along with the opportunity for my own growth is diminishing. So, I am opting out of this program next year onwards. What I would miss most is the Ashram, Nalinji and the Himalyas. All the same it is time to move-on and open up the space for new adventures.