Jeevan Vidya Sammelan

Kanpur - The Jeevan Vidya Sammelan took place in Kanpur from the 26th of October to the 29th. I headed on over there with Anuradha-ji.. we left Dehradun on a 1 pm train on the 25th.. and got to Kanpur on the 26th morning. I would estimate that there were 200-250 people there.
The Sammelan basically consisted of the following:
- Baba-ji spoke for about 1-2 hours every morning
- There were 'presentations' on different 'issues' that were presented by Ganesh-ji, Sadhan-ji, Ransingh-ji, etc... some of the main folks who really have the understanding, and are living it. One question they talked about was -"Solution-centred approach, or Problem-centred approach". Another time, they talked about their vision for taking things forward... different projects and ideas.
- Any individual or any group that wanted to share their experiences with - their process of understanding, their practice of their understanding, and realizations; the activities that they are carrying out; future visions, future activities. This was reallly cool to hear alll the different things going on.... things that individuals are doing, and things that groups are doing as well.

I actually ended up sharing on the last day... my first large public-speaking in Hindi!!! Haha.. I'm pretty used to public-speaking, and wasn't really nervous... other than the moment right before I took the mike. But, overall, it went well... although when I said "city" in Hindi, it sounded like I was saying "lion". =P

Recently, jeevan vidya has been introduced to the President of India... you can read about it here -- http://www.indianexpress.com/story/11007.html, http://presidentofindia.nic.in/scripts/independencedetail.jsp?id=7

Some other writings/articles about JV are here... although to get a real idea of what's being talking about... 1) it has to be done in person and 2) it has to be explored by one's Self and 'seen/perceived'
http://www.rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/Lecture/LecturePandeySan.htm
Shane's blog --> http://sublimity.ca/

The following is a mumbo-jumbo of thoughts, journal entries, email excerpts, questions, etc....


28/10/06 -- Journal Entry
Yesterday was awesome! For the first time in recent memory, I reallly felt like I WANT to understand more & deeper. Sadhan-ji, Ganesh-ji, Ransingh-ji, and Pawan-ji all spoke (Sadhan-ji lives with Baba-ji in Amarkantak, Ganesh-ji is an incredible person and has his center outside of Kanput. Ransingh-ji was written about way earlier in the blog. Sampat and I spent 7-8 days with him in his village. These three are the three that are commonly thought to have the most complete understanding. These blogs are tougher to write now, because all the people I meet, all the things I do, all the places I go to, all the issues I write about... they're all connected now. And without the propoer context, it's really hard to get the full picture of what I'm trying to say, or where I'm coming from... anyways.. it's still worth a shot.) ... pretty much back-2-back... about their visions for future plans... on how to take things forward... and, for me, it was just really powerful and energizing.
I'm excited about InSPIRE. I'm excited about Swaraj Shiksha Kendra (or Swaraj School?). I'm excited about having established relationships with people like Pawanji, Ganeshji, Sadhanji, Arya-ji, Preveenji, Mridu, Manish-Rashmi, Chaiti, Sumati, Ankit, Anuradha--ji, etc.
I defnitely need to take me Hindi to the next level -- to really be able to communicate FULLY and be 100% comfortable in the language... and to be able to read higher level Hindi as well.. and to understand.
Being here, I feel like I'm a part of something meaningful, even though I'm not really doing anything... but it's something within, the stithi (the state within me) has change, and the gati (the flow - my outward actions) is ready to follow.
I definitely need to focus on relationships - I don't think I've understood (see, perceived) what JV has to say about it.... I partially know it logically, but I haven't seen the reality of it within me or my life. Manav Sadhna, to me, is a beautiful example of quality relationships, and so is/was Swadhyay. I will be more aware of my relationships w/ the other... my expectations, different emotions, why they came about, etc...

31/10/2006 - Email to Sampat
THe JV Sammelan was this past week. It was in Kanpur. It was pretty cool actually... a few folks from SIDH went, as did Mridu and Ankit.... and met many others. It was good to see Arya-ji again, Ganesh-ji, Satya-prakash-ji, etc. etc... many others as well. And at the Sammelan, a lot of the focus is on the "program"... because everyone there has pretty in-depth JV background... so, it's a lot of sharing about the different programs/activities that people are doing and how people can cooperate and what's beneficial and what's not. There was a session on Solution-centred action, vs. Problem-centred Action... which was pretty good. And of course.. people there from all walks of life.... the ruralest of rural villages and the elitist of Delhi... it ran the gammot.
It's interesting because Vidya is all about having Right Understanding... and once you are in this process, and once your achieve this Understanding, then you can holistically tackle any problem... I feel that some people that I meet for the first time here, before they even get to me... they're already tring to find out my problems and 'solve' them for me. I know that there is no ill intention behind it... but I think people get a little too 'happy' when they think they've found the 'path'... haha, someone here had a term for it... 'over-jaagruti'!! I love it.. I think it can be applied to any religion, org., group.... you think that you've found 'it', the path to Truth... you may not understand it or realize it... but, you still are in this over-enthused mode to spread it to others and convince others.
But.. yeah.. overall.. i just love the feeling of being here..... I felt like I was part of this huge multi-pronged social movement that's going to change India... and at the base of it all is an internal evolution... through internal exploration. Of course, there are those that will 'puppet' it.. and follow it like a religion... and worship Babaji... but on the whole.. there's no org., there's no money involved... Hopefully.. i'll write a blog entry about it.

26/10/2006-29/10/2006 - Questions, thoughts, ideas during the Sammelan
- Many people here, and it seems like when people speak... are here doing adhyan of jeevan vidya. They are trying to understand the proposal fully. I believe that with this viewpoint, is that one must understand the proposal and then be able to 'check it' though one's own exploration. They are checking to see if 'this is it'... some 'want' it to be it, some are able to 'check it' unbiasly.
But, my process... i'm attempting to do an adhyan of reality. The jeevan vidya proposal is definitely a valuable tool that points me in the direction of what to look for... it draws my attention to these aspects... dhyaan aakarshan. But there are other things that draw my attention to aspects of reality as well.... relationships, conversations, work, activities, books, etc. In the end, everything could be used for this... and for this, a really high sense of awareness is needed.
-The world has two directions... one, we continue to overconsume, the prime purpose of life is to jump from one pleasure to another, the prime factor in business is profit, the gap between the rich and the poor continues to increase, the environment continues to be destroyed, indigenous people continue to be displaced, depression and loneliness and insecurity continue amongst the 'haves', poverty and aspirations of being able to CONSUME conintue amongst the have-nots, families continue to split-up, relationships continue to 'created' and 'ended', mental activity is seen as superior to phsyical labour, etc.
Or two, each individual begins to explore him/herself... and see that his/her true aspiration is to be continually happy/content/harmonious/at peace (basically to feel good at each moment!)... To do so, one must work at harmony at all levels -- within themselves, with their body, within their family, with society, with nature, and with existence. All problems must be viewed holistically... or the only thing that we usually do is solve one problem, but create 3 others.
Now.. my question.... is how can we win this battle?? They have mass media, they have advertisements on every billboard. They can scale up. What do we have?
- There's this concept that those with a higher level of understanding have the responsibility of facilitating those with 'less' understanding to look deeper and understand. That that is the reality of things. For some reason... although, sometimes, i may see the reality of it... it doesn't sit well with me. Maybe, it's because how does one really know who has the 'higher level' of understanding? And the problem usually arises when one things they've attained this 'high' level of understanding, and then tries to sermonize with others. Mutual sharing is what I'm all about. Everyone wants to share experiences, thoughts, ideas, etc. that they hold valuable for them.... and from this mutual sharing, one hopes that a higher level of understanding can be worked towards.
- What does harmony with nature really mean? Is it relative to us.. as human beings... and our survival? For example, creating air pollution... we're 'destructing' nature from our point-of-view, because for our survival, air pollution is damaging. But, the 'reality' of it... aren't we just 'changing' nature? We've taken something from nature, changed its form, and then spit it back out into the atmosphere. Who's to say that we're creating 'disharmony'?
- Concept: there's an intrsinsic value to every unit. Again, this is relatve to survival of human beings. But, isn't it also relative to circumstance? For example, a handkerchief can be used to blow one's nose, but, it also can be used in a game of 'steal the bacon'. So, do even 'man-made' (nothing is really made by man, we only change the forms of materials already available in nature) things have an intrinsic value?
- What is the reality of relationships? I enjoy being in quality relationships w/ people where I can be completely natural. I enjoy getting respect, and at the moment, I enjoy it even when people give me respect that I may not deserve (overevaluation) -- what does getting 'respect' mean? How about.. I enjoy when someone expresses respect for me.
Emotions seem to also be tied w/ having a person physically with you... so possibly tied with the physical human body... being close to you. If I see my mom in the physical form, emotions rush up. This can also happen if I imagine the person... but it's usually not as vivid. How about emotions that are attached to physical things... like a 'gift' given by a special person. Everytime you see the 'gift', emotions arise. I understand that that emotion is actually related to the person, but the physical thing, the 'gift' still causes the emotion. Finally... what is an emotion? What is a feeling?
How about the 'adrenaline' rush? It seems like everyone desires that 'adrenaline' rush.. which goes above and beyond the baseline happiness. For different people, it can be different things -- bungy jumping, sports, performing on stage, sex, extreme challenges.. etc. But, that adrenaline rush.. that desire for the 'spike' in feeling, even though one knows it's only momentary... what about that?
- Observation - my enthusiasm, my 'mood' is often dependent on my environment, and the people around me.
- Observation - there are times when i want to stand out, be special, be recognized. There are other times when I want to 'fit in'. Then, there are those times when I am trying to 'fit in', but in actuality, I am trying to 'stand out' by doing so..... such a perverted world, the mind!
- Many are suffering right now TODAY... EXTREMELY (dying of starvation, disease, rotting to death, etc.) --> what are the immdiate solutions? What are the temporary fixes while we are in the process of the long-term solution?
- Observation - In India, small business owners often don't pay much attn. to the customers. This actually gets to me, pisses me off sometimes.... is this a cultural-thing, because we're so used to great 'customer care' in the US?
- It is easy to identify problems, sadness, pain, 'disharmony' - but very difficiult to be aware of harmony. This seems like human nature in various dimensions (health - we only notice when there are problems, protests - we only attack when we see problems, pain - I'm only aware of my foot if it hurts, etc.).. It seems like the problems have a 'source'.. while the harmony is just what always exists in the background.
Also, as human beings, we only seem to attack the problems, instead of trying to sustain the harmony. Again.. this can be seen in various fields. Swadhyaya is an interesting example of how problems in villages were solved without ever addressing them. Alcohol, the status of women, caste, etc... all these problems were diminished.. by working on the 'solution', and not the 'problem'.

- The following is my notes from my 'sharing' at the JV Sammelan:
> My introduction
> Why I came to India - internal and external exploration, and figure out what i can do with my life to make it meaningful.... all of this was before being introduced to the jeevan vidya proposal
> Problem with giving it a title - by calling it 'jeevan vidya' I think we are putting it in a box; 'he's a part of Vidya, he's not' - there's no reality to this statement; maanyataa that those that have been introduced to JV are more samajdhaar than those that have not --> something to start being aware of; if someone uses different words than JV words -> their meaning can still be the same; claim that it has all the answers/solution without reaching full samajhdaari - how is this possible?
> My process - my efforts to do, to live, and to understand are all taking place simultaneously; I don't see any order to the various levels - self, family, society, nature... all of these efforts are also taking place simultaneously
> Future
1) more sharing about the PROCESS of adhyan, not just the content - what has been the personal process of Ganesh-ji? Arya-ji? Karan-Singhji? Sapna? etc.; is the process different for each individual, or the same?
2) more methods of dhyaan aakarshan other than just the shivir-format - expressions varies depending of situation, circumstance... the meaning can stay the same.; Gap Year College, Youth Shivirs, and InSPIRE are attempts of dhyaan aakarshan in various formats
3) In cities, and the US --> Youth - this is where I see my role; why youth - figuring out their lives, they don't have any responsibilities yet, still open-minded and have choices before them; when they are disillusioned with the current flow of the world and see that there could be something that is meaningful and satisfying, then what... where are the spaces?
-- Swaraj Shiksha Kendra / Swaraj School - land, education, farming, etc.; break barriers - rural-urban, boy-girl, Hindi-English, rich-poor --> must first break these barriers in our mind, that is where they originate