Meditation in the deserts

We (Br. Amarnath, Mr. Jhingan of Delhi and I) were welcomed by the second-in-command of the Gujarat Frontier Headquarters of BSF when we arrived at Gandhi Nagar. While speaking to him, I asked him if he had heard of Amma. He said yes. “She’s known as the ‘hugging saint,’ right?” He was also aware of Amma’s humanitarian efforts. When I asked him whether he had had darshan of Amma, he said “I’m looking forward to that good day”. “As we are with the security forces, it’s very difficult for us to get time off whenever we want,” he added.

The next morning at 6 o’clock, we started the course in tents pitched on an open ground. That evening, it started raining. Waters started seeping into the grounds where the course was being conducted. Accompanied by an officer, I went to inspect the place to see if we could continue conducting the course there. The jawans told the officer that we could start the class half an hour later. Even though I did not say anything, I wasn’t so sure we could, seeing the ground looking so wet. Twenty-five minutes later, a jawan came to inform us that we could resume the class. When I reached the place, I was astonished to see the whole place looking dry. They jawans had also put up fluorescent lights inside the tent.

The class proceeded smoothly. The participants were performing all the exercises very well. However, there was something amiss. No one was smiling. I felt I had to do something. When I was talking about breathing technique (which Br. Amarnath demonstrated very well), I admitted that I could not do this exercise too well. Everyone looked up, curious. They wanted to know why. I said that if I did the breathing technique, I would not be able to exhale as my nose was blocked; however I would expel something else, I said. [“Hawa nahi ayagi. Aur kuch ayagi. Kyonki meri nak bandh.”] Everyone laughed heartily. The ice had been broken! At the end of that class, the participants came to us and told us that it had been a wonderful experience for them.

During the meditation, we usually keep our footwear outside the tent. On the last day of the course, senior officers came for the closing ceremony. One of the senior officers who was about to walk into the tent with his shoes on, noticed the footwear outside. He retraced his steps, removed his shoes and came in. This officer later spoke about the necessity of meditation. He pointed out that most athletes practise yoga and meditation, having understood their value. He urged the jawans to practice meditation, saying that it would strengthen their resolves, improve the quality of their work perfect and relieve tension. He said that the meditation born out of Amma’s resolve, is a boon to the society. I thank the ashram authorities and also the brahmacharis who came a long way to teach the meditation to our jawans.

We left for Bhuj, approximately 500 kms from Gandhi Nagar, at four in the morning so that we could arrive before the scorching midday heat. We reached Bhuj at 10:30 a.m. The classes here too went on well. On the last day, the senior-most officer there came for the closing ceremony and spoke elaborately about meditation and yoga. After that, he passed me the mike and asked me to say a few words. As this was totally unexpected, I did not know what to say at first. Spontaneously came the words “We are so happy and grateful that we got a chance to serve the people guarding the borders of our Nation.” [“Yeh hamarae liye kushi ki bath hai ki, jo hamarae seema ke raksha kar rahae hain un ke liye seva karnae ki ek mauka mila.”] Everyone clapped resoundingly for more than two minutes.

The next stop was Badmer in South Rajasthan, about 600 kms from Bhuj. We reached there by noon. Usually, the officers occupy the front seat of the vehicle and the jawans and others sit behind. At Badmer, the officer who used to help me with the classes requested me to sit in front and he sat in the back.

Badmer is part of Thar desert. We saw sand dunes. The sand was actually flowing along the roads just like water! At that time of the year, the temperatures here range from 45 to 48 degrees Celsius. Even at 4 AM , boiling water will be coming from the taps. Such a heat.

Here too the classes went on well. A group of jawans came to me after the class and said that in today’s world, no one has time for anything. “But all of you have taken the time and travelled such a long distance to teach us meditation. We don’t know how to thank you.” One of them took my hand and kept it on his cheek. He was on the verge of tears.

On the last day, the senior-most officer in charge of that sector threw a tea party for us. He said that he wanted to have Amma’s darshan. He then made arrangements for us to go the Indo-Pak Border at Munnabao, about 120 kms from Badmer. For miles together there are only sand and sand alone. One jawan told me that some days apart from our fellow jawans we used to see only crows here. Scarcity of water is also there. There, we saw at first hand how hard life was for the jawans there who had to guard our national borders under the scorching sun. Munnabao is the last Indian railway station in this sector.

It was a nice experience for us to teach IAM to our brothers who are guarding our borders.

15- 25 June 2007, visit to Gujarat BSF camps

Ajamrita