When I think about this past weekend’s Jain Milan events, there is so much that I am thankful for. After talking to so many of you, I have realized that pretty much we all are looking for the same kind of things. In my opinion, aside from the insipid and quite feeble ice breakers, I thought the event was a huge success and more importantly, I felt like I came out of the conference with a new outlook on life.
Dating in 2006 is definitely not the easiest thing to do. At times it can be quite frightening and unnerving, yet what choice do you really have? Maybe you’re contemplating an arranged marriage or possibly meeting someone on your own or maybe meeting someone and getting engaged very fast. Everyone’s lives are different and so we all have different choices that we make. When I think about life, I think that every moment, every situation has a purpose. I’m a type of person that tries not to worry about life and just let our normal course of events take place...So when I think about dating, or when I think about my friends dating, I always tend to think it is good to meet so many people that one may have a common bond with ---and of course a convention like Jain Milan is a great place to do just that. Life is really limitless, you have to dream the dream, and plant seeds in your mind that I want to accomplish this and that and one day some of these things that you wished for or dreamed for will come true…either that or buy a lottery ticket and hope for the best; hmm which would you put your bang on the buck for? I’d definitely dream the dream…
Well this really gets me to think why I really wanted to write this blog…I’ve titled it: Realize What You Are, which is also a book written by Gurudev Shree Chitrabhanuji. Gurudev Shree Chitrabhanuji gave a very beautiful lecture this past weekend at Jain Milan. As I was listening to Gurudev’s awe-inspiring lecture, I started to think about my life and where I wanted it to go. I started to think about an earlier conversation I had just that day with my friend Purvi Kamdar. All these thoughts precipitated through my mind. As I intently listened to Gurudev speak, I was enamored by his life and his mission of spreading the quite alluring and angelic words of ahimsa to the world. Gurudev talked about the following things and I unfortunately can’t do justice to how eloquently he can engage an audience, but I’ll do my best to summarize what I remember from his lecture. He talked about conquering the inner enemies within oneself and avoiding war and conflicts. Gurudev mentioned that Mahavir Bhagvan said to be who you are and let people say what ever they want. Why be a gossip monger? Why waste your time and energy on negative things to say? It has always been my understanding that the more we waste our time on negative energy (gossip, talking bad about someone, or maybe just being in a bad mood and feeling that life really sucks, etc…), we are swaying ourselves away from finding out what are our true passions and what makes our lives something that isn’t just ordinary, but great! Gurudev mentioned that us humans should not only be who we are, but be proud of who you are and don’t be a copycat. He talked about controlling our egos, being compassionate towards all life and most of all respect each and everyone’s ways of thinking (this obviously is what Anekantavad is all about)…
After talking about compassion for a bit and mentioning how we could incorporate Jain Dharma in our lives, Gurudev allured into talking about his life and how he planted a seed in his mind of being at Harvard and lecturing there….he said that he had that desire to go there and one day he even told his dad that he wanted to go. Gurudev said that he had a vision and had conviction in what he really believed and he said that if you see it and emphatically believe it, you will get the best…well if one would take Gurudev’s life as an example, then one really can attest to the fact that he has lived a life with great passion; he has continuously spread the teachings of Jain Dharma throughout his life and has always been a remarkable leader in this day and age. From what I can acknowledge from many people that I have talked to, Gurudev has always said to think good thoughts, and he has encouraged humans to overcome negativity and erase dissenting and pessimistic thoughts, and to allow ourselves to fulfill our lives with strong energy, freedom to dream the dream and to eventually come to terms of self realization. This really boils down to --- Realizing what you are, and how one’s soul relates to what life is all about…this of course is another prodigious topic of its own…
Overall, after thinking about this past weekend, I just have great memories of all the people that I have met. I will always remember the speed dating events; I will remember how I pretty much lost my voice because I just couldn’t talk anymore about “what I do for a living”. I will always remember how much fun I had at the Garba….and of course I will always have the most utmost respect for a magnanimous and quite remarkable human being --- Gurudev Shree Chitrabhanuji.
Jai Jinendra!
