playschool

hi all

this post is by rajima's son. just putting up some pics of her at a recent reunion she had with her playschool friends - yeah they are in touch all these years. enjoi these pics as they sure are njoing their second childhood!! these were taken in ooty & coonoor..

ramallah course - oct 9-14

The Ramallah course happened in this beautiful hall owned by the Quakers it is very old. we had dancing & singing[carols, arabian &

bajans] - on the last day as is usual in my course. they are busy arranging another couse in nov. from 9th -14th. there will be a breath water sound course for disabled women, a regular basic course in the eve & a KYC.

SAGOL- WoW.
what to say!! 1st day, when i was asked to come up on stage & bless, it came in the form of Om NamahShivaya chanting as a song which spontaneously built up as the drums & synthesiser played on. Everyone gave a standing ovation & remembered me for the rest of the 3 days & came to both my workshops in droves!
The blessing was at 8pm & the 2 hr satsang at 10pm with this amazing group from a synagogue- Ruth [the rabbi], Dafna[vocal * guitar], Nathaniel[drums, kalimba, & other asorted percussions], & Yoel[guitar] . It ws rocking so that Dalit & Rona are arranging for a full blown concert in Dec at Jerusalem in a big auditorium with Simon Perez & other vips.
Next day my workshop ws at 1pm for 2 hrs on Ínner Potential. The tent ws overflowing. Of course they had come to see India in me!! But they stayed to ask plenty of questions, & have a great discussion on mediation, spirituality, etc. Many enrolled for the Haifa & Telaviv courses. Many came for blessings, for e-id, for pics of me, with me etc. at 3 pm we[ dalit, arielle & me went for this amazing dance workshop with Marion , a lovely guy from netherlands. the music was very inspiring[there ws one from Enya also.] it ws mind blowing. that guy was soo intense.
evening was meeting lots of people in the Art Of Living booth & holding an impromptu bajan satsang. many men & women came for blessings, advice, hugs & photo sessions. then we retired to bed at 1am. next day we woke up at 8am, went for a stroll along the beach, did padmasadhana & kriya on the beach, & then had breakfast in the cosy igloo like building where we were put up.then we went for another dance workshop with 2 lovely ladies. it was called chakra & color dancing.!! it was also great. for another 2 solid hrs. will show you the dances when we meet in person!!at 3pm was my workshop on 'Transforming Organisation''. it was fun. people loved the informal way in which i handled it. discussions , meditation, & dalit spoke about business in AOL & the women's conference. more people enrolled for the courses.then we got beads strung in our hair & painted our faces-generally freaked out!!now i'm back home in Jerusalem with shereen & have an intro talk in west Jerusalem.

mysore course participant response

Patti,
''My Experience''-(sorry i am late)
I stayed away from geeta, Mahabharata, etc... not because I'm not interested but just because i had no guidance. But as i attended the first day of Bhagavatham I decided I should not miss it.
I was not able to attend 2 days of bhagavatham, I know i missed a lot...& as i want to cover it, I'm waiting to buy the book & go through it. And waiting for you to come here, so that i can attend bhagavatam . . .In the very 1st day, u asked us to pick any role of our choice(for our self) I just truly loved it paati, as far as i remember i was never given such a choice earlier, might be i don't remember. Bhagavatam is having everything in it. It is full of enjoyment, fulfillment. It is just awesome.We gain good things &We loose.............. only the bad, unwanted things.
We can even find
i. Our past in our present...
ii. Our present in our past... through Bhagavatam.
We have got many things from it. As many times we listen to Bhagavatam we get many more new things, just like if i can say...
''As many times we do the course we go deeper & deeper & get many things'' It is not in visiting different places, but it is in seeing the same places but in different view''. One of the great movement was when you said I am not the one who is speaking, the divine himself is the One who is speaking through me & you are not the One listening, but divine himself is listening through you. For me this was representing the presence of divine everywhere & I was able to find everything in me & myself in every thing. I was able to feel the oneness, belongingness. We celebrated everything i.e...
Birth of Krishna His naughty behaviour His Marriage & everything, & we also celebrated the pain of krishna i.e...the issue of his stomach ache& for sure there is knowledge behind all this...I had things running in my mind, when I went through Bhagavatam i.e Only listening to bhagavatam is so effective & it is made us change & what if we apply the knowledge pionts in our life, then it will just be awesome. Before I used to feel that, this is not the age(17) for me to go through spiritual things for so long a period & that too continuously...Later i felt I'm most fortunate, who is able to get to know about such beautiful things so early. But paati right now I'm feeling I have wasted my 17yrs (behaving according to others) without knowing, getting aware of myself & without knowing about all these & now i have decided not to waste my time & go for it, For this i need a guidence of a lovable,friendly,elderly & good person just like u paati...Patti, I'm very much gratefull to you. Paati so far in my case no one was able to get me so deeply into these things, this was able to happen just because of u my dear paati. Paati i thank u cz,u permited me to be one among you, you accepted me as ur pethi &Let me accept u as my paati.I gained many things from u . ''VANAKKAM''Love uTake Care...

from a teenager who attended the bhagavatham in Mysore last month.

ramallah update

In july when i ws in Ramallah, i was asked to go to somebody's house to bless a cancer patient [4th stage]. They were 2 sisters & the elder one was the patient. She could hardly walk. Was totally emaciated [all skin & bones]. They were both very grateful for my visit & blessing. A month later after i had returned to India, I learnt through Nouran that she had moved on. I conveyed my condolences . This time around the sister gladly offered her apartment for me to stay during my courses in ramallah! She is taking great care of me, has given the key to the apartment & continues to be grateful for that single blessing i'd given her sister.!! [ The apt. has 3 bedrooms, 2 living rooms & a huge kitchen cum dining! I cook meals for Enaya[my host] & nouran & suleiman whenever they drop in. ] oh. yes. Suleiman is my local sarathy [sanskrit for chauffer]. He drives me around, when Nouran is busy, & mainly between Jerusalem & Ramallah, or Ramallah to Bethlechem, or back to Jerusalem. !!

Guruji's mahima is simply amazing.

shanku have included the flowers a well.

Westbank Ramallah Program

Raji’s program
Ramallah 9-13/10/2008

8-10 -2008
Arriving to Ramallah 10:00 am.
If you would like you may join me to the hall to arrange it for the course , that will around 1:00 pm.
* 2:30 pm. Short meeting with Mis. Diana Abdul Noor, Principle of Friends Girls School ( it is a Quakers school)
* 5:00-7:00 pm Arab Evangelical Episcopal School ( contacts,Mr. Iyad Rafidi, director& Ms. Amal Duaibs , Deputy)

9-10-08
* 9:30 -11:30 KYC workshop, for heads of Activities Councils, and the Technical deputy in the in the Ministry of Education. ( those people are responsible to follow up parents’ programs to develop to develop the surrounding environment). City in Hotel – Al Sharafa area.

* 1:00 pm. meeting with Mr. Jereus, the principle of the Friends Boys School, to introduce for him what are you doing.

11-10-2008

* 11:00 am. to 12:00 , knowledge meeting with schools’ principles ( 50 persons), contact person , Mr Refat Sobh. ( this activity may change to KYC depending one the experience of the day before.

12-10-2008
Full day for the basic course from 12-7:00 pm

Tentative meetings,
Meeting with people in Ashtar theater,
Meeting with the Indian Ambassador,
Activity with the Friends Boys School

A miraculous weekend in London-1986

An exerpt from 'CHICKEN SOUP FOR INDIAN SOULS! VOL. 3.

A walk down memory lane for Raji

A miraculous weekend
On a visit to London in 1986, my husband and I found that we had a weekend free and decided to visit the famous shrine at Lourdes, in the south of France. We were lucky to get train tickets at short notice – only later I was able to see that it was all part of a magnificent miracle, at least for me. After a comfortable journey, we reached Lourdes; from the station we took a shuttle bus to the shrine and there we were told to go for the baths, separate sunken baths have been made for men and women wherein one can have a dip in the holy waters of the spring, which is visible under a glass sheet. On that day it was very crowded because all the military cadets of Europe were there for a special blessing from the archbishop who was coming from Rome for the occasion. I was sitting on the pews on one side where all the women were seated. On a small podium mass was being read in all the languages – Russian, Polish, German, and French. Suddenly a woman came on stage and spoke in French asking if there was any English speaking person in the crowd. Since I had learnt French in school, I understood what she was saying and I raised my hand expecting that she wanted some instructions to be conveyed in English for the sake of those who understood only English. On seeing me, the woman said, “Come here, come up quickly”, and when I ran up to her, she thrust a huge book in my hand saying that I must read the mass next and disappeared. Fortunately I was a little familiar with the mass having studied in Christian schools and colleges. I sat on stage listening to a man reciting the mass in a language that I did not recognise. As soon as he was finished, I was asked to read next. I read out the mass, and surprisingly remembered even the hymn learnt back in my school days!!!

Later after a dip in the baths, my husband and I sat in the lawns to eat lunch – chappatis and alu curry which I had cooked and brought from London. My husband said that on hearing my voice on the mike he had got the shock of his life; he really had to crane his neck to see if it was really me on the stage. He was laughing and telling me that a typical Tam Bram mami in silks and diamonds reading out the mass in Lourdes was a unique sight indeed. After that beautiful experience, I wanted to share my joy with one and all, and started looking around to see if I could find someone who would share my food with me. My husband tried to dissuade me saying that in France one cannot find beggars like we do in India, and that I should eat up my food quickly. Just as I was reluctantly tearing a piece of chappati, an old man suddenly came up and asked if I could give him some food! I was overwhelmed and gladly gave my food to him, feeling utterly blessed.

That night on the train back to England, as we sat eating bread and jam, my husband was telling me in Tamil that he was sick and tired of eating bread all the time, and that he was waiting to get back to India just to eat proper food – by which he meant sambar, rasam, appalam and the lot. Suddenly, we were startled out of our skins when seemingly out of the dark, a voice spoke to us in Tamil, inviting us to dinner at his home in London the following evening! Recovering from our surprise, we noticed that the person who was stretched out in the seat across the aisle was an Indian, a military attaché, posted in London. While we quickly struck up a friendship with him, we said that we could not impose on him, but he would have none of that. Next evening found us ringing his door bell - a little apprehensive and a lot embarrassed – but all that vanished when our new friend opened the door smilingly and out wafted the delicious aroma of a South Indian meal. The table was laden with a veritable feast – sambar, puliogere, payasam – the works.

I was moved to tears by the mysterious ways of the lord, who takes care of even the smallest of our wishes. Even now, when I look back, I am struck with wonder as to how perfect and miraculous that weekend was.

Blessing from SF Bay!

Here are beautiful notes of love Rajima!

Jai Gurudev Rajima.Cant wait to hear the great happenings in Israel and Palestine? I am checking the blog every day for update. :)The people there are so fortunate to have you there - to give the clarity of knowledge, and wakefulness to life itself! All my prayers are there and anyway you have the blessings of the universe itself through Gurudev so nothing else is needed. This will write history in Israel & Palestine..

JaiGurudev Rekha
ps; I taught a course in Modesto. Was beautiful..
==
Dear Rajima, our love and prayers are with you and the people of Middle East. May the powerful courses led by you become the catalyst for bringing peace and harmony to Israel, Palestine and the surrounding areas.
Jai Guru Dev, Manisha.
==
thats quite a relief to know that you are transforming lives where it is needed so much. i can only imagine whats happening to their 6 levels. cant wait to hear all about it.

jgdlove om

==
Dear Rajima, Jai Gurudev You are always there in our hearts... Our love and prayers are with you and people of Middle East in bringing harmony.People of Israel and Palestine are very fortunate to have you there. Wish you Happy Navaratri and Dussera from all of us here!

Love & JGD Vishala

Target for AOL Israel during her visit

I had a vip reception here & after a lovely home made lunch by Dalit Laufer[ the Israel coordinator] & a meeting with 2 others about immediate challenges
Tuesday, October 07, 2008, Tel Aviv Israel
===
Here is a very inspirational letter to Guruji from Dalit Laufer & Dafna Paz

Jai Gurudev!

===

Dear Guruji,
Jai Guru Dev
Happy Navratri
We would like to thank you for blessing Raji Lakshmi Ratan to come to Israel for 3 months.
We would like to share with you our target for AOL Israel during her visit and seek your blessing for it.

The Art of Living Israel, in cooperation and corresponding with the International organization’s goals, will act from Oct 2008 to the end of 2008 to promote the organization’s positioning in Israel, to spread your message and to create resonance in the country, which will produce a high level of activity and a significant mass of people that will join our courses during 2009.
Our goals:
• Courses in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa with at least 500 participants.
• Courses in Ramallah, Beit Lehem and East Jerusalem (Organized by Palestinian volunteers)
• Interfaith courses for Palestinians and Israelis (Arabs and Jews).
• Significant media exposure (at least 3 reports in leading newspapers, at least 2 TV programs and at least 3 reports in leading websites.
These Goals will support and promote these future possibilities
• Activity within the Palestinian-Israeli Peace NGO Forum
• Cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Youth and Society Administration of local authorities
• Humanitarian activity within the community of Sderot, a town under constant threat of missiles located near the border with Gaza,
• Ongoing courses for Cancer patients and survivors
• Introducing AOL to Women leaders with the intention to invite them to the Women’s conference
• Initiation of Independent AOL chapter in Palestine
• Prisoners program
• Joint courses for Arabs and Jews in Haifa
==The schedule for Raji's visit is as follows==

6/10 arrival of Raji in Israel 7/10 Guru Puja and volunteers and teachers meeting

9-14/10 course in Ramallah

15-20/10 course in Bethlehem

21/10 Preparing for Sagol festival, the leading 3-day spiritual fair/event in Israel

22/10 17:00 meeting group of Israeli Arab and Israeli Jewish women

20:00 meeting group of leaders
23-25/10 Sagol Festival, Raji is giving inaugurating blessing, concert of bhajans, and 2 additional 2 hour workshops in the event.
Sagol Invitation: http://www.sagol.org/sagol_guestsGrid.php?category_id=44&tdate=98
AOL Israel website: http://www.artofliving.org.il/

26/10 meeting group of Palestinians and Israelis peacemakers

27/10-1/11 course in East Jerusalem (Palestinian)

2-7/11 course in Jerusalem (Israeli)

9-15/11 not set yet ….

16-21/11 2 courses in Tel Aviv (morning and evening)

23-28/11 course in Haifa

1-13/12 not set yet during this period it will be great to have joint refresher courses for Israeli and Palestinian in East Jerusalem

14-19/12 2 courses in Tel Aviv (morning and evening)

21-28/12 not set yet 28-12 Maha SatSang!

We took the responsibility to move together and to use these 3 month as a springboard for huge growth and development of the AOL in Israel

With love, Jai Gurudev. Dalit Laufer & Dafna Paz.

Bhagavadam and mysore basic course

my first course in

karnataka state. mysore was a princely state prior to formation of india as a country post independence from the british. the roads were "rajamaargamu" (very wide and regal in size). the climate was cool and pleasent all the time. pollution was apparant by its absence.

people of mysore were very simple, sincere,

kind, polite, hospitable and rooted in their culture. it was such a breeze doing the bhagavadam with them since the bhagavadam is about bhakti (devotion) and the people were already in total faith.

best of all the senior most teacher in mysore for aol, nandiniji welcomed me with open arms and happy to organise a course for me. she had an amazing set of volunteers who worked tirelessly for both the morning course and the evening bhagavatam. true seva angels :-)

it was wonderfull to see children, teeagers, adults and senior citizens attending the bhagavadam. the teenagers declared that they never knew something "religious" like bhagavatham can be COOL!! we sang and danced and ate sumptuously through the bhagavadam sessions.

sandhya padki who was the reason why i was in mysore had also arranged for a talk in the JSS Law College Mysore.

chennakesava arranged for a session in his company - Maarlabs. the response was very enthusiastic.

it was a most humbling experience to be with such enthusiastic people.