Creating Magic, again!

Where were you exactly 5 years ago?  I was at the Jakkur Airfield in Bangalore, India from February 17 to 19, celebrating the Silver Jubilee of the Art of Living Foundation (AoLF), along with 2.5 million people from the world over.  Year 2006 set a milestone for the Art of Living Foundation: 25 years of service, of love, and of belongingness.  

Each one of us who participated in this historic event had a purpose, a driving force, a personal story to regale.  Here's mine:  

I was born and raised in Bombay, India.  While meeting the demands and breathing the stresses of this gushingly fast-paced city, I fortunately stumbled upon my first Art of Living course in the December of 2002 (finally, learning to breathe the stress out:)).  Have you ever wanted to capture a beautiful moment or a gorgeous day and keep it with you forever?  That's how I felt about that entire week - it was just incredible.  Be it my subsequent visits to the International AoL Center in Bangalore or participating in seva projects, but from 18 of us in the course, I went on to meet hundreds of people/volunteers in and around the city.  

It was all hunky dory until I moved to the U.S. in the fall of 2005 to pursue further education.  I was cringing inside, wondering, when would I see my AoL family again?  An even bigger question, How will I go back to India for the Silver Jubilee celebrations? was looming in my head.  In the corners of my mind I had posed a dozen reasons why I'd never be able to go: finances, getting time off from the semester, school-work, and so on.  I was not entertaining the thoughts of going for the Silver Jubilee one bit.  I guess that was the biggest hurdle, because as soon as I imagined being there, my heart and mind focused on that one intent (sankalpa): to be at the Silver Jubilee.  The sooner I began to overlook the hurdles, they ceased to exist.  Given my situation, it seemed impossible to attend the celebrations, but the moment I decided to attend, the hurdles began to vanish one after another.  Leave was granted, school-work was completed, deadlines were met, group discounts on air-fare appeared, and most of all, family and friends supported me all through.  Miraculous, isn't it!?  Well, with Guruji it's not very difficult to fathom! :)

There I was, chanting OM and meditating for world peace.  The world truly came together, as a One World Family, right before my eyes.  

So this time, for Art of Living's 30th anniversary celebrations, you know what to do.  Just decide to go.