Yuppie Turn Yogi

Yuppie Turn Yogi

The Yuppie "I" Went To Mt Abu To Seek Happiness And I Found It There.

The power of attraction - it must be. We were separated into groups of about 20 to 25 person according to the country we came from. Each group was named with a virtue. The group I was in was named "Happiness".

I must admit, back then in 2005, I was still very much a yuppie. I could not appreciate many things I have now. Neither have I truely experience some intangible virtues such as happiness (the kind that lasts for more than a few hours - yes, I was quite pathetic back then), love and definitely not peace. I could only mostly appreciate tangible things - material things. The intangibles simply eludes me.

When I was into my first day at Mt Abu - we stayed at this retreat called Gyan Sayrovar, I wonder how I was going to "survive" through the 2 weeks - I must clarify that the retreat was comfortable but there was no any form of my standard "entertainment"; I went alone and not crowded by my usual "gang". The hosts were all dressed in whites. There were several sessions of talks per day which under "standard" circumstances I would have stood up and leave or simply dozed off. But, it was a situation when the student was ready, the teacher appeared. I actually enjoyed every session of the talks - except the first day when I was just too exhausted from the journey. The talks were mostly about intangibles...words of wisdom from yogi who had experienced and walked their talks. All I felt was their passion for passing on the wisdom because whatever they had attained had benefited them and those around them. It was a twist for me because I never knew what I was missing out all these while chasing after my "material" rainbow. Seems like the promised pot of gold at the end of my rainbow will never be the same again.

The group activities had been workshops. Somehow, the group facilitator was "entertaining" enough that I too enjoyed it. She actually played some nice music that I normally also enjoyed - not the pop kind of music at the peace retreat (of course) but the new age - "spaced-out" type. She was quite close to my age too so I felt "connected". I found out later that she had been a yogi for more than 20 years and had lived in various parts of the world. She spoke impeccable English as she was a Londoner. We did some harta yoga exercises at the workshop which I really enjoyed and helped me gain a sense of peace and a sense of inner control which I had not felt for many years.

That was the third day and I started to look forward to each day's activities. This was a case where looking back, was predestined and aligned with the Celestine Prophecy. Nothing was coincidental although they just seem so.

There's An Old Saying, When The Student Is Ready The Teacher Appears.

Looking back in 2002: I had a little windfall from a project I worked hard at and with that win, I bought myself a brand new SUV - bright yellow it was - absolutely outstanding! I only had a moment of happiness then back to a void within me that was all too familiar. That was when I started my journey of active search.

I must have searched on and off for close to three years and in Oct 2005, in a mountain - Mt. Abu - in Northern State of Rajasthan, I finally found what I seek only to realise now that this is the begining of true living...and true being. It was very much an Ah-Ha! for me. The love I felt at the gathering - little that I knew back then that it was a spiritual gathering. Little that I realise that I was fortunate to be amongst a group of very stable-minded yogi. That was also a period of my life when I was near burnt-out. I remembered I was invited to Peace of Mind Retreat organised by the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University. I did not had much time in my preparation as I just decided to accept the invitation and decided to just go with the flow of things.

Hours before I took off my journey from Kuching, I picked up the Celestine Prophecy as it was I thought at that time a book most apt for a journey to Mt Abu. Yes, that was the begining of a series of amazing happening in my life that I can only reason it as it has got to do with a Greater Force. I simply got so spell-bound with the Celestine Prophecy that I began to live the book in my journey to Mt Abu and my stay there. The essence of it was whoever you meet - there's a reason to it. I simply live the moment and let the moment come to me and go with the flow. It was magical! They often says it's magical Mt Abu. Yes it is. Years of yoga by yogi who practice purity simply purifies the atmosphere there.

This was the begining of my journey from a yuppie to a yogi.