Sri Sri was invited by the UN to speak on the "Sacredness of Peace" at the 3rd Congress of Imams and Rabbis in Paris. There was to be a satsang on the evening of the 16th. The previous two times that I had met Him, I had been scared that if I didn't say something first, He wouldn't even know that I existed. In fact, even though I had been standing a foot away from Him, He had looked every which way but at me. (Later someone told me that Gurus do this to crush your ego :)) Well, mine had been crushed, thwarted and made a pulp of, by His consistent ignoring.
This time, therefore, I prepared myself only to listen.
There was a big group going from Fbl, so Bea made sure that there were seats for all of us together. As a result, we (ppl from Fbl) occupied almost the entire second and third rows. I was in the middle seat, right in front of Him.
He glided in amidst thundering applause and settled down on the sofa. He smiled at some, waved at some, raised eyeborows at some, acknowledged some more. Everywhere around Him. Except right in front. Man, it was good to have Him back!
He delighted everyone by speaking some French (comment ca va, bien, bon, amour, Je ne parle pas francais etc). He later admitted that even though He was a good teacher, He was not a good student. And then He delighted the French even more by saying, "Paris is sooo beautiful". He stressed on the importance of meditation and chanting Om Namah Shivaya. To those with worried faces, He said, "Keep the heart pure and trust that things will happen at the right time". And added, very casually, "Of course you have So-Hum, So-Hum".
One gentleman asked a long question about Truth and illusion, and even though he may be touching upon the truth, he is not sure if that too is an illusion. So Guruji said, "For the last 8 months you made a lot of progress. Keep going".
Another gentleman had an astonishing story to tell. He is an ex-convict and when he came out of the jail, he went to meet Guruji at Bangalore. He told Guruji of his dream to row across the Atlantic, and also to start some kind of rehab project for ex-convicts. Guruji had asked him to wait 2 years. He was disappointed by that, but had no choice as he had fallen sick after coming back from India. 2 years later he had accomplished his dream, and was wondering how he would tell Guruji about it. And then of course, he heard of the visit...He said, "I feel I did not have to go to meet you, you have come to meet me!!!" People around him urged him to go up to the podium, so he made his way to where Guruji was sitting. And then Guruji gave him the biggest surprise of all, by giving him a bear hug!
In between answering questions on world peace and the terror menace, he exclaimed that He had forgotten to comb His hair. And the very next moment 'brushed' it aside with "Never Mind". He invited suggestions for Art of Living in France...and while suggestions came trickling in, Stephane took the mike and started talking about this volunteer who was instrumental in organising many courses. And then he called my name!
I stood up, and said "Pranaam Gurudev!" and then I said "Many of us are here to meet you today". And I asked all from Fonty to stand up. (Good thinking on Bea's part to have seated us all together!) Guruji smiled and nodded, and said "Good, good, good".
WOOOOHOOOO!!!
We sang some bhajans and then Guruji left us with that feeling of pain that invariably follows the end of anything good. I guess its called longing.
Here are more photos..
Wishing you all a wonderful year ahead with Magical Mondays, Tantalizing Tuesdays, Wonderful Wednesdays, Thankful Thursdays, Fantastic Fridays, Surprising Saturdays and Spiritual Sundays!
Love
Suparna
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