Are you Bengalurean have you visited Ramakrishna math at
Ramakrishna Ashram bus stop. I have many a times visited the bus stop but got a
chance to visit the Math recently with a friend of mine, Vishal. Only then I
understood what I had missed all this time.
Go visit the place soon if you have not seen it still. If we
share the same sense, you may fall in love with this place. Normal is my mood
fluctuations. Yesterday it was off for me on Monday; 6/10/2013 going to some
nice place to chill was the plan. One option was temple that had been
attracting me from a long time but I had not got a chance to visit it. The temple
is in KR road and is built in a very old style it may be really old but have
not heard about it so far and option two was the Ramakrishna Math place which I
had visited a couple of times, once again a nice place let me tell you how the
place is and test my presentation skills:
You simply walk with me now. Math is surrounded by a huge
compound so you will not know what’s actually inside the place unless you
enter. There is one main gate and the temple stands right in front of the gate
at a distance of 150 feet from the main gate. The walk way is surrounded by
park and the temple’s auditorium. As you reach closer to the temple don’t enter
just stop and see the temple with sky in the background. Seeing something with
sky in background is a rare sight in Bangalore with all the multistoried
buildings. Enter the temple to find big photographs of Sri Ramakrishna at the
center and Sharada devi’s photograph at the side. Come out of the temple and
look around to find the real beauty of the temple. There is a small Mantap with
Vivekananda’s statue in sitting posture over a stone block the block of stone
has a small history associated with Vivekananda. This stone was the stone on
which Vivekananda used to sit when he visited Bangalore long time back the
stone was outside the house of an affluent businessman in Bangalore and then
there is huge rock or small mountain don’t know what to call this rock is
enough for say a 100 people to sit peacefully. This rock was the place where
Sharada devi used to meditate for hours when she was in Bangalore. Despite
being in the busiest location of Bangalore once you sit on this rock you can
only see the sky, trees and people and nothing that scares you like big buses,
buildings etc., sit there and meditate I will be back
And of course there is a beautiful small pond with lotus
flower. Very less people stop there to see the beauty of flowers.
Hope you got nice look and feel of the place if you have not
or if my explanation is weak I have some pictures that I searched in Google:
View
from the entrance
Temple
Some
views from the rock
Even I meditated for a while say 20 minutes some Bhajans
started in temple meanwhile so came to see it was fine gave a very good feeling
than there are steps outside temple .
I sat there. I was impressed by the Bhajan’s beauty somewhere
in the background I heard Namaz both of it resonating with one another cascaded
the beauty of each other.
It made me think this way - don’t know who first found this
Namaz or Bhajan but till today they please senses of whom so ever follows. Then
I asked myself if I can create a psychological procedure which when followed
pleases the one who does, say a new kind of meditation may be. A tough ask is
it not
I thought of one though. See this don’t tell I am crazy then.
Even I thought it to be crazy
The process is like this:
Close your eyes and imagine your favorite GOD or icon or
whoever you want to see. Imagine him or her closing your eyes and ears then you
imagine him again in a different place it’s like imagination within imagination
and as I heard this is called meta-cognition again he or she closes your eyes
and ears up to say 10 levels and then the imagination will be deeper and
sharper. And keep staring at him or her continuously for few minutes to relax
This was the process I thought of. Isn’t this good enough to
be called crazy?
I followed it then and there on those steps. I closed my eyes not a firm believer of god I
chose to imagine Vivekananda for my meditation there. I imagined him sitting on
the same stone outside the house of the affluent businessman they were taking
Vivekananda into their house Vivekananda saw me walking towards him gave a
smile indicating me to come along with him. He sat on a chair inside the house
and told all of them that I am Nagabhushan and have come to visit him. Every
one left us alone thinking that the meeting was special. I told Vivekananda
about my meditation and asked him to close my eyes and ears he did so. Now I
was in a desert with Vivekananda in front asked him to close he did. Then we
went to mountains looked something like Himalayas asked him to close he did
again. Again we went to a beautiful stream we both where sitting next to a
stream on a rock which was dramatically flat it was strange the rock looked as
though it was made to sit and meditate and was directly under the shade of a
Banyan tree. I asked him again he did not but said “stop this non sense. Its my
place now Nagabhushan and you will do as I say now. You are in my conscious now
and I decide when you can leave.” It was difficult for me to believe. I tried
to come out opening my eyes but some where my conscious stopped me from doing
so. But there was nothing to worry with what was happening as it was non other
then Vivekananda. Some where having seen movies like Inception and having heard
about permanent unconsciousness I thought a bit but fine I continued to see
Vivekananda
He asked me if I want to sit and meditate there or come
along as he would show me the place around. I said we will see the place
around, we walked along the stream. Got few steps went over them to find a flat
land where there was canopy like structure he took me there and we sat for a
while, the elevation of canopy so high that I could see the sky wherever I sat
in there. Vivekananda asked me, “you have read my books right?” I said, yes. “Then
why are you not following it?” was his next question I thought for a while and
replied “I feel they are not practically follow able in all situations”. He
laughed and then said “we have very less to talk then.” I said “may be”.
Vivekananda asked “You are angry with me or what as I have blocked you here?” I
said “no I am enjoying it and it is fine”. He brought a mud pot placed somewhere
around and poured some drink into it and offered me it as welcome drink!. I
lifted the pot up and poured it into my mouth when I looked up to drink the sun
directly hit my eyes I was blinded for a while as I completed the drink and to
my astonishment Vivekananda was not there . The real worry started then, I
started thinking that if by chance Inception’s limbo (permanent sleep) will
happen to me now.
I got right up and looked around but could not find him anywhere.
It was forest all round searched in and around there was a path way. It looked
as if people walked there and I followed it blindly. Walking for 100 meters . I
found the first trace of human beings. There was huge hut looked like a
traditional ashram. I walked in and saw few people sitting randomly some
sleeping some had their eyes open but no one seemed to approach me asking why I
was there. I dint want to disturb them so waited for any one of them get up on
their own. Hours passed no one got up from their positions. As my patience
reached its limit, There entered an old Sanyasi. His hairs gave me the hint of
infinity it looked so strong that it could cut the blade. He smiled at me asked
to come in. I went in. The Sanyasi sat in his asana and I sat on a chair in
front. “You came here in search of Vivekananda?” asked the Sanyasi, I was amazed
and asked him how he knows. “That’s not important but why do you want to find
him, did you not like the place?, did you not want to stay in here” he asked. “I
liked the place but being locked scares anyone” I said. The old Sanyasi started
laughing at the loudest of his voice “You are locked in your own imagination ha
ha ha” he said. I opened my eyes smiling. The Bhajan that started when I closed
my eyes was finished. I closed my eyes again. “You can stay here for a day and
leave” the old Sanyasi said this and laughed again I stayed there for a day and
the next morning as I opened my eyes next Bhajan was over and I left for home
+Nagabhushan R Anvekar
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