Pura Vida: The Pure Life
Oct 13th, 2016
I got a Facebook message around Thanksgiving from a dear friend of mine, KR, from Costa Rica. We dated several years ago & she's now happily settled in Costa Rica with her boyfriend, Travis. She had the oddest request. She wanted to know if I could bring some used car parts from the US to Costa Rica. I thought about it & initially thought to say no, but then decided I could use a short break. She booked a flight for me and we had to reschedule the flights due to the parts not arriving in time. We finalized the dates & Karen told me that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar would be in Costa Rica. I was conflicted at the time, but thought I would go to Costa Rica regardless. As the date drew closer, I felt that Karen was taking care of everything including going to two events hosted by The Art of Living - El Arte De Vivir. I couldn't even read the Spanish emails about Gurudev in San Jose, Costa Rica. I was initially detached & skeptical about meeting Gurudev in Costa Rica, but somehow everything lined up. In reflection, I know this all came together as the divine's plan.
My Dad's birthday was on the 7th of December. I came in to Houston on the 6th & spent a wonderful day finishing up my father's Man Cave Garage & having dinner with his best friends. My Dad actually ended up finishing his Grande Margarita and ended up a little tipsy on his 72nd birthday. I realized the power of being in conscious awareness and the gift of equanimity. Gurudev says that every human being has the birth right to being happy & uninhibited. Why do we need alcohol / drugs to be uninhibited? One of my favorite senior teachers from India, Bawa, says that people drink to escape their ongoing stressful state of mind. When we move from stress to happiness, we no longer need alcohol / drugs to escape our state of mind / feel relaxed. We are simply stress-free & happily uninhibited!
On the 9th of December, after sufficient advice from my parents on international travel (sarcasm injected here), I left for Costa Rica. I arrived at the airport to meet KR and Travis. I immediately felt connected with KR and was happy to meet her boyfriend, Travis. We headed into the city and checked into this eclectic and local hotel in the middle of San Jose. The hotel was beautiful and only ran $20 - $42 per night depending on if you wanted a shared / private bath...I experienced both! The breakfast was absolutely amazing with so many varieties of fresh fruits & vegetables. I ate and loved the staple red beans and rice & plantains. I indulged in fresh watermelon, papaya, beets, eggplant, & other exotic fruits & vegetables. I felt spoiled!
We ended up traveling most of the day seeing San Jose and the rain forests / countryside. We visited this amazing yoga retreat center where I'm hoping to teach a 5 day residential Sri Sri Yoga & Happiness Program. We bought many fruits including my favorite lychees.
That evening I started getting nervous about seeing Gurudev the next day after many months. I was both nervous & excited about seeing Gurudev on the 11th evening. After we meditated, I said my goodbyes to KR and Travis as they were leaving that morning. That morning I meditated some
more and prepared to meet Gurudev at 4pm in San Jose. I got there two hours early and helped however I could. At around 4:30pm, I couldn't believe it. I was seated maybe 4 rows from Gurudev. I saw him and finally locked eyes and felt the love you can only feel when you are reunited with your Guru, your master, your beloved. I felt so happy and in deep love. After the event, as Gurudev was getting up, I ran around the back & caught up with Gurudev and handed him my Mom's homemade fruit and nut Ladoos (Indian sweets in the shape of a ball). I said, "Gurudev, my Mom made these." The next thing I knew I was walking right alongside Gurudev and no one else was next to him...and then it happened. I thought, what do I say? I came right next to him and I said, "Hi Gurudev, how are you? Gurudev, I want to serve you full-time. How can I best serve you? Should I go back to India, Sri Sri University, or take courses in the US?" He told me what I needed to hear as we were walking through the rain and someone handed me the umbrella to hold over Gurudev and I. Can you believe I held an umbrella over my beloved's head and my whole life he's been holding an umbrella over mine? It felt amazing. What my Gurudev has given me for lifetimes, I was able to do for maybe 30 seconds. As we approached his car, he asked me if I was coming to Boone and I said "yes, absolutely." He said we would speak more then. As Gurudev closed the door, I asked him to please eat the Ladoo (such a dork...it's all I could think of as it's what my Mom wanted).
I felt so happy & completely blissed out. I was walking on Clould 9. I couldn't believe I would see Gurudev the next morning for a leadership forum with a small group of maybe 100 people. I went to bed so happily after sharing my joy with my extended Art of Living family. As I sent WhatsApp messages, I was reminded of what Gurudev says (I paraphrase), "When you see a movie, do you keep it to yourself / share your joy with others? You tell others to see the movie you loved. You want to share your joy."
The next morning, I arrived at the San Jose Holiday Inn at 7:45am. I registered and quickly got a 3rd row seat close to Gurudev. At around 8:30am, Gurudev walked in. I felt like Gurudev was looking at me the whole time. I felt so much love. His eyes just melted my heart. I thought he ruined it for me...no other love can compare in this world. Gurudev says that the love of the divine is a thousand times greater than all forms of love combined, the love of your parents, your siblings, your children, your spouse, boyfriend / girlfriend. I felt like I had entered the perfect moment...at that present moment, there was nothing else I wanted to do and nowhere else I wanted to be. There was no amount of pleasure / money / status that could replace the perfect moment with my Master.
Towards the end of the event, I had become friends with the lady next to me, Ana Cristina. She had done the Happiness Program and a Silence Course in Costa Rica. As the event closed, I encouraged her to meet Gurudev closely. As we were leaving, I nudged her towards Gurudev and as she drew near, she ended up getting photos with Gurudev! I was so happy that she had the opportunity to be close to him.
As I was leaving the hotel, I was struggling to get my Uber ride back to the hotel. The previous night, I had felt a little conflicted at not bowing down to Gurudev. I don't think Gurudev likes people touching his feet as people sometimes grab his feet and this may not feel good. I still feel like I wanted to bow and show my honor, respect, love, & gratitude towards my beloved. Within a minute, as I was walking back to the hotel after missing my taxi, it happened again! Gurudev walked out of the hotel and right as I saw him, I bowed down, lightly & gracefully touched his feet, took my fingers that had touched his feet and placed them on my forehead and then my heart, realizing this for me was a symbol of my mind, heart and soul abiding in the Master, my beloved Gurudev. He smiled brightly at me and I put my hands in Pranam, prayer pose. He was whisked away by the shuttle bus from the hotel to the airport. I felt my time with the master was a gift from God.
I am now thirty thousand feet in the air, feeling so much happiness, love, & gratitude. I can't wait to see him in Boone. There is no other. He is simply helping us get in touch with ourselves, our true self.
I end this with the thought and feeling of love. Gurudev says "Love is not an emotion, it's your very existence." I feel that he is watering me as I blossom in love. You are that. Tattvamasi.
Jai Guru Dev
