Our Harmless Friends

Day before yesterday while we were in a circle of prayer, Asha starts cringing, crying and saying in a squeamishy voice, "nimesh sir, there's a 'jivdo' (insect) on me, please, please, please get it off....please, help"...She was nearly in tears...I couldn't help but laugh...it was a tiny harmless bug smaller than the size of half her pinky nail.

After that experience I told her we're gonna have to do something about this fear of hers :)

Yesterday, after lunch we went on a little trip to go make friends with insects. It was more like test #1 in her path towards not being afraid of insects, or at least lessening her fear. So she was half reluctant, but trusted me enough to go along with it.

She was told not to make any noise, but she could squeeze my hand as hard as she wanted and just observe.

I picked up a mankoda (which are those big black ants) and shifted it from my hand to her hand...she was cringing tremendously, small tears swolled up in her eye as the black ant crawled on her hand, then after five seconds, we let the ant go back on the ground...and slowly Asha started to break her fearful face into a slight smile.

I know, it was kind of mean for me to force her, but i sensed a 5% shift in her confidence for the better after that. And plan on continuing these small 'insects are our friends' tests with her over the next month in different ways. And she has agreed to do it also. I'm sure it'll be fun and great way for us to connect with nature.

Love.

Connecting with Animals

The other day, baby Gaffar Khan interrupted our practice. His sister Satya was not around, but we all truly enjoy having Mallika Didi’s dogs in the Darpana grounds. Nature and animals are the same as God. And we are lucky when we get the chance to connect with them. 

Finding Nature in the City

EKATVA means the spirit of oneness within. The spirit of oneness with each other. The spirit of oneness with nature. The latter, is sometimes hard to find in the middle of the city. Luckily we were blessed with the opportunity to meet with loving friends of Jayeshbhai and Anardidi. They are true nature devotees. Winner of the best Garden in Gujarat award many years over, when asked, they were more than ready to share their garden with our children.

Their gardeners, all 6 of them, take approximately 3 hours each day (18 man hours daily) to water the entire garden everyday. So we asked if we could bring the eighteen of us over to give the gardeners a break and allow us an opportunity to serve the earth, the trees, the grass and the flowers. Tina Didi and Beharam Bhai were more than willing and so warm about their invitation.

We had the children close their eyes and walk into the garden without taking a peak.

Then only after prayer and meditation, we had the kids open their eyes. They were in true joy as their eyes opened.

We continued to ‘treat the flowers, trees and grass as if they were our own kids’, with love and compassion.

It was a beautiful experience and served as a genuine reminder for the necessity to constantly stay connected to nature.

After we were done watering the plants, we had a chance to go to Tina Didi’s nearby farm and enjoy the vegetables, water buffalo and scarecrow.

Nature is truly man’s medicine for all the mental suffering we create in our minds. The true definition of peace. Nature brings an effortless spirit of oneness into our beings.

Love and Deep Gratitude.

Oneness with Animals

Getting to a space of oneness is a challenging, lifelong process. One small step towards that spirit is connecting with and valuing animals and nature in the same intensity that we do mankind. One small step towards that space is valuing the life and death of animals. One small practice that we have taken habit to with our kids is the practice of prayer and a loving burial ceremony for dead animals that we may find along our path. Yesterday, after dance practice, while we were cleaning a nearby park, one of the kids found a dead pigeon. We dug a hole in the garden and gave its body a peaceful resting space. We shared some time in silence and in individual prayer. This type of practice is healing to our spirit, because it helps us realize the equal importance of everything.

Life. Death. Love.