Inspiration Sun - Three Days of Heavenly Joy
by Abhinabha
Sinsheim, Germany was the place to be from May 10th to 12th. In the
vicinity of the Pujaloy temple, disciples from all corners of the
globe gathered together to receive joy and inspiration. It was a
weekend not likely to be forgotten.
There was something about these Joy Days that was special. Something
that buzzed in the air, murmured in the conversations, rang through
in the performances and glowed in the meditations. Something magical
and mystical. With seven hundred crying hearts and smiling souls, what
would you expect? But this time there was an extra dimension: the
feeling that a new chapter had been opened, a new journey begun.
What undoubtedly added to this feeling was the presence of so many of
our brothers and sisters from overseas: Americans, Canadians ,
Brazilians, Icelanders , Bulgarians, Macedonians, you name it.
They all had come to join the joy. For a moment we were the locals and
they were the visitors, a change of roles both sides enjoyed. To see
all our worldwide friends together in Germany made everyone feel the
truth of the wise old saying: home is where the heart is. And again
our heart, as Guru sang, is our Master's home. Only home. And so it
was.
The Joy Days opened most soulfully and appropriately on this Christian
holiday with scenes from Guru's play "The Son," performed by Udbashita
and friends. After dinner, the evening programme kicked off with
Projjwal and Aruna's special mystery event, which had been kept a
secret until the last moment. The event involved, literally, every
single person in the room: the entire crowd of 800 was divided into
groups with each group performing either a song or a play which were
handed out on the spot. Everybody was sent off with one hour's
practice for their play or song. When the hour was up all were called
inside and each group gave a performance of 5-10 minutes. The formula
worked its magic: every group came up with something beautiful,
soulful and entertaining. The fact that everybody participated gave a
tremendous feeling of oneness and joy. It was like an old Saturday
Night Hotch- Potch, those joy-filled functions at Aspiration-Ground
with amusing, exhilarating and illumining plays. Guru would have loved
it, as many felt afterwards. The sunday morning and early afternoon
were reserved for the traditional Pujaloy meditations. For many of
the visitors it was the first time they visited Guru's sacred temple
at Pujaloy. The meditation lasted only ten minutes, to give
everyone a chance to come in, but those ten minutes were perhaps as
good as ten hours of regular meditation. Such power and peace abide in
Pujaloy!
For the afternoon programme, Rupantar and some of his assistants had
concocted a medley of relays and fun-runs on the sports field, with
boys and girls teams competing. The finale involved apples, tubs
filled with water and half choking disciples I'll say no more. In
many, the seven-year-old most powerfully came to the fore (that
rhymes!).
The Sunday evening programme had many delights in store. There were
soul-stirring musical performances and videos, as usual. But there
were also disciples telling stories of their personal experiences with
Guru. The highlight of the evening, and perhaps even of the entire Joy
Days, was a spiritual talk show hosted by Nayak starring Ashrita,
Rupantar and Kailash talking about their life and times with Guru. The
evening ended with a powerful performance by the Gandharva Loka
Orchestra, playing their "240 pounds" song, which they had performed
at the Manhattan concert only three weeks earlier.
Monday morning came with another string of soulful performances.
Bhoiravi's violin enchanted everyone with a solo performance of one of
Bach's concertos. There was a 5-k race under sunny skies and later
soccer for those who enjoyed it. Pujaloy opened its doors specially
for the overseas guests for a few hours of priceless meditation. At
noon the final meditation gently waved everyone goodbye. These had
been three days of Heavenly joy to cherish and treasure dearly. A
visitor from America summed up her experience in one sentence which
said it all: "This was the best weekend of my entire life."
by: Abhinabha
From: Inspiration Sun Edition: 4