Decipher Communication & Levels

Today session with Vinodji was as usual thought provoking, intimate discussion, another experience of Upanishad, the discussion that was to start at 6 AM somehow we got it started at 6:30.

If I contemplate the events from 6 – 6:30,

We all were trying to get aligned to same frequency, where we could all connect, to listen, contribute, learn, unlearn, think and wakeupJ.

We were struggling to have audio / video both work, but we realized nature didn’t give us that opportunity today, we had to be contented by audio only today, to realize that we had go through a journey of trying different situations.

Then Vinodji started the discussion taking the cue from the situation we were today, and related it back to our situation in day to day life.

For any communication to yield result, you need to have PIOT, preparedness, informed, oriented & trained. Any one of these element is out of sync we won’t yield the intended result. Each one of us need to inculcate this habit, and consciously ensure every conversation we do has these elements in correct proportion, any imbalance would lead to deviate from the intended result. This is first level of communication.

If we wish to graduate to the next level of communication, then we need to understand the four pillars that build effective communication. The four pillars are –

1. Having domain expertise
2. Skill to tell to sell
3. Being non-deterrent like a soldier in combat,
4. Awareness to inner dimension like a genuine spiritual seeker

Any communication, if we skillfully practiced to have the pillars it would yield the intended results, if it’s a well-planned communication or impromptu, these four pillar of communication should be practiced.

There is yet another level where we could do the communication, the communication at the our existence level, this could be described as the Panchakosha communication, the different level are –

• 1.    Annamaya kosha - Physical level
• 2.    Pranamaya kosha – Prana level
• 3.    Manomaya kosha - @ Mind level
• 4.    Viganamaya kosha - @ Intellect level
• 5.    Ananda maya kosha – in Bliss

At the physical level, the communication is done using all the sensory organs, importance is on the words used, the tone, the pitch, the touch, the visuals made, the environment, it’s important  to resonate with the person in conversation.

Pranamaya kosha or at, this is a bit more deeper, where the communication between the individual rejuvenates the person, there is sharing of energy & emotions, the receiver is well connected, belief systems are made at this level.

Manomaya kosha, where the minds are connected, the conversation happens seamlessly, there is no explanations sort. The conversation happens without any confusion, there is complete faith between the individuals, as the mind classifies, compartmentalize, categorize the thoughts, the communication here tries to sync this pattern between the minds of the two individuals. In this both the individuals have their distinct minds but on the topic of conversation their minds are in sync, almost one.

Viganamaya kosha, where the communication happens in complete silence, in the old Guru-shishaya parampara knowledge was passed in this form, in this level words lose its significance, the Guru could transfer the knowledge to the seeker effortlessly.

Anandamaya kosha, in this both the individual is connected to the supreme consciousness, there exists no difference between the Guru & the seeker, knower and known, they both become one.The seeker becomes a part of knowledge itself.

To attain to this level, it would need a lot of effort, and definitely need Guru’s grace.

Each day provides us with countless opportunities, the opportunity gradually starts disintegrating if not grabbed in time (e.g. if you wish to have a good coffee / tea, the opportunity presents it, but if you don’t seize it on time, it would become cold, as time goes, the coffee / tea evaporates, after a while the glass / cup disintegrates too). So, seize the opportunity & enhance the skill within you. There is no short cut to acquire skill, only practice, practice & practice.

Now, we have the wisdom, so are we equipped?, not yet, we need to learn to operationalizing wisdom in our daily situation, we need to have the viveka to understand, observe & apply the wisdom. We need to be observant, to understand where is our bandwidth utilized, align it to correct purpose and use wisely, we need to be mindful to use it too, saving for infinity is also useless.

There are times when we are so engrossed in a conversation we temporarily lose attention to the time, place etc., in such a situation someone breaks this consortium by trying to capture the conversation by taking a selfie of the conversation, this could bring a new perspective or dimension to the whole conversation, it could enrich it further, it could help contemplate the discussion better.

How the journey started?

How the journey started?

I was a normal person, brooding about the past, anxious about the future, stressed about the present, life was/is a roller coaster ride, day starts with the newspaper and cup of tea, and ends with a book or surfing the television or internet depending which one was near to me. Most of the day had been like a fireman, dousing one fire after the other. When in traffic I used to yell at the people when they rub me on the rough side, complain that traffic police doesn’t do their job correctly, annoyed by the queue when at the e-seva counter, get angry with vendor when they say they don’t have change, curse the govt. when there is fuel hike or electricity price hike, used to do all the normal things that I was supposed to do. By end of day I turn into a Mimosa pudica (Shame plant or Touch me not plant). Anger, depression, lethargy, emotional swings were my companions.

Then this day in 2009, June 30^th, my wife Maya Vinai decides she had enough of whole these dramas with me, she enrolled me into an Art of Living course. It was a 6 day course daily 1 ½ hours. Course time was 5 AM, I ridiculed her saying I couldn’t do this am so busy, like everyone wife she persuaded me to go for at least 2 days. With a hyper skeptical mind, with super boosted ego, with a grumpy face I dragged myself to Hi-tech city exhibition where the course was organized. The hall was so big, I found another 500+ Vinai’s all around me, I felt at home, I had peace it was not just meJ, most of us had no clue what’s going to happen with us, most of us had couple of things in common, “Nothing can change me”, “I know everything”, “I am here because of someone else pushed me”.

Then descended a bunch of outer-space people, these were the Art of Living volunteers, outer-space because all of them seemed to be extremely happy & smiling seeing 700+ disillusioned beings around them, and they were positive to change us J “Hyper-Optimism”.

Then a handsome hunk came on stage introduced as Girin Govind, asking all the participants why we are here, so early in the morning leaving the peaceful early morning sleep. Our intellect woke up, we all started giving very intellectual answers, which had no relation to practical life like, “Peace of mind”, “Happiness”, “Spirituality”, “Being in bliss” etc. Then the teacher on the stages said, “Either we all came into a wrong course, or he came in wrong hall”, because none of the things that we desired he could give us. We all were doomed, I was cursing my wife, why did she do this to me. Then he said he could just probably try to teach me “how to breathe”.

Really!!! I took all these pain just to learn “How to breathe”, I have not been breathing all these years? Probably, I ensured I was breathing. However, I decided to still sit through the first day, just to explore, the teacher made me stretched my body in different directions & made me introduce myself to other people around me, make as much friends as possible in the hall. Somehow, after day one session I had some pain in the body, while driving back home I could realize I had shoulders, back, calf muscles etc, because those were painingJ.

Next day morning, I woke up early, got ready for the session on time, and didn’t know what drove me for the session, I didn’t have a logical reason for that yet. The second day, the teacher told some stories and made us do some unusual breathing rhythm, just followed the instructions, somehow my intellect was in seizure mode, I was just following instruction, felt like am hallucinated, after the second day session I was quite, I was still figuring out what’s happening to me, something within was making me smile & laugh, I felt lighter as if some heavy load was taken off my shoulder. I reached home, I was not much irritated when I was in the traffic today, I was thinking about what is happening to me. I reached home, when my wife asked how the session was, and if I am going to continue further, I didn’t give her an answer and walked away because I was not sure.

Third day morning, I was there in the session we had the same set of breathing exercises, today when we were doing the rhythmic breathing exercise, something deep within flipped, there were tears in my eyes, the tears won’t stop was feeling so vulnerable. No logic, a 30 year old adult crying for no reason? That too in public, but it was just not me, many others were having similar experiences. With so much of unexplainable things going within me, these 3 days’ time just flew with ease.

The first change in me was now I was looking forward for the coming day’s session. I was not sure what is that I was looking for, but I was feeling good in general, I was realizing I was happy, I was less irritated, I had less complains.

The last day, I was feeling bad, I was wishing if this sessions never ended, in these 6 days they didn’t change the world around me, they changed me, they have changed my perspective to the situations and people around me, I was able to let go of things more easily than before, I was more at peace with me, I have left the struggle within me. They have put me into a different journey of realizations, and the journey continues still today. Towards the end of those 6 days session, I met Vaishali ji & then Venkat ji, two happy & loving souls who kept me & my wife Maya inspired in our journey.

Today, when I look back the 7 years in this journey, the world around me had changed drastically, still am the same old oneJ, with new pair of spectacles. Those 6 days taught the how I could be happy, and if am happy I could try make other too happy J…. The journey continues.