NITHYA SHANTI was in the Capital recently speaking on the ‘application of mindfulness in modern life’ at the Mindful Leadership Summit that brought together several people from the corporate world. REENA SINGH asked him a few questions
You started off as a Buddhist. But you have taken a lot from different teachings as well.How do you combine everything?
■ I have never thought of myself as a Buddhist. Buddha never thought of himself as a Buddhist.He was just a person seeking the Truth. Over a period of time, this whole culture, philosophy and religion grew around him.He began by going to a few teachers and took something from each of them, but ultimately, he found his own way. I am also someone interested in living a happier life, living a more conscious life, making the most of this journey called life. I am open and willing to take inputs from anybody. I never close myself; I keep an open mind.I am not any ‘ist’. Someone once asked me whether I was Mahayana or Hinayana, the two major schools of Buddhism and I said — I am ‘Hahayana.’ Can’t we not enjoy life’s journey and take the best teachings of how to have good relationships, how to do meaningful work, how to work with our own emotions, how to work with our unruly mind? Knowledge is a point of view, but wisdom is a viewing point.Wisdom allows us to see the same thing from different perspectives. Different religions are all giving us a clue.They say similar things from a different perspective, but each perspective is informing us in some way.To learn from all traditions, and also to respect my own, inner experiences, make me an experimenter in conscious living.
Have you found the Truth yourself?
■ Right now, I am with you… I hear and see you, feel what you are saying. Can I be authentic about what I am feeling right now? Can I share with you authentically about what I encounter at this moment? This way,I encounter the truth of this moment.When I also experience your truth as well,we begin to experience the fullness of this experience.
Doesn’t the disconnect with life happen when you are with people who are not on the same page as you are?
■ I tell people,‘Pause, Feel, Intend and Connect.’Wherever you are, you slow down and pause,and come to this moment and allow yourself to feel whatever they are feeling.Then, connect meaningfully and authentically with others. This leads to beautiful solutions…. When I meet people, I meet them where they are, then they are already open. It is about understanding what the person is,what is his priority…then sharing something that will reduce their pain.
Would you call that empathy?
■ You can call it empathy or compassion. I just simply call it connection. I call it connection before content.Before you give people what you know, establish a connection with them.There is a nice saying:‘ People don’t care what you know, unless they know that you care.’
How do audiences in different regions of the world respond to you?
■ Somewhere in India, we have got a little jaded.We will say,‘Oh, this is all there, this happens in our house…and then,we also say — this is just a godman, he is only using spirituality for money.We have heard the ideas, are familiar with them, but we haven’t lived them. It is like second-hand information. In the west, I find there is more openness to trying something new.They already have a natural discipline as part of their culture; they are punctual, and have ethics.When they learn something, they go deep into it.They ask questions, and are willing to challenge. The gift of the east is to accept things the way they are.The gift of the west is to make things better. But even the gift can become a shadow, and we say, let things be….we don’t challenge things, we don’t want to make things better.
Aren’t we steeped in too many rituals? We must do this puja, light a diya, eat this or that….?
■ All rituals actually began with wisdom. For instance, the offering of flowers. These are fresh in the morning, but decay by the evening. Flowers represent impermanence. Lighting a candle is about filling up a dark room with light and dissipating darkness, of wisdom overcoming ignorance. This is also symbolised by the burning of an incense stick.The incense is a dot of light that burns through all my darkness and releases incense.When I focus my attention on the present moment within myself, it burns through all my impurities and releases a beautiful fragrance of virtue in the world. A good teacher will explain all this to you. In school, they make you clasp your ears with the opposite hand and do uthak-baithak. This actually is super brain yoga and is used to activate your left and right hemispheres and balances both parts of your brain. So, what we may think is nonsensical,may not be. Dean Ornish came to India 20 years ago and said that we can use yoga to reverse lifestyle diseases. Indian doctors were zapped — we had completely rejected our own traditions. Sometimes,we have to wait to be told by someone else, the meaning of our own traditions.
Is there a solution for India, given that it is so diverse in terms of religious beliefs? How do you make India one?
■ I don’t have a solution for India, but let’s look beyond our identity. If you identify yourself as part of a group,you immediately begin to think that the other group is bigger than me, is oppressing me. Step beyond your identity for a few moments in the day.Then, when you relate to other people, you will relate to them beyond their identity. This is the only way I know that will create a change.When you go inside, you realise that feelings have no boundaries. You have to experience that oneness. Deep down, we are part of that One Thing, and there is both oneness and diversity at the same time.Once we learn to look beyond ourselves,we can look past other people’s identities too. There is this story of a Japanese archer who would teach people to shoot the bow and arrow.People would tell him to move to the city so that the minister and king could learn from him. And he laughed and said,“You thought I am teaching bow and arrow? I am teaching people to shoot beyond their identity — that of a housewife, a minister…and into their own true nature.” What is India, but another identity? Forget these identities, nationalities, religion,race for now and just tap within yourself into a place that is beyond identity.You won’t feel suppressed. Everyone is so involved in their own dramas that they are not just playing a role, but are hypnotised by their roles.Wake up from this hypnosis. When we do, our lives make an impact on others.This way,we can harmonise our local universe.Create harmony in our local universe.The universe is actually already in harmony. It is just our limited thinking that makes it look as if it is not.
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