Rajat's (9th cohort khoji) first mentorship Experience
INITIAL NOTE: Rajat puts a clear and simple request before sharing his photos and article. He concerns that people put him into an image, a mould after reading and seeing him and expectation are accordingly heightened. He shares his discomfort towards this incompleteness that emerges and just wants to put it out in the open.
Vanvadi and proto Village a truly magical place to be in. Vanvadi Nestling in the foothills of the Sahyadris between Mumbai and Pune, Vanvadi is a lush, 24 year old, collectively regenerated forest of 65 acres.
Proto a village which celebrate abundance set up in the 2nd driest district in India (Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh), It's the best place to experience slow living and to boom your self awareness, inner motivation.
Just sitting simply for hours and watching these majestic trees in open country side and listening to the chirping of birds or going to forest tour with ambi Bai, doing shramdaan with other fellow volunteers and Bhua.
Taking flute lessons from Bharat bhaiya and practicing for hours in silence was heavenly experience, having fun with energetic mansha and taking a bath in the wild. Inspiring and humor talks with vasu, shobitha and Kalyan in Proto Village. Everything was a miraculous and a breathtaking experience .
One experience which is so vividly captured in my mind is Listening to forest, gazing stars for hours, observing beautiful trees and working tirelessly on gangama mandal where in first time in my life I practically learn about Circle, radius, conversions, design thinking, self motivation, importance of food, the background picture of how we get out food, the philosophy of natural farming all this learning was suported by my mentors but majorly facilitated by one of my loveliest teacher with whom I had an affair from my childhood days when in every summer holidays we would go to our village in rajastahan, she was with me all the way from Rajasthan, Vanvadi , Please and now in Swaraj University. She said me one of the mind boggling and astonishing story of love and life. And the story goes like this:
We all have seen trees and sometimes we might have also seen the birds resting in their nest. A few lucky ones in the civilization of nature might have also seen birds feeding their kids. The mother, from some far off place, gets the दाना(food) in her beak. She herself is incapable of eating the दाना, but she puts into the beak of her kids.
It Depicts her त्याग and unconditional love- without any greed and it's so natural and has nothing transactional. And when the kids grow wings, she facilates them to fly and gradually there after, she liberates or frees the kid to live on their own. She feels that "Abh wo Udaan bharne ke liye saksham hai" and she trusts herself and the kid.
And if we reflect what generally we humans do, we raise our kid like that dear bird and when it gets wings we brutally tie them or often knowingly/unknowingly we also cut those wings under the different pressures like: peer pressure, societal pressure or the brutal competition set by factory schools. Also most of the time our selfish reason play a huge role for why the kids don't fly and when they go away from us, we try to set our authority, control and treat him as a commodity or product. This ultimately restricts the growth.
Over pampering parent or partner who unwittingly only encourages laziness and depdence which only restricts growth. Also to note that in the above situation it's not like the parents don't love. They do love but the मोह( possession and attachment) overweight the power of love which brings stress between the beautiful relationship.
People often tend to forget that the parents are "janamdaata"(Creator) and not the bhagyavidhata
(Destiny maker) You can still love them and let them go because you love them and it's our true nature. But in love, you don't stop their development. This was my learnings which are in process of reflecting into deeper actions
PS: the translation of Hindi words are not accurate, I find myself incapable for right translation.
#RethinkingLove #Vanvadi #ProtoVillage #Vanutsav #NaturalLearner #SDL #SwarajUniversity #LearningByDoing #Mistakes #GangamaMandala #Engage
INITIAL NOTE: Rajat puts a clear and simple request before sharing his photos and article. He concerns that people put him into an image, a mould after reading and seeing him and expectation are accordingly heightened. He shares his discomfort towards this incompleteness that emerges and just wants to put it out in the open.
Vanvadi and proto Village a truly magical place to be in. Vanvadi Nestling in the foothills of the Sahyadris between Mumbai and Pune, Vanvadi is a lush, 24 year old, collectively regenerated forest of 65 acres.
Proto a village which celebrate abundance set up in the 2nd driest district in India (Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh), It's the best place to experience slow living and to boom your self awareness, inner motivation.
Just sitting simply for hours and watching these majestic trees in open country side and listening to the chirping of birds or going to forest tour with ambi Bai, doing shramdaan with other fellow volunteers and Bhua.
Taking flute lessons from Bharat bhaiya and practicing for hours in silence was heavenly experience, having fun with energetic mansha and taking a bath in the wild. Inspiring and humor talks with vasu, shobitha and Kalyan in Proto Village. Everything was a miraculous and a breathtaking experience .
One experience which is so vividly captured in my mind is Listening to forest, gazing stars for hours, observing beautiful trees and working tirelessly on gangama mandal where in first time in my life I practically learn about Circle, radius, conversions, design thinking, self motivation, importance of food, the background picture of how we get out food, the philosophy of natural farming all this learning was suported by my mentors but majorly facilitated by one of my loveliest teacher with whom I had an affair from my childhood days when in every summer holidays we would go to our village in rajastahan, she was with me all the way from Rajasthan, Vanvadi , Please and now in Swaraj University. She said me one of the mind boggling and astonishing story of love and life. And the story goes like this:
We all have seen trees and sometimes we might have also seen the birds resting in their nest. A few lucky ones in the civilization of nature might have also seen birds feeding their kids. The mother, from some far off place, gets the दाना(food) in her beak. She herself is incapable of eating the दाना, but she puts into the beak of her kids.
It Depicts her त्याग and unconditional love- without any greed and it's so natural and has nothing transactional. And when the kids grow wings, she facilates them to fly and gradually there after, she liberates or frees the kid to live on their own. She feels that "Abh wo Udaan bharne ke liye saksham hai" and she trusts herself and the kid.
And if we reflect what generally we humans do, we raise our kid like that dear bird and when it gets wings we brutally tie them or often knowingly/unknowingly we also cut those wings under the different pressures like: peer pressure, societal pressure or the brutal competition set by factory schools. Also most of the time our selfish reason play a huge role for why the kids don't fly and when they go away from us, we try to set our authority, control and treat him as a commodity or product. This ultimately restricts the growth.
Over pampering parent or partner who unwittingly only encourages laziness and depdence which only restricts growth. Also to note that in the above situation it's not like the parents don't love. They do love but the मोह( possession and attachment) overweight the power of love which brings stress between the beautiful relationship.
People often tend to forget that the parents are "janamdaata"(Creator) and not the bhagyavidhata
(Destiny maker) You can still love them and let them go because you love them and it's our true nature. But in love, you don't stop their development. This was my learnings which are in process of reflecting into deeper actions
PS: the translation of Hindi words are not accurate, I find myself incapable for right translation.
#RethinkingLove #Vanvadi #ProtoVillage #Vanutsav #NaturalLearner #SDL #SwarajUniversity #LearningByDoing #Mistakes #GangamaMandala #Engage
Monish's (9th cohort) cycle yatra experience
The new year ought to begin with a bang!
7 days. One Cycle. A pair of clothes. And we weirdos. All on the unknown road with no money no mobile phone no food no map or plan to follow.
That was it.
To cycle through the Mewar province of Rajasthan is all we had in mind and knew. And so we kicked our pedals...
Thw winter was on us with all its glory
Cool dusty winds with temperature less than 5 (brrrr..) And then making up for it in daytime with pleasant sunlight
There were beautiful lakes everywhere and birds and trees dancing in the breeze...all rejuvenating me with their innate charm
The villages that made me humm Yeh Joh Desh Hai Tera...Swadesh Hai Tera... Where the sun rises on newer beginings each day to sweeter memories and fuller hearts
The people and culture. Colourful saris, ornate gold jewellery, henna tatoos...vibrant turbans and bold moustaches.
The rustic charm in the voice greeting me with a heartfelt 'Ram Ram Sa'. And, yes, the piercing green eyes speaking to me.
...resplendent temples, stunning architecture, and romantic sunsets.
A simplicity with tons of love and a life worth living each day...
I cycled through dirt roads, relaxing with my thoughts. And it all reminded me of the mud-spattered kid I was...swooping through trees and dreaming of being an undiscovered superstar, hoping I don't crash and cut my knee :p
...sitting near a chulha, drinking Raab, and lost in the silence
...sharing and listening stories and sometimes half-dead laughing over a silly joke...😂
...dancing with wildness and letting the ecstasy fill me to the tips of my fingers and toes.
Sharing a hearty meal together and listening to local Rajasthani songs and talking into the night...
...jumping in lakes and feeling the chill to the bone...
Ahh, life!!!
The chirps of birds, the shy smile of a child, snuggling a baby goat, a yumm meal that i longed for...these small things all lasted for a while...but I felt the smile in my heart... Like owning the most beautiful treasures of the world; a feeling of inexpressible joy
It all felt like a rush of positivity and enthu to run and spread it to everyone... 🙃
From all my experiences with people from this land over the past week...their joyous and ever smiling faces, their love, their radiance - it was overwhelming!
It was like the universe saying there's immense goodness and positivity everywhere... People are different, unique and yet similar, and there is always help and love everywhere and that I live in a world of great connect
Life is most colourful indeed!
I lack the words to thank each...and my heart wells up as I remember each face, each place.
Just a week but coming back the city somehow felt different, smaller.
And so I say to myself...i won't arrive safely to the grave, but rather skid sideways with body worn out, and in the end remembering it all and screaming out loud - Wuhoo, whatta ride!!! 😅
Carrying all these memories and love from each place, each person, each village...
The world does seem a lot brighter and happier! :)
As a dear friend says...'to have basic trust and love for life, that's enough'. Now I get you, brother!
The new year ought to begin with a bang!
7 days. One Cycle. A pair of clothes. And we weirdos. All on the unknown road with no money no mobile phone no food no map or plan to follow.
That was it.
To cycle through the Mewar province of Rajasthan is all we had in mind and knew. And so we kicked our pedals...
Thw winter was on us with all its glory
Cool dusty winds with temperature less than 5 (brrrr..) And then making up for it in daytime with pleasant sunlight
There were beautiful lakes everywhere and birds and trees dancing in the breeze...all rejuvenating me with their innate charm
The villages that made me humm Yeh Joh Desh Hai Tera...Swadesh Hai Tera... Where the sun rises on newer beginings each day to sweeter memories and fuller hearts
The people and culture. Colourful saris, ornate gold jewellery, henna tatoos...vibrant turbans and bold moustaches.
The rustic charm in the voice greeting me with a heartfelt 'Ram Ram Sa'. And, yes, the piercing green eyes speaking to me.
...resplendent temples, stunning architecture, and romantic sunsets.
A simplicity with tons of love and a life worth living each day...
I cycled through dirt roads, relaxing with my thoughts. And it all reminded me of the mud-spattered kid I was...swooping through trees and dreaming of being an undiscovered superstar, hoping I don't crash and cut my knee :p
...sitting near a chulha, drinking Raab, and lost in the silence
...sharing and listening stories and sometimes half-dead laughing over a silly joke...😂
...dancing with wildness and letting the ecstasy fill me to the tips of my fingers and toes.
Sharing a hearty meal together and listening to local Rajasthani songs and talking into the night...
...jumping in lakes and feeling the chill to the bone...
Ahh, life!!!
The chirps of birds, the shy smile of a child, snuggling a baby goat, a yumm meal that i longed for...these small things all lasted for a while...but I felt the smile in my heart... Like owning the most beautiful treasures of the world; a feeling of inexpressible joy
It all felt like a rush of positivity and enthu to run and spread it to everyone... 🙃
From all my experiences with people from this land over the past week...their joyous and ever smiling faces, their love, their radiance - it was overwhelming!
It was like the universe saying there's immense goodness and positivity everywhere... People are different, unique and yet similar, and there is always help and love everywhere and that I live in a world of great connect
Life is most colourful indeed!
I lack the words to thank each...and my heart wells up as I remember each face, each place.
Just a week but coming back the city somehow felt different, smaller.
And so I say to myself...i won't arrive safely to the grave, but rather skid sideways with body worn out, and in the end remembering it all and screaming out loud - Wuhoo, whatta ride!!! 😅
Carrying all these memories and love from each place, each person, each village...
The world does seem a lot brighter and happier! :)
As a dear friend says...'to have basic trust and love for life, that's enough'. Now I get you, brother!