Celebrating The First International Day of Yoga
Yoga_Life_Winter_2015_WEB
Yoga_Life_Winter_2015_WEB
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PEACE DÉJÀ VU<br />
PEACE DÉJÀ VU<br />
By Sivani<br />
After 30 days <strong>of</strong> hard work during the Advanced Teachers’<br />
Training Course (ATTC) in Rudraprayag, the words “Unity in Diversity”<br />
made complete sense to me. Everything did.<br />
As a child I loved to paint using all possible colours to<br />
capture, on a piece <strong>of</strong> cardboard, my favourite things:<br />
the sky, the sun, the clouds, the mountains, the<br />
rainbow and all flowers. <strong>The</strong> theme <strong>of</strong> my little “works<br />
<strong>of</strong> art” changed over the years. <strong>First</strong>, I used to paint a house with<br />
a fireplace (despite the fact that I was born in a city whose climate,<br />
year-round, is 30 degrees Celsius). <strong>The</strong>n, I started painting my<br />
family and, finally, at the end <strong>of</strong> my “artistic career”, I made<br />
a series <strong>of</strong> paintings about the peace <strong>of</strong> the world. <strong>The</strong>se scenes,<br />
except for some subtle variations, were always the same: beautiful<br />
and happy girls from different countries, dressed in the<br />
costumes <strong>of</strong> their regions, and holding hands<br />
as a symbol <strong>of</strong> union. My dream from child hood<br />
materialised over 30 years later, one evening in Rudraprayag (India),<br />
when I had forgotten that it was my soul’s deepest desire, and<br />
when I had terminated my love for art.<br />
It was six o’clock in the afternoon and I was starving. <strong>The</strong> ATTC<br />
was coming to its end and I felt exhausted. While I was walking<br />
toward the terrace <strong>of</strong> the Monal Resort, where our meals were<br />
served, I thought: “I hope my colleagues will not start reciting<br />
mantras now because if I don’t eat something in the next minute,<br />
I’m going to faint”. What I feared, happened. As soon as I got to<br />
the line and took my plate and spoon, some people started to hold<br />
hands, forming a circle. <strong>First</strong>, there were five. <strong>The</strong>n, ten. And within<br />
seconds there were nearly 40 students, smiling and holding hands,<br />
ready to pray next to the buffet (that smelled and looked delicious).<br />
<strong>The</strong> Kartic Swami Temple<br />
52 YOGALife |Autumn/Winter 2015