Celebrating The First International Day of Yoga

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