[Note from Amar Zumkhawala: I'm trying something different here for my blog and asking guest writers to post. Gautham Prasad is a professional entertainer and long time friend.]
So my dear friend Amar asked me to contribute to his blog. I've been thinking of starting my own blog regarding my spiritual journey but I haven't gotten off the ground yet. This will be a nice test run. I've read his blog on and off for a few months now, and I can promise you this will be a very different post. Please indulge me. . .
I was living in New York City up until the end of March. On my last Monday night in the city I was hanging out at a bar in Hell's Kitchen. My friends had just left and I had a few hours to kill before working at the animal walk for Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus. That's when they walk the elephants from the midtown tunnel to Madison Square Garden, right through the streets of Manhattan. (How else do you get an elephant into the Garden?) It was cold outside, so I wanted to stay inside the bar until I absolutely had to leave. I figured I should show up without beer on my breath, so instead of buying another drink I decided to ingratiate myself to the bartender by chatting with him.
"So what's up?" I said.
"I'm good man, how are you?"
"I'm good." I gestured to the other patrons in the bar. "Is this a normal sized crowd for you?"
"Yeah, it's about right for a Monday. I could use another 12 people in here or so." He started drying out glasses in classic bartender fashion.
I laughed. That's a lot of extra people to ask for. "Yeah," I said, "that would be nice."
"Wait!" He said. He suddenly put down the glass he was working on. He stepped back, closed his eyes, turned his face skyward, and adopted the classic yogi's meditation pose with thumb and first finger touching. He opened his eyes. "I just asked God for another 12 people."
"That would be pretty cool if that happened." I said.
"Would you believe in God if it did?" He shot back.
"Well, I already believe in God, but that would be pretty cool." My life has been drenched in synchronicity. Whenever I needed something, really NEEDED it, it would show up. I would go so far as to say that I don't need 'proof' as to the existence of a greater power. I was going to get it anyways.
Many of you will not believe what happened next. . .
ELEVEN people walked into the bar! I watched the bartender's jaw drop as he slowly counted the heads of the flock as they entered and sat down.
"We're a group of eleven." The lady at the head of the group announced, "…and we're IRISH!"
They parked themselves at the end of the bar. The bartender grabbed a bottle and started lining up shot glasses to thank his new patrons. He told them the story of what happened immediately preceding their entry. People were amazed for a bit, and then things settled down. Over the next fifteen minutes another five or six people trickled in.
I have been teaching yoga for about ten years. I also practice meditation. Up until a few weeks ago I was making a living as a clown, actor, mime, and sometimes dancer. For the past year I've been uneasy. Something new was taking shape in me and trying to get out. I've been practicing Kriya yoga and meditating with a Buddhist teacher in the East village named Amitabh Jordan. I was getting a lot out of these practices and I wanted more. One day in the beginning of February I decided to drop everything, move out of the city, and devote more time to my spiritual practice. I sold, donated, or threw away most of my possessions, moved the rest of my stuff into my parent's place, and started scheduling yoga retreats.
I think it's something we all have felt at some time or the other, the feeling of something greater. Whether you call it God, Allah, the Great Spirit, or whatever, we all have some sort of belief (or disbelief) in it. What is the difference between a body that is alive and one that has been dead for a few minutes? What's missing? What has changed? Where does your breath come from? Where does it go? The mechanism that draws breath in and out of your body will someday cease. WHY? HOW? What causes a group of eleven people to walk into a bar mere moments after someone 'asks' for it? We are so committed to such answers as 'coincidence.' Opening ourselves to a deeper intelligence is just that, opening up. It takes a great deal of faith, and it is the most humbling thing in the world. The joy that becomes available is amazing. There's no 'reason' for this joy to exist, it simply does.
The question I have is, do you believe in God? By 'God' I don't mean an old man with a beard sitting on a cloud somewhere. Many ancient traditions refer to God as an essence present in all things. God is without form. God cannot be perceived by the five senses. The Buddhists use a term I love which is 'emptiness.' God is the shapeless void permeating all life. Do you believe in God? Is there a place for God in our current society? How do we talk about God? Any feedback you could give would be appreciated. As I continue on my journeys in yoga and meditation I will always be asking myself how I can share what I'm learning with society. As a yoga teacher I want to discuss and share deeper spiritual truths, but I've always been afraid to talk about God. I'm afraid of alienating students who may not believe in God. It's a touchy subject for so many people. Ideas? Help?
Many Thanks. . .
Gautham Prasad
2 comments:
G, I really enjoyed reading your guest blog for three reasons. The first is that it wasn't written by Amar. Ha ha! Second, I was happy to get a better understanding of what you are up to with your recent decision to leave NY. Thirdly, I thought it was great to read a friend's blog that relates specifically to my friend and not some random take about a "thing" such as new software or a good book. There's nothing wrong with blogging about those things but they don't interest me as much as my friends lives.
I will have to subtract points for not being funny though. :-)
Hey G. great subject one that comes up for me on a daily basis...
Yes I believe in God and yes I often have a hard time using the word God in my classes which I believe has to do with some of my upbringing and the fact that I don't want to turn people off but I don't think we can really turn people off when we speak from our truth and from our hearts. they can sense and feel when we speak from those places. In my classes we chant in sanskrit, gurmukhi and hebrew. I find it interesting that some people are more comfortable chanting sanskrit so it brings up questions such as what is it that is making us feel insecure about certain words and languages. I think for a lot of people it can go back to how they were raised and if they rejected a formal religion that they were brought up in. For me realizing that This universal God/energy was much more what I always felt aligned with brought great relief and was what attracted me to my current teacher.
Keep asking...
Love and Light,
J.
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