What can I say about this program that I had the
good luck to conduct five years in a row? That it is getting better year by
year and I am enjoying it more and more very year. Somehow.
First, let me talk a bit about the program. It is a
combination of outdoor adventure activities, Yoga/Pranayama, mindfulness and
fun. The most important aspect is the venue- the serene Sri Aurobindo Ashram
perched on a hillock in the lush verdure of the foot-hills of Himalayas. I
believe that the immersive communion with nature for a week is highly transformative,
for each individual in a unique way even though it may not be obvious. But, it
happens. And, everyone goes back enriched and enlightened in some sense. Can I
prove this? No. Can somebody disprove this? No. Therein lies the opportunity and
mystery of this program, making it an enigma, a romance, a challenge and an indelible
experience every time I conduct it.
I have three primary passions at this juncture in my
life: conducting workshops, travel and my own personal growth. I am lucky that
almost every event that I do gives the opportunity in all these three
dimensions. The interesting aspect of IDL is that it is the only program in
which I am also enjoying the immersive, transformational communion with nature.
So, in some sense, it offers more opportunity for my personal growth and that
is the delightful aspect of this program for me. In the five consecutive years,
the program is refined and fine-tuned to suit the participants and make the best
use of the time and space. So, as time went by, the one week stay here is
giving me more time and space as an opportunity for my personal growth. That is
a blessing!
We had a new challenge in the form of rain. The
cyclone in the Bay of Bengal that devastated Vishakhaptnam reached up to Nainital
and no outdoor adventure activity was possible for one complete day. But we
could actually address some of the planning and alignment issues in the morning
and the students did go to Nainital town in the rain - an unorganized adventure.
Some of them came back after a short time and many enjoyed Nainital by rain.
We went on the long trek next day and there was a
pleasant surprise in the form of golden sun shine, more vivid colors of nature
and unbelievable clear visibility. The combination was fabulous and fantastic!
From the Snow View Point, we had an uninterrupted panoramic view of the snow
clad mountains of Himalayas and that was an awesome sight I never experienced
in any mountain range. I could see every peak and every valley with the naked
eye and the glowing, snow white peaks and the dark green, lush verdure were a
feast for the senses beyond the eyes. The silver clouds were lying low as if a
veil has dropped down to reveal the eternal infiniteness of the Himalayas and
the clouds added fascinating colours and an ethereal beauty to the already incredible
beautiful scene. The ozone charged air, the smell of the rain soaked greenery
and earth, the songs of birds were a feast to the senses and when I am typing
this I am transported back to that magical experience. This had an unpredictable
effect on me and I was drawn to keep going and going without a break and that took
me far-enough ahead of the group that created an un-explainable, magically transformational
experience of being alone in this immersive infiniteness. The vastness of the Himalayas
appeared to be dominating and at first I felt small and insignificant, over-awed
by this eternal and seemingly infinite and infinitely beautiful and life giving
mountain range – the abode of the Gods. When I kept walking at some point this duality
of big and small, infinite and infinitesimal, eternal and transient dissolved
and I experienced a oneness with this beauty and vibrant energy in which I am immersed.
I felt that blissful oneness and lost it when some of the earliest student groups
caught up with me about 500m from form our destination. What would it take on
my part to be in the conciseness of Oneness and Bliss when I am with people?
Isn’t it the same conditioning which made me feel small and spate form the
Mountains and the Nature? Aren’t the other people part of the Nature and I need
not be separate from them to experience Oneness. Though I was not mindful about
it in the moment I lost it, I appear to have an answer, at least
intellectually. Filling the gap between the intellectual insight and experiential
wisdom is the next step in my Yoga.
I was very fortunate that Mukesh, the Class
Representative (CR) of the program was very effective in performing the difficult
role of being a bridge between the faculty, students and the Ashram staff and administration.
It is difficult because he has no authority over anyone; and quite often , there
are conflicting perspectives and interests. These would require long meetings
and almost endless discussions to bring coherence. The fact that we did not have even a single meeting with group leaders or Ashram
staff or Ashram Administration - is a testimony to the effectiveness of the CR.
He did the job excellently, ably supported by Priyalata, the CR for lady
participants and the leaders of all the 10 groups of students. It would have
been impossible for me to participate like I did in the long trek without the confidence
in CRs and group leaders. I am grateful to them for giving me the time and specie
to trek alone. Paragliding is an optional event that is growing in popularity and
now close to 50% of the students opted to go for it. Deepak did a good job of
managing it. Finally, I made new friends in Akshaya and Biswanath, the facility
from IIMI.
One of the unexpected boons of conducting this program
is the inspiration and joy I feel when I see the participants going beyond their
perceived limits – bringing forth that bold, courageous hero (or heroine) that
is in every one of us. This IDL was particularly rewarding in this direction.
While there are many such heroic deeded, I would always remember some of them
for the way I was moved and inspired.
It was pleasure to have met Ajay at Indore after the
introduction to Himalaya Outbound Program, Nainital, when he expressed his
interest and apprehensions to participate in the program. I responded
positively but had no real idea about how he would participate and enjoy the
program with his (near 100%) impaired vision. In the very first trek on day 1,
I realized what a privilege it is to
witness how his indomitable spirit could overcome physical limitation. I read
about people like Erik Weihenmayer but it was the first time ever that I saw
someone actually transcend visual impairment.
Day after day, Ajay kept amazing me with his participation in Scrambling,
Rappelling, River Crossing and all the treks in the difficult mountain terrain.
He topped it up with a very enjoyable stand-up comedy act in the camp-fire
program. There is a story about Helen Keller – someone asked her how difficult
it was to have no sight. She said that the important this was vision and the real
difficulty was if one had no vision. Ajay made me see this experientially. It
was a joy to witness the joy with which he
participated in each and every event. It was an honour to award the “ The Most
Inspiring Participant” as well as the “Best Individual Participant” prizes to Ajya.
This is the first time in 5 years that the same person has won both the prizes.
Then there was Ranbir, who had club-foot and other difficulties.
I remember that a couple of times people with such difficulties came to the program
but quit after a day or two saying that they were getting bored. But here was
Ranbir, who invented his way into participating and enjoying despite his limitations.
That spirit is awesome.
The heroine of the program was Ankita. She slipped
and fell at the end of the first day and twisted her ankle in the process. She
was in two minds about the night trek on the second day but mustered the
courage to boldly go for it. I was walking with her on the way back and could
connect with the pain she was experiencing and the courage she was generating. It
was during this time she learnt and used a self healing process while walking and
actually healed herself. She
was the lone lady participant to climb Niana peak. She is bundle of positive energy
and her enthusiasm is infectious and it was wonderful to watch her transcending
her real and imaginary limits again and again.
I would also remember the two teams from the Mumbai
campus of IIM, Indore for their extraordinary participation and jointly winning
the best team prize. Their level of participation, enthusiasm and bonding as a
team committed to take the best possible value from the program were a cut
above the rest. Charu was also the joint (along with Ajay) winner of the “best
individual participant’. I feel privileged to witness that spirit; more so as
the instructor. The most interesting aspect is that the two teams form Mumbai are so close
in performance and so much above the rest that we were compelled to declare them
as joint winners(for the first time in 5 years!). It was inspiring to see that spirit
and attitude of giving 100%. After all, that is the opportunity of being alive-
choosing what you do with your whole being- mindfulness.
The team prize last year was also won by the lone
Mumbai Team. I do wish and hope that the Mumbai campus would nurture the
attitude and culture which is at the source of this because it is precious and fundamental
to excellence in groups and teams.
One of the bonus aspects for the IDL is the campfire programs put up by the students. I enjoyed this year as well and enjoyed them immensely. Sometimes, I wonder if some of the students I see have missed their true calling in fine arts and entertainment.
Another bonus is to meet Sri Nalin Ji and watch Jayanto and his team. My respect for this team increases every year and I do hope that we can do a case study of the Ashram.
I am adding some pictures here. The complete set
of pictures I took (when my camera was working and I remembered to carry it with me and take pictures) could be seen at
When I am concluding this post, I feel a deep
gratitude to everyone who made this possible and contributed to my personal
growth.
