Those eleven days of bliss!

I had just attended one pravachana (discourse) last year by Swami Brahmananda (from Chinmaya Mission) on Bhagavad Gita. I was impressed and thought that he was a very good orator. But then, due to time constraint I could not attend on other days.

So this time, I almost jumped with joy when I got to know that a 11-day pravachana on a book called "Mukunda Mala" would be held by Swami Brahmananda at the temple. I decided that I would try my best to attend it on all the eleven days.

Mukunda Mala is a book of devotional verses written by Kulashekhara, a king. These selfless, beautiful prayers have been written for Lord Krishna or Mukunda.

Those eleven days of pravachana gave me absolute serenity. It was difficult, in fact, to rush from office to home and then to the temple for the discourse. It was very tiring indeed. But as I sat listening to Swamiji, all my weariness disappeared and I felt rejuvenated. Swami Brahmananda's discourses are very simple and straight and therefore reaches a layman very easily. I loved the way he recited the verses from Mankutimmana Kagga very aptly and frequently. His command over language, music and books made each pravachana an interesting experience. Never for a minute did I feel like leaving in between.

Of course, the audience comprised mostly of the elderly community. So I did get some surprising glances while attending the pravachana. That makes me wonder about one thing- why does not the youth find pravachanas interesting? Why do they assume that it is meant for people above 60? In fact, when you look closely, these pravachanas teach you the way of living. So I think it is actually more useful to people who are starting their lives rather than to people who are at the brink of their lives! Well, that is entirely my opinion.:)

It is not that the pravachana changed my entire life and made me a new person. But it definitely opened a window of my life to let in more optimism and faith in the almighty.

What am I listening to right now: Tere Bin by Rabbi Shergill