Listening Beyond Words

I had lunch with Shivji-bhai.  An accountant by trade, Gandhian by practice, and Vipassana meditator by heart.  He was like the right-hand man of Goenka-ji, and saw him every week for the last 5 years of his life.

"My life has been guided by three people -- the Jain monks who started my school, Gandhi-ji, and Goenka-ji."  Still, at the age of 90, he only wears hand-spun khadi.  That's how he's been his whole life.

Most things in his life happened to him.  Like the time he went to sit a 20-day meditation course (many moons ago) and the teacher looks at him and says, "Actually, why don't you sit a 45-day course?"  "45 days?"  Let alone managing his worldly schedule, he hadn't quiet processed all the ramifications -- but before he could, he already agreed to it. :)

Over the last couple days, he was present for a couple of my talks, but very cutely, he told me at lunch, "At my age, I'm a little hard of hearing so I couldn't understand the words -- but I heard the 'bhaav' (spirit)."  The honor was actually all mine.

   

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