Today, I’m proud to report that, as of Friday, I’ve completed a 67-day panchakarma in Hyderabad, India, with the world-renowned Raju family.
The Raju family, several of whom served as personal vaidyas, or ayurvedic doctors, to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, is one of only a handful of families in the world who has preserved the true, original and authentic spirit of traditional ayurveda, passed down more than 7 generations through their family.
People travel here from all over the world—Brazil, France, Australia, America, and also from right here in India—some to get help with serious medical conditions Western doctors have been unable to treat, like cancer and multiple sclerosis, and some just for an annual purification of the myriad toxins and stresses we accumulate each year.
There’s even one client in my network for whom the Rajus grew a new uterus so she could give birth.
Generally, everyone here looks about 20 years younger than they are, because the annual purification, combined with regular meditation, restores the body to its original memory of perfect health and vitality.
Now this is definitely not a luxury retreat, and many aspects of the experience require a level of surrender far greater than I had ever been confronted with.
I’ll likely write another letter in more detail about panchakarma, the experience with the Rajus, their unparalleled brand of consciousness-based healing, and India in general soon, but today I wanted to share a concept that Dr. Padma Raju shared with me during a trying moment midway through my healing journey.
The Monkey And The Cat
Markata Kishora Nyaya vs. Marjala Kishora Nyaya
Markata Kishora Nyaya refers to the behavior of a baby monkey, which affixes a firm grasp to its mother and hangs on literally for dear life. The monkey is so rigidly attached that the mother monkey does not bother to hold the baby.
Marjala Kishora Nyaya refers to the behavior of kittens. The kittens remain peaceful while their mother vigilantly safeguards them. Wherever the cat goes, she carries the kitten with her to safety, and she cannot rest in peace unless the kittens are within the range of her protection.
Which one are you?
We all find ourselves typifying the behavior of the baby monkey at times—especially in times of uncertainty or unfamiliarity, we double down and hold on tighter, exerting more effort to try and will the situation our way.
As I’ve written about previously however, Mother Nature knows what she’s doing—as exemplified by the trees growing steadily around us, cells autonomously developing themselves into embryos and finally babies, rivers flowing and effortlessly watering the soil through which they pass, and the list goes on.
Since we are part of Nature, why do we think those same laws which govern the operation of the rest of the universe would cease to apply to us?
How could Mother Nature be supporting the growth and evolution of blades of grass but not each of us?
Maybe sometimes we simply forget.
Baby kittens know that their mother will protect and care for them so they rest peacefully and cling to nothing, and ‘mother’ Nature ensures their safety.
They find themselves equally looked after, and perhaps even better so, than their monkey counterparts, and most importantly, without the accumulation of stress that comes when we try to resist or control a situation to fit what we want as opposed to what Nature is doing.
The Vedic lesson here is that, while we may not always see the plan for us, there is one, and it’s been masterfully designed by Nature as beautifully and intricately as the stars and the galaxies and flowers and the fauna, in accordance with our own personal karma in order to give us the opportunities we need to learn the lessons we incarnated into this life to learn.
Of course, as I’ve written about before, this doesn’t mean every detail of our lives is pre-programmed, nor negate the viability and importance of free will—there are opportunities to intermingle with Nature and sometimes shift the course of this plan, and by following charm like a divining rod, we can know when and where those are.
Sometimes, we learn the hard way, when we feel the ‘drag’ of not letting go. Other times, we learn the fun way, when we interact successfully with a demand and shift the course of events to something more evolutionary for all.
Only by meditating twice daily can we develop this intuitive ‘sixth sense’ for knowing what to do in any situation, like a muscle we work out daily.
Collective Effervescence group meditation continues to be postponed as I make my way out of India today and travel through four different countries in the next few weeks teaching.
I look forward to reconnecting with you all in a few weeks time when we resume our sessions.
Music today is Mother Nature’s Son by those very famous British meditator kids ;)