Newsletter No.5
Dear LWP Readers,
There’s 2 exciting announcements to make this weekend so let’s get right to it! As usual, the weekly digest is included further down.
(FYI, you can sign up to receive these newsletters via email every Sunday)
Important Updates
Exclusive Interview with Major General GD Bakshi
I recently caught up with Major General GD Bakshi who, as those of you from India would know, is a very prominent and popular figure in current affairs relating to defence. LWP will be releasing my video interview with him which showcases General Bakshi as you’ve never seen him before! It will be a surprise for people to learn about his spiritual side and see him in the role of a seeker.
The video will be aired in 2 parts. In the first part, General Bakshi talks about his personal spiritual journey and his own guru whom he met when he was a young army officer trying to figure out questions about career and marriage but most importantly, life. This Part-1 will be released next weekend which happens to be marked by Guru Purnima (on 9 July), the day dedicated to gurus – being the day that the yogic sciences were first transmitted by the first guru, Adi Guru, Shiva, to humanity. The occasion therefore appears to be amply fitting to hear General Bakshi recount how he found his way onto the spiritual path and his learnings from and experiences with his guru.
Here is the first exclusive look at the interview promo which contains a sneak preview of Part-1!
In the second part, General Bakshi talks about soldiers and saints and the spiritual dimension of a soldier’s life. Relating the epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata to modern times, General Bakshi discusses the topics of courage on the battlefield (of war and life), global terrorism and what is needed in the world today.
Do look out for these videos on the LWP website and YouTube channel. To make sure you don’t miss any updates from LWP, I recommend you sign-up for our email notifications and newsletters and subscribe on YouTube!
This Exclusive Interview is now on LWP
LWP joins the Rally for Rivers
The second important announcement is that LWP has pledged its support for the Rally for Rivers initiative being led by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev of the Isha Foundation. Do watch and share the video below where Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev brings to light the desperate situation of our rivers in India (LWP gets no monetary benefit from the video views or any other part of this project).
You can support the initiative by spreading awareness about the cause (share the above and related videos, articles, etc.). Do also register a missed call at the following number; your call will count as a signature on a petition to save the rivers, to be laid before the government of India in October 2017.
Give a missed call to: 80009 80009
LWP will be sharing much more information and enthusiasm about the initiative in the coming weeks on our website and on Facebook. Also, we have previously published special articles featuring some of our rivers like Ganga and Narmada and will be doing more of this too. If you would like to contribute articles on this topic, do write in.
Weekly Digest
This past week, LWP featured some interesting articles:
– The Amarnath Yatra commenced a few days ago, and will go on until 7 August. Given how little most people even in India know about this significant pilgrimage, we published a post summarising what it’s all about.
– LWP featured an exclusive interview with Swami Chidanand Saraswati of the Parmarth Niketan ashram in Rishikesh which many of you would know is an institution doing stellar social work in addition to holding one of the most beautiful evening Ganga aartis in the country. Swami Chidanand Saraswati talked about yoga being beyond religion and about PM Modi being a man of vision, mission and wisdom.
– Yogibanker Scott Robinson shared his experiences of being both a yogi and a banker which to some would seem a contradiction in terms. But as Scott says, it’s all about balance!
– An interesting insight into the tech and start-up world’s fascination for spirituality was also featured. From Steve Jobs’ deep appreciation for the book Autobiography of a Yogi and the popularity of the Kainchi Dham temple (Nainital) among tech titans, to some new-age start-ups encouraging team members to fast, Burning Man and ayahuasca, the tech world seems to love hacking spirituality!
– LWP shared a wonderful short and simple video by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev that explains the 4 paths of yoga. While the 4 paths of karma, bhakti, jnana and kriya appear to be opposed on the surface, a true yogi is only produced when these 4 dimensions of body, emotion, mind and energy find alignment. It’s amazing how Sadhguru JV manages to convey such timeless wisdom in a ~3 min animated video!
– Last Sunday’s newsletter, in case you missed it, discussed whether all the hullabaloo about shrinking attention spans is really valid. My take is that the attention span concerns are somewhat exaggerated and that the real reason why people can’t commit to content is not because their attention spans are impaired, but because of the democratisation of content which means that there is just too much out there and not all of decent quality! I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on this topic.
As always, I look forward to your comments, feedback, suggestions and article contributions. Do share this with those you think may be interested so that they can also and join the wiser-living movement!
Wishing you a lovely Sunday wherever in the world you may be and don’t forget to support our rivers!
Warm regards,
Shruti Bakshi
Editor, the LivingWise Project
