Jannal oram 235
Raman came out of the room dressed in a loose fitting track pant and a faded tee and stopped short,surprised to see the kitchen light on and feeling guilty that his movements might have disturbed the sleep of one of the four parents,slowly headed towards it.
Shaktivel came out carrying a tray laden with cups of coffee and a plate with two slices of bread toast covered with peanut butter and smiled at raman ' Headed to the dojo.well,a cup of coffee and some toast will boost your energy.Come,eat up and i will give you company while you do so.'
Raman thought about it and realised that words would not suffice,picked up a cup of hot coffee and sipping it stood watching the darkness that was trembling before the arrival of the white light of the sun.
Shaktivel slowly placed the tray on the table and picking his cup of coffee,joined his son and both stood gazing out of the large windows as the trees outside waved their limbs around the street lights making weird shapes of shadows.
Raman glanced at his dad ' appa,it has been many month since i have been to the dojo and thought that today,at this point in life,it would be better to go back and practice.'
' Good thinking iyaa.And no prizes for me guessing that your sensei will be there.Please convey my best wishes to the DGP.'
' I will appa.Apart from wanting to better hone my judo skills for any unexpected encounters,i am also doing it for it is a kind of meditation and helps me to concentrate and that helps me in my solving and tackling difficult situations.'
He dusted his hands off the breadcrumbs and picking up his large duffel bag that contained his Judogi,gently embraced his dad ' a mere thank you will not do and will never do justice to what i feel for you and the gratitude i feel for life for placing me in your hands as your child.But,thank you anyway for like love,it is the easiest word that captures what i want to express to you.'
Shaktivel smiled ' iyaa,it is i who should thank you for being born as my son.' His eyes now shone like the surface of the sea as light burns it for the tears shimmered the same way as the sea reflecting the light back ' many a time,many a doctor told us that we would not be able to have a child although both of us were normal and had no problems.Your mother used to cry herself to sleep every night and it broke my heart to see her thus.But i knew and i told her the same,that we would have a child and that it would be special for god was taking his time while he created you.That is why the delay of nearly eight years before you were born and i knew it then as i know it now that it was worth it,all those tears that me and your mother shed in despair.'
His fathers words kept ringing,echoing in his soul as he headed to Nandanam and to his Dojo.
The word " DOJO" literally means "place of the Way" in Japanese.Initially, dojo were adjunct to temples and were formal training place for any of the Japanese arts ending in " do", from the Chinese Tao (or Dao), meaning "way" or "path". Sometimes meditation halls where Zen Buddhists practice zazen meditation were called dojo.
A proper Japanese martial arts dojo is considered special and is well cared for by its users. Shoes are not worn in a dj. In many styles it is traditional to conduct a ritual cleaning (soji) of the dojo at the beginning and end of each training session.
The dojo run by Sensei Devarajan,former Dgp of Tamil Nadu police was more akin to a temple and almost all those who had visited the place felt the same spiritual vibration that they would feel or ever felt when visiting a famous temple.
Raman stood at the entrance and breathed a sigh of happiness and pure ecstasy as he stood before the small but beautiful statue of Buddha who smiled and welcomed him with a serene expression.
The door to his right opened and out came sensei devarajan all dressed and ready in his Judogi dress.
Raman bent low to his waist in respect and whispered with love and devotion ' Sensei.'
Devarajan bent the same way and returned the bow of respect and wished him a bright good morning.
Raman stood barefoot and lost in the peaceful tranquility of the Dojo and only his master's voice brought him back to the present moment ' ram,you have been here before,thousands of times and yet...'
' Sensei,promise you won't laugh or have a heart attack on hearing my words and then i will tell you why i stand here,lost in our dojo.'
' Ram,i know you very well and so i know that even the wittiest punchline from you will have roots in some great thought or in some deep philosophy.So,tell me.'
Raman's eyes traversed lovingly and filled with immense devotion all over the dojo and his lips gave form to what his soul was experiencing.
' Sensei,our dojo is not just a dojo for me and more like my house,like a temple that i frequent often.This dojo is more like a dear friend who i have not met in a long time and who is calling me into its arms.This dojo,these walls,these mats on which i spar,grapple are like the meditation halls of famous temples.'
Hurriedly turning to his master ' sensei,i say this because,on these mats,inside these hallowed halls,as i grapple with my opponent,i concentrate and call on my complete powers to negate the opponents moves and tactics.That is a rush,a thrill,a divine experience that comes only with the presence of the almighty and a higher power.That is why i stood in awe and reverence and enjoyed the air inside this holy place.'
Devarajan looked deep into Raman ' son,that is why you were the best and would have gone on to be the best in the world if not for your accident.And the scary thing is that it takes most students of Judo a few decades to reach that higher level of concentration and which is on a different level of thinking and a spiritual experience and yet you reached that hallowed plateau in just eight odd years.'
Ten minutes later, Raman stood in front of his Sensei, dressed in his Judogi and again bent low at his waist and paid his respects to his master.
Meditation does not require a large chunk of sustained time, nor is it too difficult to get into.Instead, meditation is about focusing on one thing.
People think the goal of meditation is to empty the mind. It's not about clearing the mind; it's about focusing on one thing. When the mind wanders, the meditation isn't a failure. Our brain is like a wayward puppy, out of control. Catching it and putting it back to the object of focus is the mediation.
Walking is meditation.
cooking is meditation.
reading is meditation.
working is meditation
I could go on and on but rather than insult your intelligence,i leave you with the thought that ' even standing quietly watching traffic move,waves come and go,branches move and twirl' is a form of meditation for you are focusing on one thing and one thought at that given moment.
Happy focusing and happy meditation.
Edited by Raman_jeeva - 6 years ago
611