ISBN:978-93-803556-5-8

© Rajan Sankaran

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted or translated into any language in India or abroad in any form or by any means without permission of the publisher.

Printed in IndiaFirst Edition: 2017

ISBN: 978-93-803556-5-8

Cover design Lokesh Padmashali and Vatsala Bisen

of Open Strategy and Design

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Dog, Yogi, Banyan Tree

Rajan Sankaran

H M PMumbai

Tomy unsung Music Teacher

who taught mehow to sing

the song of life

“Always have a receptive mind. Ever be ready to appreciate, learn and understand. Learn from everyone, everywhere,

from every source, from every incident. Learn, apply and utilize. Life is a glorious opportunity.

Utilize the opportunity to the maximum so that we can say at the end as Hahnemann said, ‘Non inutilis vixi’ (I did not live in vain).”

My father, Dr. P. Sankaran (1922 -1979)

Acknowledgements

The values enunciated in this book have been inspired by my mother and father; my other teachers, seniors and colleagues; and some wonderful human beings that I have met along the way of my life.

Dr. J. N. Kanjilal, Dr. B. N. Chakravarti, Dr. S. R. Phatak, Dr. Roheet Mehta, Dr. K. Ramamoorthy, Dr. Sarabhai Kapadia, Dr. Juergen Becker, Dr. Bhanu Desai, Mr. S. M. Gunavante, Dr. Jayesh Shah, Dr. S. P. Koppikar, Dr. Jost Kunzli, Shri Laxman Jain, Ibrahimbhai, Father Dick McHugh, Misha Norland, Laurie Dack, Dr. Rina Markovits, Mike Keszler, Dr. Jutta Steinacker, Murray Feldman, Daksha and Hitesh Mehta, Maggi Lichi Grasi, Jyoti Heryani, David Warkentin, Dr. Roger Morrison, Nancy Herrick, Dr. Kees Dam, Dr. Praful Barvalia and so many others. And, of course, Divya with whom I have travelled the path of life for a quarter of a century now. I offer my heartfelt thanks to you all.

I am indebted to my gurus who have guided me on the spiritual path: Kanchi Mahaperiava, Sri Ramakrishna, Ramana Maharshi, Baba Nityananda, Yogi Ramsuratkumar, Mahatma Gandhi, The Dalai Lama, and Dr. Samuel Hahnemann.

Among those who have helped me write and review this book are Dr. Faiza Khan, Sonja Claas, Armeen Jasavala, Misha Norland, Dr. Meghna Shah, Dr. Manish Bhatia, Dr. Rina Markovits, Dr. Kshiti Mehta, Rajiv Mehrotra, Rajiv Bajaj, Soham, Sahaj, Dr. Amy Reed Goldman, Haresh Shah, Dr. Gentiana Ciubuc, Dr. Samuel and Lila Flagler, Dr. Mary Gillies and Susan Sonz.

The books that have inspired me are The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby, Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore.

I have also been inspired by the wise humor of Mark Twain, Groucho Marx and Louis C. K.

Carolyn Shanti edited this book. She took it as her mission to bring out the message that it seeks to convey and spent many hours talking with me in order to draw out its subtleties. Her contribution is invaluable. The final editing was done by Chinmayee Manjunath. Dr. Amy Reed Goldman gave it a fine polish while Lokesh Padmashali and Vatsala Bisen of Open Strategy and Design helped design the cover page. Mr. Haresh Shah, who has been involved with the production of my books for so many years, has worked painstakingly in the process of publishing this book.

This book is the result of the grace, wisdom and the love of so many wonderful beings. I feel humbled and blessed.

Dog, Yogi, Banyan Tree

Passing It On 13Amma 19My Father’s Gift 29The Obituary 45Reticent Master 50Promise Stands 59The Motor Mechanic 67Alone in London 71I Think I Am Beginning to Get the Idea 79That Night in The Black Forest 85The Music Lesson 91Testing Your Faith 103The Gift of Friendship 112Stages of Life 119Opening to Love 126The Care Giver 133Be That Elephant 143Baba of Himachal 149The Poet 156Azad's Freedom 168The Atheist and The Priest 177Illness As a Teacher 182Dancing with The Spirit 186The Fruit Seller 194Blackie 198The Healer of Souls 203There Is a Place 211Be a Tree 217

Passing It On

“Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”

George Bernard Shaw

I landed in Zurich airport one cold, wintry day. The airport was, as always, spotlessly clean and very quiet.

I made my way to the immigration desk and presented my passport. The officer behind the counter studied the passport, stamped it. She handed it back to me with a warm smile and the words, “Happy Birthday.”

More than twenty years have passed since that day, but I still often remember that smile and those words, from such an unexpected source.

Back home in Mumbai, I have noticed during my walks on the beach, which is outside my home in Juhu, a blind beggar with one leg missing. He sings every day in a loud, hoarse voice while drumming on a plastic can, hoping that someone will drop some money into the small metal pot that sits in front of him. Hardly anyone pays attention to him: his begging bowl remains mostly empty.

However, one day, something unusual happened. A young man, who looked like an affluent college student, sat next to him and accompanied the beggar’s singing by playing on a guitar. This was something novel for the beach-goers and attracted many onlookers. I noticed that the begging bowl was now full of coins. I felt then that this young man was the greatest musician I had ever encountered. He did not see his music as a means to exhibit his virtuosity but as an instrument to be of help to someone else.

Amma

“Even greater than the joy she feels at the birth of her son, is when the mother hears that he is called a good and wise human being.”

Thiruvalluvar (Tamil poet-saint circa 4th century BC)

When my mother, Kamala, was seven, World War II broke out in distant Europe. Madras, the capital

of South India, where she lived with her family, was thought to be under threat of bombardment. She would gather in the schoolyard with other girls, who would hold hands and dance in a circle singing gleefully in Tamil:

“The war planes,Full of anger,

Have come to bomb us.”

The government ordered that the women and children be evacuated from the city and relocated to safer spaces. My grandmother took her children to the small town of Kumbakonam, known for its many temples, where they then lived for a few years.

My Father’s Gift

“A father is a man who expects his son to be as good a man as he meant to be.”

Frank A. Clark

The body of my father was placed on logs of wood on the funeral pyre. Gradually, more and more wood was

placed above him so that soon his body was not visible. As his son, it was my task to light the pyre. I was nineteen, he was fifty-six. My father was the center of my life. I adored him, loved him and was willing to give my life for him many times over. In a few hours, I would have an urn with me containing his ashes and soon these too would be gone, immersed in the waters of some holy river. Nothing would be left but the memories of our time together, memories that I would hold on to for the rest of my life.

I was the only child of my parents and though we did not spend too much time together because of his schedule, my father and I shared a very close bond. He did not take care of

Dear Fellow Human,

The intention of writing this book is to pass on the wisdom I gained from my many guides and from my own experiences so that this might be of help to others. I felt that all of us have had such guides from whom we have learnt important lessons. We meet them every day.

I felt that there should be a place, a community, in which we can all share such experiences and lessons with each other. I felt I should initiate the formation of such a community through a website. You could narrate some stories of your own evolution and interesting people that you have met. One could read what other readers have to share, asking questions and receiving answers from the community.

I invite you, dear friend, to be a part of this community. You are welcome to visit www.dogyogibanyantree.com

My best wishes in your inner journey and for peace within.

ISBN:978-93-803556-5-8