I magine a vow of complete silence. Cut off from the world. No phone or any other mode of communication. That’s the price many don’t think is too high when they are eager to connect with their inner self. So, the time-honoured form of meditation, Vipassana — which means seeing things the way they really are, is what celebs in the city are taking on to accomplish spiritual contentment.
“I had no clue about what I was going in for. The day would start at 4 am and end around 9.30 pm, on that one meal a day and hard living conditions. But I realised that all this was important to achieve what one was looking for,” says celebrity chef Ritu Dalmia, who enrolled for a 10-day beginner’s course in Sohna, a center near Delhi, four years ago. Actually, her doctor Nikhil Mehta, who also is a Vipassana teacher, introduced her to this ancient form of meditation.
“The first time I met him, a sense of calm came all over me. He had an aura that would put even the most restless souls like me at ease,” she adds.
The first three days, one is trained in concentrating and focussing the mind, and finally on the fourth day, when the mind is calmer, Vipassana was given — a method of observing sensations all over the body and understanding its nature, Ritu informs.
For designer Amit Aggarwal, this is probably the most difficult form of meditation. “At times it’s even about not making eye contact. But I feel renewed after Vipassana, everytime I do it,” says Amit, who’s among the growing number of celebs following Vipassana.
Vipassana was bought into the country by S.N. Goenka, a Marwari businessman living in Myanmar. Gunjan Amrit Nam Kaur, already a practitioner and teacher of Kundalini Yoga and husband designer Jattinn Kochhar are keen on going on this spiritual sojourn. “It’s about attaining and focusing on your stillness, and we are planning to take out 10 days at a stretch to enter this sadhana. All of us are finally going back to the roots for spiritual upliftment and Vipassana is valued and recommended by all,” she says.
Dr Kiran Bedi who’s responsible for introducing it in Tihar jail for inmates and authorities says that meditation has taught them to “act and not just merely react”.
“I myself live in a state of constant self-awareness or Vipassana. It’s a must for each one of us in present times” says Kiran.
Adds Ritu, “I do not have a halo around me, nor do I glow the way Dr Mehta does. My temper still flares up time and again, and I am told that my language is still as foul as ever. I still suffer from all my aches and pains however the difference is I am not seeking any change, and that itself has been the biggest change in my life. I believe in logic and I also believe in faith. In Vipassana, I found a beautiful harmony of these two opposite school of thoughts.”