#Dharampur - A land of Divinity and Discipline.

Man is a product of his choices and decisions. The way you use time in your present defines the quality of the time that lies ahead.  

You either spend your time or you invest in it. This 31st December 2019 I had made a very planned and thoughtful investment of my time at one of the best spiritual destinations called Dharampur, which I refer to as a land of divinity and discipline.

31st December is a day to end the old chapter of a particular year and also to start a new for the next year. Just like everyone else, I had the option of hanging out with friends, watching television, spending the evening getting high over spirits, which then continues till the next day and slowly turns into an early afternoon hangover. Even I too was in a hangover, but a spiritual and a highly elated hangover which doesn’t require a piece of lemon, coffee or curd to come out of it.

Yes, this 31st December, I had a strong hangover due to spirituality, which gave me spiritual maturity. I’d like to break this up into two parts by referring to spiritual maturity.

1. World’s Tallest Pratimaji of Shrimad Rajchandraji

While I had spent around 24 hours at Dharampur, here are my quick observations which I believe can be a real lesson if you have a clear thought process and a learning mindset.

About SRMD Dharampur: It is spread across 250 acres of land on the mountain of Dharmapur, a very divine destination in Gujrat

#DisciplineToTheCore:  A preparation to create an unmatched experience for 31st December 2019 started beginning way back on 1st January 2019 with 1000+ Deovttes across the globe with a core purpose to give flawless experience to 8000 + devotees and followers of Shrimad RajchandraJi gathered at Dharampur for the event on 31st December evening It was an absolute delight to watch the discipline with which everything came in order, let it be the seating arrangement, food in cafeteria or clothing theme, Dance, Drama, Music, Review and what not Everything was executed with discipline and perfect timing. 

#HighAdmiration&Surrender: The level of enthusiasm and motivation across the crowd toward beloved Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai commonly referred as Bappaji which comprised of people from the age of 5 years to 75+, was really something to behold. The admiration showed by everyone was truly mesmerizing, as they participated and surrendered themselves to a higher power, and aligned themselves to one single mission & a man behind. The discipline and rules were common and applicable to all. 

#DivinityOverCelebrity: In order to engage such a large group of devotees, a popular singer Kailash Kher was called to perform a live set for the crowd. But what really amazed me was that instead of cheering and treating one person like a celebrity, the entire crowd was focused in a divine dancing ceremony in a circular formation. All eyes were focused on Bappa/Gurudev, who was maintaining strong and divine eye contact with his devotees. Everyone was at the same level. No celebrity, no fans. Just devotees praising a single spiritual aura.

#OneSizeCanFitAll: Contrary to the popular saying that ‘one size does not fit all’, this was a very different scenario. It may be true for the physical world but in this spiritual world, I witnessed that an aura of one single entity could enrich thousands of souls around it. A single human can become a beacon of positivity and high energy for each and everyone around him, no matter what the age. It was a truly satisfying experience for everyone there. Nothing more for anyone, nothing less for any other. 

#SpiritualClinic:  I was wondering why are we here, and what are we doing. A man told me that this place looks like a spiritual retreat. But rather than calling it a spiritual retreat, it was a spiritual clinic where everyone was coming to get himself cured, rightly aligned with a preventive spiritual aura so that there is no accidental or emotional trauma in life. We deal with so much of uncertainty in life, let it be in professional or personal expectations… and I think a place like this was nothing less than a spiritual clinic where just one doctor can cure it all, starting from diagnosis to operation to healing. 

#Binding&PassionateWithMission: My first visit was 3 years back and when I visited this time at Dharampur ashram, I was astonished by the development in the infrastructure they have achieved around here. The building hygiene, cafeteria, auditorium, playgrounds, Sitouts, Villas, Bungalows, Mandir, LandScape, Amphitheatre and many more must have required lots of funding and manpower. How did they get it all together? And how were they able to get it all built and coordinate with each other on such a massive scale? The answer is simple. They were all working towards a mission, which is enlightening and uplifting the human souls. When people get aligned with a strong mission, I guess they don't look back at what it requires to accomplish it and will do anything to fulfil it. Failures don’t slow them down rather becomes a stepping stone to keep climbing up. 

#System&Process: With so many devotees from across the world, with high financial stature and professional achievement, everyone was aligned in the same direction, with the same commitment. A unique vision and direction always demand unconditional support from devotees. So here is a great example of systems and processes aligned towards the mission. 

#What’sNextAtSRMD:  So there is always something astonishing happening at #SRMDDharampur. There is never a full stop or a term called completion. There are always new projects, initiatives, and commitments on the desk. Once the upcoming project is revealed there is a team ready to take charge and start execution. And the most amazing part about it is that once a committee is formed right on the first of Jan itself, they would start work on the upcoming projects to be unveiled on 1st Jan 2021. A meeting core committee would be formed to announce the roles and responsibilities. This is an opportunity to do outstanding work as the work is a reward in itself. People gratefully choose to serve one mission one after the other without losing charm and enthusiasm 

#What’sInItForMe: Unlike the materialistic expectations of “getting”, this world only has expectations of “giving”. An opportunity to offer, contribute or donate in any way is such a beautiful blessing that it feels a gift in itself. Everyone is driven to offer something from their personal side without keeping any expectations of a reward or a materialistic thing. This is how spiritual growth happens. This is how you get to uplift people’s lives and experience something extraordinary. And that is what I had witnessed at this Ashram.

#BondingOverBreakDown : With hundreds of people volunteering for various projects and tasks, the management and coordination were done meticulously. This was a complete awe-struck moment for me as I have never seen such detailed planning happen at a scale this grand. Everyone was completely into their designated tasks and perfectly bonded with each other as they went through with their work. There were no mishaps, no issues and no breakdowns. Completely flawless execution of a masterplan. 

Few Highlights of Shrimad Rajchandra Ashram, Dharampur

1. Spread over a lush expanse of 223 acres,
2. A modern kitchen facility with adjoining dining halls equipped to serve satvik food to 10,000+ people 
3. For solitary retreats, a string of 12 Ekant Cells or self-contained rooms are built in the peaceful shade of trees,
4. ACTIVITIES AT ASHRAM revolves around with | Wisdom | Meditation | Yoga | Seva.
5. 509 CENTRES WORLDWIDE  > Spiritual Centres (9) > Satsang Centres (108) > Youth Centres (92) > Children Centres (251) >Seva Centres (49)
6. YOUTH ACTIVITIES - The 5 S Programme > Satsang > Sadhana > Seva > Sanskruti > Sports
7. CHILDREN ACTIVITIES - Shrimad Rajchandra Divinetouch > Magic touch ( 4-8 years ) > Arhat Touch ( 9-12 years ) > Spiritual Touch (13-16 years )

25 Benchmarking Projects Executed under the Ashram over the past 25 years are as Listed down :

1. Shrimad Rajchandra Adhytamik Satsang Sadhna Kendra
2. Shrimad Rajchandra Ashram , Dharampur
3. Shri AtmaSiddhishastra RachnaBhoomi 
4. Shrimad Rajchandra love and Care
5. Shrimad Rajchandra Divine Touch
6. Shrimad Rajchandra YouthWing
7. Shrimad Rajchandra JivamaitriDham
8. Shrimad Rajchandra VidyaVihar
9. Shrimad Rajchandra GuruKul
10. Shrimad Rajchandra NICU
11. Shrimad Rajchandra Viklang Centre
12. Shrimad Rajchandra Mahila Gruha Udyog
13. Shrimad Rajchandra Website
14. Sadguru Whispers
15. Sadguru Enlightens
16. Spirtual Centers
17. SRMD Yoga
18. Shrimad Rajchandra Organ Donation Programme
19. Sahebji’s Football Club
20. Shrimad Rajchandra VidyaPeeth
21. Sadguru Prerna
22. Commemorative Coins and Stamps of Shrimad Rajchandraji
23. YugPurush Drama – 1060 Shows
24. Shrimad Rajchandra Hospital
25. World’s Tallest Pratimaji of Shrimad Rajchandraji

So here comes my concluding line; You need to be in the aura of a lion to become a lion. if you fall prey to the aura of a donkey, then it is imminent that you will become a donkey. 31st December 2019 was an amazing experience for me to be surrounded by the aura of the person with a global mission to unearth the true potential of human beings and in turn, I got a higher purpose in my life. 

Even if I’m able to implement just a few of these learnings/teachings in my life, I believe I can evolve in all dimensions of my life.

For more details, you can visit the link of the full video of 31st December 2019 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZbUfECkYTw&t=10532s