 Reiki Master Dr. Shamal Durve |
| My Journey |
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Reiki means consciousness: Ever new, ever changing, never created, never destroyed. My experiences were in line with this nature of consciousness and I never understood all this till today. As experiences started happening, it kept on clicking for me. Basically I am a student of literature and I had taught Saint Kabir and his literature as a college professor. After becoming a Reiki Master, I kept experiencing all that Saint Kabir had spoken of in his work. Because of the strong intention and commitment of my students, Reiki Master Chhaya Mulye and Reiki Master Smita Pawar, this journey got expressed in words. Their intentions sourced this knowledge through me and they kept penning it down. I am placing before you the experience exactly the way it is. No editing. No censoring. This journey started thus and is still continuing. What I am writing now is the experiential journey. Because of my students (Reiki Masters) this experiential world of mine got a language of expression. Their passion their sincerity and intense desire to understand, their pain and helplessness of not being able to understand, sometimes they did understand but couldn’t implement. They did struggle through all this and they continued on this path empowered by their strong intentions of healing. All this kept on happening in front of me and each one of these experiences were supplementing and complementing each others mutual experiences. Everyone agrees that the domain of consciousness exists. As you experience this consciousness your level of living is significantly altered. As it happened with me. The ‘God’ as an experience or as a concept have never existed in my world. Nevertheless not knowing why, I would sometimes chant the mantra –‘Om Namah Shivay”. And even as I was doing this action of chanting, I used to wonder, why I was doing it. I kept getting intuition but I never paid attention to them. The years 1988-89 are important and significant milestones in my life (these were the years of transformation, this I got form some of the books that I have read). In 1988 myself and my husband Mr Pradeep Durve participated in a communication workshop for two and half days created by Werner Erhard. And our trainer for this course was Late Mr. Debu Ghosh. We never thought this course and this trainer would usher in such a major life changing experience for us both. (this course has become Landmark Forum in India). This course introduced us to a domain of subtle experiences. What I think abour who I am or who other are has no connection who I really am or who others really are. This was a great reveleation for us at that time. And this is the gift of this course. I actually realized that my concepts, my understanding and my actions and my experiencing were all from different layers of my personality. I got form this training that unless the information is backed up by experiencing, the world of knowledge is not revealed to you. Or in short knowledge = information + experience. This insight is very much supporting me in my work moment to moment. After this course, myself and my husband Mr Pradeep Durve followed up with may other seminars created by Werner Erhard. And in this course we had for our Mr A.D. Narula who kept giving clarity to our process of thinking. The congruency between the thought and the action got established by this clarity. Because of this I could immediately realize the moment when the action was not in tune with the thought. Before this course, I had no inkling that thoughts and actions could be different. Whatever I am today, that is the starting point of my journey. I realized that beyond the field of experiencing there is and existence and one cannot reach this field of unknown. An openness, opened up as regards thinking and action. I know and there is nothing beyond this I know, this trend of thinking changed drastically (In the language of reiki it is normally expressed as dissolution of blocks). After this I took Gayatri Mantra from my dad and started chanting. Perhaps this was the conscious calling consciousness in my life. After this Reiki System entered my life. Even now I cannot say that I selected reiki. Perhaps she only must have chosen me. I was not is a situation to understand then. This is how everything began. In the communication workshop being held at Colaba, Mumbai where we were assisting the assisting the seminar, our trainer Mr. Debu Ghosh suggested that me and my husband attend a past life seminar of his friend Mr . Karl Everding. I did not want to attend this seminar. When I am not in a position to deal with present life why should I delve with past life ? So I thought. But Pradeepji had a liking for such work. Having a base of philosophy, psychology in his thinking and so he agreed and enrolled in the course immediately. And this seminar happened in January 1989 at Juhu. The participants were a mix of Indians and foreigners. And In this seminar Reiki Master Paula Horan had also enrolled. In this seminar the first Reiki Seminar got planned. Mrs. Ila Ghosh wife of Shri Debu Ghosh, this seminar happened because of the strong intention of Mrs. Ila Ghosh. Mrs Ila Ghosh is an unstoppable power generator. Mr. Sadanand Raje, my friend also intensely worked toward the happening of this reiki seminar. Much against my wishes Pradeepji took me to the seminar. Today I can understand all these events in a different way. Somewhere deep in the subconscious mind there must have been a willingness/desire/conditioning towards all this. May be all this manifested through my husband Pradeepji at whose biddings I did at this reiki seminar and also continued practicing reiki. I started experiencing both at the mind level and the physical level a domain that existed and that could take over despite my strong disbeliefs about all such things. Among the many experiences during this period the following major one became a turning point in my life. As I practiced reiki daily my eyesight improved so much that I could do away with my spectacles and I could read very clearly without the aid of specs. And that time everybody could clearly see me without the spectacles. For everyone it was just disappearing of the spectacles, but for me as I understand it today it was a total transformation in my perspective. Reiki Master Paula Horan refers to the eyes as windows of the soul. Such a big thing happened without my understanding it then. After the reiki first level and experience thereafter, I willingly enrolled myself in the reiki 2nd level seminar conducted by Shri Karl Everding. Today I keep realising the importance of willingness and selection in all our actions. The first level happened accidently and in unawareness and the 2nd level happened in full awareness. Shri Karl Everding was a man of few words and a few that he spoke really touched my hart. “A human being can heal the whole Universe” this declaration that he made in the seminar really shook me up. That was the day the seed of intention of Universal healing got sown in my mind. The existence of man is not small, his intention can connect him to the whole Universe. So healing is a celebration of the beautiful relatedness between the human being and the Universe. With the opening up of this purpose in my life, my level of life underwent a drastic transformation. It expanded my small world which earlier was limited to my birth place, my inlaws place, my husband, my daughter, home, career. One need not be disturbed reading the news everyday in the newpapers, one could actually heal them. This insight ignited our minds towards the action of healing. As natural as breathing I started giving Reiki to each and everything and practicing it at each and anytime. Everyone in and around me reacted to all that I was doing in their own way. Some would be angry, some would tease me, my fiends would make fun of me and irritate me and some could keep coming back for more experiences. We kept giving reiki and we kept getting the best training in the field of our mind and thinking. And thus started the process of awareness and learning. I realized it very clearly that although the present is mere repetition of the past, still there is choice available in the present which can impact this repetition. Choice as an alternative - this option opened with the energy of the second degree and because of the process of healing, I could set aside all that I didn’t want very easily. I could speak the truth but still I couldn’t fathom others truth.( this was not clear earlier but now this is all very clear.) As the healing happens a viscious circle is completed and then only the situation seems to change. This I experienced and this is what happened in my life too. My career changed. All ambitions collapsed. I did not dare to leave to the path of the known to walk in the unknown. I kept feeling that it is better to be with a known pain than the unknown path, tears in the eyes and continuous healing. Gradually, the strength to decide got created. I decided. Career came to an end. Because of this I got lot of spare time for healing. I got lot many experiences. And then one day my husband Pradeep Durve said “now you yourself become a reiki master”. As is his wont, he not only suggested but fully supported me in this endeavour. In 19991, I and my friend P.D.Patel took the masters training from reiki master Mrs. Barbara Sczepan. |
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| Barbara Sczepan on the right P.D.Patel |
Training was indeed a special experience. Knowing, understanding, feeling, expressing that which is felt, - it was not very easy to go through these steps of realizations. Masters training is an endless journey. And this training is ever beginning and continuing. In 1991, I was not in a position to take up the responsibility of such a training. Because of Ignorance and innocence lot of mistakes happened. After this training like the waves of an ocean people kept coming. Before I could realize what is happening within me, I had attuned people! I could experience immense energy/ consciousness. Many concepts got blasted. There were repeated shocks of wonder and sadness as I was doing a work which was beyond my understanding and knowing. In all this every moment all friends created from the Werner’s work were with me – Prashant Waikar, Mrs. Sadhana Waikar, Prashant’s parents, Mrs. Medha Garud, Abhay Kulkarni, Mrs. Anjali Raul and Rohit Raul Sandeep kulkarni, s.v kulkarni and Sadanand Raje. The shift in the consciousness triggers a shift in the life style. The entire process of living is transformed. The people around you change. What I mean is not that behaviour of the people around you change, but altogether entirely a new set of people entered my life. This is what happened with us also. At that time this aspect was not as clear as it is today. Something new kept happening. I kept realizing that although the path is difficult, it is both beautiful and fulfilling at the same time. The close acquaintances got distanced. On the other hand lot of new alliances and acquaintainces. There was a constant misunderstanding among the earlier close acquaintances. This meant constant struggles and upheaveals. I kept wondering is this healing? Healing means every thing that happens will be good and comforting. This was the platform of my understanding. In January 1992, we were blessed by our trainer Mrs. Barbara Sczepan, to be trainers. Now we could train and create Reiki Masters and we commenced this training very enthusiatically with Mr. Pradeep Durve and Ms. Sadhana Waikar. Ever since the masters training has kept happening. In 1992 when I was with P.D. in Ahmedabad along with my husband Mr. Pradeep Durve, I was forced into participation by P.D. and my husband in the Art of Living basic course under Ms. Rajashri Patel. Immediately thereafter my husband Mr. Pradeep Durve, Ankush Dada (Reiki Master Ankush Bhalekar) and Poonam ( my student who is as dear to us as a daughter) went to Bangalore Ashram of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankarji , and thus Guruji entered into our life. ‘Guru Ke Bina Gyan Nahin’ ( there is no wisdom without a teacher) . I had read this and had taught this to my students but I realized its true meaning only now in the presence of Gurudev. My Guru for me is an intimate friend, beautiful and full of compassion. That is how I experienced Gurudev. Very difficult to understand. Gurudev’s existence calmed my life. I would experience a cool fountain of water of love in his presence. This water sometimes bathed us other times quenched our thirst as we kept listening to him, questioning him sometimes we understood and many a times I kept collecting those sweet words not understood. I got connected to these later as the experience of life flowed. (Many of these words have still remained incomprehensible) we are still enjoying these cool waters which continues to keep bathing us and quenching our thirst. In 1993 the work increased tremendously and so too love, consciousness and money flowed in abundance. To channelise this abundant love, consciousness and money, the instituition called Reiki India Research Centre took birth. This happened under 100 % guidance of Gurudev. The design and structure was created by my husband Mr. Pradeep Durve, Ankush dada, my friend Vinay Bhat. Thus the dream called Reiki India stood on the following pillars – four of us namely (myself, my husband, Ankush Dada, my friend Vinay Bhat) and reiki master Vinay Vaidya and reiki master Roopali Nadgaonkar. In 1995 Pradeepji bought 20 acres of land in Badalapur and created the Reiki Jagat Ashram. The main intention behind this was to provide a resting place for the tired and the weary who could come here for deep rest and relaxation. The healing actually begins after that. This was all happening externally and can be called as my external journey. Internally too different kind of journey was happening at the same time. I had no inkling of this journey actually happening there. Only today I am realising this. Till today I have attuned hundreds of people and I am observing similar shifts in their behaviour and thinking also. Gradually, I kept realizing things, and this write up is all based on such realizations. Some of the aspects I realized as I was writing. I do not claim anything as I am writing this. Clarity is very strange phenomena and this is exactly similar to the light being on and glowing as long as the switch is on and as soon as the switch is off, the light also disappears. Attunement is one such switching on which never switches off. The extent of awareness may just keep increasing and reducing. So you will observe that there are a lot of repetitions in this book or through different ways the very same thing will be again and again conveyed. There could be even traces of even mutually contradictary statements. I request you to bear with me and generously forgive me for all these liberties. Whatever I have written is further based on the following as well . The experiences of myself as well as my students, Indian philosophy and Her Holiness Smt Vimlatai Thakar’s books and seminars, Swami Satyanand Saraswatiji’s book Kundalini Yog, and the presence of Gurudev in my life. I feel that Gurudev is a personification of the energy/consciousness itself, because he too manifests the qualities of the energy/consciousness such as ever new, ever changing, and compassion filled existence. Consciousness, the knowledge and the wisdom and love are all the same, I got the actual experience of this because of him being in my life. A very important part of my life are my students i.e the Reiki Masters. I don’t want to discriminate by naming a very few of them here! Where I am today, that place is given by them and they are further ensured that I continue to be in that place (all though many a times I felt like dropping everything and running away). I got connected to the unmanifested consciousness and this commenced my Sadhana (practice). This path is indeed very difficult, one of purification, of the impressions on the mind. The knowledge kept getting polished due to Pradeepji, my children – Reiki master Vinay, Reiki master Roopa and our daughter Lai, reiki masters of Reiki India and the presence of Gurudev. And as a result instead of being limited to mere information, I could start living at the level of experiential aspect of the information that is knowledge. Once I started taking the reiki masters training, it was like burning my bridges behind, there was no turning back now. I could not see the path ahead and I also did not know the direction in which to go. I just kept holding to the finger of Gurudev and kept walking on this road. I kept seeing the purpose of life in whom so ever I attuned. Reiki Masters training and the trust placed by the reiki masters on me kept on giving me this invaluable dimension called clarity. Unknowingly as it may seem, I took up the responsibility of reiki masters training. From that time till today the mystique of the reiki system kept getting revealed to me. My main intention behind attempting this writing is:
WISH YOU A VERY HAPPY JOURNEY!!Extract from Shamalji’s book Reiki experience, awareness and growth. |
Please click to read Shamal's must read article "Reiki - The way I understand" |
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Reiki Masters with Guruji |
My Journey
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