Day 179 | 9 July 2015 | Kharadi Bypass Junction, Nagar Road to Koregaon Bhima

Walk of Hope took Kharadi Bypass Junction, Nagar Road - leaving Pune city after a week of events and rest, and reached Koregaon Bhima today.

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The padayatra passed through Lonikand, Vithalwadi and Wagholi. These three places, which were once villages, have now become colonies of the great Pune city and are now almost urban, a fusion of new and old. The Walk covered a distance of 18 kilometers and reached the destination half an hour before noon. They reached Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Boys Military School, their staying point for the day half an hour later and rested there for some time after lunch. They gathered again in the evening in the hall for the evening Satsang where Sri M addressed a gathering of about 300 students.

“Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah Sarve Santu Nir-Aamayaah Sarve Bhadraanni Pashyantu MaaKashcid-Duhkha-Bhaag-Bhavet Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih Om, May All become Happy, May All be Free from Illness. May All See what is Auspicious, May no one Suffer. Om Peace, Peace, Peace. Lokasamasta sukinoh bhavantu -May the entire universe be happy” “My Namaskaars to all of you.” “I do not know Marathi - should I speak in Hindi or in English. (Resounding response ‘Hindi’) - Okay, I will speak in Hindi then. Namaskaar is the same in Hindi and in English. So, this yatra that is going on now, you have seen the film. We started on 12thJanuary from Kanyakumari. See in this hall - there are many pictures of Swami Vivekananda. We started on the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, on 12th January. There is another importance of Kanyakumari - what is it? It is a sangama - a confluence - of three great oceans, the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. It is also the land’s end for India—called Zero Point. We started from there.” “This is a padayatra and not a rathayatra, we are walking with our feet on the ground. Every day we walk 20 to 25 kilometers on an average. Walking, we have gone through Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and have finally reached your Maharashtra. We have covered 2700 Kilometers. I am not alone, there are many with us who are walking. There is rain and there is sun but we are walking. Now, we have 5000 kilometers left to go. We will reach there in April 2016.” “You must be thinking why are these mad fellows walking from Kanyakumari; people take cars, buses and airplanes to travel. A few of you will go to the armed forces, this is a military school. Not all of you will go; a few of you will go. Even there they have tanks and helicopters but you must all know this - how do they do the parade? It is only with their feet on the ground. When one’s feet touch the ground only then does one develop the capacity to face the challenges that life has to offer. Through this the mind and body become completely calm and when that happens one can do anything.” “What is the aim of the padayatra? When you go into the armed forces, you will find out that ‘sarva-dharma sambhavana’ created by the Indian Army has been done so with great effort. If you see in army camps, there are places of worship of every religion. Why? Because in India we believe though someone may have any religion, ideology or belief – there is one underlying truth that we are all humans.” “We are all humans and we are all born from the mother’s womb - is there anyone who fell from the sky? And, in time, one goes back to the earth. And, in the mind of every person - worries, anxieties, anger - all these things are there. That is why, we are all humans. If we think this way, then India will become strong. If we think that we are different, then India will fall. I know that you know this. But sometimes, people forget these things. When that happens, violence happens”. “The message of this yatra is that you may come from anywhere and believe in anything but do not forget that you are a human being first. If you can live like this, India will become very strong. This Maharashtra is the land of saints; they have said the same thing too. They have said that we should live together as One with love. If we live with this unity, India will be an example to the whole world. I have no other aim - I am not standing for election neither am I trying to get a ticket to stand for elections.” “You all are here in this military academy. One or two things must be remembered. The health of the body should be there, the tejas(lustre) of the body should be there, courage should be there in one’s mind and one’s mind should be calm and peaceful. If these are there, one can accomplish anything. There is a power in the mind which remains untapped. The mind is very powerful but rarely is it used. If it is tapped, then infinite energy can be accessed. Courage and Tejas lie hidden in the heart of every human being. This is sadhana and nothing else.” “Day before yesterday, we visited Pune University and went to the sports section. There were many teachers, coaches and students with us. Anjali Bhagwat was also with us. In sharpshooting, she has the highest award. She is one of the top shooters in India. I told her a story. Like you, there were many who were at the University, but a little older. Many of you will also go to University. It is not a big thing. I told about Yoga, about the strength one gains from Yoga, about the concentration one gains from Yoga. I also told them a story.” “When Swami Vivekananda was travelling abroad, in a small little town near Philadelphia, he saw a group of students trying their hand at target shooting. They were in a park and there was a rubber duck floating on the water and they were supposed to shoot at a small spot on its wing - you know it isn’t easy because it is moving, the experts were trying their best. It was an air gun and they were trying to shoot it. And, Swamiji saw them from a long distance and went to them and said, can I try?. They asked, do you know how to, have you ever shot a gun? Swamiji said, no, teach me how to shoot. They said okay and they instructed him - hold the gun on your shoulder, fix the target and shoot. It was the first time Swamiji was holding a rifle.” “So, he took the gun, fixed a pellet, spotted the target and shot. He was the first man to shoot the target. How did he do it? When they asked him that, he said, it is the secret of Yoga. When you say yoga, it is not only doing asanas. Yoga is bringing about a calm, quiet, concentrated state of mind. One can develop unity of the mind with Yoga. If you do that, your mind will become calm and your body will become strong.” “If you see yesterday’s newspaper, there is a picture of me standing with the rifle in the hand. They told me to aim at the target and shoot. I was holding a rifle for the first time. The gun they use for sports is a little large. They also have a telescopic vision to aim at the target. I told them that you do it first, so the trainers who were there did it. It did hit here and there and then they gave it to me. Concentrating my mind - how they do it in Yoga - I took aim and fired and it hit the first time. I did not do it the second time thinking they will become demoralised! It hit the target - how did that happen? I am not a sports person. Because the way to make the mind one pointed is there in Yoga.” “Second, I am now 66 years old. I have been walking daily. 5000 kilometers are still left to go. From where does the energy come? Yes, there is pain sometimes, there is pain in the leg, sometimes the knee hurts and I have to rest for a few days - that is okay. But, where is this energy coming from? From the time I was twelve, I have been doing Yoga.” “I would say to you to keep faith in ManavEkta because you are the future citizens of India. If these seeds are sown in your mind, in time these will become great trees and there will be flowers, peace and happiness will be the fragrance. Do not forget that someone came here, someone named M - M means Manav and nothing else. When you go back home, share these things with your parents, with those who are not here because the more people hear of this, the better it is for all of us - not only me, but for all of us.” “Before I end this, I give you my blessings, may your life turn out to be good. I want to teach you something practical to do before I leave. When you wake up, before you do any activity - when do you wake up?” They replied in a chorus – at 5.00 a.m. “Oh - we wake up at 4.30 because we have to start walking. So, when you wake up, after cleaning your teeth and going to the bathroom - sit like you are now for ten minutes and pay attention to your breath. Take a deep, slow and relaxed breath. Hold it for half a minute and then leave it through an open mouth. Keep on repeating this process. Do it with full attention. Close your eyes and follow the breath. Do this exercise for five to ten minutes every day, do this in a very relaxed manner - after that sit for two minutes and imagine that a lamp is lit in your heart and the light is spreading everywhere in your body and do OM japa for two minutes. This is something practical you can do. You can find out for yourself if your concentration is increasing. Your body will become healthier, your lungs will become healthier, your mind will become calmer, and you will be able to concentrate better. You will also move forward on the spiritual path.” “I will conclude the talk now. I thank you all for listening to me.” “Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.” After Satsang, the padayatris retired for the day. The weather as night fell was beautiful. Dark gray rain clouds passed by at great speed in a misty sepia sky. The school is on a hill and one can see distant golden city lights against the backdrop of black silhouettes of hills that surround Pune city.