In a complex, confusing, chaotic world, real meaning is often difficult to find. We drive around furiously trying to keep to an agenda in what has become our superficial, fast lane, drive-through culture, often with increasing anger, anxiety and frustration.
When all the hustle and bustle quiets down and we find ourselves alone with our thoughts we often wonder why we’re so unhappy. Why is it, despite the luxury car in the driveway, a wealth of fancy jewelry, and a closet full of designer clothes, that we find ourselves wondering about feeling so empty.
The energy to keep up with these everyday activities could be used for something a lot more productive instead. Like…closing the gap, paying attention to You, The Very One who you really are, Your Essence, Your Core, which is Divine!
We are lucky now to be living in a time whe
n the world is starting to realize that there is more to human achievement than material success and social prestige. As a result, more and more people have set out on a transformational journey, not only in the United States, but also around the world. We now have a variety of truly significant paths available to us through Gurus and teachers, whose mission in life is to help those of us who are searching to reach more evolved states of consciousness; bringing us to enlightenment and helping us reach a state of peace.
In Los Angeles, a Yogi, a teacher, called Nandhi is one of those enlightened souls. He has come to Los Angeles to offer his wisdom and experience to those who are willing to take their own personal journey toward a state of higher consciousness, to be connected to the Source of Everything and reach what is called Ahimsa, a state advocated
by Gandhi and described as a place of non-violence and compassion for all beings. It is a place where we can align ourselves with the source of all things: God!
“For many people what’s missing can be described as contentedness and peace! Not only energetically, but also as functional human beings,†Yogi Nandhi says, one who is enlightened by the Source so that we might awake!
Nandhi’s personal mission to individual enlightenment began as a young boy of four in India, when, on a Pilgrimige with his father, they heard the roar of a tiger in the forest. As he was carried on his father’s shoulders, he became aware of a radiant being, a ray of light, a “lamp†that showed them the way out of the forest and away from danger.
Nandhi recognized this “lamp†as a higher power, and it became something he carried with him, a friend who was always there to assure and comfort him during the hard times he often enduring growing up.
Living in South India as a young child it also pained Nandhi to see older livestock and cattle being transported to slaughterhouses to be killed, (as one of the latest megahit movies about this very issue starring Claire Danes in Temple Grandin, a true story also explains, which even earned more than one Oscars,) and he wondered if there might be another way to use this resource more effectively and with less cruelty. Nandhi also became aware of the vast amounts of unused land in India, and the ongoing starvation problem that persisted for millions in the country. With all of this misery going on around him, Nandhi had a vision of a large ranch where he could save thousands of animals, using their by-products to fertilize farms so that people could be fed, just as one of his ideas of saving lives and contributing to the betterment of horrific conditions that exist on Earth. And, yet, looking from a higher perspective it is all so simple, just a matter of increased awareness and compassion. It was a vision that would later become reality.
After his schooling and studies in England, Nandhi started a granite business in India, and in less than four years the company became one of the largest in that industry, with hundreds of employees. But despite his financial success, Nandhi still felt something was lacking, that business was not his real purpose in life. At the age of 24, as he was praying he heard a voice saying, “I have come to take you.†He began to feel death approach him.
A young saint, whom Nandhi had never met before, knocked on his door. He told Nandhi that Nandhi’s karmic death had come and he had been sent to take Nandhi through the process. Without any hesitation, Nandhi followed him into the forest, actually in joy knowing that soon he would connect back to his ancient past. The saint initiated Nandhi into the Siddhar path (where all the branches of ancient wisdom – medicine, prayer rituals and meditation, hatha yoga and Vedic studies come together) after taking Nandhi through a death-like process. From this moment on, Nandhi knew that he was awakened and his true purpose of having been born in India revealed itself.
With this experience, Nandhi became a different man. He changed his habits and committed himself to a life of primal joys, seeking to live in a state of ecstasy, plunging himself into the spiritual wilderness of India in search of the meditative wholeness in temples, caves and shrines as he was guided by his Gurus.
“I had arrived at a place where I felt free,†Nandhi says. “I had arrived into a place of light, where everything revolves around you, not you having to revolve around everything else. At that point, my business became unimportant to me, and it began to decline.â€
The experiences and visions Nandhi experienced resulted in an increased awareness of God, the Source of all things, and Nandhi had an intense desire to see God again as he had as a child in the forest. His wish was granted when he opened his eyes from a meditation and saw the entire mountain in front of him radiating with the spirit of Source, a vision of God, a vortex of enlightenment manifest in front of him It was something so compelling that he was to capture the vision later in a painting. That painting has not only become famous, but also saved the life of a relative who otherwise was condemned to death clinically.
Now, as he began living a transformed life, Nandhi took his plunge into the ‘other’ India, seeking at first the enlightened masters, the Gurus, the Siddhar yogis. The Siddhar are yogis journeying beyond “enlightenment,†into the “I am†experience. Nandhi was fortunate to find that he had these Sages literally waiting for him! His Siddhar Gurus took Nandhi through the spiritual wilderness of caves and ancient spiritual centers that have been secretive for thousands of years and still are. He spent more than a decade meditating in the caves and in pilgrimages in the company of these enlightened masters as a saddhu, or wandering yogi.
It was through this inner journey beyond awakening that Nandhi realized his life purpose included his childhood vision – to save the lives of thousands of retired animals, while reclaiming vast thorn wastelands and converting it to biodynamic agricultural land with the intent of sharing one-third of the vast agricultural land’s vegetarian produce with the hungry. The object of this vision offered compassion on a large scale to elderly animals until their natural death while being able to feed thousands healthy vegetarian food.
This childhood vision was brought to life when Nandhi met Ammachi, or Amma as she is known all over the world today as the “hugging saint,†as she embraces all those who come to her for a hug. When Amma visited Nandhi’s parents, and Nandhi told her about his vision for the animal refuge, and for his own personal mission, she told him, “Son of Shiva, just do it!â€
With that encouragement, Nandhi’s life began to transform from a yogi to a visionary yogi. He realized that the resources for his Vision must have a foundation from within. He named his vision the Ariven Community (Ari means awake), and his debut project would be the prototype for similar projects around the world, including Amma Sanctuary, named for the hugging saint. Nandhi also founded www.SensitivePlanet.com, an online store to offer products suggested from the yogis of India for those who want to enhance their life with higher consciousness and wellbeing.
The Vision continue to unfold! The land that has been acquired in Mukkudal, India, is now developing into an ecological reserve and community, participating in a grand dharma of saving thousands of cows, while also providing the organic material to fertilize and create bio-dynamic farms that can feed thousands of people with nutritious vegetarian food, as it nourishes Mother Earth and uplifts the bodies and spirits of those who benefit from it. “And, when the animal passed away of natural causes, we have the world’s only supply of cruelty-free leather,†Nandhi says
Nandhi also began to have visions of his future and past lives, and realized that he had been from the West in a previous lifetime, and he felt his mission would call him to the area again. Shortly after his meeting with Amma, he was told by one of his Gurus that his “Kali†lived in California, and six months later he received an e-mail with the subject title, “Hi, I am Kali from California.†He is today married to Kali, Najla, and settled in Santa Monica, California, where the buildings and places are the same images that had appeared as flashes through his meditations in the caves in India.
Nandhi is now sharing his wisdom and meditations on abundance, fulfillment and inspiration with anyone who is interested in lighting a metaphorical lamp and following the path to enlightenment!
His new temple, called the Temple of Lamp, is a center where all the principles of higher consciousness are encouraged, and is open to all those who seek spiritual guidance and wisdom. They also receive visitors for ceremonies of healing and to achieve higher consciousness, and offer Kalangi Yoga lessons, Siddhar meditation and full moon fire Puja Satsangs around a holy fire circle. Many of these events and teachings are offered at no charge.
On a recent visit we were graciously received as sacred souls, and offered spiritual wisdom and refreshments. Nandhi is a humble, unassuming man, who never uses the word “I,†and his enthusiasm for higher spiritual values is contagious. Sitting with him, he will expand on many different ideas and values, from Mother Nature to diet, and onto the quest for one’s true purpose in live, and our ultimate search for the true source of all things, and God. There are things he tells us that are not to be believed, but they become real as he describes them not only as experiences, but also as guidance to the power we have all been given. Do we know it? No, generally, we do not! He teaches us!
As we look at his paintings, each one a quick take of only a few hours based on one of Nandhi’s inspired visions, we feel the energy and the true spirit of his experience in the room. He is color-blind, yet paints with colors that awakens the soul, and explains the meaning of the painting all at once!
His music, too, is inspired and designed to accompany yoga, meditation, relaxation and healing massages. After coming to the U.S., Nandhi’s Gurus would often appear in his meditation and insist that Nandhi shares their blessings to the world as powerful mantra chants. Nandhi set a precondition- to include the didgeridoo within his music as he felt that it was the only instrument that could accompany the powerful resonant chant. The next week, a didgeridoo master appeared for his yoga teachings and within a very short time, his first music album, “Cave of the Siddhars,†was produced. This music has been calibrated utilizing Dr. David Hawkin’s kinesiology scales and exceeds the known limits of enlightenment.
Nandhi music is called Turiya Nada, which means the primal resonance beyond the states of normal consciousness, i.e. beyond sleep, dream and being awake is the state of Turiya, the realm of higher consciousness. Through his music, Nandhi now enjoys the support of thousands of well-wishers globally. The music can be experienced at this site: www.myspace.com/nandhi108
As the time of our visit draws short and we ask Nandhi what core message he would like to convey to others, he answers simply: “First of all, ask yourself if you are free from your own mind,†Nandhi says. “When you are free from the mental clutter then you can light a fire, a light along the journey between you and Source. Secondly, I think it is important that we allow the feminine side to be fully expressed, to wake up this ‘inner womb,’ which, just as the woman is the source of life, so this feminine side is the nurturer of the soul. And the third thing is the idea that we are spirits having a human experience, and the energy we put out is what we get back in return and this giving and receiving, when it comes together in harmony, results in a vibrational energy that creates a state of peace, if so cultivated, which is what we are all looking for.â€
The path to enlightenment is not a path at all. It is actually a metaphor for the time it takes for you to allow yourself to be happy with who you already are, where you already are, and what you already have.
For more information on the art of Life, Wisdom and Happiness, and also yoga and meditative recordings, ancient herbal perfumes of the Yogis, and nutritional products please go to:
www.sensitiveplanet.com, Phone: 310-451-7377, E-mail: vasini@sensitiveplanet.com
As we walked out of our most precious session and one that I will always return to, someone asked me “ Excuse me, what perfume are you wearing?†And, in a daze I said, “Just the perfume of Wisdom! The Perfume of Evolution!†and she said, “Where can I get it?â€
For information on Nandhi’s non-profit Ariven Community and its retired animal sanctuary, the Amma Sanctuary, go to: www.ariven.org; E-mail: alight@ammasanctuary.org
To learn more of Nandhi and his teachings of the mystical yoga of the Sages, Kalangi Kundalini Yoga local classes and workshops please visit: www.nandhi.com; Phone: 310-451-7377; E-mail: vasini@nandhi.com.
