Secrets of Joyful Living – Symposium in Canada

Churchill Meadows Library and Older Adult Centre on Thomas street in Mississauga was abuzz with happy echoes of mature, grey haired citizens, mostly ladies, on a weekday recently. They all had gathered to delve upon the secrets of happiness and happy ageing organised by Shubh Helping hands. The venue may have been a Canadian city but majority of the seniors were Indian ladies in traditional salwar suits giving it a perfect blend of Indo-Canadian culture. A few members were from other nationalities too. The member of Provincial Parliament Mississauga graced the occasion with her presence showing her commitment to the wellbeing of residents of Missisauga, Streetsville.

Neena Verma, Founding Director Shubh Helping Hands welcomed me to the community centre. She lauded the efforts of the couple from Oakville Harjit and Veena Duggal in facilitating the Joyful Living Programme. She said it was by the community and for the community. Uma Bhalla, another known face in the community who is running a yoga centre in Streetsville as a representative of Patanjali yog peeth Haridwar gave some useful tips on being joyful in stressful times.

I shared the ancient wisdom of sages of yore and Maharshi Patanjali deliberating on the five sheaths which make us a complete individual – ‘Annmaya kosha, pranmaya kosha, manomaya kosha, vigyan maya kosha and anandamaya kosha’. “We are all not just gross bodies which are visible to the eye but we have a pranic body, intellectual body, intuitive body and blissful body to make us complete and each of these bodies need to be nurtured for a happy being,” I shared and exhorted the seniors to shun the habit of brooding over mistakes and past happenings and thus remove the feeling of being victimized. Giving examples from my own life I deliberated on how emotional garbage kept long inside the mind affected me developing pains in joints.

The talk interspersed by singing and happy mantras giving it a lighter mood and participation by everyone present. Presiding as the chief guest, Member of Provincial Parliament Mississauga – Streetville, Hon. Nina Tangri, Associate Minister of Small Business, Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, Ontario, Canada said, “It is the people of Mississauga who have worked throughout their lives and made Canada the great place today. You made Mississauga a wonderful place to live in. Neena and Vinod Verma are the live examples.”

She further added, “Through Uma Bhalla, one of the founders of Yoga centre in Canada we had known about Patanjali’ yogpeeth’s mission and their works and today with her session on happy ageing, Radhika Nagrath from Patanjali yogpeeth Haridwar has given value additions to this ancient science of yoga for happy living. Her talk on breathing exercises as propounded by Swami Ramdev is definitely useful techniques in controlling the wavering mind.” Veena Duggal shared her experiences at Niramayam wellness centre Haridwar on her visit to India and her conversations with Yoga guru Swami Ramdev. The session ended on a happy note and a round of snacks.

I also gave a talk on spiritualizing everyday life at Vedanta Society of Toronto graced by the minister and head Vedanta Society of Toronto, Swami Kripamayananda. It was a life time moment to receive tokens of love and gratitude from the people of Canada and dignitaries.