Exactly one year before, on this day, I got complete freedom from my Official routine. It’s an inevitable task for a bureaucrat to write his Annual Self-Appraisal, which I have been doing for last 36 years. In order not to break this age-old tradition, I thought I make a Self-appraisal for myself. Till now, it was for my bosses and now I am my own Boss!!
What did I do during the last
one year??? A big question to answer
since its difficult to comprehend.
Everyone thinks that the retired life is boring and nothing much to do
since you are not going to Office. On
the contrary, since we are not going to Office, there are many things to do
24x7 for 365 days in a year (we have a bonus day this year) even by staying at Home.
Of course, the first few
months are very difficult if you are not prepared for it. As days go on, you get a sense of being
looked down in the Society as we are no more useful as much as we were in the
Department!! A false notion of being
helpful in future (kabhi kaam ayega - feeling) is removed suddenly from the
minds of your acquittance’s and you can see the difference in their behaviour. This usually kept our egos on High and we
slowly need to come out of this after retirement. To adjust to such a situation took some time
for me also. This is true for both
family acquittance’s and friends more or less equally.
Immediately, on flying back from
Kochi to Mangalore with Veenu on 1st April, 2023, I felt all my
chains are removed and now I am a free bird.
But soon I also realized that the strength to fly has also been
curtailed significantly. My new role as
a house husband commenced with lots of luv from my children and wife. I enjoyed being around all the time and be
helpful in whatever way I can. I believe
that Veenu got some relief and boost for her own passions to spend time for.
The very first thing which I thought
of is to Study a few things to keep me occupied. Health being my very subject of interest, I discussed
with my family Doctor friend for guidance to take up studies more
comprehensively. Incidentally, there was a Homeo Conference in Davanagere and I
grabbed this opportunity to meet some very rare Classical Homeopaths, thanks to
my Homeo tutor Dr.Rangarajan.
The case studies discussed in
the Conference showed unique capabilities of Homeopathy in some unchartered
areas of Health. Particularly, the cases
relating Psychiatric issues handled by a renowned Homeopath from Mangalore
caught my attention and it was a revelation.
Two days I was in the midst of
some people who are committed to Homeo Practice in a very classical and rustic
way. There were a few family
practitioners in rural areas of North Karnataka who did not even look like a
formal Doctor, but cured cases from Jaundice to infertility. One guy sitting next to me looked like a
farmer and I was amazed to see his accomplishments in this field for last 30
years. He virtually inherited the
knowledge from his father well known as “Gulige Siddappa”, Doctor who gives
white pills.
I also met a few distinguished
Doctors and also one Muslim saint who patronaged Homeo since the days of late Dr
Megharajan, my inspiration for learning
Homeo. It was a over all great
experience giving a sense of purpose and direction to my retired life.
In due course of the year, I took up certain courses relating to Bach Therapy, Naturopathy and my qualifications now look like this!!!
|
Dr. S Srinivas. DEHM, B.Com., L.Lb, Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine, Bach Flower
Therapist RMP, Indian Board of Alternative Medicines, Kolkata 700 020 (Regn No. IBAM/RMP/A-31049), ## 2-15-1311/1, Minerva Apartments, Bejai
Kapikad, Mangalore 575004 |
Certificate Courses:
Master of Bach Flower Therapy (Udemy), Diploma in
Electro Homeopathy,
Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine Advanced
Diploma,
Fully Accredited Certificate in Homeopathy (Cert.
Hom), Foundation Practitioner Certificate, Homeopathy & Homeopathic
Medicine, Bach Flower remedies (Full Course),
Yoga Instructors Course from S-Vyasa, Bangalore.
My complete resume after the above courses, is uploaded here:
Once
I came back from Homeo Conference, what next was the big question. Happily, continued my Vedanthic Studies and I
recollected my encounter with a Young Yogi from Sivananda whom I met in Yoga
Instructor’s Course at S-Vyasa during 2015.
I had also attended a Yoga Vacation at Sivananda
Ashram, Neyyar, Kerala during 2022 and understood that an ounce of practice is
far better than tonnes of wisdom. This has kindled my interest in learning
Vedantha in a more structured way.
In order to pursue study with contemplation so as to be able to
internalise what we have studied, I ended up joining a two months’ residential
"Yoga and Vedantha" Course at YVFA, Sivananda Ashrama, Hrishikesh.
There was a detailed application process for the course, followed by an
interview which delineated about my interests and back ground check. They even ascertained as to why I took VRS and
whether family is Ok with my absence for two months!!! No charges are sought from candidates and
only a commitment of their time and effort is required in this divine pursuit.
The Anushtana Sahitha Swadhyaya for 63 days had a deep impact on
my understanding concepts from Scriptures and gave me a life time
experience/exposure to Vedantha. Swamy
Padmanabhananda Saraswathy’s classes on Patanjala Yoga Sutras, Sivananda
teachings by Swami Poorna Bodhanandaji, Swamy Deva Bhakthananda ji’s Narada Bhakthi
Sutras and Yoga sessions, Upanishadic studies, Bhagavadgeethe, Karma Yoga with
Swamy Shivabhakthanandaji, Chanting classes of Bhajan/Bhojan
Swamaiji, Indian and Western Philosophy classes of Prof Kanchan Mataji, Hard
Problems of Vedhantha by Prof.Nataraju, all kept us busy for the entire
session.
The schedule of the day started at around 3.30 am and till 7.30 pm in the evening and followed by Satsangs in the evening. This was a great divine experience in the foot hills of Himalayas. We had occasion to roam around Hrishikesh, Badarinath and near by places including Swami Rama’s Himalayan Institute of Yogic Sciences, Vasishta Guha, ancient temple of Veera Bhadra etc., The overall experience is in explicable and I could say that ten years of self-studies did not match the rich perspective we received in these two months.
I also wrote a brief summary feed back of the course which is available at:
Back from Sivananda, I felt like a new person and my
Grihasthashrama rolled on towards Vanaprastha slowly. Veenu needed some assistance in her M.Sc
(Yoga) and gladly I kept myself busy with it. It was another learning
experience with academics with Wife!!! Meanwhile, I wanted to pursue Vedanthic
studies and sought some guidance from Religious Gurus. When I first met Swamiji at Hariharapura and
sought his guidance as to what can I do further. After discussion, Swamiji suggested me to do one
lakh Japa and come back for further guidance.
This was also the suggestion of HH Padmanabhanandha Saraswathi of
Sivananda. He wanted me to study
Bhagavatha and accordingly, I dived deep into available material. Though I had read this earlier, it was
different this time and I could relate my understanding of Upanisads with the
Bhagavatha Purana. It was a new
experience of the Bhakthi Marga and I finally felt that Gyana is leading me
slowly towards Bhakthi.
The above experience also led me to take up MA (Philosophy) from
IGNOU for knowing academic part of Vedantha.
I had the chance to attend a week long retreat at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam,
Coimbatore and got an opportunity to learn Mundaka Upanishad which is incidentally
meant for a Vanaprasthy. The
concepts were very deep and satisfying, more so because Veenu was there with me
this time.
This long journey almost ended with my week long stay at
Anandashram, Kanhangad wherein the power of Ram Nam Japa is felt. The clutter of knowledge got released with
divine practice of Ram naam which made me remember our chanting classes with
Bhajan Swamy and Devabhakthanandaji Maharaj.
The peaceful and serene atmosphere was soul filling and I felt refreshed
out of all the “Gyan” accumulated so far. This appears to be right way to end
our pursuit of knowledge and rest in peace, for the year !!!.
The year ended with a kind of Solitary confinement which I did not
actually anticipate. In Feb.2024, Veenu
proceeded on a long sojourn for five months to BSY for a Yoga Chakra Experience
and this left me High and dry. I planned something for my childhood dream of
learning music and strangely, I had fallen in love with Harmonium at Anandashram
Bhajan sessions. Quickly I found out a teacher in Vidya Bhavan and bought “Hermione”
to forget the absence of my better half.
This was also a kind of tribute to my “Amma” who had learnt Harmonium.
My appraisal is required to be evaluated by myself now and I would
give 10 out of 10 for the performance in the form of pursuits of life, which I
could not even dream of during my official life. I feel more enriched now and looking forward
for a fresh start next year. Now its time to submit this Self Appraisal, to my
Home Boss-Veenu for her grading.!!!
