A CONVERSATION WITH A SPIRITUAL GUIDE

About the Author: AiR – Atman in Ravi, is a Realized Soul whose mission in life is to ‘Help People Realize the Truth about Life and be Enlightened’. AiR’s journey of material achievements lasted for a good 25 years, as he went from one peak of success to another. He had revolutionized retailing in India with the iconic megastores – KidsKemp, Big KidsKemp and Kemp Fort. But after making millions, he realized that life is not about making money, attaining fame and success. He shut down his business when he was 40 and started making a difference doing – Humanitarian, Inspirational and Spiritual work. AiR opened three destitute homes spread across Bengaluru, that today, take care of over 800 homeless and needy people – their food, clothing, medicines and hospitalization. They are a part of the AiR family!

Like anybody else, AiR started his life being religious and he founded a Shiva temple in 1995. Subsequently, he realized that God lives in the temple of our heart and he changed the name of the temple to Shivoham Shiva temple. Now he doesn’t pray TO Shiva, but prays THROUGH Shiva, to SIP, the Supreme Immortal Power that is nameless and formless, birthless and deathless. The Power of the Divine that is everywhere, in everything.

AiR has only one mission in life – to help people realize the truth, to be enlightened, by overcoming the ignorance that we all grow up with.

Based on his Realizations, AiR has written over 65 books, composed and sung about 1400 Bhajans, written several blogs, quotes and poems. AiR conducts Spiritual Retreats and organizes talks to help people evolve on their spiritual journey. He is a TEDx speaker, and is also invited to speak at several organizations, corporates and universities. He conducts webinars every day on Zoom, Facebook and Insta Live to help people realize the ultimate purpose of life. AiR talks about how success cannot lead to happiness; only happiness can lead to success. To him, happiness has three peaks – Achievement, Fulfilment and the ultimate peak of Enlightenment where one is liberated from all misery and sorrow. In AiR’s own words,

Started with Nothing,

Became Something…

Achieved Everything,

Only to Realize, we are Nothing!

TLT: Firstly, Congratulations on your book, ‘Realizations of a Yogi’.  Well, can you please share your experience about making your work come into the form of a book!

AiR: When there are Realizations, these are rare. Everybody is not blessed to experience a Spiritual Awakening. Each of these Realizations is like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. When I wrote the book, ‘Realizations of a Yogi’, I put all the pieces together to reveal the way to Spiritual Awakening, to Enlightenment. Anybody can be Enlightened, provided we live as a Yogi, we follow the steps of a Jigyaasu, a seeker, a Mumukshu or the one who has a deep yearning. My experience of writing this book has been one of the most fulfilling ones because I shared my Realizations and the path to Enlightenment.

TLT: What inspired you to write this book? What was the impetus behind this work of yours?

AiR: I write several books on Life, Happiness, Success, Realizations, Enlightenment and  Spirituality and this book was probably my 70th book. In this book, I put all my Realizations together, not just that spark of Awakening that happened around 10 years ago but also all those Realizations that have transpired over the last decade. The inspiration is to share the mission of my life, to help people Realize the Truth, to help people overcome ignorance, to help people find a way to Eternal Bliss that comes in  Truth Consciousness. It is my mission to help people live with meaning and purpose. This inspires me to write books.

TLT: You’ve given a very interesting title to your book, which is very catchy too so, what made you go for this title for your book?

AiR: The title of my book is not catchy or interesting. It expresses the true content of this book. This book contains the Realizations of my life, what made me a Yogi, what created that Divine union, how I was able to let go of Bhoga, how I was able to let go of the desire of this Samsara, this world. This book tells the Realization of the Truth of, ‘Who am I and Why am I here?’ All this together became, what seems to be an interesting book with an interesting title. In reality, it is nothing but the Truth.

TLT: What was your mindset, while working on this book? Is it based on any particular experience of yours?

AiR: There was no mindset while writing this book. This book enumerates my Realizations. My first Realization is that I am not this body that will die. My second Realization is that I am not the mind. A mind that we cannot find. The third Realization is that the ego that says, ‘I’ is a lie. The Realization that I am a Spark Of Unique Life  – SOUL. I am the Soul. These are some of the Realizations. While writing this book, I had to still the mind and kill the mind. That was the only way that this book was possible. This book is not written from the mind. Rather, it is written from the Consciousness. It is written by being inspired by the Soul.

TLT: In the era where humans have become a working machine, what role spiritualism can play?

AiR: No doubt, the current era is that everything is robotic and a human being is no more a human being. He has become a human doing. But we are not human-doings. We are human beings. We have to be in Consciousness. We don’t have to be killed by the mind. The mind bombards us, not with AK-47 but with MK-50, the Mind Killer – 50. This weapon MK-50 destroys our peace. This Mind Killer drops our Consciousness. Spirituality is the science of the Spirit. Spirituality plays the role of making us discover that we are not human beings having a Spiritual experience, rather we are Divine Spirits having a human experience. And therefore, this era of materialism needs a book like ‘The Realizations of a Yogi’ which will take us to the state of Awakening, of Enlightenment.

TLT: Please explain what is a Yogi in simple words? And differentiate between a Yogi and an Enlightened Yogi?

AiR: The word YOGI comes from the word ‘Yoga’ or ‘Yuj’, which means one who is in union with the Divine. So, who is a Yogi? He is one, who is ever-united with the Lord. In simple words, a good SIM card is ever-connected to a satellite. Similarly, a good Yogi is ever-connected to the Supreme, the Divine, that we call SIP or the Supreme Immortal Power. Anybody can try to be a Yogi by living in the different states of Yoga. The world knows of the four forms of Yoga – Dhyana Yoga or meditation, Karma Yoga or action, Bhakti Yoga or devotion and Gyana Yoga or knowledge and wisdom. I discovered the fifth state of Yoga – Prema Yoga or the Yoga of Divine manifestation. Therefore, by living in Yoga, you can be a Yogi. But an Enlightened Yogi is the one who is Awakened, who has become a Buddh and who has Realized the Truth. The one who is not living in the Yoga and Bhoga state alternatively, rather, he is always consciously living in the state of Yoga.

An Enlightened Yogi realizes that he is not the body, mind and ego. He is the Divine Soul. He realizes that he himself is a manifestation of the Divine. He has crossed all steps and has achieved what is called as Mukti and is ready to reach the state of Nirvana, Moksha or Salvation and in the moment of death, he will be liberated and united with the Divine.

TLT: Can a person become Yogi while being in the materialistic world and following his duties as a family man? If yes, then how?

AiR: For a person to be a Yogi, he has to live in the material world. There is no other world that he can live in. And therefore, by being in the material world, if we can be in Yoga or in union with the Divine, then yes, we can become a Yogi. However, there is a difference between doing our Dharma, our duty and being caught in this worldly Samsara and becoming a prisoner of people, pleasures and possessions. If we are Awakened and Spiritually Enlightened, we can be a Yogi who lives in the material world but lives a Spiritual life. This is possible. For doing this, one has to follow what is written in the book – Realizations of a Yogi – One has to go through the five stages of becoming Awakened – Mumukshu, the one having the Divine desire, Jigyaasu or the one seeking the Truth, Gyaani or the one who has accumulated wisdom, Yogi or the one who is ever-united with the Divine and the Buddh or the Awakened one. These five stages would take us to the next three stages of Sthitpragya or the one with a steady intellect, Jivanmukta or the one liberated from the sufferings when alive and SatChitAnanda Atman or the one who lives in Eternal Bliss in Truth Consciousness. Therefore, someone who is living in the material world can achieve the state of a Yogi and be united with the Divine if they follow the prescription of being a Yogi.

TLT: How literature has helped you in your yogic journey?

AiR: Literature is the raw material that we need to be able to put together the Realizations of the Yogi’s journey into a book. If there was no literature, if there was no tool to communicate, how could one be able to communicate the Realizations of a Yogi’s journey?

Therefore, using literature in a non-impressive manner, in a manner of simple communication is the way for a person to use their Yogic journey and literature to communicate effectively to the world. Something that looks so impossible as Enlightenment but which is easily do-able is because the path is followed.

TLT: What are some of the learnings that you gained from writing this book of yours?

AiR: While writing this book, what I learnt is that Realization is a niche subject. Only one out of hundred people in this world go on a quest and of those 1 per cent, only 1 percent are blessed to realize the truth. Thereafter, 1 percent amongst them are liberated and united with the Divine. I realized that although there is a niche market for the subject of Enlightenment, for Spiritual Awakening and Realization, I should not desist or be discouraged in writing such books because this is the purpose of my life and I learnt that such a book has been able to touch, trigger and transform people’s lives. Therefore I am inspired while writing this book and the response that people have given me, including many celebrities and who-is-who who have read the book and who have been inspired, influenced and transformed. I have realized that the information in this book could to a Transformation, to Realization, Liberation and Salvation.

TLT: Are there any other books being worked by you? Please let us know about your future projects.

AiR: Yes, there are several books that I am writing. One of the book that I am currently penning down is – ‘Within the Law of Attraction, Lies Action.’ Another one of the books is, ‘How to Overcome Fear, Worry, Stress, Anxiety and Depression’, ‘Living As An Enlightened Ego’ and many others books are in my current list of projects and going further in the path of helping people achieve the state of Awakening and Spiritual Enlightenment. This is the mission of my life and each day of my life, I believe is wasted or incomplete if I do not write something that I can share with the world.

TLT: Is there any message that you would like to convey to your readers? Or any piece of advice, which you would like to give to the readers out there!

AiR: I would like to share with the world, the leaders, this message that we cannot be Enlightened after we are dead. We must get this into our head. We must realize that there is a purpose to this life and if we do not discover the purpose, then life will become a circus and we will be like clowns jumping up and down. In the moment of death, we will be gone only to be reborn and this will go on and on. Therefore, my message to all is that don’t just exist. Live with meaning and purpose. Discover, ‘Who am I?’ Discover, ‘Why I came to earth? What caused this human birth?’ Death of the physical body is certain but I will not die. I am an immortal Soul. When the body dies, people will say that you passed away. ‘Who are you that passes away?’ Don’t let this moment pass away. Ask, Investigate and Realize the Truth. Read books like Realizations of a Yogi. Get the help of an Enlightened Master, a Spiritual Yogi, an Awakened Soul and achieve that state of Enlightenment, the ultimate goal.