Ever new, ever changing never created and never destroyed. My experiences were in line with this nature of consciousness and I never understood all this till today.
Because of the strong intention and commitment of my students, reiki master Chhaya Mulye and reiki master Smita Pawar, this journey got expressed in words. Their intentions sourced this knowledge through me and they kept penning it down.
I am placing before you the experience exactly the way it is. No editing. No censoring.
What I am writing now is the experiential journey. Because of my students (reiki masters) this experiential world of mine got expressed. This journey is about their passion their sincerity and intense desire to understand, their pain and helplessness about not being able to understand and at times if they did, they struggled through all this and they continued on this path empowered by their strong intentions of healing. All this and each one of these experiences were supplementing and complementing each other’s mutual experiences. Everyone agrees that the domain of consciousness exists. As you experience this consciousness your level of living is significantly altered. As it happened with me. ‘God’ as an experience or as a concept never existed in my world. Nevertheless not knowing why, I would sometimes chant the mantra – “Om Namah Shivay. And even as I was doing this action of chanting, I would wonder why I was doing it. I kept getting intuitions. I never paid attention to them. In 1988, I and my husband Pradeep Durve, participated in a communication workshop for two and a half days created by Werner Erhard. Our trainer for this course was the late Mr. Debu Ghosh. We never thought this course and this trainer would usher in such a major life changing experience for us both (this course has now become Landmark Forum in India). It introduced us to a domain of subtle experiences. Who I am or who others are has no connection with who I really am or who others really are. This was a great revelation for us at that time. And this is the gift of this course. I actually realized that my concepts, my understanding and my actions and my experiences were all from different layers of my personality. I understood from this training that unless information is backed up by experience, the world of knowledge is not revealed to you. In short, knowledge = information + experience. This insight supports me very much in my work from moment to moment. After this course, my husband Mr. Pradeep Durve and I followed up with many other seminars created by Werner Erhard. And in these courses our trainer was Mr. A. D. Narula who kept giving us clarity.
The congruence between thought and action got established by this clarity. Because of this I could immediately realize the moment when action was not in tune with thought. Before this course, I had no inkling that thoughts and actions could be different. This was the nascent point of my journey. A reiki master was born. I realized then that beyond the field of experiencing is a mystical phenomenon which I have yet to reach. Thought and tendencies began to turn porous. Until then I was obsessed with, “I know” and that there is nothing beyond this “I know”. But from that moment onwards this trend of thinking changed drastically.
After this the reiki system entered my life. Even now I cannot say that I selected reiki. Perhaps it was She who chose me.

This Is How Everything Began

In the communication workshop which was held at Colaba, Mumbai, where we were assisting a seminar, our trainer the late Mr. Debu Ghosh suggested that my husband and I attend a past life seminar conducted by his friend, Mr. Karl Everding. I did not want to attend this seminar. When I am not in a position to deal with my present life why should I delve into the past life? So I thought. But Pradeepji had a liking for such work. Owing to a base in philosophy and psychology he agreed and enrolled in the course immediately. This seminar was in January 1989 at Juhu. Both, Indians as well as foreigners participated in it and amongst them was one participant named reiki master Paula Horan. It was also during this seminar that the first reiki seminar was planned. This happened because of the strong intention of Mrs. Ila Debu Ghosh. Mr. Sadanand Raje, our dear friend also worked intensely and made it happen. Much against my wishes Pradeep Ji took me to the seminar. And we did reiki 1st level with reiki master Paula Horan.
Today I understand all these events differently. Somewhere my deep subconscious mind, must have desired all this. Maybe all this manifested through Pradeep Ji, he pulled me and I went and also continued practicing reiki without believing in her. I started experiencing both at the mind and the physical levels.
Among the many experiences during this period the following major one became a turning point in my life. As I practiced reiki daily my eyesight improved so much that I could do away with my spectacles and could read very clearly to the amazement of everybody who knew me. For others it was the disappearing of the spectacles, but for me as I understand it today, it was a total transformation in my perspective. Reiki master Paula Horan refers to the eyes as windows of the soul. Such a radical thing happened without my understanding it then. After reiki first level and its experience thereafter, I willingly enrolled myself in reiki second level seminar conducted by Mr. Karl Everding. Today I keep realising the importance of willingness and selection in all our actions. The first level happened serendipitously and without awareness and the second level happened in full awareness. The late Mr. Karl Everding was a man of few words and the few that he spoke touched my heart. “A human being can heal the whole universe” this declaration that he made in the seminar really shook me up. That was the day the seed of intention of universal healing got down in my mind. Human existence is itself extraordinary and its intention can connect it to the entire universe. So healing is a celebration of the beautiful contiguity between a human being and the universe. With the budding of this purpose in my life, the level of my life underwent a drastic transformation. It expanded my small world which was earlier limited to my parents, my in laws, my husband, my daughter, home, career. It was no longer enough to be disturbed by newspaper headlines. From now on, one could heal those events. This invigorated me. Reiki blossomed everywhere! It was like breathing! In each moment! Anytime! All time! Those around me and I reacted in various ways. Emotions sprouted. Anger. Sarcasm. Scoffing. But some kept returning for more experiences. We kept healing and the perennial process of awareness and learning began. I realized very clearly that although the present is a mere repetition of the past, there is a choice in the present which can impact this repetition. Choice as an alternative - this option opened with the energy of the second level and because of the process of healing, I could easily set aside all that I did not want. I began to speak the truth, however I could not glean other’s truths. At that time it was not clear, now it is. With healing, a vicious circle is completed and only then the situation changes. This I experienced and this is what happened in my life too. My career changed. All ambitions collapsed. I did not dare to leave the path of the known to seek the “road not taken”.

I kept feeling that known suffering is better than walking on an unknown path but with tears in my eyes, I continued to heal. Gradually, I was empowered to choose, I decided that my career must end. Because of this I had plenty of spare time for healing. I was suffused with experiences. And then one day my husband Pradeep Ji said “now it’s time you become a reiki master yourself!” He not only suggested it but fully supported me in this endeavor. On 6th Jan 1991, my friend P. D. Patel (from Ahmedabad) and I took the masters’ training from reiki master Barbara Sczepan (from Switzerland). Training was indeed a mystical experience. This was the first reiki masters’ training conducted in India and the first two Indian reiki masters were born: I and P. D. Patel. Knowing, understanding, feeling, expressing that which was felt - these were tough steps towards realisation. Masters’ training is an endless journey. And this training is forever beginning and continuing. In 1991, I was not in a position to take up the responsibility of such training. Because I was ignorant and naive I made plenty of mistakes.
After this training, people kept surging like the waves of the ocean. Before I could realise what was happening to me, I was attuning others! I could experience immense energy consciousness. Many concepts exploded. There were repeated shocks of wonder and sadness as I was doing work which was beyond my comprehension. My friends from Werner’s work were with me from moment to moment - Prashant Waikar, Mrs. Sadhana Waikar, Prashant’s parents, Miss Medha Garud, Abhay Kulkarni, Mrs. Anjali Raul and Rohit Raul, Sandeep Kulkarni, S.V. Kulkarni and Sadanand Raje. The shift in consciousness triggers a shift in the approach to life and lifestyle also shifts. People around you change. What I mean is not that the behaviour of the people around you changes, but an entirely new set of people enter your life. This is what happened with us too. At that time this aspect was not as clear as it is today. Something is aborning we could sense that. Close acquaintances got estranged. New relationships were budding. I was ingurgitated!
On the other hand, there were several new alliances and acquaintances. There was a constant misunderstanding among the earlier close acquaintances. This meant constant struggles and upheavals. I kept wondering, is this healing after all? Is everything always hunky dory with healing?
In January 1992, I and P. D. Patel were blessed by our trainer reiki master Barbara Szczepan, to be trainers ourselves. Now we could train and create reiki masters. I took the first training very enthusiastically for Pradeedji and Ms Sadhana Waikar. Since then masters’ training continues till date. In 1992, I, Pradeepji and our daughter Lai were in Ahmedabad with P. D. Patel and his family. I was forced to participate by P. D. Patel and my husband in the Art of Living basic course with the mesmerising Miss Rajashri Patel. Immediately thereafter Pradeepji, Ankush Dada (reiki master Ankush Bhalekar) and Poonam (my student who is as dear to us as a daughter) went to Gurudev, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji at Bangalore Ashram and thus Guruji entered into our lives. It was then that we first experienced – ‘Guru ke bina gyan nahin’ (there is no knowledge without a master). I had read this and had taught this to my students but I realised its true meaning only now in the presence of Gurudev. Lucid, beautiful, compassionate, ‘sakha’ (Friend) - Guru! Guruji flummoxed me! Gurudev’s existence calmed my life. I would experience a cool fountain of love in his presence. This sometimes drenched us and at other times, quenched our thirst as we kept listening to him, questioning him. There were times when we understood but often did not; at such times I would gather those mellifluous words which we could not comprehend, then. I got connected to these later as the experience of life flowed (many of these words have still remained incomprehensible). We are still enjoying these cool waters which continue to keep bathing us and quenching our thirst.
In 1993 the work increased tremendously; love, consciousness and money flowed in abundance. To channelize all this, Reiki India Research Centre was born. This happened under Gurudev’s constant vigilance and guidance. The design and structure were created by Pradeepji, Ankush Dada and my friend Vinay Bhat. The key people involved in this dream called Reiki India were Pradeepji, Ankush Dada, my friend Vinay Bhat, reiki master Vinay Vaidya, reiki master Roopali and I.
Reiki India is not merely a group of masters. It is a cluster of beings who met and parted for the purpose of healing. Reiki India is the tangible form of a nascent intention to heal. Gurudev asked me to take Master’s training only for reiki India and I did so. I didn’t understand its impact then. But today I keep realising it through my relationships with my students.
This was my external journey. Alongwith this, began a journey within, about which I had no inkling then, and only now I am aware that all this was constituted at that time. We have attuned numerous people ever since and we have seen those people transforming. Now and again, I continue to realise things and these ruminations have thus taken birth. Certain things came to mind recently and things sprouted as I wrote.
I do not claim anything as I am writing this. Clarity is a very strange phenomenon and this is exactly like light being switched on and glowing for as long as the switch is on. As soon as the switch is turned off, the light also disappears. Attunement is one such switching on, which never switches off fully. The extent of awareness may vary. So you will observe that there are a lot of repetitions in this book or through different ways the very same thing will be repeatedly conveyed, albeit differently. There could be traces of mutually contradictory statements. I request you to bear with me and forgive me magnanimously. The fundaments of my writing are based on my experiences and those of my students. They are also sourced from Indian philosophy, Smt. Vimlatai Thakar’s books and seminars, my understanding of Swami Satyanand Saraswati’s book Kundalini Yog, and the presence of Gurudev in my life. I feel compassionate existence is the personification of Universal Life Force. Consciousness, knowledge, wisdom and love are all the same. I actually experienced this only after Gurudev entered my life. A very crucial part of my life are my students – reiki masters. I don’t want to discriminate by naming a few of them here! I am in this place created by them and continue to belong here. (Although many a time I felt like dropping everything and running away!)
I got conjoined to abstract consciousness and Sadhana (practice) began. This path is indeed very difficult, purification, of deep impressions on the mind. The knowledge kept getting polished due to Pradeepji, my children reiki master Vinav, reiki master Roopa and our daughter Lai, reiki masters of reiki India and the presence of Gurudev. And as a result instead of being limited to mere information, I could start experiencing knowledge. Once I began taking the reiki masters’ training, it was like burning my bridges behind. There was no turning back now. Neither could I see the path ahead nor did I know which direction to take. I just held on to Gurudev’s finger and continued to walk on this path. I kept seeing the purpose of life in whomsoever I attuned. Reiki masters trainings and the reiki masters trust in me continued to giving me this invaluable dimension called “clarity”. Unknowingly as it may seem, I took up the responsibility of reiki masters’ training. From that time until today, the mystique of the reiki system keeps unravelling and getting revealed to me. My main intention behind attempting this writing is –* All those who have taken reiki attunements get clarity.
–* All those who have left the practice of reiki turn back to practicing the same.
–* All those who are yet to tread this reiki path are enabled to choose this path very consciously and knowingly.
Shubhaste Panthana (may your journey be auspicious)

Shamal