Dr Kamlesh Patel –
No man is an Island.
We all are familiar with this famous quote, which means that no one can live in isolation.
The whole Universe exists and functions on the foundation of Harmony.
Science has now come to the same conclusion.
The existence of humanity will be in jeopardy if we do not live harmoniously with Nature, material substances of the world, plants, animals, environment and outer space. All the wars that we have witnessed are due to a lack of harmony between people.
It is obvious that we must live harmoniously with people and the society at large to restore peace.
Achieving inner peace
Atmiyata, spiritual harmony, is all about attaining and restoring peace, love and happiness in the inner world, that means within us.
All the problems we see in the modern world such as broken families, failures, depression, suicides, short temper, anger, ego, stubbornness, jealousy and lust are due to conflicts in relationship with others, more importantly with our morals.
These are, in a way, conflicts with God residing in us.
If we do not have love and peace within us, the space will be filled by hatred, indifference and negative emotions leading to serious problems.
Atmiyata is a unique remedy to be happy, to be successful and to achieve inner wealth which is positivity, peace, love and eternal bliss.
Harmony is ignoring the faults of the others; Atmiyata accepts others with their faults.
Harmony is being happy with others; Atmiyata is about self-happiness.
Harmony is looking at everyone as yourself; Atmiyata looks at everyone as yourself.
Atmiyata looks at the universal bond in individuals; the bond that relates all of us to the Universe and God, irrespective of gender, race, caste, region and religion.
Achieving spiritual harmony
His Divine Holiness Hariprasad Swami Ji Maharaj has done research and practiced Atmiyata for many years.
He has devoted his life to implement the concept in thousands of youths and families around the world.
His famous quote on Atmiyata (in Gujarati) is “Koi Atmiya bane ke na bane, mare Atmiya banvu j chhe, to he prabhu mane bal aapshoji.”
This is a beautiful prayer to God meaning, “I want to be (spiritual) harmonious with everyone without expecting the others to be (spiritual) harmonious with me, Please God! Grace me with the strength.”
If we want to be happy and successful, we must take the responsibility of beginning to change our own selves by being Atmiya (spiritually harmonious) with others and with oneself. This is a simple and straightforward truth.
Out of thousands of success and happiness stories, the one of Achal Mehta and Kaushik Mistry (Achal-Kaushik), a renowned traditional Indian music composer duo, is an example of Atmiyata.
They come from different families, castes and villages with different career dreams.
But music was a passion that they shared.
When they were nine years old, Achal started singing, while began playing the piano and the guitar. They became good friends and long hours at recording studios and musical practices.
They started looking after each other’s family. Eventually, their friendship turned into Atmiyata and they started getting work for each other and began to work together whenever there was an opportunity to do so.
New Garba style
Achal and Kaushik formed the ‘Rishabh Group’ in 1982 and soon transformed Garba Sangeet (traditional Gujarati music) into a different concept without disturbing its traditional value.
Their style enhanced the concepts of harmony, melody, lyrics, beat, richness of light classical music and superb rendition blend, giving out a memorable experience in traditional Indian music.
Due to their spiritual approach, the Rishabh Group grew from strength to strength and 34 years later, it is known for mesmerising and melodious music all over the world.
They have performed at thousands of events in India, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK and USA.
They run their own music academy to groom young talents.
They have also launched their own music and video albums which have been hits among the people of all ages.
From the past three years, Achal and Kaushik have been actively associated with fundraising activity of the Atmiya Youth Group (AYG) and Yogi Divine Society to accomplish Swami Ji’s concerted mission of caring for youth worldwide.
“We would not have been successful without the grace of Swami JI Maharaj, his blessings and valuable lessons on Atmiyata. Supporting the noble mission of AYG is one of the ways of thanking him,” Achal and Kaushik said.
Pre-Navaratri Programme
Their support has enabled AYG to organise ‘Ratri Before Navratri’ with tremendous success over the past three years.
This year, the event will reverberate the Mahatma Gandhi Centre (located at 145 New North Road, Eden Terrace, Auckland) with more energy and passion.
More than 200 hours of combined efforts have been invested in organising the programme, dedicated to the Spiritual Affinity of AYG.
Such community spirit makes this event unique.
The financial resources generated from the event will be donated for the construction of Atmiya Youth Convention Centre in Henderson, West Auckland.
We look forward to your support to make this programme a success and in turn enable us to realise our dream of constructing a new Centre for Atmiya Young Group.
