The newest episode of the podcast features Ma Anand Sheela as she deep-dives into her perspective on life, the meaning of resilience, and her multifaceted journey.
The latest episode of The Varun Duggi Show hosted by Varun Duggirala and featuring Ma Anand Sheela is now streaming on Spotify and Jio Saavn! A renowned author and spokeswoman/secretary of ‘Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh’ back in the 1980s – Ma Anand Sheela delves deep into her journey to share her life lessons with Varun.
In a riveting conversation with Varun Duggirala, Ma Anand Sheela talks about her vast and intense life experience and how her father inspired her to speak up about the same. While discussing her book, Don’t Kill Him! In the Story of My Life with Bhagwan Rajneesh: a Memoir, Varun asks Ma Anand Sheela a range of questions – from why she refers to herself as an eternal opportunist to what is resilience for her.
Ma Anand Sheela opened up, “Wherever there was a situation of learning and clarity, I have gone boldly, without thinking of security. When you say opportunist is a negative term – there is a calculative opportunist. But a true opportunist doesnʼt think of calculation. And I belong to that category.” She also says what resilience means to her while indulging in a deeper discussion. She says, “Survival – resilience comes from the desire to survive. That is an instinct, an intuition. When you live by your instinct, intuition is immediately there to support it. I call intuition a sixth sense. People talk about the third, fourth, and fifth eye – no. For me, basic intuition is enough to live and understand life.”
Aside from resilience, Varun talks about a chapter from her book: This too shall pass. He remarks how the tendency most of us have is to sit and mull over what has happened rather than telling ourselves, “This too shall pass.” He also notes how it is easy to say but tougher to do and asks for Ma Anand Sheela’s perspective. To which, she says, “When you cannot digest the situation you have landed in – without you asking for it – you don’t find any logical alliances, logical reasoning. You have to come back to the basic understanding in life – Nothing is permanent. Everything is fluid. Everything is liquid. And it moves; it passes. And wise man Buddha has given this mantra – This too shall pass.”
Why Sheela calls herself an eternal opportunist
“When you take life as an opportunity, there are no failures. Only an opportunist sees life as a winner. And I do feel I am a winner and have taken all the opportunities that came my way. I saw it as an opportunity and understood it as an opportunity, and I did not look back.”
Sheela’s “This too shall pass” mindset.
Applying the “This too shall pass” mindset gives instant relief – when you are burdened with something or cannot understand why the logical mind cannot reach – then, this little statement. “This too shall pass.” runs deep.
