Subhechcha Ganguly 
The youth today is actively playing the role in the society. Be it actively participating in development of one self or country as a whole or playing an active role in their career. Here “Talking about The Philosophy of Life becomes very important. Let us know more about this topic from Author Ravi Valluri.
RAVI VALLURI is presently working as CEO, Chhattisgarh East Railway Limited and Chhattisgarh East-West Railway Limited. He was an officer of the Indian Railway Traffic Service. He has also served in Mil Rail (Army Headquarters), where he was decorated with the Chief of Army Staff award.
Born in Kanpur on 14th December, 1962 and brought up in Delhi, he was educated at St. Xavier’s School, Delhi. He completed his B. Com (Honours) from Hindu College, Delhi University and did his Master’s in Business Economics from Delhi University. Subsequently he was sponsored by the Ministry of Railways for the National Management Programme (Executive MBA) from Management Development Institute, Gurugram.
He is the author of fiction and non-fiction works – The Matter of the Mind, Make the Mind Mt. Kailasa, The Infinite Mind (co-authored with Ankush Garg), NaMo 303 Words to Victory, Indian Stories: Images & Thoughts, Heartbreak at Coffee Shop An Array of Tales, Divine Whispers 365 Quotes of H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Magic of the Mind, A Tale of Parallels, A Quote A Day Inspiration 2022, Art of War to Art of Living and A Story of Faith and Miracles. Ravi Valluri, along with his wife Lakshmi Valluri has curated a bi-lingual collection of short stories titled Festivals: A Ray of Hope.
Many of his books were unveiled by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. His first book The Matter of the Mind has been translated into Telugu and is available under the title Manomoolamidham and Magic of the Mind has been translated into Tamil under the same title. His works of fiction, Heartbreak at Coffee Shop An Array of Tales and Art of War to Art of Living have been translated into Hindi and NaMo 303 Word to Victory has been translated into Kannada. Divine Whispers 365 Quotes of H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has been converted into an audio book and is available at audible.com.
He is also a faculty of the Art of Living and conducts the Happiness Programme, yoga and meditation sessions of the Art of Living, besides helping counsel addicts and undertaking courses for those dependant on alcohol and drugs.
He has had a penchant for theatre, music public speaking and writing since his school days and continues to fuel these interests. He has contributed extensively to the Free Press Journal, SakshiPost and Life Positive E-magazine. He along with his wife have recently launched a website called Rustleofwords.in. Ravi Valluri has been interviewed by Doordarshan National, Doordarshan Uttar Pradesh and Doordarshan Gorakhpur apart from appearing on Radio FM, Secunderabad and Rainbow FM, Bareilly.
The author can be reached at 9618564024 and at valluri.ravi@gmail.com.
Q1) Welcome to this special series of Conversation with Interview Times. Tell us a bit about your first book and what motivated you to choose the topic of your first book?
Ans: The Matter of the Mind was my first book, published in 2016 by The Write Place. It was unveiled by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar during the auspicious festival of Navratri at the International Ashram of the Art of Living, Bangalore. It relies heavily on many articles I had contributed to Life Positive E- Magazine, Word Press and The Speaking Tree. In fact, Gurudev upon reading some of the articles blessed me to continue writing and prophesised that my books would be published soon.
This book primarily deals with the human mind, consciousness, yoga, pranayama, meditation, and the unique rhythmic technique of Sudarshan Kriya. There are some real-life incidents covered in the book such as how I recovered from the pestilence of alcoholism trough the technique of Sudarshan Kriya and the grace of the Master. Also, I have covered experiences of various followers of Art of Living and faculty members and their interaction with the Master.
The book also dwells on how to invoke positive thoughts and living by practicing various holistic techniques such as yoga, pranayama and meditation and to live in the present moment. Some epochal moments of Gurudev, travelling by a special train in undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2015 and the World Culture Festival held in Delhi in 2016 are also covered in detail which would interest the reader.
Incidentally my passion for writing is dovetailed with my interest in theatre, and in particular music theatre workshops. During my school and college days, under the tutelage of eminent personalities like Barry John, Param Vir and noted actor Pankaj Kapoor I learned the basics of writing.
Q2) A large section of the youth nowadays falls prey to under confidence and thus is unable to pursue their career choice. What are your suggestions on this topic?
Ans: Confidence and positive thinking are a trigger for achievers and successful people about which I have written a lot in various articles and non-fiction books. One learns a lot on these topics by reading our epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Panchatantra and Zen Stories.
The problem arises when we become victims of over confidence, short circuiting the system, attempt to become successful without much preparation and looking for fame and success without adequate preparation.
“The more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war,” is a famous quote by Vijayalakshmi and should be remembered by not only youngsters but also elders. Practice and deep sadhana make a person an accomplished performer in any field, be it writing, music, science and technology or politics.
And never fall for the trap of short-term success or fame, without adequate practice and preparation.
Q3) “Having confidence in oneself” is one of the important philosophies of life. What is your look out on this topic?
Ans: There is an interesting Zen story. Once lived a brawny wrestler who could defeat anyone including his teachers, but felt there was something still lacking in his mind and skill as he was so bashful and arrogant. He went to a Zen Master to learn the technique of meditation. The Zen Master asked the wrestler to spend a night in a temple situated near a sea and just observe his breath. The grappler did so unflinchingly without realising that the temple was submerged that night by waves of the sea. Next morning, the monk visited the temple and found the still meditating while observing his breath.
“Now you are an accomplished wrestler as you conquered all the demons of your mind through the power of breath and meditation,” he was to tell the wrestler.
The once arrogant wrestler wept and fell at the feet of the Zen monk. He realised how through single minded focus and determination he could spend the entire night. So, he became extremely confident that he could conquer anything through the power of observing his breath and meditation.
Thus, the key take aways from this excellent story are – a) single minded focus b) absolute determination c) power of breath and meditation and d) humility.
“We are what we think. All that we are, arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world,” said Gautama Buddha. Our thoughts fashion our lives. And this concept alone can make us confident or diffident in any situation.
Proper breathing techniques and meditation can bolster our confidence to achieve anything. But this should be coupled with unalloyed humility.
Q4) Youngsters nowadays spend a lot of time on social media sites and mobile phones. This often gives them misconceptions and false notions about life. For example, a person may be in their most happy state in front of the cameras but might have an entirely different story. What is your take on this topic? How should the youngsters be aware of practical scenarios of life.
Ans: Not only youngsters but even adults have become addicted to gizmos. Invariably people check up mails, messages on WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and all such platforms right from the moment they wake up and they need validation. People are looking for ‘likes’ on all social media platforms.
Youngsters are aping celebrities in their pursuit to be known and appreciated. People from entertainment industry, some religious and spiritual masters, top honchos or corporate world, sportspersons, writers, musicians, politicians all are presenting a rosy picture to the world, whereas the reality could be very different. They may however may be suffering but display a happy state of mind. In this mad race to be on the top we all project a perfect state of well-being, but this could be a perception and not the reality. And suddenly we here shocking news about such personalities which has become quite common.
Moreover, it is affecting our nervous system, eyes, hands, fingers and neck. Several parts of human body are getting impaired by constant usage of smart phones.
I personally feel, time spent on mobiles and smart phones should be reduced. Youngsters should spend quality time say in the gym, playing, reading, listening to music, practising yogic techniques and meditating instead.
With technological advancements, these gizmos have invaded our lives and one cannot do without it. Time spent per day on smart phones should be monitored and even a couple of days without these should be mandated.
Thus, if one does the Advanced Meditation Course of Art of Living (where you are in silence) or say Vipassana one will be away from these fancied items.
In my opinion true contentment lies in inner happiness and peace, which people of all walks of life and ages (including elders) are not willing to accept and pay the price.
Though I do agree that some amount of advertisement and likes/validation is required – but how much? This is what we all need to seriously ponder about or people (including youngsters) become mental wrecks or get addicted to say alcohol, drugs and such abuses.
Q5) You have written several books, which is that one book that you would be suggesting as a must read for the youth and why?
Ans: I would suggest two books written by me; Art of War to Art of Living and A Story of Faith and Miracles.
The first book is a tale of a Chinese tech who hails from Shenzhen, from a very humble background. She becomes a highly successful person by developing an app, but then loses everything. There is an enormous lack in her life. The woman named Xiao Ming then happens to see an Indo – Chinese film on Xuan Zang, a Buddhist monk who came to India in search of true Buddhist texts and also happens to experience life turner experience at the Phoenix Temple.
This prompts her to travel westwards and experience India and its culture and overcome the lack. The book has been translated in Hindi and is called Yudh Kala Se Jeevan Kala. It is a riveting story which people will really enjoy.
A Story of Faith and Miracles is an autobiographical account as to how I could overcome serious medical problems like malabsorption during childhood and later alcoholism through Art of Living and Guru’s grace. It also describes my life, my mother (her confidence and faith), my parents, my wife and a series of miracles I have encountered in my life. Youngsters will find it inspirational and adults can find themselves in this book.
