SC Musings for Nitya Gurukula

Connection NG

December 29, 2023

SC Musings for NG, a fortnightly blog for a deeper NG Connection, has been bubbling within me for some time. Let me begin at the very beginning, explaining why I ventured into blogging and its intended outcome.

This marks my 7th year as a research scholar in the Department of Psychology at the University of Madras. I have been visiting the university 3 to 4 days monthly for my research on parenting. Getting back to academics after a break of 3 plus decades was daunting and exhilarating. Daunting because the system demanded new ways of thinking and functioning; exhilaration was caused by the imposing University buildings on the Marina. An added bonus was the camaraderie with fellow scholars; the place and ambiance felt so right and appropriate.

Increased university visits for synopsis and thesis presentations resulted in my stepping back from NG daily routines. Murmurs of discontent, caused by my absences, surfaced internally from our team and from our membership—clients, trainees, and well-wishers.

Many were the ways that emerged to fill this gap. The newly created NG Operations Team, with 7 members, attended to daily operations. Communication flow increased, and NG Resources began ‘owning their power’ as they stated. Instead of looking to me for answers, they came up with suggestions, options, and ways to make NG Operations flow in a ‘slow, smooth, and continuous’ (Lam, 2011, p. 88) manner to operationalize our vision of ‘The Guru Within’ (Nitya Gurukula, 2023).

The yearning to share and discuss my experiences, reflections, ideas, and thoughts with you, my Nitya Gurukula members, grew stronger, especially with my University sojourn. Thus, deeper connections, I believe, will be forged and maintained.

Along with owning their power, NG Resources began increasing the number of counseling sessions; critical thinking, also known as metathinking, was used to handle issues cropping up in NG and discover avenues for growth. One such issue was with parents who got to know their son was coming to NG for counseling with his wife to save his marriage. Enraged because they wanted their son to divorce his wife, the parents turned up at NG; the father assaulted the son, and the daughter-in-law exchanged words with them. This tirade was stopped, and further ugliness prevented by the Counsellor-in-charge and Maintenance in-charge. Parents apologized profusely for their behaviors and left.

New vistas for NG growth and functioning trickled in as I stepped back from daily routines. Areas for improvement, like goal-focused and outcome-based working instead of ego and activity driven performances, were identified and operationalized. Instead of hovering around and attempting to give feedback gingerly, with the fear of hurting, I keep reminding myself and the NG Team directly about our goals and outcomes.

Slowly but surely, the working environment in Nitya Gurukula began transforming. ‘Let’s be Alive, Awake, Alert and make a difference’ became our mantra to keep ‘The Guru Within’ ticking within each of us. There is a purpose in our body language and stride as we go about our activities because enhanced quality people-work is happening in Nitya Gurukula.

Looking forward to seeing you in a fortnight with:Musings of a Diarist.

Inviting you to post your questions or comments to NG- We are only a click away.

References

Lam, P., & Miller, M. (2011). Teaching tai chi effectively [E-book].
Narwee, Australia: Tai Chi Productions.

Nitya Gurukula. (2023). Retrieved from: www.nityagurukula.org

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