This exercise is about really examining my very existence. Waking up early doesn’t mean sleeping less. It is about examining what holds me up in the challenge of waking up early consistently for 31 days.

And then using the early hour in an activity that inspires. I am going to study the Ashtavakara Gita.

Ashtavakara Gita is a conversation between King Janaka and Sage Ashtavakara. King Janaka at the pinaccle of worldy success yearns for freedom from bondage. And Ashtavakara a sage called so because his body is deformed at 8 different places is invited with honour by King Janaka having heard of the sage’s deep knowledge of existence.

The Ashtavakara Gita is knowledge in times of peace and prosperity and Guruji Sri Sri Ravishankar has beautifully encapsulated the wisdom in 33 chapters, just right for the length of my challenge.

The qualifications for listening to Ashtavakara Gita as explained by Guruji are discipline in the body, mind and speech. It is not easy to realise that most of the time I am driven by my habits. Much as I may think I run my life, my habits run me. These habits give me neither joy nor ecstasy but yet I can’t seem to break out of them. My habits are what determine whether I can take up any challenge and fulfil it. Ultimately to do anything different in life requires us to break out of existing habits.

Our senses and our desire for comfort bind us. Our patterns which we are unable to break out of bind us. Yet #31earlydays is not about punishing oneself. #31earlydays or #nosnoozejuly is an exercise to find out if my senses listen to me or rather I to my senses; in a way really putting myself to the test of the qualification required to study this scripture, the Ashtavakara Gita.

And I expect to find that the test doesn’t end in the morning as soon as I wake up. It is about the rest of the day, for if I need to really be disciplined I have to constantly pick and choose what I choose to do for the rest of the day such that I am able to get to bed at a reasonable hour to begin the next day afresh.

Janaka enquires how one can experience freedom, be detached while fulfilling one’s responsibilities. Ashtavakara enunciates the 5 principles that need to be followed to experience the nectar of life

“kshamarjavadayatoshasatyam piushavada bhaja”

1. Kshama (Forgiveness). 2. Arjava (Sincerity) 3. Daya (Compassion) 4. Tosha (Contentment) 5. Satyam (Truth) lead us to Piyusha (nectar of life)

Forgive oneself and others right now.  Forgive your past. From here-on be sincere. Be compassionate to yourself and to others. Observe your frustrations. Such observation itself transforms the emotion. Be contented.  All creativity can ultimately stem from contentment. Note how everything is changing. That is the ultimate truth. Everything we try to hold on to in the world is changing every moment. Nourish these five principles. That is the very first verse Ashtavakara narrates to Janaka

Thus end Chapter 1 and 2.

I hope you will all join me on my journey and provide your feedback on my journey.