I got the amazing opportunity to meet a vivacious Swami from South Africa over the weekend – Swami Vishwaparantapa! It was an intimate group setting and I got some facetime with the swami too.

What is a swami?

A swami is a teacher. More specifically, a swami is a teacher in Hindu religion – kind of like a priest. Swamis know the Sanskrit prayers (although they often read along with books etc. and don’t have to memorize everything under the sun) and they have a huge amount of knowledge about ancient texts, modern day news, research and they have even more [themecolor]experience[/themecolor] in dealing with people, students, their own teachers and gurus and an incredible wealth of insight from a whole lotta meditation. I meditate everyday for about 20 mins on average and I am a changed person for it. I am an awesomer version of myself thanks to meditation so imagine the kinds of people these swamis are who meditate for hours and read cool books and rub shoulders with gurus everyday?

[themecolor]The shortest way to experience love is to be IN it. – Swami Vishwaparantapa[/themecolor]

Swami Vishwaparantapa

How did a loud, smiling, expressive and divalicious beautiful South African man end up as a swami? Swami Vishwaparantapa used to be a healer. He chose meditation and love, which he openly and verbally declared to his guru Swami Vishwananda and eventually was asked to be a swami. Hearing him speak is just like hearing a nostalgic story from you mom. It is also like listening to a lecture from Steve Jobs because of the insights and knowing that he brings to each word he speaks.

A “Duh” lesson in Love

The swami said something which was so true that it hit it me in the face like an uppercut. He said that you can talk about love and intellectualize it as much as you want but [themecolor]the shortest way to experience love is to be IN it![/themecolor] I heard this and I was like “Duh! Of course it is. Why didn’t I ever realize this before?”

The quickest way to experience being a teacher is to teach. If you want to experience what it is like to be a big spender or “a baller” as I love to say, just spend big and experience it. The quickest way to experience what it is like to be a model is to go and model (for a blog, for a friend or for a photographer). The quickest way to experience being a blogger is to blog. Simple. [themecolor]SO SIMPLE.[/themecolor]

Applying this Simple Lesson

Quick! Think of something you want to experience! Is it Happiness? Is it sisterly love for some girl you can’t really stand? Is it admiration from someone for a good job well done by you? Is it ‘through the roof’ confidence? Whatever it is, now you know that the shortest + quickest way for you to experience it is to be IN it!

Want to experience happiness? Be IN happiness. Want to experience love for yourself (because you should know that you are awesome)? Be IN love!

It really is that simple.

What do you want to experience as quickly as possible? Tell me what it is in the comments below and how did you manage to be IN it? I want to know!

xo Ritu