Editor Carla Geerdes
Next morning after breakfast we continued our talk where we had reached our limits because of fatigue. Our friends are leading a very spiritually oriented life and meditating up to 3 hours daily in the morning and in the evening in separate rooms used for meditation only.
Further Rajendra Bengani observes the rule followed by monks and nuns, not to take in anything after sunset and before sunrise, not even water. Every morning he is getting up at 04:00 h in the morning, also like the monks and nuns. Since quite some years he is practicing this.
Vijaya Bengani joined us after meditation.
Vijaya Bengani shared her experience how the 10th Terapanth Acharya Mahapragya encouraged her to be a Preksha Meditation trainer. Every Friday she is guiding meditation sessions for the children of the Dubai Jain community, once a week for adults.
This and much more were the subjects we were talking on, in fact our talks could have lasted even days. Not until later this morning I got aware how well Rajendra Bengani had prepared us for the meeting with the Dubai Jain community. He headed the meeting and gave a fruitful direction for everyone to it.
We left our friends‘ home about 10:00 h in the morning for a 30 minutes’ drive to the apartment where the Friday gathering takes place. We entered a spacious room with the furniture removed to give place to all participants. Like in India ladies and gents sat on separate sides. The children normally are instructed on a floor some storeys higher, but this Friday all got together in the apartment where in general the adults were meeting.
Rajendra Bengani introduced us to each other: The owner of the apartment, …
…a young lady happy to meet German Jains, …
…a young man giving a warm welcome to us, …
… smaller and bigger brothers, …
… smaller and bigger sisters, …
… old friends not met for years, …
… meanwhile parents (r. the son) and grandparents (us), …
… an audience of approximately 40 people who …
very attentively followed Rajendra Bengani’s opening remarks of the session, …
… on this holiday in Dubai.
Rajendra Bengani introduced us very professionally and encouraged us to address the gathering.
These were followed by our answers to questions from the audience.
Then we were gifted books.
Ashok Doshi approached us because his eldest son Shreyans from April to July planned to stay in Potsdam, the capital of Brandenburg, situated very near to our Berlin home. Shreyans‘ American university has a student exchange program with Potsdam university.
Ashok Doshi deepened the contact when we followed his invitation to visit. His apartment is a few storeys higher in the same building. It is where normally on Fridays the kids are instructed. He and his brother live with their families in a joint family.
To offer water and/or tea is one of the basics of Indian hospitality.
Actually Shreyans visited us at home, and we were happy to also welcome the whole family on the last destination of their Europe tour when they all had come to visit the country where Shreyans had stayed some months. They started in Vienna, Austria, where they had landed and departed from there as well. On this tour Shreyans showed Berlin and mainly Potsdam to his parents and his two younger brothers. The five of them had rented a big enough car to experience Germany and Austria by car. Shreyans managed the translation and wherever the family arrived they were received with open arms grace to Shreyans’ command on German language. People were very kind, and the family enjoyed their stay. Shreyans even wants to come back for research, as there is amazingly great support for research projects in Germany, according to Shreyans.
In the street we met again with Lalit (r) Jain and his family.
For lunch our friends invited us to a newly opened Indian restaurant.
Not only its design was extraordinary, but also the meals.
Thereafter we went to Dubai Port.
After off-load of the ships the goods stayed on the pier until the recipients arrived.
The goods came from Mumbai, we were told.
The whole pier was full of consumer goods for Indian migrant labourers.
Theses Indian cargo ships are covering the 1935km by sea route between Mumbai and Dubai in approximately 5 days.
The streets are not frequented on Fridays, so we very fast got back to the home of our friendse.
After having taken rest and doing our packing we sat together in the evening, before we left our friends’ home at 23:00 h. Sincere thanks to our dear friends Rajendra & Vijaya Bengani. We will remember this reunion in Dubai after 8 years full of joy and gratitude. Hopefully our next meeting will be in Berlin.
2,5 hours later we punctually left Dubai in direction to London to continue to assumed Berlin spring. At least 4 days we nourished this illusion. But winter hindered spring 4 more weeks to arrive and ran a tight ship with grey skies and big clouds emptying arduously their snowy load on the country. Yes, after a fascinating trip to India we yet were back home. Fortunately here all house are equipped with heating, I very often thought when looking out of the window. But like everything in life, that winter passed by. Our Jain friends use to say that all is transitory. They are right. Fortunately we humans also have command on the capability to recall.
We sincerely thank all our readers for their attention to our reports and hope that our friends also have become theirs. Jai Jinendra.
16. Tirthankara Shantinatha