The invitees to the 55th session of An Author’s Afternoon with Guest Author Joshua Pollock were in for a spiritual experience with a 10 minutes of meditation under the author’s guidance. The purpose was to set the pace for the session for his book which deals with a subject that is purely experiential in nature.

This session of An Authors Afternoon was very different from all earlier ones as it began on a contemplative note. Joshua is a seasoned western-classical violinist and a practitioner of meditation who also guides others to learn meditation through his own set of techniques, the gist of which can be found in his book “The Heartfulness Way”.

This book is all about spiritual transformation through meditation. It is a guide to an inner journey based on techniques evolved by Joshua. He has drawn in various styles of meditation and yoga techniques from different schools of thought after practising it himself during his lifetime. Joshua explained that his “Heartfullness” way of meditation began with the relaxation of the nerves and muscles, followed by “cleansing” and “prayers” and the journey to the inner recesses of the mind takes off. It is, according to him, a mix of effort and effortlessness which he explained with an analogy. “It is like making an effort to reach a rail station and getting on to the train that will lead us to our destination,” he said.

Conversationalist Varuna Shunglu, a practitioner of yoga, blended in with the spirit of the session. Varuna, a law graduate, is associated with manyNGOs and recently founded – KYOGI – a wellness community. The author answered with elan the questions from the audience and the session concluded with Joshua signing off with an autographed copy of his book for the guests.