Meditation creating rural leaders in Maharashtra

Life could have kept Purushottam Wayal comfortable within the four walls of a classroom, as a happily married, successful professor, educating and inspiring students, in Jalna district of Marathwada in Maharashtra.
However, an insurmountable addiction to alcohol changed his life.
"I had it all. Respect, a loving wife, a well paying job, intelligence and wit, and I felt invincible. Arrogance and hedonism proved to be a deadly cocktail and one drink of alcohol turned to many. As time passed, my drinking worsened and my performance at work deteriorated," Wayal said.
The 43-year-old professor, who teaches at Lal Bahadur Shastri college in Partur, said his addiction to the intoxicant led to him hearing words like "What can students learn from a lecturer who is drunk most of the time?".

"I felt weakened by guilt and shame. I sought from doctors to the village psychics, but nothing helped. I wanted to overcome the addiction but did not know how. The deeper I stooped in depression, the more I would drink," he said.
Wayal said that in 2006, he participated in a meditation and a breath cleansing programme in Vatur village, that led to his mental craving for alcohol eventually reduced.

"I participated in an Art of Living program and after doing meditation and a breath cleansing technique called 'Sudarshan Kriya', my mental craving for alcohol reduced and I became more interested in music and singing," he said.

He further said he now reaches out to other addicts in the Marathwada region and has organised 'Youth Leadership Training Programs'.
"Since 2006, we have managed to completely revive the lives of over 5,000 villagers. There are more than 200 projects running across the length and breadth of the region," he said.
According to Wayal, a team of 250 youth leaders work with him on different projects.
"We are working on a complete development of the region. The projects include Jal Jagriti Abhiyan - Rejuvenation of Water Bodies, Natural Farming, Sanitation, Model Village, Skills Training with Sri Sri Rural Development Program, De-addiction and more," he added.