Today, we met with the beautiful Dr. Metre, whose life is devoted to rural development, women’s and self empowerment, and spiritual growth. She has an abundance of spiritual insight that unite all three endeavours. 

Immediately upon arriving at CORD (Chinmaya Organization for Rural Development), and before meeting with Dr. Metre, we  sat down and watched a short video that not only articulated the organization’s purpose, but its heart and the incredible, yet difficult endeavors that stem from it. CORD aims to empower the people that have been traditionally tossed aside (typically women, children, the differently abled, and the impoverished), and aims to give them tools to gain not only financial stability, but also a community that cares and empowers them. CORDs goal is not to create an environment that people must rely on, but teach them how to live on their own, and feel comfortable doing so. 

The first question we asked Dr. Metre was her point of view on the concept of “shunyata,” a Buddhist concept of detachment and emptiness that we decided to name, and model our trip after. As Dr. Metre is Hindu, she compared it to the Sanskrit  word “Satchitananda,” which is a concept about the importance of “conscious blissfulness,” with particular importance on the discovery of the true self.

Dr Metre also described the concept of Satchitananda as finding “the light of the absolute truth.”  We all carry our darknesses and our struggles, something that Dr. Metre explained tends to drive people towards greater suffering, if not understood, or accepted. She explained that we can achieve this by becoming the observer of our own thoughts, and actions. Instead of solely identifying with our own opinions and experiences, we should attempt to simply observe, and not over attach. By doing this, we learn how to act with discernment, and to understand the personal ways in which we require improvement. 

Interconnectedness is a huge aspect of Shunyata, a lesson that was not absent in our interview with Dr. Metre. She spoke about how deeply we affect one another, even if we are not aware we are doing so.  It does not matter the actions or words we share with other people, but the way we make them feel, because in the end, that is what they remember. When asked how she handles people who have opposing opinions, she explained how incredibly important it is that one does not rely entirely on their own point of view to perceive a situation.  We should instead ask questions and interact with other people to understand the world better.    

Other concepts brought up in our interview was her perspective on dharma, a spiritual discipline; karma, the lessons, and experiences we must go through to grow in life; and sadhana, a daily spiritual practice such as prayer, meditation, or yoga. Avoiding, or fighting your karma tends to cause suffering, so the attitude in which we react to suffering is incredibly important. For, as Dr. Metre puts it “I struggle, but I don’t suffer”. Struggling, and suffering are not synonymous experiences, though they may become a by-product of one another. If we reject our struggles with bitterness, we are more likely to suffer. 

We had planned many questions surrounding the nature of her work at CORD, and her worldly perspectives, but ended up leaving with a renewed view on life itself. Dr. Metre is an example of someone who had dedicated themselves to not only creating a better world outside of her, but within as well. She taught us many lessons on the importance of respect, presence, perseverance, and the power of absolute authenticity. 

Yesterday we met with Dr Metre, a beautiful woman whose point of view on emptiness, gender, and the magic of the truest self changed both the point of view, and mood of my classmates completely.

We came to Dr Metres office late in the afternoon, after a day of hiking, and exploring the natural beauty of Dharamshala. We had done research on Dr Metre for a few months prior to our interview, and had crafted questions we hoped would allow us to get a deeper sense of who she is as a person. However, we would soon find out that her answers to these questions would teach us less so about her truest self, but our own. Mount Madonna has done interviews with Dr Metre four times, and we learned of her affectionate nature. Because of these accounts, we were all fairly excited to meet her, though we were not entirely sure of what to expect. 

Upon arriving at Dr. Metres’ office, we were immediately welcomed by CORD employees, who offered us tea and water. Before meeting Dr Metre, we showed a documentary on her life’s work, from the story of one woman. It told of how the woman was kicked out of her house by her husband, and was left without anywhere to go with her and her three children. She stayed at her brother’s house, though soon had to leave because her sister in law broke her baby’s leg. The story was tragic, but not entirely uncommon. Many women at CORD have similar stories, women and children from rural communities with nowhere to go. However, at CORD we learned off all of the ways that CORD cares for these women, and gives them a new life. They care for children, and give them an education, and given the men and women a new chance at life.