Pocono Mountains Retreat

Life was not really great. Atleast, i thought so in the first week of July. I even thought that i will not make it to the retreat. But then , there was this little enthusiasm left in my mind which said - No, we have to give it a try. May be - that might give a soothing effect.

Yes, i built up on that enthusiasm and i drove for the retreat. Incidentally, this is my first long drive too from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania. And Yes, Yes, Yes - the retreat did not just soothe my mind, but it changed my thought process altogether. I just thought i would share and in a way relive the retreat memories.

I drove to New Jersey with 2 friends, stayed in their friend's apartment, woke up and started driving to Pocono Mountains.
My GPS was supposed to help me out. And, it tried its best to take me to the road that leads to Sterling Inn wherein the retreat was scheduled to happen. God willing, i reached the inn.


Retreat - Day 1
It was 10:30 AM EST on Friday, the 3rd of July 2009. I just settled myself in 'Hilltop'(the place of my accommodation). And the retreat started with Bhajans and Keerthans. The environment was so peaceful. It was really nice to have lost touch with the outside world. Thanks for not getting my cell phone. It was really wonderful to see a whole lot of people, especially talking to elderly people. They had fun on me, sharing their experiences, giving their opinions. It was fun really talking to many people. Atleast in this nation - we do not really have a chance to speak with people unless they are in the same project as yours or you work for the same company.

Lunch was served and i tried helping people out with a little i could do. Afternoon session started with Swamiji Shri Mukundananda's discourse. I really loved all his discourses. Simple and powerful.We had a couple of more Bhajans, parikrama and had Yoga, meditation sessions. I enjoyed the walk with Swamiji and the entire team towards the water falls. There was not any waterfall that we could see but i cracked a little joke that atleast good that no one 'falls' although we could not see the water 'fall'. In fact, even the water did not 'fall' down. Good for water too :)

I was really spellbound by the volunteers. As Swamiji mentioned, they spent a whole lot of time - organizing kids events and other arrangements missing all the bhajans, discourses. Hopefully - i believe they get to hear the discourses from the video casettes. Yet, their sacrifice is something great. Friday evening went quite well. We all had an early dinner - close to 07:15 PM. I could hear people telling they have not had their dinner this early. Of course, in this modern era - we are not used to. But it was a different experience. Having an early dinner gives ample time for digestion. There was another bhajan/Keerthan session after dinner. I went to bed close to 10:30 PM. Alarm was set for 05:00 AM

Retreat - Day 2

Alarm was prompt. It never oversleeps. Surprisingly, I did not too. Took a good bath and i wanted to make sure that i was not late to the yoga/meditation session. I really loved and love them. Hopefully, will love them a lot more. The subtle body relaxation was really awesome. The breakfast was pretty good. During the food and tea breaks - i had a good time listening to the experiences of various fellow devotees who have been following Shri Kripalu ji Maharaj for quite some years. I love talking and listening to a lot of people. And this retreat was like a retreat's retreat. I was enjoying Swamiji's discourses, bhajans and keerthans during the various sessions while listening, talking to people during the breaks.

There was this Bhajan singing competition. Unfortunately, i do not understand hindi, sanskrit. More over, i do not know any Bhajans. But, it was really good to see a lot of people coming out and singing the bhajans. Although i do not know pujabi, gujarati, malayalam, sanskrit - i could feel the essence of all those bhajans - especially the love towards god. I really appreciate them all. Swamiji told that the winner would get a free entry pass for the Dallas retreat. But, i did not know who won the bhajan competition. Hopefully, i meet the winner in the Dallas retreat.

Lunch and dinner were pretty good. I kept asking questions to Swamiji as and when i get a chance. After dinner, the video lecture(discourse) of Kripaluji Maharaj was shown in a projector. Listening to his words, although i do not understand Hindi - i felt some kind of a vibration in my soul and i was moved to tears. Tears kept rolling in my cheeks. I was so happy that God brought this lamb wandering outside in to a herd. Following the discourse, with everyone interested - we all requested Swamiji to have an extended Bhajan session which raised the spiritual fire in all our minds. The day ended with a little dance bhajan which i enjoyed the most. As the clock ticked 11 PM EST, i went to bed. Alarm set for 05:15 AM EST

Retreat - Day 3

Alarm was prompt once again :) I woke up too and headed to the yoga session after bath. I was late by few minutes today. I enjoyed the yoga,meditation session just like Saturday. We had a little bhajan session. After the break fast, we had the final discourse of the retreat from Swamiji with which the camp ended with a beautiful aarati ceremony and exchange of phone numbers, byes, take cares.

These days
But, i really did not find it easy to leave the place. I miss all those Radhey Radhey wishes. As Swamiji mentioned, i am trying to follow Satsang for few minutes every day. I am also following Kripalu Yog's work book.

I would not say that the retreat transformed me to a different human, But, i some how felt that there is an answer to all my questions in this spiritual realm and to thereby keeping myself focussed. I pray God to help every child of his to realize him just as he showered his little blessing on me. Jai Jai Shree Radhey!. In the posts to come, i would share few little information that i understood and learnt from the retreat and Swamiji's disclosure(s), video lectures, interview excerpts, other literature. Overall - it was a different experience. God willing - i would love to be a part of the Dallas retreat program. Jai Jai Shree Radhey Radhey!

Stress Awareness

Stresssssss....

Oh my God. What am i doing? I am stressing the word "STRESS". Yes. Stress has become one of the most commonly heard words these days, when People talk. I am stressed out, man. I am feeling the stress. Oh my god, this stress is killing me, the list goes on... And then, I notice this article which is short and sweet. Why don't you give it a read? Thanks to the author Dr. Kathleen Hall.

http://www.intent.com/blog/2009/04/03/know-yourself

Take Care. Have Fun. Smile a lot. God Bless!!!

My Intent is keep building Positive Energy

My Intent!!!

Woww. What a good website wherein People keep sharing lots of thoughts. I am talking about intent.com. I just registered in the website. Let me post my first blog in intent about my intent. :)

Hello Friends - It is a great pleasure to join the intent family and share my little thoughts and learn much more from other's intents.

In this very first post, i would like to share few things i learnt about building postivie energy. Positive Energy is something that makes us glow. Oh, Yes... That makes us feel happy, enthusisastic, inspire us to do a whole lot of things and help us stay calm, composed with inner peace. And, i strongly believe that we may not feel high on all the days and on all occassions. Of Course. What do we do then? Saving is the best policy - Not just for money. Keep Saving. Saving little money always helps us later when we need it. In a similar fashion, saving this positive energy, having a lot of residual energy in us would definitely help in that day when events try to keep us low. This positive energy that we acquire today would save us then. It would not let us go down easily. This positive energy would serve as our best companion and would help us fight back to the top and keep us unaffected by all the other non-positive stuff. So, Keep thinking positive. When you feel positive, try to be more cheerful, inspire others, gain more positive energy, acquire more, multiply it and more importantly, save it in your mind. Remember - There is always a rainy day and we are all human. And it rains often these days :). So, let us keep acquiring positive energy, build an aura around ourselves. Together we win!!!

Have Fun. Smile a lot. Take Care. God bless!

And i received 2 comments, few moments after posted this. People keep encouraging you and i have started building positive energy. :)

Thank You 2009 for joining us!

Back to the world of blogs, after a long while which is usual again. It was a busy 2008 and the business('busy'ness) continues in 2009 as well. :). Okay. Not more from me this time. I have decided to post all the good emails that inspire me, in this blog so that i could jump in when i am in need of lifting my spirits higher. You could do that as well visiting this blog. No Entry Fee! :P Having said all these, I should also tell - "Wishing you all a very happy new year 2009". There you go....

Thanks to Senthil Kumaran and Kanna for this forward email

Broken Finger

A man once went to see a doctor complaining of aches and pains all over his body. "Doctor my whole body hurts me," he moaned. The doctor asked him to show exactly where the pain was.

The man explained, "When I touch my shoulder, it hurts. When I touch my back it hurts. When I touch my legs, they hurt."

The doctor did a thorough examination and told the man- "Sir, there is nothing wrong with your body. Your finger is broken. That is why it hurts wherever you touch. Get your finger plastered, rest it for a couple of weeks and all of your pains will disappear."!!

Looks like a Joke? Read on....

SPIRITUAL COMMENTARY:

In life so frequently it is our own perspective that causes us pain or pleasure. As we go through life "feeling" the world with our fingers, if our finger is broken naturally we will experience pain everywhere.

But, we make the mistake of blaming the external world for our ailments: "My job is over-taxing, my husband is too demanding, my wife nags, my children are disobedient, my in-laws don't understand me, etc. etc."

But if you look throughout the world you will be able to find someone who has the same type of job, but is calm, or someone who has the same type of spouse but is happy, or someone who has the same type of children but is patient, or someone who has the same type of in-laws but is grateful.

What is it that allows 2 people to experience the same external situation but respond in 2 different ways?

Our own perspective… Our own perception…The key, then, is not to try to change every situation in our life, but rather to change the glasses through which we see the world.

Sure, if we have a fixable situation at the office or at home, we should definitely do our best to improve it. But, what we have observed is that if someone has the nature to be dissatisfied, or the nature to be stressed, or the nature to be pained, that person's nature is not going to change simply by changing the external situation.

A massage for the back or shoulder or legs would not help the man in our earlier example because it is his finger which is broken. He could spend hundreds of dollars to ease the pain in his body, but unless he puts his broken finger in a splint, he will continue to experience pain every time that finger touches the various parts of his body.

Similarly, we run around through life trying to "fix" our jobs or marriages or family life, but frequently the reality is in our own perspective. If we spend the same amount of energy "fixing" our perspective as we spend trying to "fix" our spouse or children, everything would be fine. This is not to say that pains and troubles don't really exist in our day to day life. Of course they do. The man in our example may also have a stiff back or sore shoulders. But the excruciating pain he experienced was due not to the minor aches and pains in his body, but due to the severely broken finger with which he was touching them.

Similarly, our jobs and our families are taxing. They demand a lot of us. But the unbearable pain many of us experience is due not to the demands and commands from without, but due to the demands and commands from within ourselves.

In the holy book, it is said that we are our best friend and also our own worst enemy, depending upon how we live our lives.

In this New Year, let us all take some time to examine what our own personal "broken finger" is. What is it within ourselves that causes us to experience pain in the world? What irrational fear, what unattainable desire, what selfish motive, what ego-driven need has broken the finger with which we feel the world or has colored the glasses with which we see? We spend so much time examining others, but very little time examining our own selves. The Source of all joy and peace lies within us. We are blocked from that Source by a host of desires, fears and ignorance. The key to finding and tapping into that Source must come from within.

Let us find the key within ourselves and unleash the Ocean of Divine Bliss in our lives!!