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!
No comments:
Post a Comment