Divine Connect – A Retreat Way
Dr. Virendra Sobti
New Delhi
November’19
Hari Aum!
Retreat 9th to 12th November
Text- Sree Dakshinamurty Stotram by HH Maa Purnananda Ji
My humble prostrations to Guru Shishya Parampara, Sashtang Pranaams to HH Maa Purnananda Ji, and heartfelt gratitude to Manishji for organizing this divine & dynamic Retreat. Am thankful to all the staff members of SISS & particularly staff in the kitchen, who worked day in & day out to ensure comfort & convenience for all devotees. Special thanks to all those including the team of Bhatt ji who made Maha Abhishekam ceremony a memorable experience through their divine chants.
To me this opportunity came as a blessing in disguise when I was struggling to redefine certain aspects of my life and seeking special blessings & guidance from Maa ji to evolve a vision beyond prevailing circumstances. The decision of joining the Retreat itself filled me with inspiring thoughts and the event guided my imagination to see the actual purpose of my life rising above the routines of just revolving around petty gratifications & emotional entanglements.
This was my first Retreat at SISS in spite of being blessed with the close association of Maa Ji since long. It seems my prarabdha was not ripe enough till date to enjoy such a heavenly dose of divine bliss. But now my prayers will seek His grace so that I can attend each and every Retreat and program at SISS. This experience and Maa Ji’s blessings gave me some special insights to commit myself for the real purpose of my human birth. Prostrations at the Guru Shishya prampara for such insights which are only possible for those dedicated to this tradition.
Maa Ji’s roar of Vedantic truths right from the first morning class woke us up from our deep slumber of Tamas and pushed us into a vigorous routine of three classes a day, along with Aartis, Satsang, bhajan sandhya, as a concluding session in the divine atmosphere of SISS’s Brahma Udyaan filled with many fruit trees which are blossoming in the divine atmosphere and spreading nectar all around.
Each class was a special vehicle to lift us high above on different planes of higher consciousness through such an important and a difficult text Sree Dakshinamurty Stotram , which Maa Ji agreed to explain for the benefit of us all in her unique compassionate style which ingrains subtlest and significant meaning even in dumb seekers like me. Chanting of Shlokas, repeating them with right meter after Maa Ji and remaining vigilant to subtle meanings being explained by HH Maa Purnananda Ji glided us into heights of divine atmosphere .
For four days it was divinity all around and divinity being roused from within by each verse of Sree Dakshinamurty Stotram taught by Maa Ji with such love and compassion, of course interspersed by her usual dose of strict disciplining words like a true Guru to keep us awake to our divine Self throughout.
The most surprising but interesting episode was pre-ponement of presentation of individually allotted six shlokas of Sreemad Bhagawad Geeta to narrate their imports as learnt through Maa Ji’s various discourses. We enjoyed the thrill & presentations by all devotees.
We had very inspired groups of seekers from Dubai, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Aurangabad, NCR.. All were very dedicated to learn and they contributed to make the retreat a very rejuvenating experience by their sewa soaked with love and lively discussions.
Every activity by each individual be it service at the Temple, decoration of Sadguru Sharanam with flowers, management of book shop or managing the dining area & serving meals with love and respect clearly showed transformational aspect of Maa Ji’s teachings on every one.
Perfection visible in all arrangements of retreat clearly reflected devotion and immaculate management skills of Manish Ji, and all others who were involved in making this retreat a big success. Since my total identification with body keeps me in love with tasty food, I must mention that all Prasad meals and Mahaprasad on Maha Abhishekam day was nothing less than blissful experience. My heartfelt gratitude to the Lord for such a Divine experience.
Warm Regards