Recently Completed Retreats
Yoga and Wisdom – Awakening to Reality
September 15th – 17th, 2023
Yoga Vidya Center, Germany
Advaita Vedanta is a timeless living teaching tradition that explores the realities of oneself, the world, and the Sacred. In the hands of a proper teacher, ancient Sanskrit scripture becomes a powerful guided inquiry unfolding the non-dual reality underlying these three, and transforming the erroneous limiting notions I entertain about myself into a direct appreciation of my inherent non-separateness and wholeness. In these sessions we will also explore practices useful to prepare oneself in making this vision one’s living reality.
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For More Info in English, Click Here and Search the Page for “Advayatmananda”
Vision of the Ṛṣis: You Are Even Now What You Seek To Become
September 10th – 15th, 2023
Yoga Vidya Center, Germany
The spiritual journey finds its fulfillment in the exact place it begins – with you. The direct and immediate recognition of your inherent wholeness and freedom is the vision that the sages of ancient India ceaselessly celebrated. Their teachings will be unfolded through the presentation of a garland of profound selections from Sanskrit scriptures. This teaching is not abstract or theoretical, but is likened to an open-eyed meditation which leads to the direct recognition of this ever present fact – that I am even now what I seek to become. In this vision of the sages of ancient India struggle ceases, and one discovers one’s inherent fullness and natural source of joy.
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For More Info in English, Click Here and Search the Page for “Advayatmananda”
Seeking Resolution: The Resolution of Seeking
September 8th – 10th, 2023
Yoga Vidya Center, Germany
Every human being is a restless seeker, constantly struggling to find wholeness, joy, freedom from insecurity and unhappiness. We can’t help but seek because we find ourselves to be wanting, incomplete, and ever tossed about by the world, relationships, and our own minds and hearts. Yet we yearn to be free, to be home with ourselves and the world. Advaita Vedanta is a timeless living teaching tradition that explores the sources of these struggles and their resolution. The teachings of the sages of ancient India resolves all searching into the fullness of one’s true self. It is in this recognition that freedom, peace, and fullness are discovered, enabling me to meet life with joy, compassion, and purpose.
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For More Info in English, Click Here and Search the Page for “Advayatmananda”
Advaita-Pancha-Ratnam: Five Jewels on Non-Duality
November 24th – 27th, 2022
Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Saylorsburg PA
Please see below an excerpt from Arsha Sandesh, an online newsletter from Arsha Vidya Pitham, Saylorsburg PA:
Thanksgiving Retreat this year [2022] was conducted by Sw. Advayatmanandaji (San Diego) and the Gurukulam’s resident acharya Sw. Muktatmanandaji. Format of delivery was both in-person and virtual. The camp was well-attended and widely appreciated. Sw. Advayatmanandaji expounded on Advaita PañcaRatnam while Sw. Muktatmanandaji held classes on “Meditation on the Meditator” and also led meditation sessions during the retreat. Sw. Advayatmanandaji’s center’s website, www.arshadrishti.org contains details about all his talks and classes. A brief outline about the text of AdvaitaPañcaRatnam (also known as ĀtmaPañcakam) on www.arshadrishti.org: it is a short text attributed to Ādi Śaṅkarācārya that unfolds the vision of Vedānta through the succinct presentation of several key teachings:
• Ātma-anātma-viveka – the discriminative discernment between the self and non-self
• Adhyāsa – the nature of ignorance-born self-confusion
• Śabda-pramāṇa – the necessity of gaining knowledge from a teacher and the efficacy of language to remove self-ignorance
• Mithyā – the dubious reality of the experienced world
• Māyā – the creative power that manifests the world of multiplicity
The camp also included a vibrant youth program of chanting, yoga, and cultural enrichment, supervised by Br. Suryanarayana, Swamini Girijatmananda, Swamini Ramadhavananda, and other teachers. On the concluding day, the children presented a beautiful cultural program. A few photos from the program are included on the next page.
Thanksgiving in-person camp attendees Rajesh Balasubramanian and Banu Narayanaswamy of Lansdale, PA submitted the following write-up. I requested them to capture their retreat experience in their own words. They express the beautiful theme of ‘coming home,’ especially relevant in these post-pandemic times and during the holidays.
Shri Gurubhyo Namah!
To say that our experience was divine and transformational does only partial justice! Stimulated by a serene atmosphere and Sattvik food, the camp truly helped shift our thoughts from external happenings to gaining focus inward. The courses ‘Meditation on the Meditator’ and ‘Advaita Pancha Ratnam’ were very well designed. Swami Advayatmanandaji and Swami Muktatmanandaji imparted deep knowledge and expertly presented the subject with a touch of humor. Analogies were extremely relatable. The planned and impromptu satsangs were very valuable and we had the opportunity to discuss and share real-world scenarios and gain insight on how to handle situations life presents. Being in the midst of like-minded people was also very inspiring and encouraging. On the last of the camp, we had a sweet surprise where children entertained us by showcasing the values they learnt during the camp through music and enactment. It was priceless to watch little kids present what they learnt. We are truly humbled to have had the opportunity to take part in this camp. The camp helped us gain clarity and direction on our deepest desire which is to embark on our spiritual journey. At the conclusion of the camp, we realized that AVG is not our home away from home, but it is our home! We were homesick to leave Gurukulam even though we were headed back home.
