Chinmaya Vanaprastha Sansthan’s Spiritual Retreat At Haridwar CVS organized a spiritual retreat at Mohyal Ashram in the lap of Mother Ganga at Haridwar from 21 st to 27 th April 2017. Swami Prakarshananda graced as Chief Acharya. He was assisted by Mithilesh Sharmaji. Fifty-eight vanaprasthis benefitted from this golden opportunity to listen to and reflect on scriptural knowledge in such an enriching environment.
The camp was inaugurated on 21 st with the lighting of the lamp by Swamiji. Addressing the participants, he said that entry into the vanaprastha ashram signals the fact that it is time to switch over from pravritti to nivritti, to reduce actions and maximize upasana. Swamiji took up the study of Chapter 6 of Shrimad Bhagawad Geeta which expounds dhyana yoga. Two classes daily were earmarked for this, besides one early morning class for the practice of meditation. Mithileshji took an afternoon class every day for the study of Navdha Bhakti prasang from the Tulsi Ramayana. This is a renowned section of the Ramcharitmanas in which, through the medium of Maata Shabari, Bhagawan Sri Rama expounds the nine progressive steps of devotion for our benefit.
The early morning session started with chanting of Shanti Mantras, then instructions on the technique of meditation and finally a guided meditation session. This included adopting a witness-like attitude towards the thoughts coming to mind and meditation on ‘A-U- M’. Swamiji explained all the aspects of meditation as taught by Lord Krishna to Arjuna. He emphasized that each one of us must be responsible for our own upliftment; no one else can do this for us. Our attention was drawn to the prominent role played by abhyasa (practice) and vairagya (dispassion) in restraining the turbulent and unyielding mind.
Swamiji lucidly explained the life style that a vanaprasthi should adopt. This included the aspects of aahar, vihar, vichar and achar. Swamiji also introduced the concept of ‘Prime Time’-the first three hours after one wakes up in the early hours of the morning. He emphasised that this precious time must be devoted to nama japa of the Lord. Also, to expedite lifting one’s mind from the gross level to a subtler level, he advised the chanting of Gayatri Mantra 108 times.
Mithileshji delightfully and elaborately explained the nine steps of bhakti revealed by Lord Rama. Swamiji surprised everyone by conducting a ‘Cultural Programme’ wherein he introduced interesting games, incorporating quizzes on spiritual and patriotic themes. This generated lot of interest among the participants. The penultimate day was reserved for sightseeing, which covered a visit to the main temples at Kankhal and then, on to Rishikesh. We first visited Swami Sivananda Ashram and paid obeisance at His Samadhi. Thereafter we crossed Ganges and participated in the uplifting Ganga Arti conducted by Parmarth Ashram at every sunset.
On the last day of our stay, we had a dip in holy Ganga at Har Ki Pauri. Thereafter it was time for valediction, where some of the participants spoke about their experience of the camp. They admired Swamiji’s method and style of conducting the camp and appreciated Shri Khurana’s meticulous planning of this elevating spiritual retreat. The general atmosphere in the Ashram was upbeat and the food served and other services rendered were appreciated by one and all.