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| Reflections… | Volume: 1 Issue: 1 |
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Spread over 25 acres of landscaped gardens, the architecture and interiors are a seamless confluence of traditional and the modern styles.
Here is what our guests have to say: I will try to come every time I need to spend a weekend at Bangalore. It’s just so great here. Special thanks for promoting a healthy life style, yoga, meditation, lack of alcohol and noisy music. When you come here you feel the difference from other places especially with this regard. Serene, A decaff café for the soul |
Living the Wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita Pawan Malik Gita means “song” and Bhagavad means “Divine”. So the Bhagavad Gita is simply the song of the Divine. Probably the most famous of Indian scriptures, it is presented as a dialog between Lord Krishna and the great warrior prince, Arjuna, on the eve of the epic Mahabharata war. The Bhagavad Gita is considered to be the distilled essence of the highest knowledge of reality contained within the Upanishads, the wisdom portion of the sacred Indian scriptures. The Bhagavad-Gita is preserved in the Mahabharata, and is arguably the jewel in the crown. While the date of the Mahabharata war is debated among scholars, tradition says it occurred five thousand years ago and that the great sage Vyasa put the Gita and the rest of the Mahabharata into written form. The main focus of the Mahabharata involves courtly intrigue, all centering on an important political family of the time. This family consisted of the Kauravas and the Pandavas, two groups of feuding cousins. King Dhritarastra, the father of the Kauravas, was congenitally blind. Thus, the throne that would have been his was instead given to his younger brother Pandu, father of the Pandavas. Dhritarashtra resented Pandu for this and never quite got over this disappointment. After Pandu’s early death, Dhritarashtra received at his court Pandu’s five sons-Yudhisthira, Arjuna, Bhima, Nakula, and Sahadev and out of duty, raised them with his own children. Even when the Kauravas and the Pandavas were young boys, rivalry |
Coming Workshop… THE ART OF JOYFUL RELATIONSHIPS August 31st – Sep 2nd 2007 “Loving relationships are the path and the goal of Yoga; and lasting love requires unusual clarity. The purpose of any relationship is to learn, grow, evolve and mature as human beings. It is Self -understanding, Self discovery and Self mastery that will allow us to respond to all situations with right knowledge, right emotions and right action” Workshop Objectives Lead faculty Lectures modules would be backed up with Case discussions and Yoga sessions (Yogasana, Pranayama, pre-meditation and Chanting). These would enable internalization of the subtle truths being shared in the lectures. Workshop details are provided in this newsletter.
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New at… Shreyas Website > Introduction of Live “chat window” in Shreyas website: www.shreyasretreat.com Shreyas Campus |
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| (Continued from Page 1 column 2) grew between them. The Kauravas were devious and the Pandavas virtuous. As they grew older, the Kauravas used their military might for selfish purposes while the Pandavas were greatly loved and spiritually-minded political leaders. Still, Dhritarastra naturally favoured his own boys, even though it was clear that the Pandavas were better equipped to rule the kingdom. Dhritarashtra’s blindness signifies ignorance and inability to see right from wrong due to attachments to his own kin. The sons of Pandu were eventually given territory of their own, where they erected a great city, Indaprastha (modern day Delhi). However, Duryodhana, the eldest son of Dhritarashtra and leader of the Kauravas, was jealous and plotted to take the territory of the Pandavas by dubious means. He “arranged” a game of dice in which the eldest son of Pandu, Yudhishthira, was sure to lose. The plot succeeded, Yudhisthira lost his kingdom, and the Pandavas were sent into exile for thirteen years. As true Kshatriyas (noble warriors) of their day, the Pandavas honoured their (albeit rigged) defeat and entered the forest for the allotted time of their prescribed exile. Their understanding was that they would regain their kingdom when the exile came to an end. However, after the thirteen years, Duryodhana still denied them the kingdom that was rightfully theirs. They then asked for five small villages, because, as Kshatriyas, it was their inclination and duty to rule. Duryodhana, however, was cruel. He denied them any consideration, boasting that they “would not be able to stick a pin into the amount of land that he would give them.” After protracted attempts at peaceful diplomacy had failed, the |
two sides prepared for the ultimate battle to the finish. The war forced everyone to take sides, and as so often happens; it pitted friend against friend, family against family, disciples against masters etc. It is important to note that although peace was preferred by the Pandavas, and the Mahabharata makes careful record of this, war was unavoidable. Lord Krishna, known by the cousins as God incarnate, was acting as the leader of the Yadavas from Dwaraka, a magnificent city on India’s western coast. He offered Himself and His entire army to the cause of the upcoming battle. But both parties would have to choose one or the other. Krishna stipulated that He would do no battle; the side that chose Him would have to be content with his moral support. He would also act as a charioteer. The opposing side would have His nearly endless group of warriors, all highly trained. Materialistic Duryodhana quickly chose the armed battalions. The righteous Arjuna, on the other hand, asked for Krishna alone, confident that God’s grace is more significant than all material inheritance. Krishna, in letting the two sides choose Him or His army; shows that God is unbiased; if one turns to Him, to whatever degree, He reciprocates accordingly. Thus, with Krishna as Arjuna’s charioteer, the Bhagavad-Gita
begins. It is interesting to note that even though Krishna
is a divine incarnate, he happily plays the role of a mere charioteer
to Arjuna indicating that no task should be considered below our
dignity. Pawan |
According to the Indian Spiritual tradition, in order to realise Ananda, we must discover our true nature, which is essentially divine. This divinity is more commonly referred to as the Inner or Spiritual Self, God, Nirvana, the Holy Spirit, the Power and Pure Consciousness etc. The term Spirituality is often misunderstood and misconstrued as meaning organized religion. However, all of spirituality is about re-uniting with our divine Inner Self, a Self that exists, always has existed and always will; in the core of our heart. The ultimate purpose or ultimate goal of our human lives is the unfolding of this latent divinity within us. This requires that we commit ourselves to nothing less than self-transformation and self-transcendence. Although our true nature always remains the same, it tends to be obscured by our conventional thoughts, emotions and patterns of behavior. In order to see behind this veil, we have to understand, harness and subsequently, purify our physical, mental and emotional energies and discover our true divine nature. When this realization dawns, we will be able to live in this world, in peace, harmony and happiness. On a more practical level, Yoga allows us to deal with our day to day living more effectively as it provides us with strength, flexibility and balance on a physical level and calmness, clarity of thought and the ability to withstand greater stress, on an emotional level. Yoga extols us to accept the good and bad that life throws at us with sense of poise and equanimity. It encourages us to perform the unpleasant and difficult tasks with the same sense of purpose, commitment and joy as the pleasant tasks. At Shreyas, we practice Yoga as a gamut of spiritual principles
and processes that allows us to break this veil of ignorance of
our true Self. |
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Food served at Shreyas is always light and fresh. In this issue, we are sharing two recipes, a juice to beat the heat and a nutritious salad, which are popular amongst our guests and are very easy to make. Tangy Mango Juice
Ingredients
Method Tips |
Ingredients To be mixed for the dressing Method Guest Comments “Shreyas has a perfect blend of Yoga, Chanting & Organic food, not to forget the Massages, Pool, Steam room & the wonderful gardens.“ “The staff show the calmness that a Yogic lifestyle can bring... and this inspires you even further.” “To sum Shreyas up, I would say simple luxury with wonderful
people. God has a hand in every garden on earth. He worked over time
on this one. Shreyas is a magical setting. |
Benefits of regular Yoga Practice 1. All the internal organs get a massage whereby their efficiency improves. 2. Improves respiration and general vitality of the body. 3. Induces calmness of mind by regulating the flow of Prana in the body. 4. Helps to remove congestion or blockage of the Nadis and thereby allows free flow of Prana. 5. The whole body is nourished with an extra supply of oxygen. This purifies the blood system and increases the overall health of the body, including resistance to diseases. 6. The deep, slow breathing encourages the
removal of stagnant air and impurities from
the lungs. |
| THE
ART OF JOYFUL RELATIONSHIPS Learn. Understand. Introspect. Implement. Succeed |
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“Loving relationships are the path and the goal of Yoga; and lasting love requires unusual clarity. The purpose of any relationship is to learn, grow, evolve and mature as human beings. It is Self -understanding, Self discovery and Self mastery that will allow us to respond to all situations with right knowledge, right emotions and right action” Until we understand our Self, our doubts and insecurities will never allow our relationships to flower. We will continue to evaluate the success of a relationship with what we got out of it, instead of what we learned from it. We will continue to blame others for our disappointments, rather than question the irrational expectation we placed upon an “other” to make me happy. We will continue to avoid difficult conversations and conflicts instead of approaching them with compassion and understanding. In other words, we will continue to see our selves as separate individuals competing for happiness with the world, instead of a Unity bound together in a world of apparent diversity - Already joyful, already complete. Without journeying through doubt, faith will not become stronger. Without experiencing suffering, happiness will not be appreciated. Life must be experienced and every living moment has to be cherished. All apparent inequities and difficulties must be viewed as a means to grow and to understand that there is a core within us all; something that remains unaffected by pleasure or pain, life or death. Every conflict must be confronted, every drama must be experienced – only then will we grow. Embrace life and never worry. Live life in its totality and accept whatever it brings to us. Not only accept your experiences, but rejoice in them as they give you an opportunity to grow and learn. In August, join us for a retreat that looks to the Indian spiritual tradition to provide answers on how to achieve fulfilment in our relationship with the Self and the other. For thousands of years, retreats have been a crucial part of yogic life. Whether in mountain caves or lush forests, seekers striving to free their minds recognized the importance of renouncing the worldly life, temporarily or permanently, in order to concentrate more fully on meditative practices. Although there are still lone ascetics and communities of monks, today most practitioners of yoga choose to remain in the world. As lay practitioners, we are blending the insights and openings we garner from these paths with the numerous responsibilities of a life that includes business and family. We live in a fast-paced digital era, but there is still no better way for devoted practitioners to encourage spiritual unfolding than to relinquish busy schedules and practical concerns and go on retreat. Whether we go for three days or three months, these periods of uninterrupted practice and quiet reflection allow us to melt away the distraction of compulsive busyness. On retreat, we give ourselves (and everyone else)
the gift of stripping away the mind's obsessions and revealing our
true nature. |
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| Investment:
3 Days Stay (arrival Friday afternoon – departure Sunday afternoon) For more information kindly contact us at reservations@shreyasretreat.com |
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