Spiritual Director’s Message
Subject: Spiritual Retreats for 2010/2011
Directive: Attendance for the highest good of all living beings
Dear SRV friends, supporters, newcomers, and followers,
For this issue of Mundamala I would like to write about the topic of spiritual retreat, especially in line with what is available to us in the near future.
As my present life reaches into its sixth decade, I am more than ever searching for and finding those pertinent teachings which apply so directly to the peace of mind of the people of this day and time, particularly those who are sincerely seeking for the keys to spiritual life and its salubrious aims and ends. However, caught up solely in the perilous press of work and duty, and as yet devoid of knowledge of the laws of Karma Yoga and the real significance of work, humanity overlooks the import of the art of spiritual retreat and thus forgoes these important opportunities for spiritual advancement. Even among the already committed devotees who do sadhana at home, there is the tendency to perform the prescribed practices in a random and limited way, verily sidestepping the need for expansion and intensification.
In today’s work-a-day world, then, there is therefore a great need for attending retreats which focus on authentic and quality teachings and principles, and which present to us definitive solutions for problems which arise in both daily life and ongoing spiritual practice — all in the rarefied atmosphere of guru, dharma, and sangha. As one of the great devotional songs of India states, a heartfelt hymn which Jai Ma Music will offer at the forthcoming retreat in Ashland on the commencement of Navaratri (Durga Puja):
O my lazy mind, clearly you do not know how to farm.
You allow your own fertile expanse to lie fallow.
Under proper cultivation, the land of awareness becomes golden with the harvest of illumination.
Sow seeds with every breath.
Protect the precious field of your soul with the fiery fence of Mother Kali’s name,
so that the fruit of your dedicated effort will not be stolen by the egocentric world………
What more to say than this, except that we heed and follow Ramprasad’s sage counsel — for our own highest good.
I have conceived of and planned several retreats for 2011:
1) The subjects of Yantra, Mantra, and Tantra will occupy us at the Seattle retreat in March.
2) The always pellucid message of the Upanisads will inform us at the Seminar in Portland at the SRV ashrama in May.
3) As usual, our summer retreat on the American River in July will be filled with teachings pertinent to the wisdom traditions held by the wise Gurus.
4) And finally, and for the first time in SRV history, the scripture called The Panchadasi will be condensed and transmitted in our October retreat a year from now at Hidden Lake Retreat Center.
In the meantime, and for the duration of 2010, we have the retreat in Ashland, Oregon at Buckhorn Springs coming up on October 7th, the rare subject being Kundalini Yoga. And happily, a retreat in Hawaii has been planned for mid-December wherein the subject of Sankhya Yoga of Kapila will be studied.
Personally, I concentrate deeply and plan widely every day of my life in order to provide this most unique of services and offerings to humanity in this modern time. The more often that we attend such specialized events, the more we will comprehend. This comprehension, when accompanied by clarification in a comparatively austere and intense atmosphere, is what we need in order that all delusion and deception die in us and true spiritual awakening occur. The rest is only a manifestation of the bliss of Brahman via its sportive play as the Atman — a manifestation which should always be ours, never be lost, overlooked, or forgotten.
Peace, Peace, Peace,
Babaji Bob Kindler
Spiritual Director
SRV Associations
September, 2010