Susan's Reflection

"The Seattle retreat was wonderful in every way!  Mantra, Tantra and Yantra were explained in wonderful detail with Babaji's inimitable style accompanied by his usual array of AMAZING charts to facilitate deeper understanding.  

The location was charming and everything was well organized, comfortable, and divine, along with wonderful, erudite and sweet spiritual companions/seekers, good food and lots of cozy places to relax and further study and ponder all the deep, thought provoking teaching and transmissions given by Babaji on this most lovely of retreats.  Many thanks!"

Student Notebook:

Tantra Mantra & Yantra
Held in Seattle – March of Spring, 2011

[Babaji launched this Tantra retreat with a devotional song to the Divine Mother: "Devi Duhkha Harini Tarini," a song in praise of the Mother who saves Her spiritual children from suffering.  The word Tantra itself means "that which saves."  Mother saves us through right knowledge, wisdom, devotion and the will to do spiritual practices -- all of which are embodied in the sacred scriptures and the darshanas that stream from them.  The song further states that Mother is the Purveyor of the Agamas and the Nigamas, meaning that She is the Wisdom and its transmission in both the Tantric and Vedic paths. This was a poignant beginning to our retreat.

Babaji began with an orientation on salient points of the Vedic perspective followed by the more Tantric perspective.  These two paths have been running side by side for millennia and therefore also share some things in common.  For both Nigama and Agama the goal is nondual Realization. The following are some notes from a student's notebook.  They are not intended to represent the entire retreat, but the more coherent portions of said notebook.]