Retreat Reflection #1
by Blayne Chandler
This retreat, being my first interaction with the SRV Sangha, proved to be most beneficial — a deep dive into the universal tradition of Vedanta. Babaji surely emits the teachings of the Dharma with complete selflessness. With constant purity and compassion, and seeking only to qualify those aspirants who place themselves at his feet, Babaji encourages them to ‘focus inwardly’ in search for the Self, Atman, the Ultimate Truth that lies beyond the pairs of veiling opposites. For the better part of a week, a perfect array of sincere participants joined communally for intense, conscious access of Self-knowledge through the high ideals of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, Swami Vivekananda, and the pertinent teachings given by these Luminaries. This represented the most beneficial use of a human lifetime — to humbly seek and gracefully receive teachings on the Absolute Truth during our inward journey to Self. We were reminded that every soul is imbued with the flawless signature of Atman; that “Brahman” is permanently inscribed on each of us with endless names. Jai!
In the divine atmosphere of this retreat, a lifetime of personal inquiry gets actualized via simple but forgotten solutions, all resurrected in a setting of firm refinement and self-guidance. The realizations gleaned there opened my understanding around the endless cycles and false appearances of maya, as well as the beginnings, middles, and endings that continually accost the soul. Insights gained on retreat instill purity and intensity of knowledge, wiping away all traces of ignorance. The razored-edged spiritual path taught by the guru teaches renunciation of the unreal, and acceptance of the Real beyond separations. Consistently and quietly, it fortified in me all the subtle means leading to peaceful resilience through step by step practice. Specifically, the fullness of the process of dissolution of form, recognizing “emptiness,” and other teachings from the revealed scriptures spoken by the Sannyasins hit home — all ingeniously set up to propel a devoted intellectual inward and onward to the Goal. The adept removal of the sense of agency while on retreat also impressed this soul, compelling it solely towards complete immersion with That which it never actually left. The sheer and noble grace of an experienced Guru surely awakens one from the depths of ignorance and egotism, and from the interminable dream of birth and death. It establishes the soul in Peace. As the revealed scriptures state: “Beholding the Self alone in all circumstances, thinking of the Self, the One without a second, and enjoying the Bliss of the Self, pass thy time, O noble soul.”
Om Tat Sat Om