It was a five days programme from 10-14 June, 2022 conducted by Ms. Vandna, Meditation Leader from Shimla and guided by Swami Sri Krishnananda ji. The Retreat was attended by 27 devotees from HP, Punjab,Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh,UP and J &K.
The programme included, every day in the morning before meditation programme, Gita recitation of one selected chapter followed by reading of Guru ji’s translation in English from GTWA.
During the first four days, in the forenoon, selected chapters in English from Autobiography of a Yogi were read out in the group along with an Audio CD for an hour. After a break of 15 minutes, the same method was followed by group reading of selected chapters of Autobiography in Hindi. Devotees were following in their own books along with audio CD.
In the post lunch session on the first day, participants attempted a set of questions from the chapters read out in the morning.
On subsequent three days, from 2.15 to 2.30PM, they matched their answers to the questions from the previous day read out chapters while the answer sheet was read out by the meditation leader. This was like a self evaluation by the participants.
From 2.30 to 4.00PM, they attempted a questionnaire from the chapters read out in the morning on the same day.
The following Chapters of the Autobiography were covered during the first four days of the programme:
First day: Chapters 1, 2, 5(English); 9, and 10 (Hindi)
Second day: Chapter 11, 12 half (English); 12 remaining half and 13 (Hindi)
Third day: Chapters 14, 15 (English); 22, 33, 34(Hindi)
Fourth day: Chapters 35, 36 (English); 42 and 49 (Hindi)
Thus, 4-5 chapters were covered each day.
On The fifth day, from 10.00 to 10.30 AM, participants matched their answers of the questions of previous day read out chapters. This was followed by a closing satsanga and distribution of Prasad by Swami ji. During his closing satsanga, Swami ji emphasized on the significance of surrendering to God in our sadhna.
Group meditation, individual meditation and energization exercises were done routinely on all the days. Daily Video show or Bhajan session after the dinner made the programme all the more enjoyable.
Some of the feedbacks received are as follows:
- Entire programme was excellent….Execution of the programme under Swami ji’s supervision was praiseworthy. SK Singh.Lucknow, UP
- It was a well organized programme..Learnt many things about Guru ji…Rooms were comfortable….a homely environment…Ashish Gautam, Kangra, HP
- The programme was well organized. Came to know about different aspects of Guru ji’s life…Rooms were comfortable..Dr. Rama Sharma, Dharashala, HP
- The programme was excellent. Had it been conducted by a monk, it would have been much better…excellent facilities…Sanjeev Sharma,Delhi
- Excellent programme. The retreat has helped me to dive deep into this book to collect pearls of divine wisdom…excellent arrangement…Naresh Jand, UP
- The programme is well thought out and planned to enable us to revise the spiritual teachings of Guru Ji…R. R Varma, Shimla, HP
- For the first time I was able to read Autobiography book for so long .I felt inspired. Question answer session helped me understanding in a better way the message of Guruji…More comfortable and homely stay at Retreat…..Deepak Malhotra, Patiala, Punjab
- Very well organized..Enjoyed each session… Meditation Leader was great.. Swami ji gave the message of unconditional love and devotion to God. ..We must surrender to God and Guru ji….Prerna Bhardwaj, Kangra, HP
- It was an excellent experience..Truly enlightening and educative…Sumant,Gurgram, Haryana.
- Certain questions were bothering me when I came to Anand Shikhar. In a miraculous way, I got the answers to all my questions from devotees and Swami ji during my stay here….Excellent facilities….Manju Rani, Panchkula, Haryana
