Sri Karunamayi Chakra Meditation Retreat,
October 18 - 29, 2005, Penusila Ashram
Amma welcomes retreat participants to Penusila Ashram
The 2005 Chakra Cleansing Meditation Retreat was held at our beloved Amma’s Penusila Ashram, the Manidweepa Mahasamsthanam, and began just a few days after the conclusion of the Navaratri Mahotsava, celebrations. This year’s meditation retreat would see the largest number of participants to date, as over 125 devotees from around the world, some from as far away as South America, were in attendance. The ashram’s spiritually charged atmosphere and idyllic setting once again provided the perfect surroundings for deepening everyone’s sadhana.
The two weeks of the retreat were interspersed with wonderful cooking classes by our beloved Mother, a trip to a nearby waterfall in the forest, and meeting with Sri Karunamayi Vidyalaya students, hospital patients and Annapurnamma Old Age Home residents who visited the ashram. On occasion, heavy rains visited the ashram during the retreat. It was inspiring to see the dedication of all the retreat participants, who undaunted by the wet weather, eagerly made their way to each session of Amma’s beautiful retreat program.
Amma blesses the retreat participants with precious teachings.
At the beginning of the retreat, during deeksha, Amma blessed each and every participant with more inner silence, a precious blessing from the Divine Mother to ensure spiritual progress. Amma also imparted knowledge of various mudras to be practiced before meditation. Amma explained that this would help relax our mind and body and allow everyone to go inward.
Amma’s divine discourse during the two weeks of the retreat was replete with the highest vedic knowledge, expounded for the benefit of the sadhakas. The knowledge of the highest truths delivered by the Guru with boundless love and concern for the spiritual welfare of the students, was beautifully translated into English by Swamiji. Each statement of truth guided the participants on their spiritual journey, taking them deeper and deeper into the inner world.
As mentioned in the Vedas, a human body is like a crystal, since it is composed of 90% water, and thereby capable of attracting the cosmic energy. The sahasrara chakra attracts the cosmic energy, the manipura chakra attracts solar energy and the muladhara chakra attracts the energy of the Earth. All these three energies are essential for normal functioning of the body. Every act of this divine body such as thoughts, speech and action, should be an act of yajna. “Yajno yajnena kalpitam”—all these yajnas should finally merge into the one supreme yajna of cosmic consciousness, Amma explained beautifully.
The importance of strengthening the chakras.
Silence, a pure diet and a disciplined life, all help purify the anahata chakra and support meditation. Chanting of stotras and mantras gives one vaka siddhi, word power, by strengthening the vishuddhi chakra. A stotram is a statement of truth and each bijakshara in the stotram has an abundance of divine power within it. Chanting stotras helps one unlock the hidden energies within oneself and activates the kundalini in the sushumna nadi. The sushumna nadi is a thin channel in the subtle body which runs along the middle of the spine and connects the muladhara or root chakra to the sahasrara.
As we progress on the spiritual path, attributes such as inner beauty, humility, generosity, compassion and equanimity are showered on a sadhaka. Divine Mother has been praised as “Chideka rasa rupini” in the Sri Lalita Sahasranama. Amma discussed this point wonderfully by saying that Divine Mother Herself comes to us as a Guru to take us within to the inner kingdom! Divine Mother blesses us in various ways. Her divine glance, thought or touch are themselves a deeksha to the spiritual aspirant as it expands one’s awareness to the limitlessness of the Divine Self and takes one closer to the truth.
We were all so very blessed to be in the presence of our Divine Mother and receive the jnana and spiritual elevation directly from her. Our pathway is very clear; it has been lit by the effulgence of our beloved Amma. Our deeksha is our means through which we can attain to the higher states or stithis. Through her grace and deeksha, we shall surely tread the path from the mano sthithi, waking state of consciousness, to realize the supreme truth of the higher stithis and the eternal freedom that lies therein.
Om lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu
Om
shanti shanti shantihi
Jai
Karunamayi!
