Registration & Fees

How to Register

Please register online or by downloading and faxing, emailing or mailing the registration form below.

We will acknowledge all completed registration forms as we receive them and send a confirmation letter with more information, including guidelines on what to wear and bring to the retreat.

Register online with promo code SRIM2019 for a limited time and enjoy a 10% discount on your retreat.
Promo code has been extended to July 2 July 8 (midnight).

Limited rooms and retreat spaces available, register now!

PLEASE NOTE: Hotel accommodations are not included in retreat fee.
Preferred hotel rates have been negotiated with local hotels. Please click on the Hotel tab below to see the preferred rates and booking information.

Refunds will be issued for any cancellations received up through July 2 (minus a $15 cancellation fee). We regret that refunds are not possible after this date.

Full Three Day retreat

* Full 3 Day Retreat: $325 (Price before 10% discount)

* The retreat fee includes lunch, dinner and snacks, but not accommodations.
Also included are the Chakra initiation, Shaktipath, and participation in special Guru Purnima pujas.

Register for FULL THREE DAY RETREAT

One-Day Sessions

* Friday, July 12 – $175 (Price before 10% discount)

* Saturday, July 13 – $175 (Price before 10% discount/Includes Shaktipath)

* Sunday, July 14 (Half-Day) – $95 (Price before 10% discount)

Register for Retreat Only – Friday July 12

Register for Retreat Only – Saturday July 13

Register for Retreat Only – Sunday July 14

* The retreat fee includes lunch, dinner and snacks, but not accommodations.

Registration form to Mail or Fax

Guru Purnima Retreat – PDF Form

Please Note:

1. Children under 17 years old need special permission to attend the retreat.

2. Amma does not grant personal interviews during meditation retreats.

3. Space is limited at the retreat, so please register early.

4. Chakra Initiations will only be given on Friday. Shaktipath will only be given on Saturday.

5. No makeup sessions will be given for missed chakra initiations or missed shaktipath.

Tentative Retreat Schedule

Please Note: Chakra Initiations will only be given on Friday. Shaktipath will be given on Saturday. No makeup sessions will be given for missed chakra initiations or missed shaktipath.

Travel Guide Information

The Guru Purnima Retreat and Celebration will be held at the Monroe County Conference Center in Forsyth, GA.

Airline Tickets

• Closest airport is Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which is about 50 miles north of Monroe County Conference Center.
• Availability on most airlines can be found online at kayak.com or travelocity.com. It may be possible to get lower fares by searching for alternative times/dates, and allowing additional stops. Airline miles may be used to book flight tickets.
• Smaller airlines such as Southwest and Frontier offer bookings only through their own websites.
• Ticket prices usually go up closer to the date of travel, so it is advisable to book as early as possible.

Atlanta Airport

International and domestic terminals are adjacent to each other but have access from different interstates (I-75 for International terminal, and I-85 or I-285 for Domestic Terminals). Please click on the following link to get familiar with the domestic and international terminal maps:

https://www.atl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Dom-Terminal-Feb-2019.pdf
https://www.atl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Concourse-F-Feb-2019.pdf

Transportation

The drive from airport to hotels or Monroe County Conference Center in the city of Forsyth is directly off Interstate 75 south.  The Monroe County Conference Center is located about 45 minutes to one hour DEPENDING UPON TRAFFIC from Hartsfield International Airport. Rush hour is from around 6 AM to 10 AM and from 2PM to 7PM.

Available Options

There are 3 options:

1. Renting a car at the airport: This option allows maximum flexibility, convenience, cost efficiency if traveling in pairs and independence for traveling to and from airport, as well as locally between hotel and Monroe County Conference Center.
2. Traveling in shuttles: Groome Transportation is recommended for traveling between airport and Forsyth; we do not recommend cab services due to the exorbitant cost involved.   For travel between hotel and Monroe County Conference Center, transportation will be available at fixed times in the morning and in the night for a modest fee.
3. • Janette Hargis – (678) 951-6865 Uber driver, (available for local Forsyth service and to/from the Atlanta airport). • Nancy Sims – (478) 972-8838 for local transportation within Forsyth, GA.

Car Rental at Atlanta airport

There are numerous car rental agencies at Atlanta Airport.  Complete list is available at: http://atlanta-atl.worldairportguides.com/car_rental.php

Groome Transportation

Shuttles run daily between Atlanta airport and the city of Macon which is about 20-30 miles south of Forsyth, GA. There is a scheduled stop enroute at exit 186 Ingles Grocery store parking lot at 260 Tift College Drive, Forsyth, GA 31029.  The Groome website https://groometransportation.com/macon/ provides information about the schedule and fees; reservations are required to ride their shuttles. Please make sure that you request to be dropped off in Forsyth at the time of making your reservation.

For return to airport, Ingles Grocery store parking lot will be the only boarding point for shuttles. The fee for adults is $37 one way and $74 round trip and children 3 to 7 is $26 one way and $52 round trip.  Infants ride free.

Georgia law requires CHILDREN under 8, less than 57 inches tall and weighing less than 40 must have a car seat to ride in the shuttle—please bring the car seat.   Groome does not provide care seats.

PLEASE NOTE:  You MUST contact Groome shuttle 24 hours in advance of your pickup time in the Ingles Parking lot for your return trip home. 

Travel time on shuttle is about an hour between Atlanta airport and Forsyth; and about ½ hour between Forsyth and Macon. If traffic is heavy or if you are traveling at rush hour, please allow extra time.

Reservations: Advanced bookings are HIGHLY recommended to reserve your space in the shuttles. Please call Groome Transportation at 800-537-7903 or 478-471-1616 to make your reservations or you may make them online. 

When booking your return shuttle to the airport, please allow plenty of time before check-in. Plan on checking-in at least 2 hours in advance for domestic flights and 3 hours in advance for international flights. Peak hour traffic on the highway may cause significant delays in getting to the airport. Please note that in 2019 there is construction at the Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport that might impact the amount of time required for you to get to your gate.

Finding Groome Shuttle at the airport: Directions to get to your Groome shuttle can be found at:

https://groometransportation.com/faq/#gt-find

Hotel Information

The Guru Purnima Retreat and Celebration will be held at the Monroe County Conference Center in Forsyth, GA.

PLEASE NOTE: Shuttle service will be provided to & from the Monroe County Conference Center once in the morning and once in the evening. Shuttle times will be posted shortly. We appreciate your patience.

Sri Pada Puja Sponsorship

The origins of Sri Pada Puja are deeply rooted in the history of Vedic tradition. The wondrous gift of entanglement is the sacred secret contained within the ceremony of Pada Pooja. When we melt into a deep mood of gratitude and devotion, we receive the beautiful return flow of divine compassion and the uplifting of our consciousness.

Pada puja is a specific form of gratitude. It is a ritual to express our thanks to a revered spiritual teacher. The word pada means foot or feet in Sanskrit. Pada puja means to give thanks at the feet of the one we are honoring. In Vedic tradition, the spiritual leader was called the guru. He was the counselor, healer, master teacher and mystic of the community. The Bhagavad Gita, the iconic sacred text of Vedic civilization, recounts the words of the incarnated God Krishna, who was both king and spiritual master: “I destroy the darkness of ignorance with the shining lamp of wisdom, through my compassion.”. The Sanskrit word Guru has two syllables: gu refers to darkness and ru to light. The master leads the disciple from darkness into light with compassion. This darkness of ignorance is the identification that one has with one’s self, one’s material attachments and material possessions. This identification surely leads to sorrow since this attachment is for things that are fleeting and not for something long lasting.
The master is the only person who can dispel that darkness. Only the master can light up that wisdom within you in order for you to realize that you are already one with existence and therefore need nothing from this material world.

Offering puja to the feet of the guru expresses our gratitude for his dedication and compassion, given to benefit us. In addition, the shakti — the accumulated power and energy — of the guru is stored in the master’s feet. We offer our thanks to the source of his wisdom and understanding.

The origins of Pada Puja are deeply rooted in the history of Vedic tradition and are mentioned by many venerable sacred texts. Adi Shankaracharaya, one of the greatest sages of Hinduism, says in his Guru Ashtakam (8 Verses in Praise of the Guru: “Surrendering to the feet of the Guru (Master) is the most beautiful and ultimate happening, without which everything else seems futile (“shareeram suroopam tathaa vaa kalatram yashashcharu chitram dhanam meru tulyam”).

Quantum physics has identified an astonishing phenomenon called entanglement. When two quanta experience an energetic encounter, they adjust their frequencies to match each other. Even if they are separated by the full breadth of the universe after their interaction, they maintain the connection forever. The object with higher frequency establishes the level of vibration for the other, for it is the nature of evolution to be continually moving toward higher states of existence. When one sits in pada puja at the feet of an enlightened being whose frequency matches that of the cosmos, their frequency will also rise in the process of entanglement. This is how the cosmic connection is made.

The wondrous gift of entanglement is the sacred secret contained within the ceremony of Pada Puja. When we melt into a deep mood of gratitude and devotion, we receive the beautiful return flow of divine compassion and the uplifting of our consciousness.

You can continue to enjoy the benefits of this entanglement by sponsoring the Sri Pada Puja. The prasadam will be highly energized during the puja and can continue to produce profound changes in your external daily lives throughout the year when installed at home on an altar.

The science of gratitude is based on the principle that we already have much in our lives in our lives to be thankful for. Many wishes are miraculously granted in the aftermath of Pada Puja. Sponsor now and feel Amma’s miracle.

If you have faith in the Guru’s feet
If you have deep feeling for the Guru’s feet,
If you imbibe the state of the Guru,
Then you don’t have to look for God
God will come looking for you
Sant Tukaram (17th century poet-saint)

2019 Guru Purnima (Forsyth, GA) Seva Sponsorships

Guru Purnima Annadanam and Maha Prasadam Sponsorship

Traditionally meaning “an offering of food”, it is said in the scriptures that to feed another human being is far more meritorious an act than giving them mountains of gold and silver. The Manava Dharma Shastra (ancient code for domestic, social and religious life in Sanatam Dharma) states ‘atithih devo bhava’ (‘regard the guest as a deity’). Based on this principle it is believed by some that spirits or deities may move upon the earth in human guise, and that such beings possess special powers or abilities that may help those who are open-hearted and generous towards unusual strangers.
Annadanams are conducted with this very principle in mind, for among the hungry crowd there may also be the anonymous genuine devotee, saint or even a deva or deity. Indeed, each and every poor person is regarded in this way, as expressed in the Sanskrit saying ‘daridra Nārāyana’ (‘God dwells in the poor person’).

During the Guru Purnima Retreat and Celebration, meals will be served daily to those in attendance, and this your chance to help. Divine Mother is immensely pleased with this service to Her children. Several options exist for supporting the program in this heartfelt way. All of the amounts given are to serve three meals to those in attendance at the Guru Purnima retreat as well as the Maha Prasadam that will be served after the auspicious Sri Pada Puja Celebration on Sunday, July 14.

Thank you for your generous support.

2019 Guru Purnima (Forsyth, GA) Seva Sponsorships

Guru Purnima Sri Pada Puja Pushpanjali (Flower Seva) Sponsorship

“What are flowers? Are they not messengers of love, prayers of the vegetable world, the aspiration of nature and the smile of the divine?”
From the book – “Flowers – Their Spiritual Significance”

During the auspicious 2019 Guru Purnima Sri Pada Puja on July 14, beautiful flower malas will be lovingly offered to adorn our beloved Amma Sri Karunamayi. Submission of flowers to the Divine Mother is considered submission of oneself to Her.
When we offer flowers to the Divine Mother, we are transmitting our devotional ‘bhava‘ or emotion and are literally requesting the divine to grant us health, wealth and happiness (both material and spiritual benefits.) It is the bhava of surrender and faith (sharanagati and shradda).
Please show your love, devotion and gratitude to Amma during this special weekend and honor and celebrate your one true teacher by sponsoring the flowers that will be used in the malas to adorn our beloved Mother.
Thank you for your generous support.

2019 Guru Purnima (Forsyth, GA) Seva Sponsorships

Guru Purnima Vastra Pradhanam for Amma

The offering of vastra (saree and blouse material) to Amma concludes the ritualistic worship of Amma during the Sri Pada Puja. Offering vastra to Divine Mother is akin to praying to Her attributeless form to work for one’s spiritual progress and welfare through the medium of ‘with attribute’ form.

A nine yard saree is offered to Amma which represents the functioning of Divine Mother through Her nine forms, as per the requirement of the devotee. The number ‘nine’ represents the nine main forms or incarnations of Shri Durga. The nine yards (levels) of the saree represent Her nine incarnations carrying out her divine mission. Offering a nine yard saree invokes the unmanifested Divine Energy which encompasses all the manifest forms of Divine Mother, that is Shri Durga, to manifest in all Her nine forms to perform the required mission.

2019 Guru Purnima (Forsyth, GA) Seva Sponsorships

Guru Purnima Program Flyer

Download the 2019 Guru Purnima PDF Flyer to help promote the program.

Download the Guru Purnima PDF Flyer