Arunachala Retreat 2013

2013 Retreat and Travel Information

Info & Booking

RETREAT ACTIVITIES

Daily morning yoga and meditation

Satsang

Visit the Ramana Ashram

Visit Arunachalishwara Temple in Tiruvannamalai

Visit the Arunachalishwara Temple which is dedicated to Shiva and the element Fire. It is one of the five largest temples in South India. The inner sanctum was built 2000 years ago and has been a place of pilgrimage ever since. This temple is where Sri Ramana Maharshi arrived as a school boy and where he continued to live for a number of years. We will see the crypt where he sat in deep silence, absorbed in the Self. The children will enjoy the temple elephant and monkeys.

Visit Indian Masters living at the foot of Arunachala

During the retreat we are blessed to meet some of the Indian Masters of the project “Blueprints for Awakening” e.g. Ganesan, the grandnephew of Sri Ramana Maharshi, Swami Suddhananda and Swamini Pramananda.

Walk on Arunachala Mountain and visit many beautiful places around

A walk up Arunachala on one of the paths used by Sri Ramana Maharshi. Since then it has been greatly improved by re-afforestation into a soft and beautiful walk. We will visit Skanda Ashram where Sri Ramana lived with a small community, including his mother. Visit to Virupaksha Cave where he lived for seventeen years, between 1899 and 1916.

We will walk together in silence on the inner pradakshina path around Arunachala. On the full moon night, we can join in the spectacle of half a million people walking around the outer path, which includes many holy sites.There will also be visits to the countryside and local villages.

Bus trip visiting Indian Saints and charismatic places

We take a magical bus trip visiting more of these Indian Saints from the Project “Blueprints for Awakening”. We are always given wonderful opportunities to meet and speak with them and receive their Darshan.

A few hours further South we will meet Thuli Baba having his own ashram Anbin Kudil. He is an impressive traditional guru with a fine and mischievous energy.

Swami Dayananda, one of the greatest Vedanta teachers, having his ashram and teaching center just out of Coimbatore. He is also giving teachings in the US.

We are passing through the beautiful soft countryside of Kerala along the coast visiting Ananda Ashram of Ram Dass, Krishnabai and Swami Satchidananda. Swami Satchidananda (he passed away in 2009) served Ram Dass and Krishnabai his whole life and is the master who gave Premananda his name. The Ashram is famous for its devotion. As a practice the mantra “Sri Ram Jay Ram Jay Jay Ram” is being chanted all day long, which creates a unique atmosphere. We will meet Swami Muktananda who is the current head of the ashram.

We also visit the nearby tapis cave of Nityananda and we go to his first ashram with the amazing maze of underground meditation caves.

In the last years we used to visit Ajja, a charismatic elderly saint who reminded us of Sri Ramana Maharshi. He just left his body in march 2007 at the age of 86.

Goodbye Ceremony

We finish the retreat with a goodbye ceremony to celebrate the moment and always remember who we are.

When Premananda lived in India with his spiritual Master Papaji he felt an inner message telling him to go and catch the great Indian Masters on film before they passed away. He interviewed sixteen Masters, asking each of them the same twelve questions based on Ramana Maharshi's teachings such as 'Who are you?' and 'Do you have a mind?'
The resulting Blueprints for Awakening archive, consisting of a Book, a Film and a Video Website, contains modern dialogues about ancient truth. Premananda's familiarity with this subject, combined with his many years of experience guiding spiritual seekers, create fascinating, lively interactions with each of the Masters.
Many of the Masters of the project are invited to talk in the retreat or get visited on the bus trip.
www.blueprintsforawakening.org