Thank You for the invitation to join this group.We appreciate your
spiritual activity and we are glade to be in IYF.
We folow the wisdom of Ramana Maharsi. Kamala Yoga Centre has yoga
courses (meditations and asanas) in a beautiful town near the Carpati
Mountains and also in the capital of Romania - Bucuresti. We have
published many books of oriental spirituality.
This summer we organise a yoga retreat for meditation. The subject is
the revelation of the Spiritual Heart, Atman.
If there are persons interested in this retreat (it will be english
translation), we give you here our official announcement.
May God bless and inspire us!
Simona Trandafir,
Yoga Teacher, Kamala Yoga Centre
Kamala Yoga Centre organise
A Silent 7-days Meditation Retreat for the Revelation of the Spiritual Heart
9-17 aug. 2008, Voineasa, (near Ramnicu.Valcea), Romania
This special retreat focuses on the Revelation of the Spiritual Heart,
our real and essential nature, the supreme and divine Self, âtman.
During this immersion retreat, we will address broad aspects of the
Spiritual Heart, from a variety of traditions including Christian
esoteric, Sufi and Kashmir Shaivist traditions.
You will have english translation.
The program aims to create an experience most resembling a solitary
retreat (as in a cave, for example) with the intention to provide
attendees with an opportunity to reach deep inner states of
consciousness, intense aspiration for the Divine, and highly focused
interiorization for the awakening and blossoming of the soul,
jîva-âtman. This method is a unique integration of Advaita Vedânta,
Sufism, Tantra and Dzogchen.
This retreat is led by yoga teacher Claudiu Trandafir, whose meditation,
for years now, has been dedicated to the Revelation of the Spiritual
Heart through Love and the opening of the soul. Claudiu, an electronic
engineer by education, was formerly a professor at the University of
Parapsychology in Bucharest, Romania. He has been a Yoga teacher for 22
years, specializing in solitary cave retreats, following the example of
Ramana Maharshi and other Jnâna Yoga masters. After years of solitary
retreats followed by spiritual accomplishment, in 2002 Claudiu began to
guide groups of people using this method. He has led this special
retreat for more than 1000 participants across Europe over the last six
years. During the last year he has lead this retreat in Thailand in each
month at Agama yoga school.
During these years, Claudiu has developed a method that gradually
cultivates in participants the following attitudes:
1. An inner awareness of all sensory perceptions and emotions which will
gradually become, through sublimation, an awareness of the Spiritual Heart;
2. The calming down of the mind (a state of peace of mind);
3. The polarization between the individual soul and the divine Self,
âtman, that is experienced as a state of very strong and profound
aspiration and longing for God;
4. The evocation of death of the physical body as a way of transcending
desires and egotistical tendencies;
5. The act of powerfully evoking and experiencing the mystery of God’s
presence inside our Hearts.
To support the retreat, complete mauna (silence) must be maintained by
all attendees. An atmosphere full of love and aspiration will be created
in which participants can surrender to their real and essential nature.
This retreat includes advice for guided meditation, lectures, and
practical methods such as:
• Ramana Maharshi’s method of introspection (Self-inquiry, âtma vicâra,
using the question “Who Am I?”)
• Techniques of stilling the mind using breath control
• Study of the symbolism of the Spiritual Heart
• Methods of Self-centering in everyday life
• Advice for maintaining awareness of the Spiritual Heart, in the
tradition of the Fathers of the Desert (from Christianity)
• The Christian method of the Prayer of the Heart
• A proper understanding of Advaita Vedânta’s fundamental principles
• Methods of passing from individual consciousness to Cosmic Consciousness
• The four fundamental stages in the process of the Revelation of the
Spiritual Heart
• Daily special meditations on themes connected with Self-Revelation
• Yogic methods that approach the issue of the Spiritual Heart
• Poetry
• Hatha Yoga sessions
An introductory session will take place on 9 aug 2008 at 16:00 during
which we will meditate and explain the rules.
*RETREAT RULES*
In order to create the preliminary conditions that facilitate our access
to deep inner states, mental peace, and aspiration toward the Divine, it
is necessary that certain rules be strictly followed for the duration of
the retreat. *These rules aim to create certain conditions that would
resemble those a yogi experiences in solitude, for instance in a cave
retreat. *The retreat atmosphere has been evaluated carefully as to how
it can best support the attendees’ spiritual efforts. The rules are part
of this support. All hopeful participants must agree to abide by these
guidelines and the consequences of noncompliance.
This retreat is arranged as a serious opportunity for serious aspirants
who wish for a very special and exclusive retreat opportunity. Please
approach these guidelines with this frame of mind, with an openness
toward protecting and supporting this atmosphere through your own
agreement and cooperation. If you at first glance feel that the
guidelines are too strict or too difficult for you, first consider your
own state of readiness to participate. If you do indeed feel ready, then
inspire yourself with the knowledge that this retreat lasts just a few
days in the big picture of life!
1.
*Mauna (silence) is compulsory.* The period of mauna will begin on
the first morning, with the consecration of the retreat, and will
end after the last meditation on the seventh day, as per the
length of the retreat. Absolutely no talking by participants will
be allowed. For any real necessities, please inform us in writing
of administrative problems.
2.
*Retreat participants are asked not to use CD players, MP3
players, radios, TVs, DVD players, the Internet, or computers for
the duration of the retreat*. Thus there is to be no listening to
the news or music, doing email, watching movies, etc.
3.
*Use of mobile phones is not allowed during the retreat*. They
should ideally be left at home and off for the retreat’s duration.
You should make a firm commitment not to use the phone for
conversations, SMS messages, etc., for the duration of the retreat.
4.
*Reading is not allowed*, not even of books of a spiritual nature.
5.
*Sexual abstinence is mandatory.* This really means abstinence and
not just continence! This point is obviously non-enforceable (we
cannot check you, of course), but is insisted upon to reinforce
the atmosphere resembling solitude that we are attempting to
create for participants. If you wish to join the retreat, please
agree to abide by this requirement for the duration of the retreat.
6.
*It is strongly recommended that men and women choose separate
accommodation for this retreat and that they also dine
separately.* Kamala will facilitate this point with separate rooms
and dining areas for men and for women during any arranged mealtimes.
7.
*Fasting is not recommended for the entire duration of the
retreat* (although your own tapas of a weekly fasting day is OK),
in order to maintain a high level of vitality and energy for
meditation.
8.
It is recommended that you aim to *cultivate a state of experience
resembling solitude *by agreeing not to: look at others, touch,
hug, kiss, say hello (even nonverbally), smile at each other, etc.
This can at times feel alienating and lonely for people who are
very sociable and miss such simple human contact, but it will
drastically help your experience of interiorization. In addition,
the opening of the soul will offer you the opportunity to
communicate in a much subtler way, through the language of love.
Your friends will still love you at the end of the retreat, maybe
even more if they have reached a deep opening of the heart!
9.
*Participants should try to avoid attention to their own vanity
and desire to attract the opposite sex.* This advice is usually
presented in Buddhist retreats held at monasteries, where there is
also a sensitivity toward supporting the meditation environment of
the monks. The same is asked here. We ask that women not wear
makeup or perfume, and that they dress discreetly and simply.
10.
Please limit your looking at photographs to those of spiritual
masters and gurus only. Do not gaze upon photos of your friends,
family, etc. in order to help yourself concentrate on
transcendental states rather than worldly thoughts.
11.
*We strongly advise you not to go into the city, do shopping,
etc.* These guidelines are given well in advance of the retreat to
give you ample opportunity to prepare for your needs.
12.
*It is recommended that participants record their meditative and
daily experiences in a notebook*, but please keep all questions
until the last day of the retreat when we will hold a question and
answer session designated for this purpose. Recall that we are
evoking a state of isolation in solitude where there is no one but
you to answer your questions.
13.
*Attendance at all retreat sessions is compulsory*. The only
exception will be made for sick people.
14.
*Everyone must be on time* for all spiritual activities, as
lateness is very disruptive and latecomers will not be allowed to
join until the next session. Please plan accordingly.
*PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT CERTAIN ACTIONS CONSTITUTE *
*GROUNDS FOR EXPULSION FROM THE RETREAT.*
It is hereby re-emphasized that these guidelines must be followed, for
the benefit of all participants. Consider carefully before joining
whether you truly accept the parameters of the retreat and its rules.
Certain actions will form the basis for warnings (listed below). If a
person has already received two warnings, he or she will be asked to
leave without hesitation or negotiation after the third infraction of
the rules. No refunds will be given for those who choose to leave or are
asked to leave.
These actions will constitute grounds for a warning:
1.
Absence from a retreat session
2.
Lateness to a retreat session
3.
Falling asleep during meditations
4.
Disregarding segregated areas for men and women
5.
Talking, making other sounds, or being generally disruptive
6.
Listening to music, news, sending SMS messages, or talking on the
phone
7.
Disregard for any other of the above mentioned rules.
We welcome you to this exceptional retreat and hope you will choose to
be patient and open. The first several days, as anyone who has done a
meditation retreat knows, can be full of restlessness, muscular fever
and aches, physical and mental purification, and various spiritual
tests. We invite you to commit yourself fully to this retreat, to stay
firm and double your resolve in the face of such challenges. Try to make
this event a very special opportunity for your spiritual evolution!
May God bless and inspire us!
Your participation at this retreat is free.
Accomodation and meals for 8 days/pers: 150 euro.
You must pay in advance, until July 1, 2008
The necessary informations for payment:
The name of our society: SC Kamala SRL
Our address: Str. Lunga nr. 79, Brasov, Romania
Bank name: BCR (Brasov)
Our bank account (in euro) - IBAN number: RO77 RNCB 0053 0485 7262 0002
Our registration tax number (if necessary) RO 7768678.
If you need the bank's address: BCR, Bd.15 Noiembrie nr. 90A, Brasov,
Romania.
Contact us: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>_ or by phone +
40 731.32.42.41 or + 40 788.477.245 or + 40 268.360.424.
Our web adress is www.centru.kamala.ro
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