Dada... Attending Sadhna Camp is experience

[Guest guest]

Attending a Sadhana Camp is an experience that one can never fully appreciate until you have really been to one. Just being in the presence of our beloved Dada J P Vaswani evokes feelings that are hard to put into words. To know Dada is to love him. Somebody described Dada as a beautiful human being who believes that he is nothing, yet has the power to transform the lives of everyone he comes into contact with. That is truly the measure of a Master. There can never be enough words said even by the most eloquent of persons about this great soul that we all know and love. How fortunate we were to have been blessed with this wonderful opportunity to attend the camp and spend two days in his divine presence. The last Sadhana Camp in the West for 2004 was held at the Beverly Garlands Holiday Inn –North Hollywood. An oasis of peace was created right amidst the glitz and glamour of the

Hollywood Hills. One would never have known that there was a busy highway close to the Camp, so far removed were we from the real world for those two days. The camp started on Friday the 8th of October 2004. All devotees were checked in by 5pm as the camp officially was scheduled to begin around 7pm. The devotees proceeded to the satsang hall, where attendance was to be marked daily, anxiously awaiting Dada’s arrival. The rules and regulations of the Camp were announced. The hall was beautifully decorated, creating an aura of peace and spirituality, which only became complete when Dada walked in looking as glowing as ever! His smile filled our being and our hearts were overflowing with love for him, as we gazed into his radiant eyes! Sadhu Vaswani’s melodious voice filled the hall with the immortal words from the Twelfth Chapter of the Bhagwad Gita. The Traditional Havan ceremony was conducted, Vachan from the Sukhmani Sahib and Nuri Granth were read out.

The halls were filled with the powerful vibrations created by the harmonious voices of Krishna Kumari, Didi Nirmala and Dr Harish Wadhwani as they led us in the singing of Bhajans and Kirtans. In his opening talk to his devotees, Dada welcomed everyone who had gathered here from different parts of the world. He reminded us of the words of one great person who said where two or three or more gather there does the Lord descend. He prayed for us that the grace of the lord would be on our gathering. That if we surrender in the feet of the lord he would take us to the supreme state, to the highest state. There is nothing more that we must desire than happiness which is peace of mind which can only be found at the feet of the lord. The lord calls out to us - to surrender at his feet. We have spent lifetimes going further and further away from the lord by turning our backs to him in pursuit of material gains. Dada went on to tell us a Sufi story that talks

about the different types of journeys that one takes in life. One that takes us away from the God. As every day passes we go further and further away from the lord. It is as if we are on a freeway and we pass the exit that we needed to take. For every mile that we go past, the further we will be away from our destination. So is it with our journey to the lord. For every day that we waste in other material pursuit’s the further we go away from God. It is like the Bhajan that Dr Harish sang earlier that evening “Jin Soya Tin Khoya , Jin Jagaya tin Paya” . The second is the journey back to the Lord. There he gave us the example of the parable of the Prodigal Son. The journey of moving towards the Lord. Finally is the journey within. That is the voice of this camp: Surrender to the lord and find your salvation. The lord is waiting at the door of our hearts to enter any time, and we do nothing to open the door. He keeps knocking “Darwazo Khol, Darwazo Kohl”

but we are so busy in the material world we do not hear him. In the words of Sant Rahidas “Bahut Janam Bicharay thay Madhav, Yaha Janam tumharay Lekhay” We have received this human birth to make the journey back to God. This camp comes with the message to take a U turn to make the journey back to God. We would spend the next three days in finding the means and ways in which we can make this journey. Dada once again reminded us that we have come to his camp with a purpose, the camp has certain rules and regulations and they have been put there for a purpose. We will get from the camp as much as we put in, the more time we spend in silence the more we will be open to receive. We thank the lord and the more we spend in remembrance we will receive. The theme song for this camp Dada put into the following words, as we sang them at the end of every session. They were indelibly written into our hearts and minds. Bheeti Bheeti AayaanDilbar Tuhinjay

DwaarBhavsagar Ahay BhariPrabhu Paar Ukaar” After the opening program we moved out for dinner and then recon verged at the Hall for an evening of informal camaraderie mingled with some information gathering and testing. A quiz had been planned along the lines of “Kaun Banega Bhakt” all complete with a lifeline. The teams were divided into four teams of four participants each. The NURI, ANJALI, MIRA AND RADHA teams. There were a lot of questions on the life of Sadhu Vaswani, Dada JP Vaswani, Hinduism and other world religions. The Radha Team was the winner but it was a close tie. At the close of that evening we were all reminded that the entire sangat would maintain silence the next morning until breakfast except when singing Bhajans and Kirtans. The morning started with the Maun Vrit Session and we could feel the power of silence as we entered the satsang session. The vibrations in the air were so powerful and serene as everyone

enjoyed bathing in this river of silence. We felt as if we could hear beyond our own Sadhana, the soothing harmony of the sounds of silence being produced by all the sangat here. The Havan was performed, as we heard the Sukhmani Sahib and Nuri Granth Vachan , sang the Aarti,, the Kirtans and Bhajans. We had a wonderful introduction to guided mediation with Dada. It’s nearly impossible to describe the awe and amazing reality of this experience. After Breakfast we reconvened for a Bhajan program before Dada joined us for some Ruh Rihaan. We heard about some incidents in the life of Guru Nanak. As per the Hindu calendar, the Varsi fell on October 9th 2004. Dada explained to us that although we celebrate Guru Nanak’s Birthday in November every year he was actually born in the month of April on Kartik ji Puranmaasi. Guru Nanak Dev left his body on this particular day. It is the day when you go to meet your beloved. Your death is like your wedding day, the day

your soul is reunited with the Lord. As long we do not chant the Lord’s name we are like dead corpse. When we gather together and sing the name of the Lord we forget ourselves the world around us. That is the power of Naam- The name of the Lord. It was Guru Nanak’s message that God is one. Our human birth is to find our way back to the lord. To see the light within, to hear the sound within. Our body is made up of nine gates. We have to open the tenth gate. The Dasmai Dwar as Dada calls it. The best way to find that is with the practice of Silence. It is in the wonderful womb of silence that God is born within us. Jesus once said “ Devotion is found in 10 paths : 9 are found in silence and 10th is found in solitude.” The Ruh Rihaan ended and the Sangat moved onto Lunch and Rest time. The evening was planned with a Walkathon with Dada as a fund raiser for the Cataract Eye Surgeries donated by the Sadhu Vaswani Mission in Pune to the Blind.

The evening session of the Second day started with Bhajans and Kirtan as is the tradition. After which we had a beautiful Informal Question and Answer session with Dada. Dada graciously answered the questions of each and every one of his devotees. Dada has a wonderful way of guiding us and teaching us about things that we are confused about and or never been able to grasp their inner meaning. The simplicity and clarity in his words enlighten us greatly and lead many of us to make affirmations and change our lives leading them as per his teachings. Truly the best Guru Dakshina we can offer Dada is by being a reflection of his teachings. A live Auction of a Beautiful portrait of our beloved Dada was held and the proceeds would add to the growing fund for the Cataract surgeries needed in India. After Dinner that evening an entertaining cultural program was organized. We saw some nice dances performed by young girls based on the life of Sri

Krishna and Radha. Kumar Bhavnani performed a solo skit which showed him searching for Krishan Kanhaiya all over the Universe calling Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva only to realize that his Krishan Kanhaiya resides in the Sacred Bhoomi Pune. We ended the evening watching a documentary about our Beloved Dada called “The Man with the Singing Heart”. The last morning we all practiced Maun Vrit again having enjoyed the experience so much the earlier day. The Satsang session was especially powerful as everyone wanted to make get the most out of the experience for we all knew that soon the camp would come to a close. After breakfast we all eagerly awaited the next Ruh Rihaan session with Dada as he was going to share with us the Sadhana that we must all do to make the journey back to God. Dada once again asked God to bless us all and Dada asked his devotees after spending three days at this camp we must take back something things with us as we left the camp. They are

the three S maxims Shanti, Sik and Seva and lovingly in jest told us to leave behind the fourth S “Soap” that most people take when they leave a hotel room. Elaborating on these three maxims he said our body is the temple of the lord. We must keep not our bodies clean and pure but also our thoughts and deeds. Do not allow temptation to enter your minds for once it does it becomes your master. Do not allow thoughts of jealousy, and hatred. A thought that gives you relish means you have lost the battle and you will ultimately drag you to the ditch of impurity. As we see at the entrance of every temple a Bell that you ring and also a Lamp “Jyot” or light burning. So is it with our body, there it burns within each of us an inextinguishable light, the temple “Jyot” is merely a symbol of our inner light. Presently the light within us is covered with many veils. The sounds and bells are also being rung within us. Guru Nanak calls this sound “ Anhad Shabd” He once

again reiterated his message from the days before - the purpose of this human birth is to see the light within and hear the unstuck bells of the universe. To do this you must make the most important pilgrimage which is the inner journey and the only way is for us to sit in silence. Wherever you go there is noise pollution. Even as there are particles of Dust that cling to us, so do particles of noise cling to our minds. The only way we can cleanse it is to bathe in the waters of silence. Make as many dips as you can but minimum once every twenty four hours. Repeating the lord’s name will cleanse your inner self. The problem of spiritual life is the problem of inner purification. Always think before you spend your time talking, and ask yourself is what I have to say better than silence and then speak or stay silent. That is the first maxim.. Shanti , to sit in Silence. The second Sadhana is Sik ..the longing for the Lord, that deep desire

should arise within us where all our thoughts and actions should be for him. The fastest way to the Lord is having a deep desire for him. It is gift to us from the Lord. If we should have this deep desire it would take just one lifetime only to be with the lord. As we sing our eyes should flow with tears for the lord “De De De Asaan Khey De, Param Padarath, Kamal Charan Laaya Sik Ain Pyar” The third and last Sadhana is Seva. Follow this maxim that you must do as much good as you can to as many as you can for as long as you can. We carried on the session without taking a break as there was a popular demand for Dr Harish to sing some more Bhajans. The Sangat had been enjoying them so much that they wanted to have experience once more the sweetness of the devotional lyrics of Nuri, Anjali Bhajans and divine melodies along with the endless chanting of Kirtans. Finally we had another Short question and Answer session after which Dada said his

Goodbyes to us. The atmosphere was very poignant and overflowing with emotions. Knowing that we would soon be separated from our beloved Dada caused many eyes to flow with tears that morning. Dada personally blessed each one of us. A few attendees of the other camps who had followed Dada to these camps also shared their experiences. The Caribbean Camp devotees had adapted a poem for Dada and read it to him here. Gurus are the sculptors of our livesHow fortunate we are to be shaped by youIn your hands may we flourish and growTime spent with out goes simply byYour teachings are the wingsOn which we must now flyThank you for being simply the bestHow much you have helped us, You will never knowA passionate teacher, A true prizeLoving, caring, true and wise.On leaving your care, we must look back to growUpon these bright memories we lay our goodbyes. The camp ended with everyone saying their good we

asked many of the devotees attending the camp their thoughts about the camp. Everyone said that they happy to be here, and were feeling quite blissful asking Dada again and again to come back soon to Los Angeles. One lady remarked "I made new relationships and found myself being adopted by a new family, the loving family of Dada’s devotees and more importantly being with Dada I found out more about myself," Many said that they were leaving the camp feeling uplifted, calmer, more inspired to have a regular Sadhana routine, and find a way to live in the world and be happy, but still follow dharma. We all enjoy ourselves, relax, and reflect. We think of this camp like being in a space station, far from home and free of daily pressures, and that we should take this opportunity to reflect on our lives and hopefully gain some useful perspectives In retrospect we must say that everyone enjoyed the camp, they all got a chance to relax and reflect while having a

wonderful time and left eagerly looking forward to attending the next retreat or Sadhana Camp. See more from the the Los Angeles Sadhna Camp in the (Sharing with Love) Ram.Chugani. Ram ChuganiKobe, Japanrgcjp

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