Agas

My 2 day retreat

Every diwali since the last 4-5 years we have been visiting our religious place over diwali.It is in Gujarat-about an hour away from baroda-a 6 hour trip by train from Bombay.

Each trip, I feel, has been an experience, with which I have grown

The first trip, over diwali, was an escape-6 years ago.An escape from all things familiar and painful

The subsequent years made me appreciate the peace and quiet of the place, and the unimposing nature of the place. There is a routine which they follow-which I never did and neither was I bound to

I did exactly as I pleased

And now…slowly after this much time

I found myself abiding to the rules which appeal to me.

I read the books written by the teacher, I eat their simple food, and stick to the timings for meals, that is, no eating after sunset

We attend a 15 minute prayer session in the evening-from 6-630-“dev vandan”It is a simple ceremony which ends by all the gathered devotees singing a common prayer in unison, a song for thanksgiving to the lord for showing us the path and giving us his teachings.The feeling generated is great-as the voices ring with the exuberance of their faithAlthough I am not as humble to really mean all the words of the prayer….I like the simplicity of the thought.

So last year the outcome of the trip was my bringing back to Bombay with me 3 books, written by Shrimad, his most basic ones, all English translations.

This year I actually read one of them-MOKSHMALA. A very simple small book-120 odd page, containing the principles of Jainism, after which I realized that after all the trappings of falsehood are stripped away from religion, it is dangerously close to my concept of living right and living in the moment.

Spent 3 days reading this book, and talked to the kids about it

As they were also on a self imposed rule about reading only Shrimad stuff-they were bored too

So we talked.

Talked about god-happiness-rules-evolution of religions-and basically a plethora of topics which came up-resulting in several discussions.

So all in all

It was a time for us to slow down

And think about things which we otherwise would not spend time over.

There were 3 things which stand out in my head-

One –the importance of knowing what you should not do or don’t want to do-this is of vital importance so that when you do it –you realize that you are actually doing something you aren’t supposed to be doing or that you don’t want to do.

Two- the essence of learning lies in the ease with which the teacher is able to communicate with his student. The lucidity of the concept comes through with simple words. That is what Shrimad did for Jains-he translated all of Mahavir’s teachings from Magadhi language into the more prevalent language of the early twentieth century-Gujarati-which today is being translated into English.

Three-the people of the ashram greet each other with “jay prabhu”, meaning, you are a god too-or have the potential of being one-by God I assume they mean a superior soul-which I think we all are working towards becoming.

We all need this time- in our life-at varying points where we pause and reflect on a higher plane.

Shrimad said:

Religion does not mean religious differences and set beliefs. Religion does not mean cramming or reading of all religious texts or believing all what is said in them as gospel truth.

All the answers seem to be in the texts-but there in lies the paradox-should we merely accept or should we challenge and question?

The questions remain the same-as do the answers, but down the ages only voices and form has changed.