By “Selflessness comes with its own blessings.” Round the year, many young members contribute selflessly to SRM’s efforts of spreading wisdom and experience. Around 30 of them, who regularly work from SRM’s seva space, got the glorious opportunity to be with Sri Guru in a small retreat at Haridwar called “Youth Seva Retreat”. It was Sri Guru’s way of blessing the selfless hearts and dedicated minds with some exclusive time and experiences!
The Opening Shot!
24th March 2023: In a fleet of cars mostly white, the youth reached the Retreat stay after a 4-hour drive. Being a closely knit seva team, the members were energetic and aligned from the start. Hardly pausing to take a breath after the long drive, the youth started the Retreat with … a cricket match! Yes, the venue was carefully chosen by SRM to facilitate sports activities, especially cricket, which has recently become a hot favourite among the seva team members.
The match was graced by a very special spectator, none other than Sri Guru herself! Inspiring, cheering, clapping, shouting, and blessing! The playfulness turned the atmosphere into what Sri Guru refers to as moments of “Nirdosh Sukh”. Boys, girls, writers, managers, coders, and editors – all out on the field playing like kids! It was a time when one could observe how much people can transform. Years of Satsangs and Seva have pushed their capacities of being joyful.
Each game wrapped up with the youth circling around the master, and carefully listening to her words. Like at SRM as always, it took no time for the youth to slide from light-hearted fun into moments of sincerity.
Back to Stillness
Sports was followed by Silence – in front of the magnificent river Ganga. The evening began at the Chandi Ghat – a silent riverfront of Haridwar touching the vast, yet silent, flow of India’s lifeline waterbody Ganga. In just a few minutes each and every member was sitting straight, eyes closed and connected within.
Sri Guru’s aura did its own wonders for this receptive group. After the spontaneous moments of meditation, she explained – “Once we shut our eyes, our only primary sense remains the ears. Our ears don’t get to pick what they want to listen to – they simply receive all the sound. This is a gross way to be choiceless. And this choicelessness pushes your focus during meditation.”
Binge Time (Even Here!)
The long, energetic, meditative day did not end there. The night was even more surreal. As the team gathered for the night Samagam, Sri Guru opened a carton that she carried with her from Delhi, and with a child-like glee, gifted a copy of Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull to all the 30 members! As surprising as it was, Sri Guru was excited to discuss the first ever book read by her (back when she was in class 5!).
It was a binge read! Chapter after chapter was read and discussed, gripping and wowing the team. The entire book was completed in that single night. Some members read the book aloud matching the text’s emotions, while others contemplated and exchanged ideas with Sri Guru. For each one of them, this book-reading session was a divine time that can never be forgotten. (Details of this session still remain in the hearts of those present there, and couldn’t be expressed enough!)
The long day finally ended with moist hearts and inspired minds.
A Complete Day
25th March 2023: The day began twice for everyone… The youth were up as early as 5 am to get ready for a Jungle Safari. But rains led to that program being canceled. Usually, that might have been a source of slight disappointment, but the extra hours of sleep more than made up for it. The morning finally started again at 7:30 am, with a guided meditation session by Sri Guru. The culture of Seva has taught everyone to adapt quickly.
The calm morning meditation re-filled the energy levels for yet another day of sports! 2 cricket matches back-to-back under soft-cool spring weather gave many more joyful moments, but the icing on the cake was when Sri Guru picked up the bat (!) and challenged the bowlers to bring it on! Being active in Yoga and sports herself, it didn’t take her much time to start hitting power-shots, and even a boundary! Everyone lined up to bowl to her, and the fielders ran with joy to pick the balls hit by a true master. Those unforgettable moments made some heavenly impressions indeed…
In the afternoon, the youth watched a screening of Sri Guru’s explanation of Navratri, which was followed by a deep meditation that made use of Navratri’s natural energy pulse. The calmness was carried again to the banks of river Ganga where a quick touch-down turned into a 2-hour long Bhakti evening. The youth sang, rejoiced, revered, and reflected as the flow of Ganga complimented the gush of love within. A mountain, standing just across the Ganga in perfect equanimity, became the symbol of divinity as Sri Guru concluded the evening by singing Dev Vandan.
Once again, the night was full of colours as members were organised into smaller teams for some fun games. The games were nicely planned to involve Sri Guru as a critical part of each round, which doubled up the thrill! Amidst all the cheers and claps, everyone had a common feeling of connection – with the Guru and the purpose. These days of happiness were one of many that rebuilt their passion to return to the society and put their skills, talents, and time into spreading much-needed smiles in the world.
The End Note
26th March 2023: The last day opened with a 90-minute YogaYog session in which Sri Guru artfully combined exercise with Meditation and energy with thoughtlessness.
The youth gathered for one last cricket match before gearing up to “return” again. Fun, chaos, loud cheering, soft kindness—the retreat had it all. With a connection grown stronger and a purpose engraved deeper, the fleet of cars left the Retreat, fueled by a renewed vigour to change the world. For good.
Noble Work By SRM 🙏