The decision to attend
the Moved By Love retreat was a very intuitive decision. I have been
wanting to go for a while now, but could not fit it into my schedule.
However, this time around, I registered without giving it a second
thought and there I was, ready to fly to Amdehbad for three days of
the unexpected.
The retreat was
scheduled for 30,31st August and the 1st of September. I
took a flight out of Bangalore on the 29th evening, and
reached Amdehbad at around 10.00pm. I was met by Neerad, one of the
Moved By Love volunteers and we hugged as soon as we saw each other.
It was as if I've known him all my life. I felt so connected. He
drove me to the venue, the Environmental Sanitation Institude,
Sughad. It was quiet and peaceful there, and he showed me my room.
The surprises began there, as there were beautiful welcome gifts laid
out on my bed, by invisible hands. I was delighted and moved.
Day 1-
Head Day
I was woken at 6.00am
by two men walking around the campus singing songs and playing a
small hand drum. This is something that prevails from the time of
Gandhi, where he and his companions sang happy songs to wake people
up in the morning. It was a beautiful start to the day. The first
activity on the agenda was to spend one hour silence and there was
this beautiful meditation kuti, made out of wood laid out above a
pond. You could hear the sounds of the fish leaping in and out of the
water, as you meditated. It was a joy, staying silent, and not
fighting the thoughts that kept coming, in fact merely accepting them
and letting go was easier.
It was time for
breakfast and there were volunteers serving us food, and there were
beautiful Rangoli that had been created by them. This breakfast was a
breakthrough point for me, because I ate Papaya after almost 20
years. I was served Papaya, and somehow I couldn't bring my self to
say ' No'. I ate it, and I did not feel any repulsion and it did not
taste too bad either. The food was so tasty, wholesome yet so simple.
I disovered that you do not have to eat a huge amount to feel
content, but a little, made with a great deal of love, was enough to
make you feel full, but not sluggish. There were also conversations
that took place while having breakfast, and it felt good to connect
with different people.
The three days of the
retreat was divided into the head day, hands day, and the heart day.
The first day was the head day. We met at the ' Maitri Room' for the
first session for the day. It began with different prayer songs, and
there was also an interfaith prayer which really moved me. It
included prayers from all the major religions. I had goosebumps by
the time that prayer ended. There was a round of introductions next
with the participants talking about a turning point in their lives
which led them to service. There were folks from Brazil, Israel, USA,
and different parts of India. It was beautiful, the feeling of
community and friendship because it is a common calling that brought
us all together. The calling of service.It was heartwarming and
inspiring to hear stories that were shared in the circle by different
people. They were stories of courage, love, gratitude and selfless
service. You can sometimes learn more about life by just listening to
the life experiences of fellow human beings rather by listening to a
lecture in a classroom. It gives one perspective, and listening with
an open heart and an open mind, can do wonders in a setting like
this. Sharing in a space that is filled with care and love also
allows you to open up and not hold back, and that makes a huge
difference.
The next part of the
day involved brainstorming about different aspects of service. There
was an interesting presentation made to stimulate discussion on
service, and the work of a Gandhian economist, J.C.Kumarappa was
mentioned. He wrote a book titled ' Economy of Permanence' and in
that book he spoke about five different economies.
Predatory and Parasitic
Economies, both for individual gain. Enterprise Economy, which
basically meant, me vs the world. There was also the Gregarian
Economy which had a condition of belongingness to it and was not
unconditional in nature and finally a Service Economy which thrived
on unconditional love. It was interesting to reflect on these
different economies and one might argue that all these types of
economies are important for survival, but a service economy might
just make the world a brighter place.
There were also three
important questions that we needed to reflect on in groups.
i. Leading with
external impact vs Inner Transformation?
ii. How do small acts
compare with structured projects?
Iii. Is service due to
an inner calling or external observation?
We discussed these
questions in groups and there were different viewpoints that came up.
The responses were interesting to ponder upon and its also important
to realize how small is also extremely important, just as structured
service projects are. In my opinion, small leads to big, and big
leads back to small again. We then rejoined the larger circle to
summarize our views and share them with each other.
Next on the agenda, was
to spend an hour in silence. We had the choice to sit within the
circle or to go out and spend time with nature in silence. I chose
the latter and spent time doing walking meditation and some writing.
It felt really pleasent and peaceful and it offered me the
opportunity to introspect. The hour of silence culminated with a
mindful walk around the E.S.I campus, just being completely present
with everything around us. There were the slight tickle of leaves
brushing against you as you walked, the feel of the breeze on your
face, the different aromas that floated in the air. I was fully aware
and mindful about my surroundings and I just simply walked. The walk
ended with us being welcomed for a mindful dinner in silence by
volunteers who welcomed us with a traditional kum kum on our
foreheads with a hug included. We sat in silence, while we were
served by the volunteers, and just spent time in gratitude for the
food we recieved. We ate in complete silence and the experience was
so beautiful. The food tasted so good, and I experienced every morsel
of food that I swallowed. It was a fantastic experience. We watched a
movie next about a young boy who had been given months to live, and
the short filmed portrayed how he strived to do things he wanted to
in those last few months and went about making others happy too. It
was a wonderful end to a beautiful day.:)
Day 2-
Hands Day
The day began with an
hour of silence, spent in meditation. It was a positive start to the
day and next came a good hearty breakfast filled with nutritious
fruits and other gujarati dishes. There was a conversation with
Jayesh Bhai ( one of the founders of Manav Sadhna in Amdehbad)-
Google for more information. He spoke to us about his father Ishwar
kaka and his work to provide sanitation facilities for the people of
Gujarat. He made over a lakh of toilets all around Gujarat and also
used human waste to create bio-gas and manure. It was a conversation
high with emotion but I could not connect fully because of the
language bareer. There was translation being provided, but the
emotional component was lost. A tiny broom was pinned on our shirts
as a symbol of the work Ishwar Kaka did, and Jayesh Bhai gave us each
some manure made out of human waste. It was a powerful, defining
moment, to hold manure made out of 'human shit' so to speak, in your
bare hands.
Since, day 2 was hands
day, we decided to break into small groups and go out of the campus
and do random acts of service. I was in a group that decided to go to
a village nearby and offer service in whatever way we could. Others
in the group took nail cutters,hair oil,shoe polish etc to offer
service and when we arrived at the village, some of us decided to go
to the pre-school and spend time with the children there while some
others went to some of the houses in the village to offer service. We
went to the preschool and the one's who spoke Gujarati began
interacting with the little children. I looked around, and saw that
there were some older kids around, so I invited them to play some
cricket. We played cricket with a rotten branch from a tree and a
tennis ball. It was a great fun, and it felt good to run around. I
then decided to make use of my skills in first aid, and give the
pre-school teacher some basic training. So, with the help of another
participant who knew Hindi, I managed to teach her the basics of
wound management, CPR, burn management, treatment for electricution,
shock, and also the management of fractures and fainting. I used one
of the staff members of E.S.I as a dummy to demonstrate some of the
methods involved. I also showed the teacher how to transport an
injured person. It was very fulfilling and at the same time a lot of
fun.
Our attention was next
drawn to one small girl, who appeared not to be blinking. She was
mute according to the teacher and did not interact with the other
children at the pre-school. There was a doctor amongst us and it was
his notion that she might have gone through some trauma in her life.
It was lunch time and she was not eating her food, and I was not
concerned at first, and could not establish contact with her since I
did not speak the language. Later, I was just standing near the
pre-school entrance and just kept smiling at her. She glanced at me,
and I just kept on smiling. I felt something pull me towards her and
I sat down beside her. I could not talk to her, neither did she say
anything, so I just started singing to her, in Sinhalese and English
and the song did not really matter. I kept singing, and while singing
I began to feed her morsel by morsel and she let me feed her without
resisting. It was such a beautiful moment, and it is something that I
will always remember. I was sad to leave her, but we had to move on
to the Kabir Ashram where another batch of participants had prepared
a yummy lunch for us. The ashram was small, and peaceful. There were
some monks who lived there. We ate together, washed up and then went
back to E.S.I to rest. Bhumi, Pranit and Deepa, three people who I
got really close to during the retreat and I spent the time chatting
and singing. It was a lovely way to connect further. We still remain
in touch.
The evening consisted
of us visiting Manav Sadhna, an NGO started by Jayesh Bhai and others
to uplift the underpriviledged just through love (
http://manavsadhna.org/)
Visit for more information. We were given an introduction about
Ishwar Kaka's work and also saw the toilet garden that was created.
There were so many different versions of toilets portrayed and they
were all products of scientific research. There was also a toilet
cafe in the making, where the chairs and everything else were made
out of toilet seats etc. It was quite an unique experience. We moved
on to visit the Gandhi Ashram, and interacted with some of the
children there in the ashram school. It was a beautiful place, so
serene and peaceful and it felt somewhat weird to imagine that
Mahatma Gandhi would have been walking around this very place many
years ago. It was a special visit.
Now comes the most
special part of the day. Seva Cafe, Amdehbad
(
http://www.movedbylove.org/projects/sevacafe/)
where people are served food based on a gift economy. The guests are
handed a bill at the end of the meal which reads Rs.0.00. Why?
Because someone else has already paid for their meal. They are
therefore encouraged to pay it forward by contributing whatever they
feel like for the next persons meal. Amazing concept isn't it? The
food for us were cooked and served by a lovely bunch of volunteers
and the food was out of this world. There were all sorts of dishes,
ice cream, cake etc and it was a lovely meal. There was also a bit of
music performed at the end of Seva Cafe by the retreat participants.
Nimo ( an amazing rapper, who made it big in the USA) performed some
of his originals from the band KARMACY)
(
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qlFdeJL_3Y),
and he rapped in Gujarati, Spanish and English. It was mindblowing.
We also had Pooja sing a lovely prayer for us. Next up was a mini
concert in which I performed a few songs and it included a new
version of the all time favourite Old McDonald, and of course you
cannot forget Surangani. It was an awesome evening. We went back to
E.S.I and walking into my bedroom, I found a bunch of gifts left on
my bed by some invisible hands again. What a way to end the day
right?
Day 3- Hearts Day
The day began with
meditation again and then breakfast. There was a group session at the
Maitri Hall on daily practices of kindness and service. Random gifts
with SMILE cards attached also kept appearing in all corners and this
added to the beauty of the entire retreat. People just gave so
unconditionally and freely. We gave in whatever way we could. People
also kept getting letters of love delivered to them. The session
included a part about Rev.Heng Sure, a Buddhist monk in Berkely who
amazed the world by walking from California to Los Angeles and all he
did during the entire walk, was take three steps, and the bow in
gratitude for all the world had offered him. His walk was a prayer
for world peace. He was offered protection by another monk who was a
black belt martial artist and he also joined Rev.Sure in his
gratitude walk. He walked the entire distance just doing the exact
same thing, taking three steps and bowing. We did the same thing
around a beautiful pond at E.S.I. We walked three steps, and bowed
our heads on the ground in gratitude for all the people in our lives
and for the universe. It was a mind shifting experience, and the
connection I felt when I laid my forehead on the ground was simply
magical. I felt an energy sore through me.
There was a final round
of sharing after the gratitude walk and then it was lunch and then I
had to get set to head to the airport. Neerad dropped me and a few
others who also had flights around the same time, and even at the
airport, a participant found the opportunity to do something nice for
me. We were talking about her work with Mohamed Yunus, the father of
Gramin Banks and she suddenly dissapeared inside a book store and
came out with his book “ Banker to the Poor' and gifted it to me.
It was so random, yet so profound. I am so grateful. The flight back
home was good, and after chatting to the guy sitting next to me on
the plane, I discovered that his girl-friend is my classmate, so we
ended up taking the same airport bus and the same auto rickshaw home.
How, random can the universe get?
So, here's my version
of things that happened at the Moved By love Retreat, Amdehbad,
Aug/Sep, 2013. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed
writing it all down.
