Day 39 – 20 February 2025
Can enlightenment happen without self-effort, how do the enlightened ones behave, and are there any methods that can be adopted to attain the highest truth, were some of the questions dealt with in Sri M’s sessions on Day 5 of the Yoga Vasistha Retreat.
An engaged audience listened with rapt attention to every word as he explained how a king attained enlightenment through meditation and introspection, while the sons of sages Brihaspati and Shukra attained it through a deep conversation, meeting after years of sadhana. He also explained how Sage Vasistha revealed to Lord Rama yogic ways of attaining enlightenment through arresting the prana and focusing on certain centres or even through the chanting of Om after persistent practice. Interspersing the difficult text with anecdotes and examples from daily life, Sri M sowed the seeds of the highest knowledge among the congregation.
The annadaanam seva where nearly 500 sadhus and pilgrims gathered, was also presided over by Sri M. Among them were two aged sanyasinis from Vrindavan, one of whom has been coming to the seva daily, bringing with her a small idol of baby Krishna, a Ladoo Gopal that she always feeds first before eating herself. Despite running a high temperature, she had sat up the previous night composing a bhajan that she sang for Sri M seeking his blessings both for herself and her idol.
The sadhus had come from all over our vast country – Bengal, the remotest parts of Orissa and Bihar, Tripura, and South India. Pilgrims with families and children also queued up seeking blessings as well as enjoying the hot khichri served after taking a dip in the Triveni Sangam.The evening Dhuni Puja was enlivened by young boys or Batuks chanting verses from the Yajur Veda supported by their teacher from the Vedic Pathshala in Prayagraj. They were delighted to receive Yogadham bags and a small contribution for their efforts.