Retreats
Upcoming Retreats:
Facilitated by:
Sacinandana Swami, Giriraja Swami, Mahatma Das, Yajna Purusha Das, Bada Haridas Das
Date:
September 16-21, 2008
Location:
Delphi University & Spiritual Center
940 Old Silvermine Road
McCaysville, GA 30555
Delphi is conveniently located in McCaysville GA, which is approximately 2 hours North of Atlanta GA, 1 1/2 hours East of Chattanooga TN, 3 1/2 hours South of Knoxville TN, 2 1/2 hours south of Ashville NC, and 30 minutes West of Murphy NC. Delphi is located where the three states of Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee come together on the map.
Price:
Early Fee if you register by August 10, 2008: $695 per person
Late Fee if you register from August 11th till August 31st, 2008: $795 per person
Registration Ends: August 31, 2008
The fee includes 5 nights and 6 days of comfortable accommodation, all meals, tuition, materials, etc.
Who else is coming?
Note on Accommodation Facilities:
At Delphi we can accommodate up to 35 participants. If you register after these 35 seats have been filled up, we will accommodate you at the Self-Enlightenment Ashram (SEA), which is a beautiful guesthouse located 5 minutes drive from Delphi. This guesthouse offers two very comfortable and luxurious rooms with 4 bunk beds each, and 5 single rooms suitable for singles or couples. If you choose a single room in the SEA, your retreat fee will be $120 higher. If you stay at SEA, make sure you have a vehicle or you should find a daily ride to the temple and the prasadam hall.
Accommodations on the main Delphi site will be booked on first come first serve basis.
If you have any special accommodation preferences, please make sure to register now.
Note for married couples: If you prefer to share a room with your spouse, please register as early as you can. The coupleÕs rooms are very limited in number and if they are taken by the time you register, you will have to share a room with 2-3 devotees of the same gender.
All rooms are very comfortable and have private bathrooms (either in the room itself, or right next door).
Prasada:
All meals will be cooked by Apurva Das and his wife Kamalini Dasi. We guarantee you healthy, delicious and nourishing prasada.
Transportation
For details on how to reach Delphi by car or plane, please visit: http://delphiu.com/facilities.htm, Bhagavat Life will not be able to provide you with pick up from the Atlanta Airport.
However, you may book a seat with the Delphi shuttle, which will make a one-time pick up at 1 pm on September 16th, and one-time drop-off on September 21st. The Delphi shuttle can take up to 6 passengers with luggage and it costs $130 ($22 per person if full). If you would like to take the shuttle, please make sure to arrive in Atlanta before 1 pm and make a shuttle reservation with the Bhagavat Life office (info@bhagavatlife.com).
Or you may rent a car and share it with other devotees flying into Atlanta.
I can honestly say that the Japa Retreat was one of the most profound experiences of my life. The benefits from the experience have continued until today, and I expect them to continue forever.
Giriraja Swami
Why a Japa Retreat?
The Japa Retreat was developed by His Holiness Sacinandana Swami to help devotees go deeper into their chanting - and thus deeper into their relationship with Krsna. Seeing how easy it is to take our chanting for granted, Maharaja saw the need to create an ideal environment for devotees to get the most out of their chanting, to overcome bad habits, and to begin to deeply relish the holy names in ways that would have a transforming effect on them.
The Japa Retreat is that ideal environment. The retreat is held at a retreat center where participants spend five days and four nights absorbed in the holy name, living far away from the distractions of daily life. It is rejuvenating, enlivening, and transforming. It is the ideal environment for the Holy Name to reveal Himself to you in a special and memorable way.
The Japa Retreat was and continues to be one of the most meaningful and impacting events of my life. Never before had I experienced an actual taste for the chanting and a realization of fact that chanting is a way to have direct association with Lord Krishna through His sound. Chanting used to be a task to be completed every day but now I actually look forward to spending time with Krishna each morning.
Rasa Acharya Das (Gurukuli), Washington DC
What Can You Expect?
Participants commonly report that they:
- Discover where their chanting most needs improvement;
- Develop positive japa habits that stay with them long after the retreat is over;
- Enter more deeply than ever into Krishna's presence through His Holy Names;
- Relish the nectar of the Holy Name in new ways;
- Transform their japa through applying the techniques they learn and practice in the retreat;
- Increase their faith in the power and purifying effects of the Holy Name;
- Gain greater insights into the theology of the Holy Name
- Develop deep and honest relationships with other participants
- Become inspired to make japa a top priority in their life;
These retreats, if carried on, can revolutionize our movement because they force us to face ourselves and actually do that internal work; and when we develop our purity and devotion from the inside, we can more easily affect the world outside. It will happen naturally.
To devotees everywhere, I say boil the milk. Keep up with all other services but please, boil the milk. Thank you, Divyambara and Purusa Sukta Prabhus for committing to this and executing it so well. And thank you, Sacinandana Maharaja, for being the powerful and beautiful force behind it.
Yadunath Das, New York, NY