Jain Spirit 2000 03 No 03

SR No.: 528983
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains
Publication Year: 2000
Total Pages: 66
Language: English
Classification: Magazine, UK_Jain Spirit, & UK
File Size: 14 MB

Page 30

RE-TREAT YOURSELF
Young Jains Retreats also involve everyone in the preparation of the food.
doing, and look at it objectively in order to see whether the lifestyle we are following is taking us in the direction we want to go.
I have had the good fortune to attend 15 or 20 retreats in my time, and can honestly say that I have yet to be part of a group consisting of people whose company I have not thoroughly enjoyed. I do not think that this is because I generally meet like-minded people there, nor do I think that they are especially lovely people whom I could not help but enjoy being with. Rather I think this feeling has more to do with the atmosphere at such retreats. Instead of facing the relentless pressures and demands that it has become accustomed to, when exposed to a more relaxed environment, one's mind is able to enjoy the space and time required to operate more freely. As a result I have observed that people naturally start to find themselves behaving with gentleness and consideration towards each other.
Alongside experiencing such friendly relations, another benefit of taking part in retreats is the clarity people observe in their own thoughts and ideas. When the mind is cleansed of the usual baggage of unnecessary fears and trivial worries that it normally wastes its energy upon, it is able to see and think much more clearly than usual. As a result at the end of retreats I often hear people talk of having found breakthroughs to long-term problems. Participants have often had profound and beautiful realisations about themselves and how to make a difference to their lives. I believe retreats are a necessity in modern life. Try one and see for your self.
experience instilled a good impression of "retreats" within me, and paved the way for participation in a good number over the next four or five years. In 1995, I decided to start organising similar events specifically for young people, and the joy that these gatherings have brought to me has been quite incredible.
My father is due to retire this summer, and I recently asked him how he thought he would spend the years to come. He replied by explaining to me how up to this point his life had been somewhat "automatic". As a child he was sent to school to study, and then to college and university. Having qualified he then found work and had been working in a similar fashion for the last 45 years. It was only now that this "automatic” life pattern had come to an end, and for the first time he was having to find his own way.
Whilst listening to him, I began to think how much of our existence in the 21st century has become "automatic or routine. Our society is so fast and so demanding that sometimes it can seem an achievement just to get through the
day! In an increasingly automated world, even human beings can appear like machines with so many tasks to perform, forever fighting against the clock. We never seem to have enough time to stop and reflect, nor to do those things we would really love to do. Ordinary things become known as urgent, often with the result that the really important things in life don't get a look in. It is no wonder that people in later life can look back and feel that although their lives were full, they were not necessarily fulfilling.
I also believe that it is not just our actions and our time that have become automated, but also our minds have been affected too. Imagine buying a new suit: you might really appreciate wearing it for the first few days, but then within a week, wearing it becomes part of your routine and you no longer notice it anymore. In the same way it is easy for us to lose that sense of appreciation for ourselves and for those people around us, as we do not have the time, space and energy to see things as they truly are. We have lost touch with the ability to step back from what we are
Ravi Khanna is an IT consultant based in London. He has led several sessions on self-reflections with Young Jains in the UK and North America. Jain Spirit is planning on starting its own retreat programme, so if interested, please write to retreats@jainspirit.org
March - May 2000. Jain Spirit
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