YJ International Newsletter 2004 Vol 18 No 03

Author(s): Young Jains (UK)
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 10

FURTHERING THE JOURNEY ON THE
PATH TO MOKSHA
ummer is a time which is full of joy, light and warmth for all of us. In the summer of 2003,
over 100 seekers gathered for a unique spiritual weekend with Param Pujya Bhaishree, Nalinbhai Kothari, to experience his warmth, know his joy and to have light cast on the path to Moksha.
Param Pujya Bhaishree began by addressing a key concern of youngsters in search of spiritual meaning, We often hear that, to attain Moksha, we need to turn our back on the world, to leave it behind. Upon hearing this, many of us are turned away from the path to Moksha and believe we cannot walk it.
Bhaishree, as he is affectionately known, is the spiritual head of the Raj Saubhag Ashram is Sayla, Gujarat. He is Self-Realised, and represents the continuous tradition of living True Gurus in Sayla since the time of Shrimad Rajchandra.
To illustrate his message, his Bodha, on this issue, Bhaishree related the story of an ascetic yogi, who had attained great powers through his penance, but who had to learn a spiritual lesson from a butcher. Normally, we would think that the yogi would have a much higher spiritual state than the butcher, on whom we might look down. However, the yogi had become proud of both his great penance and the powers he had attained. Meanwhile, the butcher had lived a life of selfless service, and only conducted as little business as he needed to make ends meet, and no more. The yogi was sent to the butcher to seek guidance, and the butcher gave him the simple advice to remove his sense of pride and to be selfless.
The Yuva Shibir (Youth Retreat) was held in the beautiful grounds of the Royal Holloway College, at Egham from the evening of 15 August 2003 to the 3rd. While within easy reach of London, participants were surrounded by nature, with the Swadhyay (Study) Hall set in a small copse, as though deep in the forest.
Bhaishree thus showed us that, even in the midst of performing our duties in family and business life, we can certainly also walk on the path to Moksha. However, all our activities have to be conducted with purity of heart and mind, in a wholesome way, and, most importantly, without a sense of ego. He explained, that to remove ego, we have to remove the sense of identity, of belonging and possessiveness, from our actions and thoughts, for them to be selfless. In this way Bhaishree taught the art of living a spiritual life, while balancing the demands of our worldly duties.
The Shibir covered some very profound subjects in a very practical manner, as Param Pujya Bhaishree shared the wealth of his experience. Bhaishree was accompanied by several leading members of the Ashram: Rasikbhai Shah, Bhupatbhai Sheth, Vikrambhai Shah, Lalitaben Shah, and Sudhaben Shah, who is frequently in London and Nairobi. Participants were able to spend a great deal of time in workshops with Bhaishree and with those who came with him, which enabled them to become better acquainted with his personality and begin to understand the nature of the path to Moksha.
Apart from the nine people from India, there were 110 participants, some all the way from Kenya and Uganda. The Shibir was open to all and 54% of those present were not formally members of the Ashram. The youngest participant was 11 and the eldest was over 60, while the largest grouping was between 20 to 35 in age, and 2 out of 3 participants were female.
During the weekend, there were several other Swadhyays in which Bhaishree shared the wisdom of his experience, taking references from stories, and from Shrimad Rajchandra's writings. Apart from the Swadhyays and workshops, there was time to interact with other participants in outdoor games in the green surroundings. Bhaishree, and those with him, participated fully. There was plenty of beautiful Bhakti
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