A Silent 7-days Meditation Retreat for the Revelation of the Spiritual Heart

[Guest guest]

Kamala Yoga Centre organise

A Silent 7-days Meditation Retreat for the Revelation of the Spiritual

Heart

9-17 aug. 2008, Voineasa, (near Ramnicu-Valcea), Romania

This special retreat focuses on the Revelation of the Spiritual Heart,

our real and essential nature, the supreme and divine Self, âtman.

During this immersion retreat, we will address broad aspects of the

Spiritual Heart, from a variety of traditions including Christian

esoteric, Sufi and Kashmir Shaivist traditions.

You will have english translation.

The program aims to create an experience most resembling a solitary

retreat (as in a cave, for example) with the intention to provide

attendees with an opportunity to reach deep inner states of

consciousness, intense aspiration for the Divine, and highly focused

interiorization for the awakening and blossoming of the soul,

jîva-âtman. This method is a unique integration of Advaita Vedânta,

Sufism, Tantra and Dzogchen.

This retreat is led by yoga teacher Claudiu Trandafir, whose

meditation, for years now, has been dedicated to the Revelation of the

Spiritual Heart through Love and the opening of the soul. Claudiu, an

electronic engineer by education, was formerly a professor at the

University of Parapsychology in Bucharest, Romania. He has been a Yoga

teacher for 22 years, specializing in solitary cave retreats,

following the example of Ramana Maharshi and other Jnâna Yoga masters.

After years of solitary retreats followed by spiritual accomplishment,

in 2002 Claudiu began to guide groups of people using this method. He

has led this special retreat for more than 1000 participants across

Europe over the last six years. During the last year he has lead

this retreat in Thailand in each month at Agama yoga school.

During these years, Claudiu has developed a method that gradually

cultivates in participants the following attitudes:

1. An inner awareness of all sensory perceptions and emotions which

will gradually become, through sublimation, an awareness of the

Spiritual Heart;

2. The calming down of the mind (a state of peace of mind);

3. The polarization between the individual soul and the divine Self,

âtman, that is experienced as a state of very strong and profound

aspiration and longing for God;

4. The evocation of death of the physical body as a way of

transcending desires and egotistical tendencies;

5. The act of powerfully evoking and experiencing the mystery of God's

presence inside our Hearts.

To support the retreat, complete mauna (silence) must be maintained by

all attendees. An atmosphere full of love and aspiration will be

created in which participants can surrender to their real and

essential nature.

This retreat includes advice for guided meditation, lectures, and

practical methods such as:

• Ramana Maharshi's method of introspection (Self-inquiry, âtma

vicâra, using the question " Who Am I? " )

• Techniques of stilling the mind using breath control

• Study of the symbolism of the Spiritual Heart

• Methods of Self-centering in everyday life

• Advice for maintaining awareness of the Spiritual Heart, in the

tradition of the Fathers of the Desert (from Christianity)

• The Christian method of the Prayer of the Heart

• A proper understanding of Advaita Vedânta's fundamental principles

• Methods of passing from individual consciousness to Cosmic Consciousness

• The four fundamental stages in the process of the Revelation of the

Spiritual Heart

• Daily special meditations on themes connected with Self-Revelation

• Yogic methods that approach the issue of the Spiritual Heart

• Poetry

• Hatha Yoga sessions

An introductory session will take place on 9 aug 2008 at 16:00 during

which we will meditate and explain the rules.

RETREAT RULES

In order to create the preliminary conditions that facilitate our

access to deep inner states, mental peace, and aspiration toward the

Divine, it is necessary that certain rules be strictly followed for

the duration of the retreat. These rules aim to create certain

conditions that would resemble those a yogi experiences in solitude,

for instance in a cave retreat. The retreat atmosphere has been

evaluated carefully as to how it can best support the attendees'

spiritual efforts. The rules are part of this support. All hopeful

participants must agree to abide by these guidelines and the

consequences of noncompliance.

This retreat is arranged as a serious opportunity for serious

aspirants who wish for a very special and exclusive retreat

opportunity. Please approach these guidelines with this frame of mind,

with an openness toward protecting and supporting this atmosphere

through your own agreement and cooperation. If you at first glance

feel that the guidelines are too strict or too difficult for you,

first consider your own state of readiness to participate. If you do

indeed feel ready, then inspire yourself with the knowledge that this

retreat lasts just a few days in the big picture of life!

1.Mauna (silence) is compulsory. The period of mauna will begin on the

first morning, with the consecration of the retreat, and will end

after the last meditation on the seventh day, as per the length of the

retreat. Absolutely no talking by participants will be allowed. For

any real necessities, please inform us in writing of administrative

problems.

2.Retreat participants are asked not to use CD players, MP3 players,

radios, TVs, DVD players, the Internet, or computers for the duration

of the retreat. Thus there is to be no listening to the news or music,

doing email, watching movies, etc.

3.Use of mobile phones is not allowed during the retreat. They should

ideally be left at home and off for the retreat's duration. You should

make a firm commitment not to use the phone for conversations, SMS

messages, etc., for the duration of the retreat.

4.Reading is not allowed, not even of books of a spiritual nature.

5.Sexual abstinence is mandatory. This really means abstinence and not

just continence! This point is obviously non-enforceable (we cannot

check you, of course), but is insisted upon to reinforce the

atmosphere resembling solitude that we are attempting to create for

participants. If you wish to join the retreat, please agree to abide

by this requirement for the duration of the retreat.

6.It is strongly recommended that men and women choose separate

accommodation for this retreat and that they also dine separately.

Kamala will facilitate this point with separate rooms and dining areas

for men and for women during any arranged mealtimes.

7.Fasting is not recommended for the entire duration of the retreat

(although your own tapas of a weekly fasting day is OK), in order to

maintain a high level of vitality and energy for meditation.

8.It is recommended that you aim to cultivate a state of experience

resembling solitude by agreeing not to: look at others, touch, hug,

kiss, say hello (even nonverbally), smile at each other, etc. This can

at times feel alienating and lonely for people who are very sociable

and miss such simple human contact, but it will drastically help your

experience of interiorization. In addition, the opening of the soul

will offer you the opportunity to communicate in a much subtler way,

through the language of love. Your friends will still love you at the

end of the retreat, maybe even more if they have reached a deep

opening of the heart!

9.Participants should try to avoid attention to their own vanity and

desire to attract the opposite sex. This advice is usually presented

in Buddhist retreats held at monasteries, where there is also a

sensitivity toward supporting the meditation environment of the monks.

The same is asked here. We ask that women not wear makeup or perfume,

and that they dress discreetly and simply.

10.Please limit your looking at photographs to those of spiritual

masters and gurus only. Do not gaze upon photos of your friends,

family, etc. in order to help yourself concentrate on transcendental

states rather than worldly thoughts.

11.We strongly advise you not to go into the city, do shopping, etc.

These guidelines are given well in advance of the retreat to give you

ample opportunity to prepare for your needs.

12.It is recommended that participants record their meditative and

daily experiences in a notebook, but please keep all questions until

the last day of the retreat when we will hold a question and answer

session designated for this purpose. Recall that we are evoking a

state of isolation in solitude where there is no one but you to answer

your questions.

13.Attendance at all retreat sessions is compulsory. The only

exception will be made for sick people.

14.Everyone must be on time for all spiritual activities, as lateness

is very disruptive and latecomers will not be allowed to join until

the next session. Please plan accordingly.

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT CERTAIN ACTIONS CONSTITUTE

GROUNDS FOR EXPULSION FROM THE RETREAT.

It is hereby re-emphasized that these guidelines must be followed, for

the benefit of all participants. Consider carefully before joining

whether you truly accept the parameters of the retreat and its rules.

Certain actions will form the basis for warnings (listed below). If a

person has already received two warnings, he or she will be asked to

leave without hesitation or negotiation after the third infraction of

the rules. No refunds will be given for those who choose to leave or

are asked to leave.

These actions will constitute grounds for a warning:

1.Absence from a retreat session

2.Lateness to a retreat session

3.Falling asleep during meditations

4.Disregarding segregated areas for men and women

5.Talking, making other sounds, or being generally disruptive

6.Listening to music, news, sending SMS messages, or talking on the phone

7.Disregard for any other of the above mentioned rules.

We welcome you to this exceptional retreat and hope you will choose to

be patient and open. The first several days, as anyone who has done a

meditation retreat knows, can be full of restlessness, muscular fever

and aches, physical and mental purification, and various spiritual

tests. We invite you to commit yourself fully to this retreat, to stay

firm and double your resolve in the face of such challenges. Try to

make this event a very special opportunity for your spiritual evolution!

May God bless and inspire us!

Your participation at this retreat is free.

Accomodation and meals for 8 days/pers: 150 euro.

You must pay in advance, until August 1, 2008

Contact us: contact@... or by phone + 40 731.32.42.41 or + 40

788.477.245 or + 40 268.360.424.

Visit our site: www.kamala.ro