Chinmaya Famiy Camp

Hari Om. Last week, me and my family attended a week long Chinmaya Camp in Dallas,TX organized by the local (Dallas, TX) Chinmaya Mission centre - Chinmaya Saaket. Several CM Acharyas and Swamijis including the Head of Chinmaya Mission worldwide - Swami Tejomayananda (Guruji) participated in the event. Hundreds of Chinmaya devotees from different parts of the country (US) and some from Hong Kong and Tokyo also attended.

The goal of the camp was ‘The Journey from Change to Changeless’. Our Supreme Consciousness, the Brahman is the only changeless substratum of this universe. Everything else happens ‘on and because’ of this substratum. Change is relative; for a change to happen, there needs to be a changeless base which supports it. Attaining this ultimate base, which is the Atman within us, through knowledge and thereby reaching a state of changeless-ness within ourselves was the goal of this camp. Anyone who attains this Self-Realization is freed from all the sensuous afflictions of mind, body and intellect (BMI). This is the knowledge embedded in the priceless texts of Vedas and Bhagavad Gita.

It was a week spent in complete spiritual thoughts and alignment. Just as we do tuning up of our automobiles, just as we revitalize our physical bodies through massages, our inner Indriyas also need to be tuned up and revitalized frequently with doses of spirituality. Spirituality is contemplating on the One Supreme Power (OSP) which pervades all life and inert objects in this cosmos and aligning our Body, Mind and Intellect (BMI) to this eternal power. It transcends religion, rituals and other cultural practices - hence this exercise is applicable for all humans for improving their efficiency and productivity in their life.

The camp provided a great opportunity for all Chinmaya devotees and Vedantic students to listen to Swamiji’s and Acharyas of CM on several aspects of Advaita Vedanta. Our daily regimen in the camp started with Meditation early in the morning followed by discourses on Kaivalyo Upanishad, Gopika Geetam, Satsangs on Karma Yoga as applicable to different situations in life (Workplace, Parenting and other everyday life), Bhagavad Gita Ch. 17 and various cultural activities. Kids had activities appropriate to their age groups including Yoga and stories from Mahabharata and Ramayana.

Sri Aadi Shankara in his Bhaja Govindam has advised the following:

Trijagati Sajjanasangathireka; Bhavathi Bhavarnavatharane Nouka

In the three worlds, it is the association with good people alone that can serve as a boat to cross the sea of change (of birth and death)

Attending Satsangs and camps helps us forge our association with like minded people interested in Vedantic science and having ambitions to reach the plane of higher consciousness. Importantly it is indeed a blessing to talk, discuss and contemplate with senior Acharyas of Chinmaya Mission who have themselves been fortunate to have talked, walked and worked with Swami Chinmayananda for many years.

Aadi Shankara in another stanza of Bhaja Govindam also says :

Satsangatve Nissangatvam
Nissangatve Nirmohatvam
Nirmohatve Nischallatvam
Nischallatve Geevan Mukthi.

Through the company of good, there arises non-attachment; when there is non-attachment, there are no delusions; when there is freedom from delusions, there is the Immutable Reality; when there is the experience of Immutable Reality, there comes the state of liberation of life!

Seeking company of good like minded people is important in any profession of life - all the more in spirituality. In our present day world, most of us have enrolled into associations and groups for many of the career based professions – both online and otherwise. In the same way, it is important to devote time and effort to improve our inner conditioning in a spiritual way through Chinmaya Mission and other centers.