Shivir (Workshop) Schedule Info

• Please get in touch with the contact person at the location in which you wish to attend the workshop for details and confirmation.
• Number of participants is limited to about 40 per workshop
• The introduction or ‘parichay shivirs’ are usually of 7 days duration. They provide an overview of the entire darshan. Click here for further details on the introduction workshop/ ‘parichay shivir’
• Recommended that the workshop be attended for all 7 days and not in parts.
• dhyayan shivirs (Study workshops) are to get into further details and participation is at the discretion of the facilitator (prabodhak)
• There are no fees for the workshop. Boarding & lodging costs of the workshop are usually borne by the participants themselves. No one is denied a place if they are unable to bear the same.

Latest schedule available on:

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Outline of the workshop

• The introduction workshops or ‘parichay shivirs’ are usually of 7 days duration.
• Recommended that the workshop be attended for all 7 days and not in parts.
• The entire workshop is conducted in the form of a dialogue. Proposals are placed to the participants and they are requested to evaluate them on their own right (adhikaar) without taking any recourse to past beliefs (manyata)..
• The objective of the workshop is to place the proposals to participants so that on their paying attention they are able to see the same reality/meaning themselves. It is important to not assume anything stated in the workshop, rather it has to be rigorously evaluated in ones right. Taking it as a ‘belief’ or something to be ‘followed’ defeats its very purpose, its very objective, its very foundation. The objective is to have the understanding in ones own right.
• The workshops uses language and logic (tarka) to draw participants attention to reality

A Few Other Points

A Study of What IS

Most of our problems stem from false understanding. Jeevan Vidya is a study of ‘What Is’ (Jo hai) and NOT of What is Not. For instance Light IS, but darkness is NOT. Darkness is the absence of light. There is existence of light – it can be brought to a place (say a lamp) but darkness cannot be brought to a place. What we call darkness is actually a shadow, which is created by putting an obstacle in the way of light. Similarly there is ‘samaadhaan’. ‘Samaadhaan’ is knowing what IS. Problems are an absence of Samaadhaan , when we do not know WHAT IS (Jo hai). So problems like darkness have no real existence.

Language makes mental categories, without our being conscious of these categories. In most languages there is no distinction made between WHAT IS and WHAT IS NOT. From childhood we are taught to believe that we live in a world of opposites. For instance, we are taught that the opposite of light is darkness, opposite of good is evil etc.. This gives a false impression as if both (the opposites) have an existence. But the reality is that one exists while the other has no existence. One is real (has bhav) while the other is false (or absence of the real or absence of what is, i.e., abhav). During the adhyayan prakriya one realises that there is a difference between the word and its meaning (artha).

Self & Body

An attempt is made to understand human beings as comprising of two entities that coexist together – the ‘body’ and the ‘Self’. The needs or requirements of the body (food clothing, shelter) and the self (to know, be satisfied, respect, love, help others, etc) are entirely different, both the needs are required to be fulfilled. This is the basic human design. It is quite easy to understand this distinction between the body and the self, once our attention is drawn to it. For instance the body tastes, smells, hears, touches, sees through its sensory organs and passes on the information to the self. It is then the self, who comprehends or makes sense out of all this. It also evaluates these senses – likes them, dislikes them etc.. It is the self who thinks, perceives, has likes and dislikes, reacts, responds etc..

But what we finally understand is that the need of the self is intangible in nature. It craves for intangibles like knowledge, happiness, trust, respect, love, bothers about people around it etc.. Also these needs (of the self) are constantly there, incessantly and are without any limits. While the needs of the body are those of the tangibles and are not incessant. For instance once we have had food we can eat again only after an interval. Also there is a definite limit to the food we consume. Likewise all the needs of the body are limited. But the need of the self is continuous.

Our conditioning and teachings make no distinction between the self with the body. The two are taken as one therefore no distinction is ever made between the separate requirements of the two entities, which can be said to coexist in a human being. Because of this basic confusion most human beings put their entire effort in satisfying the bodily requirements. But satisfying the bodily needs does not satisfy the self. And the yearning of the self for the non material, the intangible remains in a human being. It is part of the human design. So the dissatisfaction remains. The dissatisfaction prompts the human being to strive for more and more tangible items because they are unable to understand the self -whose requirements are entirely different, intangible in nature. There are no limits to the demands of the self, for the intangible. The self wants happiness/satisfaction,

Questions

Understanding the Self

• What are the activities in the Self?
• What is Thinking, Desiring, knowing, memory?
• What is the nature of desire?
• What are ego and depression?
• How do we ‘know’ that we know?
• What is the meaning of a belief? What is an ideology?
• What is logic? What are its limitations?
• What is intuition?
• What are Happiness, anger, sadness, jealousy, stress? Can they be understood at all?
• What is the meaning of internal conflict?

Understanding sleep and dreams

• What does it mean to be ‘aware’?
• What is the meaning of ‘I’? What is the meaning of, and nature of consciousness?
• What is the source of existential yearning of man? What is its satisfaction point?
• Mind, intellect, what are these?
• What is the role of the brain?
• What do I really want to be?
• Why are we curious? Why do we want to know? What is to be known?
• Is there something common in all of us? What is it? How do we know?
• What distinguishes a human being from an animal?
• What is human conduct, human nature? Can this be known?
• What is the human target? The human aim? How can it be had?

Understanding the Body, Health

• What is the relationship of the Self with the Body?
• Are they both the same, or are they different?
• What is the meaning of Health?
• How can one be healthy?
• What is the meaning of disease?

Understanding Human Relationships

• What is the nature of human relationships?
• Do we need to create relationships?
• Why are we related?
• What are the expectations in relationships?
• Are these definite?
• Can they be fulfilled?
• What is basic to a relationship?
• What is the true meaning of trust, respect, affection…love…?
• Can these be known in an absolute sense, or are they relative?
• What is the meaning of justice, or nyaya? Is it absolute?
• What are the problems in relationships due to?
• Can these be sorted?

Understanding Society

• What is the meaning of Society?
• Why do we have War?
• Why do we have Exploitation?
• What is crime?
• What is Economics?: Poverty, Distribution?
• What is the meaning of education?
• What does a child want?
• How does the work of NGO’s and Activists fit into society? What role does it play? What else is needed?
• What is the true meaning of development?
• What is the true meaning of the word ‘progress’?
• What systems in society would we need to fulfill the human target? How can we have them?
• How does ‘Modernity’ compare to the actual human target?
• What is the human constitution, if there is one? Can it be fulfilled?
• What is the meaning of ‘value’?

Understanding Nature

• What does Nature consist of?
• Who made it this way? How did it come to be?
• Is nature in harmony, or is it in chaos?
• How can we understand nature?
• What is the sequence of development in nature?
• What if any, is the relationship between the material order, plants, animals and humans?
• How did man come to be?
• What is Pollution? Why does it happen?
• What is resource depletion?
• How can we live in harmony with the environment?

Understanding Existence

• How big is existence? What does it comprise of?
• What are we doing in existence? What is our purpose?
• Why does anything exist?
• Why are things the way they are?
• What is the meaning of science?
• What are its limitations, if any?
• What is truth?
• How can it be known?
• What is the meaning of a creator? Is there a creator? Is there a controller?
• What is space? How can I understand it?
• Is existence in chaos?
• What is light?
• What is energy? What is its source?
• What is reality? How can we know it?
• What are the form-full dimensions of reality?
• What are the form-less dimensions of reality?
• Is there definiteness in Existence?
• What is time?

Below are some snapshots from the content of the workshop:

What is it?

• It is a process of dialogue between what you are and what you really want to be
• It is a process of self exploration and self evolution
• It is a process of knowing oneself and through that knowing the entire existence
• It is a process of recognizing ones relationship with every unit in existence and fulfilling it
• It is a process of knowing human conduct, human character and living accordingly
• It is a process of being in harmony with oneself and in harmony with the entire existence

Program of action for us:
To investigate whether there is harmony in existence. To know the harmony and live accordingly at all 6 levels of our existence/being/living:

1. Self
2. Body
3. Family
4. Society
5. Nature
6. Existence

Human Society: Objectives,Target:

1. Samadhan in every human being (Right understanding, Resolution, Happiness, Knowledge)
   
   • Right Understanding is necessary for every human being. When one is not having theright understanding, he remains disturbed and he starts disturbing others.
2. Samrudhhi in every family (Prosperity)
   
   • Prosperity in every family- family being able to identify its needs and being able to produce/ achieve more than its requirement.
3. Abhaya in society (Trust, Fearlessness)
   
   • Trust in Society- every member feels related to every one else(Akhand Samaj) and therefore there is trust.
4. Saha- Astitwa in nature (Co-existence)
   
   • Co-existence in Nature- there is co-existence i.e. a relation of mutual fulfillment among four orders of nature.

Harmony in Nature

In existence whatever we see – can be classified into four major categories. These are

1. the material order (padarthavastha)
   
   • - Inherent Nature is to ‘compose and decompose’
2. the pulsating order (plants, etc) (pranavastha)
   
   • - Inherent Nature is to ‘grow’
3. the animal order (jeevavastha )
   
   • - Inherent nature is ‘will to survive’
4. the knowledge order, human beings (gyanavastha)
   
   • - Inherent nature is ‘will to survive’ with knowledge and happiness/satisfaction/sukh

Harmony in Existence

In the Entire Existence there are 2 types of realities.They are 1.Units eg Tree house etc and 2.Space.

• Units are in Space.
• Units are submerged in space. Units are in coexistence with space.i.e Space is inside as well as outside the unit.This Space does not obstruct physical object and it does not get obstructed by Physical objects.

All Units are Interrelated in Space. Activities are going on in Units. Space is no-activity.
There are 2 types of Realities - One which has no Activities. It is Unlimited (Vyapak).Other has Activities.The activities(units) are energized in co-existence with Space (no-activity).

Reality is always reflected on each and every Unit. Every unit in Existence is reflected on me and on itself.

Every Unit is submerged in space because

1. It is energized in space.
2. Self-organized in space.
3. Recognizes and fulfills its relationship with others in Space

Existence= Units submerged in Space.
In Space, Organization is available but It is not binding you.

Past Shivir Reports

Website Last Updated: 22^nd November 08