A Sadhana Shibir was organised jointly by Shree Chitrapur Math and the Samvit Sadhanayana of Mt. Abu at Kanyakumari and Rameshwaram during Navratri from 27^th Sept to 7^th Oct’2000. Our beloved Mathadhipati and 11^th Guru, Shrimad Sadyojata Shankarashram Swamiji and Shrimad Iswarananda Giriji Maharaj of Samvit Sadhanayana graced the Shibir by their hallowed presence. About seventy Sadhakas, both Chitrapur Saraswats and Samvit Sadhakas, attended the Shibir from Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Rajkot, Ahmedabad and other places.

    The Shibir got off to a grand start with the Deepa Prajwalana by the revered Swamijis. Swami Iswaranandaji in His inaugural pravachan highlighted the importance of Kanyakumari as the Mula Adhara of our country, which had been and would continue to be a plug point for spiritual renaissance. The Navaratri Shibir was a continuum of Desha (Land-Bharat), Kala (Time-Navaratri), Vaastu (place-Kanyakumari/ Vivekanandapuram) & the Nimitta (purpose-Sadhana),all of which were most auspicious and appropriate. H.H. recited the Kumari Tarpana Stotra which would be the main focus of His daily pravachans throughout the Shibir. Our Swamiji performed the Devi Pujan. In this He was accompanied by all the Sadhakas seated in rows, offering Puja to a small lamp. Swamiji also performed the Devi Pujan at Kanyakumari and the Shiva Pujan in Rameshwaram with His usual devotion and flair everyday.

    The sprawling campus of Vivekanandapuram, set in lush greenery, served as the most appropriate centre for the Shibir. The day began with a steaming cup of Tea/Coffee at 5.00am,to be followed by a Yoga/Pranayama Class conducted very admirably by Shrimad Shankar Samvit Giriji of Samvit Sadhanayana. Suprabhaat would be sung sweetly by the ladies to welcome in the early morn.

    The main focus of the Shibir was the daily Pravachan by Swami Iswaranandaji. He stressed upon the need for Sadhakas to diligently perform the Japa as idealised by the Goddess Kanyakumari, who stood meditatively with an Aksha(japa)Mala in her hand. Elaborating on the Kumari Tarpana Stotra, He described the playful Kumari as the Consciousness within us, traversing up the Sushumna Nadi through the different Chakras in our body and then descending as a Shower of Ambrosia/Bliss as the Sadhaka embarked on his Sadhana. This Sadhana was then to be offered lovingly (Bhakti) to Lord Bhavanishankar once again as a Tarpana (Offering). A detailed transcript of all Pravachans will appear later.

    The Parayana of the Devi Saptashati Mahatmya during the entire Navaratri was also the main focus of the Sadhana Shibir. Recitation sessions were led by Swami Iswaranandaji and the Sadhakas joyfully participated and enjoyed the episodes narrating the victory of the Mother Goddess over the Forces of Evil.

    Visits were made to the Kanyakumari Temple and the Vivekananda Rock Memorial on consecutive days. All the Sadhakas singing Bhajans in praise of the Mother Goddess were privileged to have her darshan from close quarters. Most remarkable was the Goddess’ sparkling Diamond Nose stud which served as a guiding beacon to ships in yester years. The Vivekananda Rock Memorial was very inspiring and one could feel the divine vibrations which the Sage, one of Mother India’s proud sons must have felt as He meditated upon the rock facing the motherland for four consecutive days, seeking Divine Inspiration. A new gigantic statue of the tamil poet-saint Thiruvalluvar now stands majestically on a nearby rock.

    The daily lunch witnessed the recitation of the 15^th Chapter of the Bhagwad Gita by all. In the evenings all converged to the Dhyana Mandir for the hour long Meditation session conducted by Swami Shankarji and once by our Swamiji too. This was followed by Deepa Namaskaars to our Holy Guru Parampara. The sumptuous dinner would be followed by the recitation of the Gauri Dashakam Stotras led by our Swamiji and then the very interesting interactive Vimarsha/Paramarsha session on topics such as, "Importance of Rituals", "What it means to be a Hindu" etc, wherein all the Sadhakas would enthusiastically participate. One late evening session witnessed a Kirtan in English by Dr Chaitanya Gulvady focussing on Bhakti wherein he related the Katha of Sant Chokha Mela of Pandharpur.

    The scene stealer of the day’s events would be the report of the Sakshi Vinayaka who would have been appointed secretly the previous day by our Swamiji, to report on any shortcomings and other events. As the Sadhakas waited with nervous apprehension, they were treated to some hilarious anecdotes and reminders to be on their toes.

    The Kanyakumari phase of the Shibir terminated with Swamiji presenting the Sadhakas with a small idol of Goddess Kanyakumari. The Shibiraarthis then got on to the bus to Rameshwaram singing Bhajans with gay devotion, all along the way.

    The R’waram camp at Goswami Math, was a relatively smaller but compact location. The early morn witnessed a Prabhat Pheri by the Sadhakas led by our Swamiji singing Bhajans in praise of the Lord, gradually wended its way into the temple and had darshan of Lord Ramanatha. The daily programmes continued in the usual mode. Morning meditation sessions would be conducted by Swami Iswaranandaji himself, in the beautiful temple of Lord Dattatreya in the Goswami Math precincts.

    Navami saw the recitation of the entire Saptashati in one session by all Sadhakas. Both the Swamis had Sagara Snana and Kunda Snana ,followed by Puja to Lord Ramanatha. An interesting feature of the R’waram session was a Vimarsha session conducted by Swami Iswaranandaji on "the Ishta" or the Aradhya daivata of a devotee.

    The concluding session on Dassera day featured Ashirvachans by both the Swamijis. Swami Iswaranandaji exhorted the sadhakas to increase their Sadhana, to tune their minds with the Lord, to exercise their Viveka Buddhi to discriminate between Nitya/Anitya ie the transient/intransient, which would in turn increase our Vairagya and take us on to our ultimate goal of Self Realisation. Our Swamiji then performed Guru Pujan and some of the Sadhakas were called upon to give their impressions of the Shibir, which they did with great aplomb. This was followed by the devotees being presented with mementos of a Shiva Linga, Kalasha & Prasad. Major credit goes to Shri Khambadkone Suresh Rao who had done tremendous spade work in the organising of this immensely successful Sadhana Shibir. Shri Prabhakar Bantwal and his band of enthusiastic volunteers, which comprised of almost all the Shibiraarthis contributed a great deal to the Shibir. The food arrangements were remarkable & the Sadhakas were treated to a tasty cuisine of South Indian food with its Sambars and Payasams.

    Truly the Sadhakas have returned with tremendous inspiration to embark on an intense Sadhana and a markedly different outlook towards this beautiful Universal Creation of the Lord. Indeed the rest of the community now looks forward to more such Shibirs with much greater participation.

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