What – intrigued me was that you don’t speak to anyone for 10 days, what bliss, especially since my voice box has been chattering non stop for the last 4 decades.
When – is this possible, well at least for working professionals like me, only during in-between jobs. While working, one can probably take 10 days off, but being away from cell phone and email is almost next to impossible these days.
Where – this was at Vipassana meditation center, outskirts of Bangalore, about 1 hour drive from M G road, in Alur village on Tumkur road.
In Pali language – Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of the meditation techniques from ancient India. It was rediscovered by Gautama – The Buddha, more than 2500 years ago and was taught by him as a universal remedy for universal maladies.
Pali is a Middle Indo- Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent, Pali died out as a literary language in mainland India in the fourteenth century.
It is mental purification through self-observation by a logical process. The practice of Vipassana meditation involves following the principles of Dhamma (Pali) / Dharma (Sanskrit), the way to liberation – which is the universal law of nature. It involves walking on the noble eight-fold path, which is broadly categorised into Sila (Morality), Samadhi (concentration) and Pañña (wisdom, insight).
To learn Vipassana, it is necessary to take a ten-day (in travel parlance it is actually 11 nights and 12 days) residential course under the guidance of a qualified teacher. During the entire duration of the retreat, students remain within the course campus, having no contact with the outside world. During the course, participants follow a prescribed Code of Discipline. We also observe noble silence by not communicating with fellow students, including not having eye contact with fellow meditators. During meal times as well, one sits behind each other and not facing other.
Today, Vipassana courses, as taught by S.N. Goenka in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin, are held at 341 locations in 94 countries . Although Indian by descent, Mr. Goenka was born and raised in Myanmar (Burma). Mr. Goenka settled in India and began teaching Vipassana in 1969 and is a recipient of many awards and honors in his lifetime, including the prestigious Padma Bhushan Award from the President of India in 2012. It is also taught in prisons both in India and abroad.
Great emphasis is put on preserving the technique in its original, authentic form, as it has been found to be genuinely helpful. It is not taught commercially, but instead is offered freely. None of the teachers receives any material remuneration. The course is offered free of charge – not even to cover the cost of food and accommodation. Expenses are met by donations from past students who, having completed a course and experienced the benefits of Vipassana and they wish to give others the opportunity to benefit too.
The 10 days course is highly regimental, waking up at 4 am and sleeping at 9:30 pm daily. Of the 17.5 hrs one is awake, 12 hrs is spent in meditation and listening to teachers’ discourses. One of the participants dropped the badge with the pin on it and I actually heard the Pin Drop, sound. This is not like watching Netflix or Prime video non stop, season after season, but seeing one’s own mind with all its positives and negatives. It can be unnerving for most people.
What meditators miss in these 10 days is, mostly chatting with loved ones, mobile phone, non veg food and internet, but for me not able to read and listen to music was the most difficult part. The campus is lush green with many fruit bearing trees and flowering plants, in the evenings I actually saw fireflies, after many years and this brought instant happiness and nostalgia. Breakfast is at 6:30 am, lunch is at 11 am and evening tea with snack is at 5 pm, there is no dinner, why, well we don’t need it and the morning after meditation is very clear and sharp.
Practising Vipassana meditation will not aid in the development of super-normal, mystical, or special powers. Nothing magical happens. Just observe breath without trying to control or regulate the same, contrary to most other meditation techniques currently there. Mankind’s highest qualities of pure love, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity are opened up during this process of self realization.
This course is open to anyone sincerely wishing to learn the technique, irrespective of race, caste, faith, gender or nationality. An online registration is required which opens typically 3 months before the course and gets filled up almost immediately.
What did I gain, well I actually lost 3 kgs within 12 days and have come back wiser with the simple knowledge that, nothing is permanent in life which I grasped in a deeper manner. Both happy and sad moments pass away, due to the law of impermanence. ‘This too shall pass’.
I definitely recommend this 10 day meditation course to everyone, at least once in their lifetime, this is absolute “me time”, though I am not sure how many of us can handle this, facing the stark realities of life, in our minds.
As I left the campus enriched, I cranked up the car volume on the 1988 hit by Bobby McFerrin – Don’t Worry, Be Happy…
Joseph K Jose – is a Travelangelist and has traveled to 34 countries across 6 continents – joseph.jose@gmail.com
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