I had visited Osho Nisarga about seven years earlier when the land had been purchased but building work hadn’t started so I was quite amazed to see how the place had been transformed. Everything was beautifully constructed and sparkling clean in the cool mountain air and, wonder of wonders, you could drink directly from the tap – a rare treat in India. The food was delicious and the temperature just right to eat in the open. My room had been described as being in the attic, but was actually extremely spacious and had a beautiful view of the Himalaya. The only drawback were the sloping ceilings which took me 2 days to acclimatise to and stop giving myself brain-damage as I bumped my head in my haste to change for the various meditations.

The participants arrived on the previous day which happened to be Diwali – Festival of Light – so our group started with a party and fireworks! Next morning after breakfast, we assembled in the lovingly built Mandir (or Buddhahall) and began introductions. The retreat was facilitated by Sarita and Chintan and assisted by Santoshi and Niten with help and amazing sound support from Gong Master Suraj and partner Giselle.

I had just bought a sound recording device before my trip, so I was keen to record the teachings and was doing quite well until I attempted to relocate myself with the extension lead – there was a loud bang, a smell of burning and a little pile of soot on the floor. “Oh, I thought – that could have been me.” After that, I thought I was better off just participating and focusing on dissolving my ego rather than my entire physical being!

We were introduced to a beautiful meditation which we would be practicing everyday after dynamic and before breakfast. This involved gazing at an object and allowing ourselves to dissolve in it, sense by sense. The first few minutes were accompanied by gonging by Suraj on his beautiful Venus and Mars gongs. After the first day, we decided to sit outside facing the river which was just gorgeous. After 40 minutes, Chintan lead us all in a slow Zen Walk along the river path. This was quite a challenge and took us most of the week to synchronise the entire line of 40 plus people.

More meditations were practiced covering the 12 facets of Tantra and after three days we slipped into silence to enable us to go even deeper. During this phase, Prem gave us a beautiful demonstration of Sufi Whirling and facilitated a meditation the next morning.

The silence was lifted for the final three days in time for the Shiva Shakti dance. Some of the Indian guys really went to town and appeared painted head to toe in blue and sporting a trident and cobra. The lovely Keerti was particularly generous sharing his blue paint powder with anyone who came near! And Khirad didn’t seem to mind being stepped on by Sarita who played Kali to his Shiva.

During the retreat we went on two beautiful walks in the surrounding countryside – one where we could bathe in the river and another in the forest. I particularly enjoyed seeing the villages and simple lifestyle – it seemed idyllic but was no doubt challenging in ways other than what we are used to in Europe.

The last few days flew by, and suddenly it was time to leave. Many of us were continuing our explorations by joining the Sacred India Tour which started from Delhi the next day. We were given a beautiful send off with drumming and singing and of course lots of hugging. A beautiful experience, which will stay with me a long time.

2010 retreat photo gallery by Rahi

If anyone else has some photos they would like to share, please add a comment and incude a link to your gallery.

Love

Sidika

Oh to be again embracing and being embraced by the tree where Osho became enlightened…held in infinity as in the arms of the most pure and tender lover.

Sending prayers down the Ganges

Sitting under the stars in a little boat on the Ganges, watching our little flower candles carrying prayers and “let go’s” float with purpose in the current til out of sight.

Sitting with death and feeling the Heavenly Comforter at Varanasi’s burning ghat funeral pyres – so natural, so timeless. Everyone should be able to do this once on their life……Anand Aasta

The special highlight for me was visiting Osho’s birthplace and experiencing meeting the local villagers. It was very touching to be greeted by such warm friendly people. Osho’s house had such a wonderful warm nurturing energy and surrounded by such beautiful unspoiled countryside. The magical soft late afternoon sun made the whole experience feel  like dropping back in space and time…..Shraddha

The stunning beauty of Khajuraho

Actually, the biggest challenge for me was to come away in the first place – to an unknown country , with a group of people I hadn’t met before. There are many highlights to mention, but the two that stand out  were the burning ghats in Varanasi and the sunset meditation in Khajuraho. It was deeply moving and emotional to witness the sacredness in which death is held here. The sunset meditation in Khajuraho -a new experience for me to meditate with open eyes in the darkness with the full moon up. And what a beautiful group of people we were. I’ve made many new friends and the whole tour was a complete adventure. I will always remember this time. Thank you all…….Ian

Total abandonment at Osho's meditation rock

Death in Varanasi – what a baptism into death/life. Life in death – each enfolded in the other. Disturbing for me. I came to India to ‘die to self’ – and I ‘lost’ my passport – my identity. I dipped in the Ganges and let go (Challenge) of old patterns of thought that do not support my journey.

Sex in Khajuraho. Ganga’s personal guided tour of the temples and personal chat about non-possessiveness in love was very special.

Birth - total abandonment meditating (Transformation) at Osho’s rock with the sound of Dynamic Meditation in the background. Challenge: letting go of the mind. Transformation: glimpsing the kingdom is within…….Phil Shankland

Definitely Varanasi – deeply touched by the contrast of chaos, noiseness, dirtyness in the town compared to the peace, calmness, quietness at the river Ganga and the burning ghats.

On the banks of the Ganges at Varanasi

Big relief about the natural integration of death in daily life -accompanied by an Indian guide on top of a building near the ghats, I enjoyed a very special meditation watching a body burn. Standing behind the fire source of the burning ghats and feeling the enormous power of the fire and the power of transformation.

Visiting the tantra temples in Khajuraho guided by Ganga – listening to his explanations of the old Tantra rituals and traditions.

Visitng the enormous tree in Jabalpur where Osho was enlightened – getting the message of purification and the value of it for myself and the whole world.

Visiting the Marble Rocks by boat in the moonlight – like an intergalactic adventure – incredible!…..Joy Beate

The endless nectar of the Shiva puja in Varanasi

The puja in Varanasi for Shiva with endless, endless nectar never ending which just reinforced the Tantra group we had done the week before. It just went on and on – this pouring of milk over the Shiva lingam – and at the end placing salt, curd and an abundance of beautiful flowers. Osho’s Buddha tree had amazing earth energy and was the cuddliest tree I ever felt!

The simple house Osho lived in as a boy

And in Osho’s birth place I felt again the intense heat through the ears and cheeks that I had felt in Darshan with Neelam the week before. It has all been amazing!! Good and bad experiences have all created growth and expansion in me….Sophie Churchyard

For me the Shiva Puja in Varanasi was incredibly beautiful and powerful. The chantings by the three priests (with us joining in the best we could) and the many offerings invoked a trance-like state. I felt extremely blessed to be a part of the ceremnoy -though operating my video camera and stills camera was a bit challenging with ghee or milk-covered hands!

Standing at night by the burning ghats was intensely serene and moving.

Listening to Osho’s guide, Ganga, at the temples in Khajuraho was a real transmission  -what a beautiful man!

Sidika soaking up the vibe at Osho's house

Osho’s enlightenment tree opened my heart and brought me to tears – especially poignant when Sarita said that for anyone who hadn’t met Osho in the body (i.e. all of us apart from Sarita), this tree held the same energy.

Marble Rocks by moonlight – beautiful and eerie – I almost expected (hoped for?) a pirate ship with Johnny Depp to appear out of the shimmering darkness!

The last ‘highlight’ was rather unexpected. After narrowly managing to board our return flight from Bhopal to Delhi, complete with 5-Star takeaway dinner in polystyrene containers, the  flight crew amazingly agreed with Niten’s request for us to eat our own food. Niten and I juggled plates and chappatis, curry, rice and dal in the narrow serving space at the back of the plane – ducking between the rest of the flight crew as they simultaneously served up the standard airline food. I negotiated the aisle with laden plates of food, luckily not slopping any over the fellow passengers’ suits. One Indian gentleman in the back row commented, “Never before in my life have I seen anything like this!” I apologise but he appeared amused/bemused rather than annnoyed!

Many thanks to Sarita for inspiring the tour and huge appreciation to Niten and Santoshi for steering us with grace and humour through the chaos and adventure that is ‘part and parcel’ of travel in India….Sidika

Sacred Sites of India 2010 tour party

It was only when I met Sarita and Geho at the age of 26 that I could validate these earlier experiences as being of spiritual value. Diving into Tantric methods seemed to me like regaining my original face and innocence, as nature intended. The way Sarita and Geho worked could be challenging at times but the essence was always the same: re-discovering my true nature.

My interest in Tantra continued to deepen when reading the fascinating story of Saraha, a Buddhist scholar and consultant of the King who left everything behind to be initiated by a woman in the market place. They lived on a crematory ground, or burning “ghats”, where bodies were burnt. Only when you can celebrate life amidst death can you be truly happy! Those words really struck me as I was living in Varanasi, India, at the time, just few yards away from the “burning ghats”. I remember sitting in front of dead bodies burning and being enveloped by a deep, peaceful silence, as if time totally stopped!

A market in Mumbai, India

Living in India for almost 10 years allowed me to take my time and bring full awareness to my actions. My daily routine in the market place became my school. And shoe makers, rickshaw drivers, “chai walas” (tea stalls), silversmiths and so on, became my masters.

I could watch such people for hours, totally mesmerized by the enormous amount of love, devotion and totality they’d bring into their work. When I participated in my first Tantra courses later on, I would re-call the same qualities that I have experienced while living in India.

To me, the four key words to a sincere Tantric approach to life are: love, awareness, devotion and totality.

Bringing love into our actions immediately changes the quality and the final outcome. Love is like our “soul signature” carved onto every little thing we do in our daily life.

Awareness and totality are like two wings of the same bird, one leads inevitably to the other and vice versa.

To be total means not to be pre-occupied by the end result. Rather, one is so absorbed in the moment that no past, no future exists, only a crystal clear, pure, sense of awareness.

Devotion is like our intimate conversation with existence itself, allowing a sense of deep gratitude to be shared from our deepest core. And for no other reason other than the pure joy to be alive!

I’ve had the privilege to grow on the Tantric path with Sarita as my master. After 14 years of being by her side, imbibing from her wisdom, learning from her life experience and assisting her on numerous courses, I have witnessed a radical transformation within myself.

Lately, Sarita and I started to facilitate courses together within the School of Awakening. Leading groups is for me a deeper way to continue to learn about Tantra as well as having a platform to transmit my insights and life experience.

The beauty of witnessing participants embracing their process from pain/hurt to bliss/ecstasy is always very touching and it confirms one thing that has always been my inner mantra: “in the end, everyone wants to love and to be loved.”

With gratitude and growing happiness,

Niten x

Niten is sharing his Tantric path with his beloved Santoshi, (a Goddess of the highest calibre!) who embodies the essential, feminine principle.

Together, they are in the process of creating new groups that will be offered in China toward the end of 2010.

Niten is also a raw food adept and is currently conducting faw food workshops and retreats in Spain as well as the “Detox/Meditation retreat “with Sarita in the UK (which took place for the first time last month).

Picture of the Mumbai market copyright Isageum 2008

Aisho Retreat:  Mahabaleshwar, India

With Uzeu-San and Sarita

Three months before the retreat started, I wrote an email to Sarita saying that I couldn’t afford to come as I didn’t have enough money to cover the costs. I received an answer few days later: “To me, money is energy, so, I read that you don’t have enough energy to come….Is that the case?”

It suddenly occurred to me that, yes, I had plenty of energy and good will to be part of that retreat and money couldn’t be a valid reason not to be there. Although my mind was trying to convince me that my finances were too low, something in me decided to Trust and move accordingly…

The retreat started on 3 February. We were 60 people from 11 different countries. In my position as DJ I had organised all my music selection and felt very fortunate to be sitting right beside master Uezu-San. Just like the previous retreat in France, the quality of silence that I experienced defies any description. Perhaps, even more so this time as I could feel his physical presence so close to my body.

There was, however, one thing that my mind was busy with, a chronic bronchitis that had started three months before. I was still coughing a lot of mucus, and my chest was congested, which made it hard to breathe fully.

One afternoon, as participants were having a pause, Master Uezu-San placed his hands on my chest, exactly in the area where I was having trouble breathing. After a short time, I started to feel heat and a very unusual sensation, as if all of my mucus, was being sucked away by his hands.  When he removed his hands, I immediately coughed, sneezed, and blew my nose, releasing all the mucus left in my body. I could breathe again, it really felt like a re-birth and the bronchitis hasn’t returned to this day.

During the retreat, we had various sessions, all very powerful and healing. Besides the usual “Dhamma Ball” and “Heart Chakra” meditations, we also had wonderful “live music” events led by Shivananda, a Bhajan and Heart songs master…I found those musical gatherings so special in bringing participants together in playfulness and simplicity.

Fergus in Satori

Also, very much loved and appreciated was the walk to the top of the cliffs, a short distance from the resort. We gathered there a couple of times at dawn, in silence as the sun was rising. What a stunning sight! One participant later shared he had a profound experience, known as “Satori” or glimpse of the “No-Mind” state, dissolving for a moment in universal consciousness…

Then, we were all blessed with sacred moments like “Shaktipat” which traditionally refers to offering all our suffering and misery to the master who Himself transforms it and releases it back to us in the form of universal, unconditional love…In this case, both Sarita and Uezu-San were offering Shaktipat. To me, they symbolised in a very real way the embodiment of pure Yin and Yang energy, dancing in unison, in unwavering balance.

Another powerful moment was the “Energy Darshan” where participants received a direct transmission from both Sarita and Uezu-San. A special Aisho balm was created, carrying Uezu-San and Sarita’s blessing. Uezu-San spiralled around the third eye (or Ajna chakra) whereas Sarita was stroking upward from the third eye in a vertical motion. It was obvious that everyone was profoundly touched by this unique transmission. The impact was awesome. I was witnessing Sarita and Uezu-San as two empty beings, channelling Divine Source Energy.

Monkeys join Francis for morning meditation

Perhaps it is because the retreat was being held in India that the whole group could so easily receive this immense energetic offering – India is well known to carry the fragrance of mysticism and spiritual experiences of all kinds. Or perhaps it is the ability of Sarita and Uezu-San to “channel” any past masters that have lived and contributed to expand people’s consciousness.  The energy field created during that retreat was incredibly vibrant, full of love, compassion, dance and laughter…Full…Yet one could also experience the deep Void, the vast emptiness, the magnificent stillness in moments of silence. I believe those moments have nurtured all of us participants to the very core of our hearts and spirits…

I am so grateful that I found in Sarita and Uezu-San, the masters that I have been longing for, perhaps, for lives altogether…Or shall I say, I am so grateful that they finally found me!…

This retreat was, for me, a rare opportunity to experience the unconditional love, total understanding and immense compassion of two individuals who have come to realise who they are, in the deepest sense…It was a rare blend of humour, devotion, godliness, silence and meditation. It was a unique combination of two different flavours, giving us the most exquisite, divine taste of how life can be lived in constant celebration.

Aisho was much more than a week long retreat. It was the manifestation of all the wisdom that has ever existed on Earth and still vibrates today. The wisdom of the East and the wisdom of the West. The wisdom of Male principle and the wisdom of Feminine energy.

Buddha statue at retreat centre in Mahabaleshwar

Many people have been transformed coming into contact with Sarita and Uezu-San…I see the Aisho project being another dawn of a wider, collective awakening that the Earth, and we human beings have been longing for…

Namaste…

Dhyan Niten

Some of the sutras, (spiritual aphorisms) were on playfulness, and we had a carnival to celebrate this. Other sutras offered an opportunity to enter into communion with nature, so we went on a couple of early morning treks, to forest and river. The many and varied meditation methods helped participants to discover a whole rainbow of ways in which to experience the awakening of expanded consciousness and heightened sensitivity. Overall, this retreat offered an opportunity to expand into our vast potential, as creative, loving, aware and blissful beings. As the saying goes, ‘one picture is worth a thousand words.’ Enjoy the beautiful photo presentation from the Tantra Meditation Retreat, taken by Nick and by Khirad, below. And mark the date for the next retreat in your diary: November 5-15, 2010.