Ātma Vidyā Gurukulam

​​Residential camps & retreats


Retreat on "Who am I" - April 2024

This residential retreat was conducted at Svenshogen, Solhalla, Sweden about 50 kms from Gothenburg. The retreat included Guided Meditation Sessions in the mornings. The evenings were filled with Bhajan sessions conducted by Satyadev Barman for about one and a half hours. The lectures of this retreat can be heard here.


Retreat on "Mind-from Bondage to Freedom" -October 2022

This residential retreat was conducted at Langeland, Denmark.The retreat included Guided Meditation Sessions in the mornings. The evenings were filled with Bhajan sessions conducted by Satyadev Barman for about one and a half hours.

One week camp on "Upadeśa Sāram"-March 2022

Upadeśa Sāram is a set of 30 verses composed by one of the greatest saints of recent times - Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. This camp was conducted at the Aurobindo Ashram, Madhuban, Nainital in the Himalayas.

One week camp on "Yaksha Prashna" - May 2019

A one week residential camp was conducted at the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Coimbatore. Yaksha Prashna is a profound section from the Mahabharata, where Lord Yama questions Yudhishthira, on a variety of topics concerning ethics, code of conduct, knowledge of oneself, pursuit of the truth and the qualifications required for the pursuit, attitude to life in general, Universal order, etc.

The camp included 3 Vedanta classes, guided meditation sessions and Satsang (bhajans and question & answer sessions), everyday.
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A one week residential camp was conducted at the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Coimbatore. Yaksha Prashna is a profound section from the Mahabharata, where Lord Yama questions Yudhishthira, on a variety of topics concerning ethics, code of conduct, knowledge of oneself, pursuit of the truth and the qualifications required for the pursuit, attitude to life in general, Universal order, etc.

There were 3 Vedanta classes for an hour every day. In addition to the Vedanta classes there were Guided meditation sessions in the morning and Satsang, where there were bhajans and question & answer sessions everyday in the evening. The camp was conducted by Swami Sarvananda.

Experience of some participants

Suguna Kiran, Chennai

The meditation sessions have been truly elevating and energising, facilitating focus and concentration on the entire day’s activities. I experienced a deep connect. The synergy of the group was great , for which the Acharya was the sole catalyst. A lot of joyous learning, helped me to switch the mind off in bits and pieces. Trust this will help me to practice more of it, constantly, in future. Sree Gurubhyo Namaha.......

Sowmya Balaji, Chennai

The camp helped me cut off from the auto pilot mode of routines and helped me pause to introspect what we are actually looking for. The meditation sessions helped in spending time with myself and attempt to reach the silence within in the cluster of thoughts. The extract from the Mahabharat may be small but the explanations, deeper meanings gave me a view into the immense knowledge of the epic, Gita and other Vedic texts that you, Swamiji, referred in the discourse.

Srividhya & Sairam, Chennai

The Yaksha Prashna retreat helped us as a family to get a much deeper understanding and appreciation for Sanatana Dharma. The way you brought in Gita and Mahabharata helped us to see how the same concepts were reiterated in different scriptures to emphasise the knowledge. We think it is only by the Grace of Ishavra that we got this opportunity. It made a significant impact on the children they loved the atmosphere and were engrossed with Nature and the temples. We seek your blessings for continued study and assimilation of this knowledge.

Muthukumar, Chennai

This is the first workshop that I attended of this sort. So it gave me lot of insights on Ethics to be followed by a person. I guess each text has its own set of Ethics. Say Yoga Sutra has its Yama, Niyama. How much of it can be followed is a difficult question to ask. But as always it has been, it sets the ideals to follow. To follow it or not is left to the individual persons capability, aspiration, existential situation and effort. I would say that these 7 days were good. Needs more contemplation, rigorous training of mind & body and willingness to follow. At least for me it was a good start. Thanks for the wonderful opportunity Swamiji.

Vanmathi G C, Tuticorin

The Vedanta classes were enlightening us towards the Supreme Consciousness. It made us understand how we are in the clutches of Maya. Sure Swamiji we will shed off our unwanted desires, Gunas etc. Your camp rejuvenated our mind, body and soul. Looking forward for such camps in future.

One week camp "Upadesha Saram" - Sept. 2016

Upadesha Saram is a set of 30 verses composed by one of the greatest saints of recent times - Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. These verses are a condensed version of the teaching given by Lord Shiva to a group of Rishis who are unfortunately committed to just the performance of Vedic Rituals. Lord Shiva comes down to teach them that one has to rise above the addiction to just rituals and their benefits and finally get to committed to Self Knowledge. Because Self knowledge is the only way to solve the basic human problem of being dissatisfied with whatever we have and obtain. One has to ultimately understand that the happiness we are seeking lies within ourselves and we just have to know how to tap into that endless resource.

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Upadesha Saram is a set of 30 verses composed by one of the greatest saints of recent times - Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. These verses are a condensed version of the teaching given by Lord Shiva to a group of Rishis who are unfortunately committed to just the performance of Vedic Rituals. Lord Shiva comes down to teach them that one has to rise above the addiction to just rituals and their benefits and finally get to committed to Self Knowledge. Because Self knowledge is the only way to solve the basic human problem of being dissatisfied with whatever we have and obtain. One has to ultimately understand that the happiness we are seeking lies within ourselves and we just have to know how to tap into that endless resource.


The verses deal with the following topics - Limitation of Action, Role of Action, Likes & Dislikes, Harmony in Life, Karma Yoga, Bhakti, Worship, Praise of the Lord, Contemplation, Attitude of Non-Duality, Non-duality as the highest devotion, Quietening the mind, Yoga of knowledge, Self-enquiry, Enquiry into the nature of God, Nature of knowledge & Happiness is the truth of the Self.


The uniqueness of the text is that the teaching is very direct, in the characteristic style of Ramana Maharshi. He takes us straight to the core of the human problem, which is the ego or ahankara, and gives us powerful methods to deal with it.

This was a traditional Gurukulam style residential camp for kids. The camp was conducted by teachers who have spent years studying Vedānta from Pujya Sri Swami Dayananda Saraswati. This camp intended to help children build their character, develop an attitude of reverence & respect towards Indian culture, heritage & knowledge traditions and inculcate values that contribute towards their emotional growth and well-being.

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We conducted a traditional Gurukulam style camp for kids, a tradition where students live in and study with the teacher, in May 2016. The camp was conducted by teachers who have spent years learning the Bhagavad Gita & Upanishads directly from Pujya Sri Swami Dayananda Saraswati. This camp intended to help children build their character, develop an attitude of reverence & respect towards Indian culture, heritage & knowledge traditions and inculcate values that contribute towards their emotional growth and well-being. 


The camp setting was such that children could also develop new skills with a spirit of adventure and fun. The days were designed to be exciting, full of learning and enjoyable. Additionally the kids also learnt responsibility and cooperation and gain independence and self-esteem. With experienced teachers, beautiful facilities, and unique variety of activities, we tried to not just provide a fun camp environment, but shape and train young minds.

We aimed to providing a safe, stimulating and challenging environment infused with traditional values. Our program was designed to provide each and every participant with a safe, wholesome, fun-filled, learning camp experience, in a homely atmosphere, The focus was on helping young people learn more about themselves, strengthen self-confidence and teamwork skills.

We invited kids, between 10 & 15 years, to come and join us at the serene and picturesque Gurukulam for seven days replete with motivational talks and demonstrations, activities, games & films.


Camp faculty
  1. Swami Sarvananda Saraswati
  2. Lalitha Ramachandran - (Camp Coordinator)
  3. Srinivas Pulluri - (Camp Coordinator)

Activities
  • Yoga
  • Prayer & Shloka classes
  • Hinduism/culture/spirituality classes
  • Story telling sessions
  • Bhangra dancing
  • Stories from Mahabharata/Ramayana with emphasis on values & attitudes
  • Learning to perform 5 step Puja
  • Introduction to ancient Indian knowledge
  • Happy Assembly & Talent shows
  • Spoken Sanskrit
  • Classical singing
  • Temple Tour(s)

Eligibility
10 to 15 years

Food
Healthy nutritious food including breakfast, two meals, milk, snacks. Special attention will be given to meeting children’s nutritional needs

Yaksha Prashna is a profound section from the Mahabharata, where Lord Yama asks a set of 123 questions, to Yudhishthira, on a variety of topics concerning ethics, code of conduct, knowledge of oneself, pursuit of the truth and the qualifications required for the pursuit, attitude to life in general, Universal order, appreciation of divinity in the world around us etc.

Read More

Yaksha Prashna is a profound section from the Mahabharata, where Lord Yama asks a set of 123 questions, to Yudhishthira, on a variety of topics concerning ethics, code of conduct, knowledge of oneself, pursuit of the truth and the qualifications required for the pursuit, attitude to life in general, Universal order, appreciation of divinity in the world around us etc.


The participants were from India, Brazil & Italy. There were 2 Vedanta classes for an hour every day. There were also classes on Yoga & basic Sanskrit pronunciation including learning to chant some basic mantras and prayers. There was a question & answer session for an hour everyday in the evening where the campers got their questions answered.
The camp was conducted by Swami Sarvananda.

Equal importance was given to the Yoga of both the body (Hatha Yoga) and the mind (Jnana/Vedanta/Spirituality). Asanas/pranayama were taught in the traditional Hatha Yoga way.

The course included about 4 hours of Hatha Yoga (Asanas & Pranayama) along with 2 classes every day in Vedanta/Yoga Sutra, 1 class on Chanting prayers in Sanskrit with a detailed overview of science of phonetics (sound production of Sanskrit alphabets), 1 satsang in the evening that included some stories from the Mahabharata, singing of bhajans, meaning of certain forms like Dakshinamurti/Ganesha, certain assorted topics on Indian culture and Question/Answer sessions, every day. There were also some sessions on the anatomy of the human body (by a professor of Anatomy) with particular reference to Yoga.

In the 30 day course the first 2 weeks were devoted to teaching various postures (asanas) and breathing techniques (pranayama) of Hatha yoga. The third week was spent in alignment (perfecting the postures) and adjustment (helping fellow students perfect their postures). The fourth week was utilised for making the student into a competent teacher.

Classes on Yoga anatomy were also held.

Trips to nearby spiritual/religious places will be organised on weekly holidays.

The course faculty included Swami Sarvananda, Sanjeet Prasad and Swami Viswatmananda.

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Basis of Yoga

Yoga is much more than just a physical exercise. It is a seamless integration of physical, mental & spiritual fitness. In short, Yoga is an attitude towards life as a whole. And restricting Yoga to the physical level makes Yoga very very incomplete. Even though physical component is a very important. An understanding of the bigger picture of Yoga and it's eternal relevance to humanity has to be established carefully through a systematic teaching of Vedanta. Vedanta is the final portion of the Vedas comprising of what are called the Upanishads. The Upanishads talk about the nature of oneself (Atma/Soul) and establish that the truth of the individual, outside universe & God as one  and the same. This understanding is purely cognitive.


Yoga, a Sanskrit word, also means union/oneness. Hence Yoga and Vedanta are not separate from one another but in fact are one and the same. The teaching of Vedanta also has been coming down for generations in the form of Guru (teacher)/ Sishya (student) tradition. And it has been carefully preserved completely to the present day. This teaching also has to be handled by a competent teacher who has been exposed to the teaching for a length of time.


Appreciation of Yoga is also incomplete without understanding the culture, value system of the society in which Yoga originated and thrived. In fact the first 2 steps (Yama and Niyama) of Ashtanga (8 limbs), of Patanjali Yoga Sutra, deal with values and attitudes.


The course

Equal importance was given to the Yoga of both the body (Hatha Yoga) and the mind (Jnana/Vedanta/Spirituality). Asanas/pranayama were taught in the traditional Hatha Yoga way.

The course included about 4 hours of Hatha Yoga (Asanas & Pranayama) along with 2 classes every day in Vedanta/Yoga Sutra, 1 class on Chanting prayers in Sanskrit with a detailed overview of science of phonetics (sound production of Sanskrit alphabets), 1 satsang in the evening that included some stories from the Mahabharata, singing of bhajans, meaning of certain forms like Dakshinamurti/Ganesha, certain assorted topics on Indian culture and Question/Answer sessions, every day. There were also some sessions on the anatomy of the human body (by a professor of Anatomy) with particular reference to Yoga.

In the 30 day course the first 2 weeks were devoted to teaching various postures (asanas) and breathing techniques (pranayama) of Hatha yoga. The third week was spent in alignment (perfecting the postures) and adjustment (helping fellow students perfect their postures). The fourth week was utilised for making the student into a competent teacher.

Classes on Yoga anatomy were also held.

Trips to nearby spiritual/religious places will be organised on weekly holidays.

The course faculty included Swami Sarvananda, Sanjeet Prasad and Swami Viswatmananda.


Eligibility
Men & women who want to
  • Become yoga teachers
  • Get an introduction to Vedanta (Indian Spirituality) along with training in Yoga
  • Improve own health & fitness
  • Use Yoga as a Sadhana (tool) for Moksha (liberation)

The course was certified by Yoga Alliance.

Ātma Vidyā Gurukulam

Hosur, Tamil Nadu, India