China Trip

Looking back, I never dreamed that I would one day be off to China. But so many unthinkable, unimaginable and undreamable things have taken place in my life since taking up the art of meditation and meeting Sri Chinmoy, it seems anything is possible. After ten trips to New York - with one looming large on the horizon, two trips to Australia, and one trip to Bali in the past five years to further my spiritual life, my parents didn’t even blink an eyelid when I recently told them that I was off to China for a four week spiritual retreat with Sri Chinmoy.

Six years ago when I was a young student - really pondering what the heck I was going to do with the rest of my life, and knowing that perfect happiness and fulfilment did exist… I just couldn’t quite put my finger on it - I ‘stumbled’ across the Sri Chinmoy Centre and meditation. After practising meditation daily and absorbing myself in Sri Chinmoy’s philosophy, I experienced such tremendous satisfaction and a new found zest for life that I decided to meet him in person in New York where he resides. I gained so much inspiration from that visit that I was hungry for more and I have never looked back since.

2005 - January. I the intrepid spiritual traveller find myself in the middle of a wintry Shanghai morning. I am the only westerner around, but this doesn’t seem to phase the sea of Chinese people milling around the hazy morning streets.

What strikes me at first and what continues to intrigue me throughout my stay in China is the melding of the ancient and the modern - In many ways life continues as it did 500 years ago for the village farmers who lead their water buffalo through the streets and still plough and irrigate their plots with the same technology their ancestors used. Yet China is the fastest developing country in the world, tipped to be the new world super power. In Shanghai and in all the cities I visited fancy European cars share the sky-scraper lined streets with old bicycles, tricycles and rickshaws piloted by little Chinese men with weathered faces and clothed in tatters. Peasants traipse the streets with huge bales on their backs and cell phones in their back pockets.

A spiritual retreat in China may seem like a contradiction in terms for a former communist country, but this was not what many people would consider a ‘traditional’ retreat where you sit for hours in the Lotus position uttering ancient secret mantras and survive on 7 peppercorns a day. The only way I can describe it is as a celebration of life - a most beautiful gift, and all it’s many facets - a celebration of meditation, sport, music, drama and culture. Our days would start at 6am when we would practise our sacred, daily meditation, singing of spiritual songs and reading spiritual writings. Physical fitness and well-being is an integral part of Sri Chinmoy’s philosophy so the morning time is dedicated to running, swimming, yoga and sports. I have to say China mornings are enchanting. Ballroom dancers, tai chi practitioners, opera singers (some good, some bad) and joggers share the misty outdoor mornings and make your early morning runs an interesting adventure.

Come mid-morning, everyone is fresh and inspired and we gather in a meeting room and quietly enjoy meditative and contemplative activities while we wait for Sri Chinmoy to arrive.

Sri Chinmoy leads us in daily prayers and aphorisms which he composes and we repeat, these prayers have a timeless simplicity but house profound truths which can help us both unlock the greatest mysteries in life and also solve the pettiest problems of our day.

Some examples are as follows:

A selfless service
And an intense prayer.
There is no difference.

Silence and peace
Every day
Visit each other

May I live all the time
In the beauty of patience
And the fragrance of silence

There is a God loving
And God serving divine hero
Within every heart.

Much time is dedicated to soulful singing. Sri Chinmoy is a prolific composer of spiritual/meditative music and has composed over 18,000 songs. Singing these songs is a meditation in itself, it brings your awareness away from the usual mental clamour and redirects to an area of stillness and harmony.

One central theme that ran through our recent trip was the dramatisation of short jokes which Sri Chinmoy would hand out. He asked us to use our creativity and elaborate as much as possible. The results were evenings filled with light-hearted humour and entertainment. Sri Chinmoy encourages his students to 'transcend' themselves. He himself serves as the perfect role model for his own philosophy of self-transcendence. While his students are transcending themselves by going beyond their inhibitions and getting up on stage in front of an audience and performing. Sri Chinmoy would be busy in his creative pursuits either drawing 'Dream-Freedom-Peace Birds, exercising (he recently mentioned that he exercises 2-3 hours per day!), composing prayers and songs to name a few.

In between all the soulful and spiritual activties there is always time for sight-seeing, and the time honoured activity - shopping. China countryside served as the perfect backdrop for our spiritual retreat. It's misty mountains, the innocence of the rolling countryside and the smiling faces and warm hearts of the people made it easy to connect with our own deeper spirituality and assimilate the light that we received from being in the presence of Sri Chinmoy.

Above all the loving guidance, concern and affection meted out by Sri Chinmoy over my four weeks in China I will remember and treasure with fondness.

Thank-you China

Looking forward to many more adventures in far off lands with Spiritual Master Sri Chinmoy.

Kate Carvalho