Date: 18-May-2024
Location: Seth M R Jaipuria School, Lucknow
Seth M R Jaipuria School, Lucknow, organised its 7th edition of the annual Spiritual Retreat for students from 14 to 18 May 2024, with AuroYouth facilitators Palak Dubey, Rahul Sharma and Shaily Shah conducting the main sessions. It was a unique, experiential exposure to an integral approach to life, based on the vision of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.
Over the 5 days, the students explored aspirations that existed within themselves and in their surroundings. They received tips on how to find the fire within, their Soul, and connect with it as their inner friend. Through various sessions, discussions, meditations, and nature walks, students heard the blissful voice within themselves. These sessions by the AuroYouth facilitators were based on day-wise themes and there were also topics for discussion taken up by other speakers:
Theme for the first day: ASPIRATION
Beauty of the New World Being Born – by Dr Alok Pandey
Theme for the second day: DISCOVERY
Two Existential Questions of Life – by Anjali Jaipuria
Discovering the Aim of Life – by Sri Sraddhalu Ranade
Theme for the third day: DISCOVERY & CONNECTION
Greatest Discovery Made by Mankind – by Sri Shivakumar
Theme for the fourth day: EXPRESSION
Theme for the FIFTH day: EXPRESSION (contd.)
On the final day of the Spiritual Retreat, students, facilitators, and teachers were filled with emotions as the remarkable five-day journey ended.
Throughout the five-day journey, students learned a great deal from their facilitators: Palak, Rahul, and Shaily. As a gesture of gratitude, they prepared a song in Sanskrit, which they performed in front of them. The Vice Chairperson of the School, Smt. Anjali Jaipuria, took a moment to express her gratitude to the three facilitators.
Around 7 PM, parents started coming to the school, sitting and eagerly waiting for the day’s highlight: the closing ceremony where students presented their projects. Ms. Agriti Pandey welcomed everyone present and then the presentations were shared. The students left the audience spellbound, as each group incorporated elements such as skits, musical performances, and dance routines.
Spiritual Retreat 7th edition became a five-day beautiful bliss of serenity. May each participant incorporate the retreat’s learnings into their daily lives.