The Shakti of Pure Love: Sri Narayani Peedam, Tamil Nadu
7 days: 27th Feb to the 6th March

The first retreat will be in Southern India, at Sri Narayani Peedam, an ashram of goddess-flavoured devotion founded by the incredible Sri Shakti Amma. In Peedam, Bhakti (devotion) is expressed through form: through ceremonies, chanting and mantra, walking meditation in the beautiful star-shaped temple complex, and deity worship.

Pure love in Peedam feels very tangible. It embraces you as if the walls themselves are radiating love towards you, and all you have to do is be and receive love.

What to Expect:

Puja with Amma Most days, Amma runs pujas: traditional southern Indian ceremonies that we are invited to attend. These are spectacular experiences that involve all the senses. During these pujas, the machinations of the mind often melt away to reveal and empower the pure, unconditional love hidden within us. Pujas with Amma are extra special, as they are opportunities to spend time in Her sublime Shakti or energy - which in and of itself is life changing.

Retreat Sessions We will have Satsang-style meditation sessions every day with our retreat group. These will include pranayama and mantra, sacred music, and healing meditation. The group sessions will also provide time to check in, talk and connect with spiritual community, to learn the theory behind the practices we are experiencing at the ashram, and to integrate the blessings we are receiving.

Temples and Sacred Places Sri Narayani Peedam is an incredible temple complex, with many highly charged individual temples that hold different energies specifically cultivated by Sri Shakti Amma. We will have the opportunity to experience all of these temples, and in many cases to partake in their specific ceremonies and the energies they bring.

Seva Sri Shakti Amma promotes the twin virtues of service and devotion as a steady pathway to self-realisation. In addition to the devotional opportunities outlined above, Amma has many seva (service) projects, from feeding thousands of people per day, to a zero-waste recycling project, to an incredible organic farming project, to reforestation of the local area, and so many more! We will get the opportunity to not only see, but also take part in those projects that call to our hearts (like feeding adorable, first-generation-educated school children nutritious ayurvedic porridge for breakfast!).

The first session for our retreat will be at 5pm on 27 February in Gayatri's room at Peedam Ashram.  The final session will be on the morning of 6th March.

Once you register for the retreat you will receive a confirmation email with a link to the retreat dashboard.  On the dashboard you will find further information on this retreat.

The Shiva of Pure Love: Mahaavatar Babaji Meditation Centre,
Himachal Pradesh
7 Days: 7th March - 13th March - With a warm welcome to stay on for the Holi Festival 14th and 15th March

The second retreat will be in Northern India, at Mahaavatar Babaji Meditation Centre, the home ashram of Yogiraj Amar Jyoti. In this ashram, pure unconditional love is experienced in a formless way. It is transcendental and uplifting. To me, it feels like dazzling, starry bliss, or a kind of champagne made from joy.

I lived in this ashram for 4.5 months in 2024, writing up my thesis on the psychology of unconditional love. It was here that the connection between unconditional love and universal consciousness or Sat Chit Ananda became so clear. Yogiraj Amar Jyoti’s blessings frequently burst me out of the stresses of the final throes of PhD life and back into that cosmic joy that appears to exist beyond human emotion. That is the Shiva-flavoured, formless kind of love we will be exploring on this retreat in the foothills of the North.

What to Expect:

Time with Yogiraj In Babaji’s ashram, we will be able to spend time with Yogiraj Amar Jyoti, who for me is an extraordinary example of unconditional love that is simultaneously personal and universal. He frequently gives singing discourses, imparting sublime energy. Not only that, but he is known to give hugs, which can propel a person into bliss.

Havan (Fire Ceremonies) There is a very quietly conducted fire ceremony at sunrise and sunset in the fire temple, designed to help us purify and let go of what no longer serves.

Retreat Sessions We will have at least one (though often two) sessions in our retreat group per day of Satsang, pranayama, music and healing meditation.

Silent meditation We will put some of the techniques we learn in our sessions into practice in the silent Babaji meditation temple. For me, this temple has also offered an energetic connection with Mahaavatar Babaji, the deathless Saint who you can read about in Autobiography of a Yogi.

Holi
The Holi festival will be celebrated on the 14th and 15th of March this year at Babaji’s ashram. It is a festival of Spring, associated with forgiveness, refreshment of spirit and renewed connection with the Divine.

These two days will be filled with cultural programs, including a joyous celebration involving throwing thousands of flower petals in the air. There often isn’t time for retreat sessions during the days of Holi, and thus our official retreat will end on the 13th, but if you would like to, you are welcome to stay on for this beautiful, joyful cultural experience. Although the retreat will have finished and therefore we will not be meeting for meditation as a group, this would provide an opportunity for you to experience the ashram in an unstructured way, at your own pace, and to integrate whatever your retreat has brought you.

The retreat will commence on Friday 7 March at the Dharmasala Airport at 12.30pm. The final session will be lunchtime on 13 March.

Once you register for the retreat you will receive a confirmation email with a link to the retreat dashboard.  On the dashboard you will find further information on this retreat.