CONSCIOUS LIVING & LEARNING RETREAT
Tuesday, 4th (10am) to Thursday, 6th April (6pm), 2017
Dr. (Prof.) Satish Kumar (of Schumacher College, UK) will lead the Retreat along with
several eminent mentors. The Retreat at the Gnostic Centre from the 4th to the 6th of April
will be organized like a Modern Gurukul... where the participants will experience a short
program on conscious learning and living, which we hope in the future, may serve as a
prototype for institutions of higher learning to embody.
The Retreat will culminate with a Conscious Learning seminar on April 6th where we will be
inviting eminent educationists and heads of institutions who will deliberate on the design and
need for Conscious Learning programs, and how these can be incorporated into the
mainstream education.
Concept Note
At the Retreat, Dr. (Prof.) Satish Kumar will facilitate plenary sessions and experiences in
Conscious Living, Learning and Communing with Nature. The Retreat will include sessions
and workshops by several Eminent Mentors from various fields. The program will be
interspersed with contemplative discussions, quiet spaces to go within, conscious cooking,
body work (Awareness through the Body), pottery, calligraphy, mindful walks at the stud
farm and communing with the horses, etc. The evenings would end with the music of the
Sufis and Kabir.
4th April, 10am onwards
Morning
• Introduction to the Retreat & Introduction to the Mentors (Ameeta Mehra)
• The Transformative Power of Meditation & Aspiration (Ameeta Mehra)
• Plenary session by Dr. Satish Kumar
• Becoming Conscious in the Body – an ATB session (Amir Azoulay)
Post Lunch
• Calligraphy (Aiyana Gunjan)
• Consciousness Based Health: A Personal Experience of Ayurveda as a New Paradigm
(Dr. Shailendra Raj Mehta)
• Meditative Art of Pottery (Rekha Bajpe Aggarwal)
Post Tea
• Mindful Walk & Communing with Horses (Ameeta Mehra)
• Sacred Dance: Philosophy, Aesthetics, Relevance – A Lecture-cum-Mohiniattam
Performance (Miti Desai)
5th April, 7am onwards
Morning
• Collective Cooking (Dr. Satish Kumar) & Breakfast together
• The Transformative Power of Meditation & Aspiration – a workshop (Ameeta Mehra)
• The Promise of Beauty & Why it Matters (Dr. Satish Kumar & Shakti Maira)
Post Lunch
• The Miracle of Recovery: Insights into De-addiction (Dr. Jyotsna Singh)
• Becoming Conscious in the Body – an ATB session (Amir Azoulay)
Post Tea
• Introduction to Atma Vichara (self-enquiry) as a Basis of Conscious Living (Partho)
Post Dinner
• Immersion into Kabir music and philosophy through a soulful experience of the bhajans
with explanations (Shabnam Virmani)
6th April, 7am onwards
Morning
• Becoming Conscious in the Body – an ATB session (Amir Azoulay)
10.30am to 1.30pm
Seminar on: Conscious Learning: Contemplative Dialogues on Travelling Within
• Inaugural Address by Dr. Satish Kumar
• Introduction to Travelling Within – a conscious learning experience, by Ameeta Mehra,
followed by a multimedia presentation
• Comments on Conscious Learning, by Partho
• Contemplative dialogues by eminent educationists and heads of institutions on the design
and need for Conscious Learning programs, and how these can be incorporated into the
mainstream education (moderated)
Post Lunch
• Music of Kabir & Other Mystics – a concert by Shabnam Virmani
As Conscious Living and Learning Retreat is a residential program, with limited
accommodation, we shall be taking only a limited number of participants for the Retreat. One
needs to register for the entire program – 4th to 6th April or at least 4th & 5th April. The
Seminar on 6th is also open to a larger group, and so is the Concert post lunch, on 6th.
You could opt for any of the following:
• Residential: Participate fully, and stay the night on 4th & 5th April
• Residential: Participate fully, but stay the night on 4th April only
• Non-Residential: Participate fully, but not stay the night
The Mentors have volunteered their time and service for this special 20th anniversary retreat.
There is no charge for the program. Only board and lodging would be charged at subsidized
rates. In case you would like to register and know more details please email us at
[email protected], or call either of us at 9811066667 (Ameeta), 9810052545
(Anuradha) or 9811320980 (Ritika).
Contributions (for 4th & 5th April)
•
•
•
•
There is no charge for the Programs
Residential: Rs.2000/- per person - 2 days & 2 nights – 4th & 5th April, including
accommodation for 4th & 5th night, towards board & lodging only at subsidized rates.
Residential: Rs.1500/- per person - 2 days & 1 night – 4th & 5th April, including 4th night
accommodation, towards board & lodging only at subsidized rates.
Non-Residential: Rs.1000/- per person - 2 days – 4th & 5th April, towards board only at
subsidized rates.
Contributions (for 6th April)
•
There is no charge for the Program
RSVP: [email protected]
About the Mentors / Facilitators
•
DR. (PROF.) SATISH KUMAR, a former monk and long-term peace and environment
activist, has been quietly setting the Global Agenda for change for over 50 years. He has
been the guiding spirit behind a number of now internationally-respected ecological and
educational ventures including Schumacher College in South Devon, UK, where he is still
a Visiting Fellow. His autobiography, ‘No Destination’, has sold over 50,000 copies. He
is also the author of ‘You Are, Therefore I Am: A Declaration of Dependence’ and ‘The
Buddha and the Terrorist’. He continues to teach and run workshops on reverential
ecology, holistic education and voluntary simplicity and is a much sought-after speaker
both in the UK and abroad.
•
AIYANA GUNJAN is a self-taught artist whose creative instincts were nurtured from an
early childhood in a culturally-rich family environment. The guidance of her gurus –
Shobha Broota in painting, Anis Siddiqui in calligraphy and Subrata De in Sitar-Indian
Classical Music – has imparted her with a multifaceted personality. In addition, fuelled by
a deep interest in philosophy and spirituality, Aiyana explores the deeper perspective of
life through her creative work. Her exploration in the spiritual dimension and abstract
expression of the calligraphy letters has taken a distinct direction, wherein she has
elevated the ancient traditional form of calligraphy into the universal language of
contemporary abstract art. Aiyana has participated in several international exhibitions in
India and abroad.
•
AMEETA MEHRA’S life reflects a synthesis between Spirit and Matter, both in her
personal and professional life. The two abiding interests of her life have been discovering
a complete Education system and philosophy and attempting to live a meaningful and
conscious life. Ameeta is the Founding Trustee & Chairperson of The Gnostic Centre, and
has conducted growth of consciousness courses and workshops, and has designed
innovative and original diploma and certificate online & onsite programs on ‘Explorations
towards a New Creation of the Self and Society’, ‘Foundation Course for Facilitators’,
‘The Science of Living’, ‘Meditation for Inner Growth & Cultivating Presence’ amongst
others. She has also created inspirational multimedia on themes such as ‘A New
Education for a New India’, ‘An Academy of the Future’, etc. Her published works
include self-discovery books such as ‘Dhyana (Meditation for Inner Growth)’, ‘Abhaya
(Fear: Its Cause and Cure)’, ‘Karmayoga (Perfection in Work)’ and ‘Sadhana (A Guide to
Self-Mastery)’. She is also the editor of The Gnostic Centre’s journal ‘The Awakening
Ray’.
•
AMIR AZOULAY came to India in 2000 from Israel, leaving behind a background in
business. He settled in Auroville in 2003 where he joined the ‘Awareness through Body
program, and worked with schools in Auroville. He facilitates Awareness through Body
activities, with the intention to offer a space where individuals can experience a wider
sense of existence through their growing capacity for relaxed, sustained attention.
Through this work Amir finds himself joining a process of inner growth, one which
aspires to a more harmonious life, to allow a chain of changes to unfold and manifest for a
better life, and a better planet.
•
JYOTSNA SINGH (Dr.) is the force behind Dara Shikoh Festival, Srinagar – an annual
event that encourages vibrant dialogue, energetic workshops and experiments in theatre,
music, photography, poetry and environment to celebrate the heritage of the Valley. The
festival aims to acquaint young Kashmiris with their cultural legacy and to promote
diversity across the state. Jyotsna has a background in Philosophy, and has taught at Lady
Shri Ram College (Delhi University).
•
MITI DESAI is a Designer, Classical Dancer & Educationist. Communication through
the external medium of graphic design led Miti to an internal expression of body design,
rediscovering Classical Indian Dance. Indian Dance has been the key to the artist’s return
to her cultural roots, symbols and world-view resulting in an innate understanding of
culture, aesthetics and its influence and inspiration in design, education, arts & the
environment. Miti is the founder & creative head at Miti Design Lab; an interdisciplinary
design studio & the Executive Trustee at Shaktiyogasrama Gurukulam; a cultural gurukul
dedicated to the study and practice of sacred arts & holistic sciences; assimilated with a
spiritual vision and environmental consciousness. Miti's work intersects within the realm
of design, dance, holistic education and culture.
•
PARTHO, an educator and writer, has spent more than twenty-five years in the field of
education and has done intensive personal research in the philosophy and the practice of
Integral Education in the light of Integral Yoga. Partho is associated as mentor and
consultant to many integral initiatives in India and abroad. He also leads workshops on
Conscious Business and Leadership, and holds retreats on Vedanta.
•
REKHA BAJPE AGGARWAL has dedicated the last twenty years of her life to pottery.
She currently works out of her studio, Studio Re4clay, a ceramic hub based in DelhiNCR, that she established in the year 2000. She has been a Trustee on the Board of Delhi
Blue Pottery Trust for the last ten years. Other than creating artworks, Rekha curates,
collects small ceramic artwork and writes about ceramics. She also creates and edits
“Indian Ceramic Quarterly”, the all India newsletter of Delhi Blue Pottery Trust since
2008, the only studio ceramic related publication in the country. Rekha also teaches an
extra-curricular course in ceramics at Ashoka University and is working on creating a
ceramics-related course curriculum for other educational institutions to sensitize, involve,
educate and orient the younger generation towards their ceramic legacy and their
traditions.
•
SHABNAM VIRMANI is a filmmaker and artist in residence at the Srishti School of Art,
Design and Technology in Bangalore, India. In 2003 she started travelling with folk
singers in Malwa, Rajasthan and also Pakistan in a quest for the spiritual and sociopolitical resonances of the 15th century mystic poet Kabir in our contemporary worlds.
Inspired by the inclusive spirit of folk music, Shabnam took up playing the 5-stringed
tambura herself and now sings a wide repertoire of folk songs of Kabir and other mystic
poets.
•
SHAILENDRA RAJ MEHTA (Dr.) is currently the Chairman of the Board of
Management at Auro University (Surat), where he is also Acting Vice Chancellor and
Distinguished Professor of Strategy. Over the years, Dr. Mehta has consulted with and
taught senior executives worldwide including executives from North America, Europe,
Africa and Asia. He has done numerous programs for civil servants, including senior IRS,
IFS and IAS officers. He has done extensive research in the areas of Entrepreneurship,
Industrial Organization, Information Economics and Experimental Economics. His work
on creating world-class universities has been discussed around the world and profiled in
over ten languages including Chinese, Russian, French, German and Arabic among others.
•
SHAKTI MAIRA is a critically acclaimed artist-philosopher from India. His work as a
sculptor, painter and printmaker has been widely exhibited, and is largely centered in a
Buddhism-inspired spirituality. It is in the collections of the National Gallery of Modern
Art in India and in private collections around the world. He has written extensively on art,
design and aesthetics, and is the author of two books.