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Meditation, Silence
and Vedanta retreat
February 8th to 15th, 2020
“El
Silencio”
Sadhana Kutir, San Carlos-Uruguay
This is a retreat with a special
focus on the practice of meditation, silence and study of
the classic teachings of Vedanta philosophy.
This is a time of seclusion and
introspection to dedicate yourself full time to the practice
of meditation and other yogic practices that will support
the achieving of the meditative state of mind.
During the course we encourage students to practice Mouna
or silence as much as possible and to remain in seclusion
to really train the mind and create a strong introspective
samskara, to go inwards and dwell in the Self, avoiding as
many distractions as possible.
We will do 3 main sittings of meditation a day, some of them
in group, some of them individually.
The time of sitting will be increased gradually and according
to the student’s capacity and comfort.
Some other yoga practices like asana, pranayama, kirtan, mantra
chanting and japa will be practiced as a complement or as
a help to support the meditation practice.
We will study:
• Several meditative techniques
from the classical tradition of Hatha, Raja, Karma, Bhakti
and Jnana Yoga
• The power of Mantras as meditation tools
• Advaita Vedanta philosophy and vedantic meditation
practices
Requisites
This course
is open to all kind of practitioners; beginners will learn
how to meditate, and advanced meditators with experience will
have the place, time and guidelines to go deeper in their
own practices, taking advantaje of being secluded having the
time only for practice without external distractions.
You don´t need any especial physical
condition to take this course nor experience. What is requiered
is that the participants are willing to dedicate this time
to the practice, to go to bed and get up early, following
the daily schedule (personal difficulties would be taken into
consideration) and being respectful of the rules that are
described below.
"El
Silencio" Sadhana Kutir was built with that vision
of providing an ideal place, environment, teaching and support
for those who want to deepen their sadhana.
Daily
Schedule
05:00
– 06:00 |
Wake
up and personal practice (optional) |
06:00
- 07:30 |
Satsang:
Group silent Meditation and Mantra chanting |
08:00 – 09:30 |
Asanas and
pranayama practice. It will be alternating between group
class and individual practice |
09:30 – 10:00 |
Rest |
10:00 – 11:00 |
Brunch |
11:00 – 12:00 |
Karma yoga.
Students will be asked to perform one hour of selfless
service to keep up with the community needs |
12:00
– 13:30 |
Time for
personal sadhana and rest. Students will be given some
meditation practice to do during this time, about one
hour, and then some time to rest or read. |
13:30
– 14:00 |
Snack |
14:00
– 15:30 |
Main lecture
on the topic of Vedanta, meditation techniques and mantras |
16:00
– 18:00 |
Group asana
and pranayama class (sometimes personal practice) |
18:00
– 19:00 |
Dinner |
19:30
– 21:00 |
Satsang-
group silent meditation and mantra chanting or silent
walk in nature |
21:30 |
Going to
bed |
This is an international bi-lingual course,
taught in English and Spanish.
Some classes will be taught in English with simultaneous translation
to Spanish and some will be in Spanish with translation to
English.
The retreat is still small and there
is a limited capacity. Only small groups will be taken.
Register
in advance!!!
Tuition
and fees : $ 500 dollars
• Includes the course, accommodation and meals (two
main meals plus one light snack a day)
and the How to create your own mala workshop • Transportation is NOT
included (to and from the place)
- Arrival Day: Friday 7th at night or Saturday 8th in the morning
- Inauguration ceremony: Saturday 8th, at 12:00
- Graduation ceremony: Saturday 15th, at 15:00
- Leaving Day : Saturday 15th or Sunday 16th in the morning
- If you want to stay longer after the course, the daily cost is US$ 60
Payment
methods
Paypal, Western Union, Money Gram. If you pay with credit
card (online only) we'll charge you an extra 10% because that's
what it cost to us.
To
register
Your payment or donation is the way for us
to maintain the place and keep expanding it to allow more
people to benefit, thank you very much!
Accommodation
There are 14 beds available, all in shared rooms.
If you want to keep your privacy, please bring your own tent.
There is plenty of tenting space available in beautiful natural
surroundings.
Beds in dormitory’s or cabins are only available to
the first people who request them. After that there will be
only tent space.
We have a couple of tents available, only for those who request
them first. If you don’t want to travel with your own
tent, let us know immediately to reserve one for you if they
are still available.
Rules
and regulations
El Silencio is not a
hotel or hostel . It is a family house where we follow the
ancient and traditional "Gurukula" system, where
the students live for a while with the teacher, like a family.
That´s why we don´t have a housekeeping service.
Each person should take care of cleanning his/her own space
and we will share the cleaning of common areas like toilettes,
kitchen, class room , etc. During the course and stay at "El
Silencio" , we ask you to observe the following
rules, to help maintaining a Sattvic atmosphere in the place
and mind:
*
Do not smoke, drink alcohol, or take any drugs, meat or fish
* Very important:
It is mandatory (unless there is an emergency) to keep complete
silence between 22:00hr and 06:00hr. No talking, chatting
or listening to music during this time, to respect all the
people that is already in bed
* Observe ahimsa
or non-violence towards anybody in body, action, speech and
thought
* Do not hunt,
kill or harm any animal
* Do not pollute
the place by leaving garbage of any sort
* Respect and
keep silence as much as possible, avoid shouting, screaming
or loud music
* Please participate
in the practices as much according to your physical capacity
and follow the instructions of the teachers explicitly only
* Do
not light any fire, incense nor candles in the whole property
including tents or bedrooms
Only authorized staff will be in charge of incense and
other fire related items.
What
to bring
• Yoga mat
• Notebook to take notes
• The book:Meditation and Mantras by Swami Vishnudevananda
• If you are going to stay in a tent, please bring your
own sleeping bag or blankets and towel
• Boots. If you like to walk in the wild nature it is
useful to wear boots to prevent thorns and mud especially
if it rains
• Toiletries items
• Flashlight
• Bathing suit (there is a river in the property)
•Proper clothing: During this time of the year the weather
is usually warm and very pleasant, but nevertheless it can
be cool sometimes in the early mornings or evenings, so make
sure you have some warm cloths for those times.
How
to reach the place
We are 21km away from San Carlos city, Maldonado state, 40km
from Punta del Este city and around 160km from Montevideo,
capital of Uruguay.
If
you are flying to Uruguay:
- Arrive at Carrasco international
airport (MVD) and from there take a bus to San Carlos
(2 hours long). From San Carlos there are buses that will
leave you 1km away from "El Silencio", we will
be there waiting to pick you up, if you let us know in advance.
You can also come from San Carlos by taxi. After you register
for the course we will send you a map and bus schedule to
see which one fits better your conexions.
If
you are coming from Montevideo
By car: We will send you
a map with detailed instructions on how to reach us. It's
quite simple.
From "Tres Cruces" bus
station: There are many daily buses from Montevideo to
San Carlos. From San Carlos there are buses that will leave
you 1km away from "El Silencio", we will be there
waiting to pick you up, if you let us know in advance. You
can also come from San Carlos by taxi. After you register
for the course we will send you a map and bus schedule to
see which one fits better your conexions.
Register
in advance!!!
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