Walking a spiritual path is not always easy. Sometimes things flow beautifully and the fruits of our practice bring great fulfilment. At other times there is no enthusiasm at all and we feel like we’re going backwards or are totally lost and in doubt.
Very soon, Agama will offer the annual free retreat: Awakening of the Spirit, which is gifted to everyone in honour of the birthdays of Swami Vivekananda Saraswati and senior teacher Muktananda. The motivation behind this retreat is the belief that the spiritualisation of the human being is possible, that Spirit can be increased and awakened in every one of us.
Some believe that the Spirit is eternal and immutable and cannot be “awakened” in any way, calling into question the title and purpose of this retreat. The awakening of the Spirit makes no sense if we consider only the definition of spirit as a universal, pre-existing Spirit. Yet every human being, when coming to life, receives Spirit, just as God breathed life into Adam and Eve. This breath of God is called the Holy Spirit in Christianity. In Yoga it is Shakti, the feminine aspect of God.
The great saint Seraphim of Sarov taught that the human being accumulates the Holy Spirit through spiritual practice, and thus the God-given vital spirit becomes more and more awakened, more activated, more and more visible, and the human being practices in a different way.
The Awakening of the Spirit Retreat invites us to practice with Spirit!
We want to see the Spirit shining brightly in you!
Watch this presentation on the “Awakening of the Spirit” by Swami Vivekananda Saraswati for deeper inspiration: