by Kamala Joy | Jun 19, 2025 | Sadhana, Spiritual Practice
Time flies! It’s already June 2025. AVA is focusing on student favorite videos, and in thinking about my favorites I got an idea!
Why not design a weekend retreat using material in the AVA collection?!? I couldn’t wait for my morning coffee break to look at the content with this in mind.
Opening my Student Dashboard with this idea, I saw all the content differently. Usually I go to AVA for a specific reason such as for a satsang, or a recipe, or information on how to grow tulsi. This time I had a completely different perspective on the content. Staring at it all, a general outline started forming.
I would start the mornings with a little movement, then a guided meditation, then a satsang, followed by some journaling. Then after lunch I could learn something. After that I would do a little more movement and then another guided practice. And possibly another satsang or learning exercise.
For Sunday, I would do something similar, but much less, leaving time to run errands to prepare for the week ahead.
Selecting An Art to Learn
Looking at all the things I could learn: gardening, Indian cooking, Malayalam, music, devotional art, etc…Wow! I have two little grandkids, five and two so I wanted a course on something I could do with them. A whole lot fit that intention!
Finally I settled on rangoli, a devotional art form. Rangoli is a beautiful art using colored powders, flowers, colored rocks, grains, or a combination of these to make mandalas or images. During traditional Indian festivals like Diwali (celebration of light over darkness) or Onam (the harvest festival), these designs are made, often at the threshold of people’s homes.
During the AVA course, the instructor, Bramacharini Lakshmiprabha made an absolutely beautiful Ganesha. The mini-course is only 30 minutes long, though obviously it would take longer to actually make something, even if it was simpler. I decided this was the one for me and went out to a local art store to purchase some colored powders and some easy-looking mandala patterns from coloring books. I decided to try a couple on my own and the following weekend together when I had the grandkids.
Selecting Some Sacred Movement
For the movement flow, I was initially drawn to Amrita Yoga’s Divine Love Flow, which is in the library of Guided practices. If you look at the Wellness selections, other options include myofascial stretching, Mindful Movement (based on QiGong), or Acupressure. I had done all of the incredible myofascial stretching routines before.
Tuning into Amma internally, I felt strongly that the Acupressure for digestion and the immune system was what I needed most but I would do it in the afternoon. The morning movement would be Mindful Movement.
Selecting a Meditation
For the meditation I looked through the library of guided practices, which has soooo many attractive items. I kept coming back to the series of the six guided manasa puja’s (mental visualization and offering) with Amma’s 108 names following the meditation.
I am regular with archana (as in, I do it most of the time) but I always skip the manasa puja. I’ve heard people describe how they’ve created their own manasa puja with their own special imagery but for me…well I just usually skip it because it is hard for me. But these guided ones, by Swami Atmananda Puri, are beautiful. He is one of my personal favorite swamis. I’ve taken some retreats with him in person and I adore him. I felt soft and sweet all through my insides when I did one, so I decided to make that the morning meditation both Saturday and Sunday, using a different version for each day.
Choosing a Satsang
For a satsang, I was almost stumped. The Amrita Gita course is one of my favorite offerings on the whole platform but I am pretty current with it. Then there’s the satsang library, which I’ve barely scratched the surface.
There are a LOT of choices that seem perfect for me right now. Gratitude! Mantra Japa! Gita in A Day! Eight Practices (Ashtasadhana)! Art of Prayer! Overcoming Fear! Regaining Our Innocence! And this isn’t all. I finally selected “Overcoming Fear”.
Once I was finished, my Saturday looked like this:
- Archana
- Mindful Movement
- Guided Manasa Puja #1 (there are 6 to choose from)
- Overcoming Fear: Satsang 1
- Lunchbreak
- Playing with Rangoli and Patterns
- Acupressure Techniques
- Guided Manasa Puja #2
Sunday looked similar but I made it shorter.
- Mindful Movement
2. Guided Manasa Puja #3
- Overcoming Fear: Satsang 2
I fiddled around a little with the art supplies and planned how to do it with the grandkids without making my house look like a rainbow of colored powders on the walls or floors.
I went to my favorite coffee house and wrote some notes about my experience and then took the rest of Sunday to do anything I wanted. In my case this was a hike in the woods with a friend, a little shopping, and preparing a simple meal.
I Want to Make it a Regular Thing!
I resolved to try to design my own retreat from AVA content at least once a quarter. It was rich, it felt empowering to select and find things with Amma’s internal guidance, and I felt sooooo good!
Amma recommends that we try to spend a day a week in silence and focused on spiritual practices. It is tough for many of us to do this when weekends are also the best time for errands, seeing friends and family, and just putting my mind in neutral with a Netflix show or something.
But what I found in this self-designed retreat was that it was actually nurturing and energizing. I felt much better on Monday than normal. The whole experience showed me how what I look for in my weekends through friends, family and other activities is much more available if I focus on spiritual time. I want and need weekends to be relaxing but also to give me a sense for forward motion. I often used to feel like I’m just living to work to pay bills but spending this time in retreat showed me how easy it is to really and truly live.
Finally, these are turbulent times. One of the reasons I selected the overcoming fear material was related to this. I am certain that when I am centered and joyful and focused on real meaning, that waves of this energy flow into the world and have an effect. In this way, the darshans I have received from Amma allow me to pass it on. It’s magical that doing something I need to do for myself, for making more meaning and love in my own life can affect the world in a positive way.
The idea that spiritual practices are dharmic—centered on right living—became firmer and more practical in this simple self-designed weekend retreat.
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Thanks to Kamala for sharing her inspiring experience with Amrita Virtual Academy.
We encourage you to try out building your own retreat, by visiting the AVA catalog here.
All the classes and satsangs in this blog article are part of the AVA Membership. As an Amrita Virtual Academy member, you have access to more than 80 different courses and retreats in different fields.
Discover more about the AVA Membership here.
Or sign-up here.
by Nistula T. | Apr 16, 2025 | Amritapuri, Gardening, Nature, Spiritual Practice
I was recently blessed to stay six months in Amritapuri, India, and do seva (“selfless service”) for Amrita Virtual Academy. Even though the seva was in an office there, I realized how closely connected we are to Nature in Amritapuri, at all times. There are trees, bushes, plants and birds almost everywhere. Even in the seva office, I could feel the breeze from the sea when the window was open, and, at times, I could see the smallest snake outside the window. (There was a mosquito net covering the window, so we always felt safe 🙂.) The ashram is surrounded by the backwaters and the Arabian sea, which you can see from the higher buildings or when you take a walk.
When you arrive at Amritapuri’s International Office, there are so many flowers and flowering bushes welcoming you, for example: the many bougainvilleas (pictured below). When you go a bit further through the gate, towards the temple (the heart of Amritapuri) the majestic peepal tree, with its heart-shaped leaves and all its birds, greets you, setting the tone of holiness of the place.
Even on the walls, by the Western Café, there are recycled bottles with hanging plants. Also the mango tree there is in full bloom and loaded with ripening mangoes now.
Next to the Indian Canteen, a sacred banyan tree stands grandly. Amma planted this tree in a ceremony during Amritavarsham 50 (the celebration of Amma’s 50th birthday), with water from rivers all over the world. (There is a video on Youtube from the Amritavarshan celebration, here.)
Even sitting in the big hall where Amma’s daily program is often conducted, you are surrounded by Nature. You can hear the wind, the rain, and the birds, as the structure does not have closed walls. These sounds, I find, are conducive for going within and help to give a feeling of connectedness with all of creation. The experience makes me think of this quote from Amma:
There is a rhythm to everything in the cosmos. The wind, the rain, the waves, the flow of our breath and heartbeat—everything has a rhythm. Similarly, there is a rhythm in life. Our thoughts and actions create the rhythm and melody. When the rhythm of our thoughts is lost, it reflects in our actions. This will, in turn, throw off the rhythm of life itself. Today, that is what we are seeing all around us.
-Amma (Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi)
The appreciation for the connectedness to Nature in Amritapuri, made me check into the Gardening and Nature content Amrita Virtual Academy offers. As I write this, summer is in full swing in India, and, of course, the weather is very different here than in more northern countries, like my home country of Sweden. But, gardening is a year-round activity, and it’s great to prepare in advance! And, summer is a great time for the preparation of seed saving. Winter is the time for the planning and planting of seedlings. Both subjects are covered in the AVA courses! There are so many ways to connect with Nature, both by being in nature and by gardening, so I wanted to see what the AVA library offers. As I found that the library is quite vast, I decided to make a compilation of the content, and share it with you, so you can easily check out whatever you feel drawn to!
Amma’s Garden & Message
A very special, intimate, and inspiring clip that I feel is a good start, is the Amma’s Garden & Message, a vlog with Amma. [AVA Members can click here to view it]. You can find it in the Satsang Library, where all the satsangs from Amrita Virtual Academy’s courses and retreats are archived and sorted by topic for easy viewing. This short vlog is one that everyone can enjoy, whether you are into gardening or not, as it gives you some precious moments with Amma.
There is also a sweet video from one of the rooftop gardens in Amritapuri that you can watch on YouTube. Vikasita gives you a relaxing and devotional tour among the plants and vegetables. Since the video is on Youtube, you can watch it whether you have joined the Amrita Virtual Academy membership or not. Watch the Amritapuri Terrace Garden Tour 🍅
Amritaculture – Gardening as a Spiritual Practice
“Amritaculture” is a series of devotional gardening courses taught by a global team of expert gardeners. They offer an in-depth approach to gardening for both beginners and seasoned growers. The courses are especially helpful if you have a place where you can garden, whether it’s outdoors or even indoors, with some pots by the window. Amritaculture can help you to make gardening a spiritual practice; to deepen your connection to Amma, to your own Self, and to all of Creation. It teaches you how to grow your own food, which Amma has stressed for many years as being important. The courses also aim to help you increase your love and devotion to Nature, which we know is very needed in this age, both for our own well-being, and for the well-being of the world.
Something great I found is, if you have any doubts throughout the process of gardening with Amritaculture, there are possibilities to ask questions in the AVA forum, and also a library of recorded Q&A sessions to see how other gardener’s trouble-shooted their gardening season with the AVA instructors.
Amritaculture’s “Grow and Serve” with Green Friends Australia [AVA Members can watch it here] is a special, short and heartfelt program where a family of three from Australia (Kalivati, Ribhu and little Suriya) share how they started a Community Garden project during the Covid-lockdown. They started by creating their own garden. Then, they looked to see if they could help others to do the same. Thus, they ended up helping devotees establish gardens, and from that point, the project grew bigger. Without telling the whole story, they are now serving a wider community along the Sunshine Coast!
Here you can read more about GreenFriends and projects around the globe. Maybe there is a group for you to join in your country, too!
Earth Day Retreat – April 20, 2025
On April 20, there will be a brand new Earth Day Retreat in the AVA Membership. The title of the retreat is “The Five Mothers”. I am very curious what it will be like… Find out more here!
Inside the AVA Membership are also the one-day or two-day long Earth Day Retreats from 2023 and 2024! The retreats are titled, “Nurture Mother Nature” and “You are the Self-effulgent Sun”.
You can do the retreats with the guidance of a suggested schedule, or in a self-paced manner. The retreats offer an opportunity for focused sadhana, coupled with love for Nature. Within each retreat are sessions guided by many competent spiritual seekers, as well as senior swamis/swaminis. The sessions feature yoga, guided meditations, mantra japa, DIY sessions, and also sessions that teach you more about the culture Amma grew up in.
Natural Living: Workshop series
There is also the “Natural Living” workshop series, which includes high-quality DIY episodes, ranging from a workshop taught by French Swamini Amritajyoti Prana, presenting tips on how to use essential oils, to a workshop taught by Meenamba, who has led the great Amrita Upcycling project in Amritapuri since many years. Meenamba teaches how to make practical tote bags from recycled plastics, and much more. Our dear Tanmayi, from Amrita Virtual Academy, shares more about the “Natural Living” series in a blog she wrote while testing an episode. You can read about her experience here.
In the end, what I really enjoyed about the Nature and Garden content, is the mix of spiritual teachings and the practical application through different workshops and sessions that carry Amma’s way and message so well… high spirit, but feet on the ground!
What I want to mention also, is the valuable course about one of the foundations of our life: soil. In “Soul of the Soil”, Seetala and Chandrika teach on growing more organic food with less work by harnessing the power of microbiology. Learn to use current research methods on regenerative agriculture combined with love and respect for Nature’s perfect interplay.
Thanks to Nistula for sharing her inspiring experience with Amrita Virtual Academy.
We encourage you to join the Earth Day Retreat 2025 here. It is going to be a beautiful retreat about The Five Mothers of Ancient India.
The retreat is part of the AVA Membership. As an Amrita Virtual Academy member, you have access to more than 80 different courses and retreats in different fields.
Discover more about the AVA Membership here.
Or sign-up here.
