Young-Adult Retreat at Vedanta Society of Providence

 By Aishanee Acharyya

This was my first year attending the Young Adult Retreat, and I had a really fulfilling experience. This year, the theme of the camp, or guiding question, was “Who Am I?” and I was very confused about what this meant when I first heard it. While I still can’t say I am 100% sure on the answer, since the answer is impossible to truly ‘know,’ I do feel that I have gotten a much clearer understanding of it. From books and previous lectures, I knew that there was an infinite force within us, but I didn’t understand it or know how to use that knowledge of inner divinity in my life. We learned about the balance of enthusiasm and wisdom, which I found to be very interesting, because that is so important for anything we want to pursue at this stage in our life. We may have enthusiasm, but without the wisdom we won’t be able to put our enthusiasm to proper, beneficial use. I had enthusiasm about furthering my spiritual journey, but I think the wisdom I gained from the retreat is what I will take away the most. For example, the understanding of all of us being one really makes me think about how feelings like jealousy, greed, and selfishness have no place in our lives.
 

After all, such feelings and any material things that trigger such feelings are associated with our physical body which is really only a temporary shell for the infinite within, so there is no reason to have those kinds of negative feelings. The perfection inside all of us is not affected by material objects, accomplishments, or qualities associated with our given names. In fact, names are temporary too and can change just like that based on the circumstances. If you go to the doctor, your effective name changes to ‘patient,’ if you go to a store, your name changes to ‘customer’ and so on. The only name we all have is “I am,” once again emphasizing our oneness. I liked the metaphor of us all being plants, with the same infinite sun shining down on us.

Knowing all this, we should not go after material things, like wealth, as those will never bring us true happiness. We should only have those desires that bring us farther away from me and mine and close to the true being within. This includes the desire to put others before ourselves, to meditate, and to gain more knowledge about our inner Oneness. To really know who we are, we must not try to define our individuality, but let go of it and the ego that goes with it.

In addition to getting a lot of insight from the retreat, I made some great memories. The strict discipline and packed schedule allowed for maximum productivity, and it was very nice to be in an environment where you could have meaningful discussions with others around your age. While I was hesitant about attending at first, I am really thankful that I did and feel that the retreat is an experience that anyone can take a lot away from, regardless of where they feel they are in their spiritual path.