हम सब मांय, सब हैं हम मांय | I Am In All, All Are In Me – Exploring Self, Other & the World through Buddhism, Bhakti Music & Art, A Retreat facilitated by Dipanjali Deka & Tejal Shah

Calligraphy by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Don’t we often seek an anchor within ourselves? – An anchor that can take us through each moment
of life in wakeful awareness, leading to lasting peace? Isn’t there the wish to fully unravel the
qualities of love, compassion, and wisdom that are naturally present in our hearts and minds?
How can we learn to relax into life – a process in constant flux – so that we are able to face challenges
with greater equanimity and ease? How can we deepen our wisdom and skilful means so that the
dust of our false dualistic perceptions falls away?

To arrive into our natural state of being is to harmonise our bodies, hearts and minds with the reality
as it is, celebrating the radical interdependence of all phenomena – this is the most precious journey
one can undertake on which ample support is needed. This experiential retreat will primarily draw
on the wisdom traditions of Buddhism and Bhakti music, and is precisely meant to give us that added
wind under our wings. We will meditate on the spontaneous songs of enlightenment of saint-poets,
and cultivate a deeper awareness practice through various creative means such as singing, chanting,
drawing, painting, reading, writing, movement, working with the earth, dancing, playing, as well as
doing nothing. By anchoring our awareness in the felt-sense of the body, we will learn to ‘be with’
whatever it is that is present. The invitation is to stay curious and tap into our authentic self, allowing
gentle and loving spaciousness around those knots that otherwise block and freeze our energies
from being in-the-flow.

PLEASE NOTE

– The retreat will begin at 4 pm on Sunday 30th April and end by 4 pm on Sunday 7th May 2023.
– To maintain the integrity of the process, participation in the full retreat schedule is requested.
– Some parts of the retreat will be in complete silence and digital gadgets can only be used outside
the retreat schedule in one’s personal time and away from other participants.
– No prior training or experience is needed in Buddhism or the Bhakti tradition nor does one need to
be a singer or an artist in order to participate.
– This retreat will primarily be conducted in English but we will also use Hindi and other regional
languages in the exploration of songs. Facilitators will do their best to provide translations.
– We value Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and are committed to creating a safe and
welcoming space for everyone while being mindful of power differentials along complex
intersectional lines of class, caste, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, (dis)ability, age etc.
– While this retreat is offered by dana/donation and accommodation and food are as per actuals, a
contribution of INR 1000 is requested in order to cover the material costs.
– This retreat is limited to 18 participants. Your registration will only be confirmed after advance
payment against accommodation has been made to Deer Park Institute. To register, kindly fill this
form –  https://tinyurl.com/dharma-art-bhakti 

TENTATIVE DAILY SCHEDULE

AM
6 – 7:30: Sukshma Vyayam (subtle body exercises), Somatic Practice (led or self-guided), Pranayama, Meditation, Chanting
7:30 – 9: Breakfast, Personal Time
9 – 10:30: Session 1
10:30 – 11: Tea break
11 – 12:30: Session 2
PM
12:30 – 3: Lunch, Personal Time
3 – 4:30: Session 3
4:30 – 5: Tea break
5 – 6:30: Session 4
6:30 – 8: Dinner, Personal Time
8 – 9: Self-practice or Screenings / Participant-led Sharing / Group Discussions etc.
9 – 10: Personal Time
10: Lights out

RETREAT FACILITATORS
Dipanjali Deka

Dipanjali is a multilingual practitioner of Bhakti, Sufi and Hindustani
Classical music. She is a Performance Studies research scholar at
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. In her study, she interweaves
the musical and philosophical pluralities in the many song traditions of
bhakti in the Indian subcontinent.
Over time, Dipanjali has found that the words of the bhakti poets help
her through emotionally challenging times, making her dive deeper
into the journey of self-realisation. Through her meditations on music,
she committedly and persistently seeks to deepen the relation with
the self and the world at large, and walk alongside other fellowseekers on the path.

Tejal Shah

As a teenager, Tejal got involved in the feminist and queer-feminist
autonomous movements in India, which sensitised her to issues of
social justice and identity politics. She trained and worked as a
contemporary visual artist using the mediums of video, photography,
sound, performance and installation, exhibiting internationally in
museums, galleries and film festivals. Since 2015, she got interested in
nondual Buddhist philosophy and practice as a path to inner and outer
peace. Since 2021, she is also studying psychotherapy, sensing a need
to combine eastern and western approaches to healing for developing
healthier relationships steeped in trust, care, love and understanding.
Tejal loves poetry and living in harmony with the natural world. It brings
her tremendous joy and satisfaction in co-creating a better world by
sharing the light of wisdom and compassion so kindly shone to her by her teachers.