Mid-march in Turkey. We head to Bursa, a seaside town where we are hosted by a small permaculture training center nested on a hill, just above the coast.
The intention for this first retreat is quite clear : exploring the Sufi roots of Kundalini Yoga.
At a time when Yogi Bhajan’s legacy is challenged, and the man himself is being taken down by the vast majority of his previously devoted followers around the globe, it is a good time to see what is universal and beyond time and space within the Teachings he came to deliver.
The main difference here with a regular kundalini yoga teacher training is the total absence of need to deliver content. We are heading nowhere, the schedule is clearer than the blue sky around us.
Morning sâdhana is lit up by the gentle glow of the full moon, reflected on the water below. The yoga hall where we practice is also quite special : a type of geodesic dome with a very interesting geometrical structure.
Fateh Singh, holding the space for this retreat, begins by asking us all to ask a question : only if the question is clearly enunciated can the teachings manifest themselves to us during the few days we will spend together.
Sufism, just like Kundalini Yoga, is also an approach, a lens we use to access the same universal tantra : the frame that holds together the whole of creation, now, before and after us.
The very first thing we do in the morning is honoring agni, the inner fire, by lighting up an actual fire in a small copper pyramid. After that the space is open to practice kundalini yoga & meditation.
When the sun finally rises it is time for agni hotra, an ancient vedic ritual practiced everyday in the same copper pyramid to clear the subtle space and pray for the sunrise and the sunset. Burning up some sacred cow dung and making offers of rice and ghee with a special mantra is a way to celebrate those two simple but essential events occurring every day.
One very important aspect of this retreat is the idea of satsang: every morning, after breakfast, we all gather round in a circle and share what we went through during the practices and also during the night. Dreams can be indeed very useful to decipher what’s happening at a subconscious level within the collective process.
In those circles, the teachings come from everyone’s mouth : if I accept to be my own guru, I can also deliver a story or insight that resonates with someone else’s personal story or ongoing process. This is how we become sangat : we all become each other’s mirror, and we show to each other what we couldn’t see for ourselves when we were by ourselves.
Aval Allah Noor Upaya is the shabad (sacred chant) that came up for this retreat. Seeing the light, the noor of Allah (one of the many names of God) in every and each one of us.This light we shine on each other is such that after a few days everyone’s face is different : a new glow, a new quality of presence has taken place. Like the alchemical process of transmuting metal into gold, the subtle layers of our perceptions become gradually more and more accessible to us.
As our eyesights and intuitive senses improve day by day, we begin to see what is really there for us to learn this week :
« We are all poor. We are all faqirs. We are all beggars. We know nothing. We own nothing. »
Even the concept of home is now deeply questioned : where is home except in the heart ? When we gather like this to sing and meditate together, aren’t we all finally coming home ?
This connects us to the old way of living adopted by Sufis and mystics since ages ago : walking alone, attached to nothing, they intuitively aim towards the next meeting point, the next gathering, the unique place in time and space where they can meet with like-minded people, from all traditions, disregarding any religious identification, and just pray, just be, just feel the inner ecstasy of being.
Then, organically, like parts of a living cell that has its own breath, its own rythm, they feel it is time to separate again, without any regrets, and go back to their paths, until the next time they feel the call to meet.
This is the way of the faqirs. a way to the Age of Aquarius, where old structures, old forms, are not relevant anymore. Only the essence remains : we are all One.
Singing together, dancing together, praying together, just breathing together : just ways to celebrate what we all feel deep within. Everything is connected, there is no separation anymore. All duality came from the boxes I tended to put myself into in order to feel safe, accepted, and taken care of.
Now is the time to accept that we are all alone, that we have to be ready, every morning, with every breath, to lose everything we have and know, to empty ourselves, to be ready to receive everything that is there to receive, the countless gifts that rain down on us at every instant. Only if we pay attention and only if we come totally empty-handed can we see and receive those gifts.
There is so much relaxation and gratitude in accepting this simple state of being. No hopes anymore. No expectations.
All those times when we have said «no» to life, resisted what was there, based on what we knew from before and what we expected from the projection of our minds…
There is nothing to « keep up » anymore : victory comes to the one who has nothing to lose, and even no reasons to win. But if I have nothing to fight for, if I even doubt what I see, what my eyes show me, then what reference do I have left ?
My heart brought me here, so I am burning, without even the illusion of choice anymore.
Just the feeling of being at the right time, at the right place, and completely surrendering to what the moment has to offer. The prayer that comes with this attitude is this simple stance :
« I am all yours, my Lord ».
Now is the time to meet. Now is the time to gather and share this precious vibe.
Now is the time to bathe together in this very simple bliss of being. Now is the time to burn down all attachments to what was, burn from this deep longing we have in common, this deep thirst, this essential will to completely merge.
Next time, come and burn with us.
Aquarian Faqirs
