Slowly walking through the leafy entrance of 38 Carrington Drive Castlehill, fifteen or so CHYKs set down their bulky luggage packs onto the carpet. Somewhat unsure of what to expect, they eye each other nervously as they congregate in front of a beautiful altar of Ram, Lakshman, Sita and Hanuman.

And thus began CHYK Dip n Script 2010. Speaking personally, I had no clear idea of what to expect over the coming 2 days. The theme was ‘Meditation’, so right on cue, my mind was conjuring up images of sadhus with long hair, sitting eyes closed and cross-legged on top of the Himalayas. I would suspect that a lot of us were thinking the same thing, albeit slightly less dramatic.

And although this was the preconceived notion that we arrived with on the first day, we quickly came to see that there was much more to Meditation than any of us could have previously imagined.

The entire concept of this mini-camp was to introduce to us what Meditation truly meant. Br Gopalji sat us down with us over the next two days and ensured that we would be able to remember at least this following line from our experience at camp: “Meditation is the effortless awareness of One’s true nature”.

Meditation, we learnt, goes beyond sitting down cross-legged and watching one‘s breath; it goes beyond clearing the mind for 20 minutes a day; its true meaning perhaps even goes beyond what our mind, conditioned as it is and in its current state, is capable of understanding and truly grasping.

Being completely aware that you are in fact, Brahman, at all times, every second of every day of your Life - this is what Meditation encapsulates.

As we went through our first day at camp, there was initially a sense of confusion as we tried to take in everything that was being taught to us. But by the time the sun had set on the first day and we prepared for dinner (burritos with cheese, beans and tomato sauce), we started asking questions; and as Br Gopalji answered everything patiently, we started to see that there was a dimension to Life that we rarely give consideration to.

Br Gopalji pointed out that as we run from object to object in this world of ‘things’, we are attributing our own happiness to them, ie, we are constantly seeking and addicted to the short bursts of pleasure that desire-fulfillment brings; whereas all the while, we fail to realize that true everlasting Happiness and Bliss is nowhere else but inside us, and it is nothing else but us! Not us, the Body-Mind- Intellect - but us, the Aatman, Brahman, God.

Br Gopalji further encouraged us to challenge the world as we see it - does everything around me truly exist? Is it all real? Or is the external reality around me simply a manifestation of the thoughts that run through my mind, the vasanas I have accumulated, and the desires I have yet to be fulfilled? He offered an example of deep sleep - where is the world then? Where am I then?

It suddenly seemed like the world and Life as we knew it was but a delicate, fragile thin layer, that we had grown to become comfortable within; but that one question WHY? is more than enough, and slowly this thin layer begins to unravel and we find there are dimensions upon dimensions that exist, Truth, Bliss, Eternity - and these layers are beyond anything that we, as B-M-I, are capable of even contemplating. This struck a chord with me personally, because it means that there truly is a Higher Purpose to our existence; and the poetic irony - that while we search for True Happiness outside, it is all the while inside us - is a concept that is unique to Hindu philosophy, and really quite liberating.

So where does our initial understanding of ‘meditation’ fit in with all of this? When we sit cross-legged, eyes closed, watching our breathing, or perhaps, chanting the Lord’s name, we are preparing the mind, we are reducing the clutter of thoughts in the mind, and we are making it single-pointed. This readies us and prepares us to move closer to that ultimate aim of Self-Realisation, realising that: I am not this Body or this physical appearance; I am not my mind, and its countless thoughts; I am not even this discriminating Intellect. Everything I have been looking for is right here, True Bliss is right here, the underlying Meaning behind everything is right here - I am Brahman.

On behalf of all of the CHYKs who attended, I would like to thank Br Gopalji for teaching us so much over the space of 2 days, and patiently answering all of our questions.

Until the next mini-camp in July 2010,

Hari Om!