Amit Tigga, NSJ
In today’s fast paced world, it is often
hard to find simple places of serenity where one can slow down, ponder and
recharge one’s spiritual energy with a bit of guidance. Dhyan Ashram is one of such rarities in Bengal.
It is located not far from the city of
Calcutta. Right when you enter its
gates, the first thing you will notice is that its plain looking walls
completely separate it from the outside world.
There is a touch of nature’s beauty everywhere in Dhyan Ashram. There are five buildings in the campus surrounded
by beautiful ponds and greenery. If you
are a retreatant, don’t lose heart by the shoddy looking buildings because you
will be given the best in the house.
One of the main reasons why Dhyan Ashram is
such a popular retreat house is the serenely beautiful environment of the whole
campus. The beauty of the silence of
this place is breathtaking: a perfect ambience that will help you to connect
with God.
During your stay at Dhyan Ashram you will
come across many regular faces going around. They can all mainly be divided into the
following four groups.
First, you will notice our hard working and
friendly workers. Second, the most flashy
bunch around (and at times noisy and irritating as well) are the juniors. Coming in from different provinces and different
parts of India, they make up quite an interesting and talented group of
youngsters. The third will be the small
group of youngsters hanging around far away from the rest of the crowd. These are the novices: angelic in appearance,
drowned in prayer, and always willing to offer that extra help. The fourth and the last bunch are the Jesuit fathers. Don’t be fooled by their simple (and often
shabby) appearances. I can assure you
that they are some of the most intellectual, jovial and loving persons you can
come across around here.
Dhyan Ashram takes pride in giving Ignatian
retreats based on the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola. Our fathers here are excellent retreat
directors and counsellors. They also
hold quite an impressive record of turning devils into angels and that is the
secret behind all the peace that you experience here.
The vegetation around the campus isn’t just
for show. Most of the fruits and veggies
we munch down at meals are home grown.
Besides gulping down all this healthy food, we like to maintain our
fitness as well. For this we have good
old fashioned physical sports and some regular manual work etched into our
daily routines. We sweat it out
regularly on the basket ball and volley ball courts.
Well, to sum up, you will find that the special touch
added to Dhyan Ashram is its Jesuit community.
We are like a big family helping and looking out for each other. Whenever there is an opportunity, we always
come together to mingle, share and pray.
That is why the most memorable experience that the visitors share about
Dhyan Ashram is its simple, joyful and pious inhabitants.
Excellent one...
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