UK News

Youth meeting in Germany

July 2005

“The youth retreat, held over a week at the end of July, was an ‘out of this world’ experience. It was more than a mere retreat, it was a process (a process I feel is still going on) and not an individual process but a collective one, one involving 60 plus youths from Germany, France, UK, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.

The moment we arrived it was like entering this bubble of very different energy. It was fun, laughter and joy till the day we left. It was most succinctly put by Robert Croll (London) when we returned and was asked how it was and the natural reply was ‘ohhhhhh, too much…’ but followed by a sigh ‘…but not enough!!’ It really was like spending a whole week in Amma’s embrace. The retreats only complaint voiced both through words and silence was that it was not long enough, but whether it ever will be is a whole other question.

The retreat combined elements of early starts (early for us youth anyway) and late night chats gliding dynamically and creatively through fields of peer pressure, love, principles, friendship and truth. The retreat, like much of life, offered not a set menu but a variety of choices, each person free to pick and mix their own agenda. The day would start with yoga or tai chi, while later people could choose from acting classes, clay modelling and art workshops, interspersed with talks and personality development sessions. The main full day was completely amazing. It involved a joyful group nature trek in the beautiful open fields of Germany, with Amma’s smile wafting gently across the open skies, as we made our way to the forest. We all sat down for a picnic and perhaps Amma showered us with a few of her tears of joy as a small gust of drizzling rain floated by while we all continued to laugh and sat immersed in one mind. A small talk evolved into stories of personal accounts of meeting Amma and slowly Br Shubamrita recounted his first meeting and whole experience with Amma only to find that at the end a small circle had grown into a vast crowd with all eyes on Br Shubamrita and all minds following his every words.

The treasure hunt soon followed encompassing challenges testing us physically, mentally and spiritually. The day ended with a comedy sketch addressing modern issues that the youth of today face. The campfire, bhajan and papers from the youth themselves from various lands but flowing to a unitive universal value drew the day to a close with a smile on every face. The shared feeling that we are all connected and all full of love that was ours and everyone’s to share with the world as we returned to our homes with an aching heart awaiting our next meet and our minds whispering ‘let it be soon’ ‘let it be soon’, was left reverberating in the air of a truly life changing experience.
-- Kannan