We are slowly gearing up, the NEEV Centre for Self Inquiry, to become a vibrant centre for disseminating the teachings of Advaita Vedanta to seekers across the world. The first step we are taking in this direction is to host a retreat for the students of Self-Inquiry in India who are actively engaged in studying Advaita with me.
About 10 students from different parts of India have confirmed their participation in the retreat. The purpose of the retreat is to facilitate meeting of all the students physically in the Centre over three days of dialogues and discussions. So far, the students have known me and each other only through online interactions. Therefore, this retreat will be a rich opportunity for all of us to come together and passionately discuss issues related to self-inquiry and chalk out a future course of action to develop the NEEV Centre for Self-Inquiry into a beacon of light for seekers across the world to learn true Advaita Vedanta.
The NEEV Centre for Self Inquiry, situated in Hurlung Village, Jharkhand, is run by New Education and Environment Visions Trust. It is a two-storey building constructed on about 5,000 square feet of land. The building was constructed in 2018. Its original intent was to run a school to impart a different kind of education. But gradually my vision changed, and now we are trying to restructure the space to function as a centre for seekers to learn Advaita Vedanta – a jnana yoga path to liberation.
The Centre also houses a woodworking workshop in the upper storey. This reflects our passion for doing hands-on work with a natural material like wood, lending itself to a staggering variety of uses. We played with the idea of using woodworking as a means to sustain the NEEV Centre for Self-Inquiry. While the idea still holds a charm for us, we found that the economics of it has not worked out profitably. Given our limitations of time and manpower, coupled with our central mission of teaching Advaita, we found that we cannot make this our sole means of sustaining the NEEV Centre.
Sustaining the NEEV Centre for Self Inquiry is a daunting challenge for us, considering the fact that I have decided never to charge any fees for teaching Advaita. This is a deliberate discipline I have imposed on myself because I do not wish any consideration of money matters to ever creep in and corrupt the central mission of teaching Advaita. The aim of Advaita is to provide liberation from all suffering, and it is an anathema to me that access to such knowledge should be contingent on the availability of money with a seeker. I honour the ancient ideal where a seeker approaches a teacher with mere fuel wood in hand.
Let a Brahmin having examined the worlds produced by karma be free from desires, thinking, ‘there is nothing eternal produced by karma’; and in order to acquire the knowledge of the eternal, let him take Samid (sacrificial fuel) in hand, approach a preceptor alone, who is versed in the Vedas and centred in the Brahman.”
~ Mundaka Upanishad, verse 1.2.12
We are also taking the first retreat as an opportunity to do some construction work so that we start the process of readying rooms for future seekers to come and stay in the Centre. Of course, all of this is pretty much dependent on the amount of donations we receive. Honestly, I find this work daunting. Since Advaita Vedanta is a path that is formless, it attracts very few seekers; those with sharp intellects. And since I do not at all speak about God or meditation or kundalini or any other esoteric stuff which is found in other paths but entirely follow the path of traditional Advaita involving – shravana (listening/reading to scriptures), manana (reflection and dialogue) and nidhidhyasana (deep contemplation about truths ascertained through manana), the number of seekers interested becomes even less. Even though I find prospects of donation very remote, I have decided to push ahead with our vision of developing the Centre with whatever I have got.
In preparation for the retreat, we have started the cumbersome work of cleaning all the rooms in the Centre, which have been lying neglected for the past three years. I am posting some pics detailing the work being done. And I have decided to now regularly report on all the developments taking place. I sincerely hope some of you may get interested in our mission and join hands to make it a reality.
Neev Community for Self Inquiry & Sustainability 