Indians in the Homeland of Meditation: Acem Meditation is fantastic!

From Acem International Newsletter No. 2 2003.

They are proud.
They are impressed.
And they are deeply moved.
Kalpana and Jayaraj guided a group of 18 Indians to this summer's World Retreat of Acem Meditation in Norway.

We meet them over a glass of freshly made Norwegian apple juice. They have already spent almost one month in Norway, this exotic country of mountains and fjords, forests and seas, a country where every inhabitant is surrounded by a surprising amount of space. This is the place were Acem was founded almost 40 years ago. And this is the place were this summer's World Retreat of Acem Meditation, Post-retreat Tour and International Deepening Retreat took place. Now, in the middle of August, it is time to go back to the crowded streets and boisterous life of Delhi, to their work in the area called Central Market in the district of Lajpat Nagar, and to the pocket meetings and all-members meetings of Acem India. According to Tamil custom, we address her by her first name, Kalpana, and him by his family name, Jayaraj.

They are filled with impressions: faces and energetic movements from the dreiva dancing and the social dynamics at the retreat; rewarding conversations along a forest road at Hadeland; the quiet mood after hours of meditation; existential dialogues between retreat participants and Are Holen or other lecturers; sunrises and sunsets; and the natural beauty of Norway.

With a smile they tell us about the time when they were offered earplugs for the long meditations at Halvorsbøle. "At home we are used to meditating while noisy traffic rushes by outside our windows. At Halvorsbøle, the windows were facing the pine trees and Lake Randsfjord. The silence was almost obtrusive. Why should we need earplugs?"

They praise Norwegian nature. "In Norway the green is really green, and the blue is really blue. In India, at least in Delhi, every colour is covered by a shade of grey due to all the dust and the pollution."

Working for the community
They are proud to have been part of a group of 18 Indians at the World Retreat. They had worked hard in order to get as many participants as possible, and their work was crowned with success. Their 21-year-old son Anoop and their 18-year-old daughter Nivanthee were among the participants. For a long time, many Indian members were uncertain as to whether they would be able to take the time off from work. Travelling to one of the most expensive countries in the world represented an economic challenge as well. Some of them had to stay at home this time, but hope to participate in the future.

"We are happy that so many people had the opportunity to participate. This will increase their understanding of meditation and their commitment to Acem."

They are impressed by the work carried out by Acem International in order to arrange the World Retreat, the Post Retreat Tour and the International Deepening Retreat. "You cooperate so well and you really put your hearts into the work. We feel that you have taken good care of us. We will try to establish the same working style back home in India. You have made such a great effort in order for everything to go smoothly. Seeing this has made many Indian participants think. We understand better now what it takes for Acem India to develop further. I enjoy working for an organization that manages to create such a sense of community."

Pocket meetings
The first fruit of the inspiration brought about by this trip to Norway is the establishment of a youth wing in Acem India. Six of the 18 participants belong to the youth wing. After coming back home at the end of July, they continued to meet. As a beginning, they collected photos from the trip to Norway. Next, they will lead and establish pocket meetings. Some of them have enrolled in Acem's leadership training and want to represent Acem at colleges and universities. "I have told them that Acem started out as a student organization," said Kalpana.

Pocket meetings are weekly meditation meetings where members of a district get together in order to "meet, meditate, and discuss". There are currently three regular meeting places in Delhi, all of them holding weekly meetings, in addition to an All Members Meeting once a month. Kalpana said: "Our aim is to have a meeting being arranged somewhere in India every day of the year. I think it is realistic." She points to the fact that three days of the week are already covered. "All you need for such a meeting to be arranged is that three persons get together. As the saying goes: 'three is a crowd'".

It is important to Jayaraj that Acem expands its activity to larger parts of India. "It is a huge country. We already arrange courses in Delhi, Chennai (formerly called Madras), Chandigarh, and Varanasi (formerly called Benares). This year, we plan to arrange courses in Bangalore. In 2004, Chennai or Bangalore should become an Acem centre for South India. For them, Delhi is too far away."

Opening up
The events of this summer have made a strong personal impression on both Kalpana and Jayaraj. "I have practised Acem Meditation for five years, and I have experience with long meditations. Still, the evening lectures on awareness and other topics deepened my understanding and brought me further in my meditation process," says Jayaraj. "It was important for me to hear about Acem Meditation from the man who started the organization, Dr. Are Holen."

He is also excited about the yoga. "In India, yoga is often characterized by tough and exhausting exercises. At the World Retreat, the yoga exercises were focused on slow movements with no pressure." The form of dance called dreiva was new to him. "Dreiva is not just a dance, but is connected to the meditation process. It helped us to overcome inhibitions, express ourselves and move our bodies together with others. Dreiva creates energy. I enjoyed the dreiva dancing after the long meditations, and the dreiva made it easier to return to long meditations on the following day."

The deepening retreat probably made the strongest impression. "I talked about important things in my life, things that happened 25 or 30 years ago. Many feelings came to the surface: some sadness, but also relief at finally having the opportunity to share these things. It wasn't easy, but I am glad it happened."

When comparing the World Retreat to the deepening retreat, Kalpana says: "The World Retreat had everything: meditation, lectures, dreiva, yoga, social activities, shopping, and a strong sense of community with the other participants staying in the same flat. We felt like a family. I really enjoyed meeting again Scandinavian participants who visited India during the Millennium Retreat in 2000.

At the deepening retreat, we spent more time on our own. The activities consisted mainly of meditation and reflection, and there was sort of a thoughtful mood. In addition to the talks and seminars, the conversations I had during the evening walks were important to me. My physical shape is not too good, and physically speaking the countryside walks were a bit trying. However, I really appreciated the possibility to share doubts and questions with others on the way."

Responsibility for your own process
People often ask them why they, coming from the country usually considered the homeland of meditation, wanted to learn a Norwegian technique. "