Vermont Festival of the Arts, 8/15/07

The 24^th Annual Prabhat Samgiita Retreat was held August 6-12, at the pristine and verdant Mad River Valley as a part of the Vermont Festival of the Arts. I was called to teach at retreat, which extended to a full week, in honor of the Silver Anniversary of Prabhat Samgiita. What a wonderful gift to be able to teach the very thing that you love. I co-taught with Avtk. Ananda Vibha Ac., who is well versed in Prabhat Samgiita, as she was there when our beloved guru was first giving the songs. Around 40 people attended.

Several jewels came out of the experience of teaching. Many participants expressed that they were able to go deeper into the songs, as tal, melody and isolating difficult phrases was emphasized. A few expressed that they previously had resistance to learning Prabhat Samgiita and its intricacies, but felt more relaxed with this style of teaching. Others expressed the desire to further learn, and we encouraged everyone to create more retreats in their units.

Savory, healthy food was tirelessly prepared by Ac. Cirasmita Devi. She kept us all fed with wonderfully diverse, vegetarian meals, including delicious cakes for three different birthdays!

Amidst the intensive teaching schedule, an evening performance was planned. Collectively, we decided how the evening would go. We wanted audience participation, so we chose a few songs that were simple enough for all to sing-along. I wanted the participants to be able to sing the songs they had been learning all week, so we featured those. It balanced out with performances by the Kundalini Express; and two beautiful dances.

The night was completely magical! The hosts set up a screen projecting the words to the songs. The audience was completely mesmerized and sang along with sweetness and devotion. There is immense charm and beauty in Prabhat Samgiita, which I am certain, was felt by all.

Much gratitude goes out to Giridharaji, Didi Cirasmita Devi, Tapasji, Dhyaneshvari Devi, Ciranjiva, and all the Vermont Margiis who made the retreat and performance an extraordinary experience for all.

For more information, please go to Prabhat Samgiita where you can listen to enchanting, timeless songs and learn them online!