February 2024 - Spring is in the Air
“For those who have given themselves to the Divine each difficulty that confronts them is the assurance of a new progress and thus must be taken as a gift from the Grace.”
- The Mother
Basant Panchami, or Saraswati Puja, on February 14th this year, marked the preparation for the arrival of spring. This serves as a reminder of the cyclical nature of life, where the arrival of spring brings forth new beginnings, growth, and abundance.
We are grateful to be a space of light in these challenging times in Auroville which has only been intensifying.
We are also sensing in the air the subtle scent of spring and feel curious to see which buds bloom as we emerge into the new cycle.
Creative Arts and Music
We started the month with a creative arts workshop and followed it with a rudra veena concert and a Dhrupad retreat. With Auroville vibrating with birthday celebration activities in the latter half, we cancelled/postponed the events planned for the last ten days of the month and had a moment to feel into the transitionary time.
What a collection of seeds we were in the SoulSkin workshop! All so distinct. Feeling so alive with love and hope for the world…what a place it can be when space is made for the unique gifts we bring into it.
As we went around using our bodies, our intuition and our ability to show up in the unknown, what showed up was a remembering of the light at the core and why we need each other to walk us home.
Thanks to Vrinda Misra and Priyam Jain for guiding us on this journey and to each participant for lovingly seeing and tending to the light within.
Thank you Murali Mohan Gowda for inaugurating A Sunlit Path with the deep, resonant sound of this beautiful instrument. To watch the full rudra veena concert, please go to our Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/@sunlitpathcommunity.
In this month’s Dhrupad Retreat with Niloy Ahsan it was heartening to see many participants coming back to repeat the retreat experience and many also joined Niloy for his online kharaj or private lessons. We are grateful to Niloy and to our growing, global Dhrupad community.
Thanks to Bharat Nivas for organizing another powerful Dhrupad vocal concert with Niloy Ahsan and Roman Das on the occasion of Auroville Festival 2024.
Regular Offerings
The rhythm of our regular offerings of yoga, hindustani vocal and tamil devotional chanting held us together in the first half of the month. They were paused just as we approached The Mother’s birthday on February 21st. We felt the loss of the grounding but were also able to relish in the space it created.
Looking Ahead
Our regular offerings of yoga, hindustani vocal and Thiruvasagam satsang will restart in their usual rhythm by mid-month, after Sivaratri. We will also start monthly meetings this month for those that have completed the FaOM Methodology training to deepen in their practice.
We bring you a Dhrupad retreat with Niloy Ahsan, the FaOM Methodology training with Fabrice Montagne and a Hindustani Vocal Retreat with Lakshmi Santra.
In the monthly gatherings, we bring you a kirtan by Matthew Andrews and close out the month with a full moon gathering.
The Sunlit Experience
We dream to bring you the quality experience we have been offering at A Sunlit Path, but in a more immersive and holistic manner through a 5-day immersion into the Indian classical arts—The Sunlit Experience.
Our core offerings of yoga, music and dance offered by Sudha Suthanthiram, Niloy Ahsan and Vithya Arasu will be combined into a deep yet joyful experience of connection to the Self. The retreat is open to all seekers and will be offered sometime around Dec 2024. If you wish to participate, please reach out to us and we will keep you updated.
If you wish to be part of the team manifesting this vision, please reach out to us. We are especially looking for marketing experts, but are open to other areas of support as well. In nature, amongst community of seekers, immersed in the beauty and wisdom of the Indian classical arts, we seek to blossom with you.
Donate
Please consider making a tax-exempt donation to help us spread the Light. We are grateful for any amount that comes from your heart.
A Sunlit Path is a unit of Pappammal and Muthugounder Trust established and registered in India on Feb 4, 2010 under both 12A and 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961..
https://www.asunlitpath.org/donate