Vipassana meditation: Part 1 Enlightening or exhausting?

If you were given an opportunity to stay at a place for 10 days away from your home, no phone, no TV, no exercise, no books and moreover zero communication inside and outside! All you have to do is sit straight with your legs crossed and eyes closed for 11 hours a day. Would you opt for it? Well.., I did.

After my previous blog on Meditation, I received a few requests to make a detailed blog on my Vipassana meditation experience. As I sat to write the same, I realized there is so much to tell in comparison to my short-read content. That's when I decided I will be making a 2 part series of my experience. This is the first part where I take you through the challenges of attending the retreat. So without further ado let's get started!

After many failed attempts, finally I did attend a 10 day Vipassana retreat early this year. Learning an original form of meditation by a legit institute was something that was on my bucket list for some time now. But with so many meditation techniques and institutes in India finding that one best fit took some real research. After going through hundreds of blog posts, videos and books there was this one technique that drew my attention. In an era where all the big spiritual institutes in the country have their own entry fee along with their own e-commerce sites selling souvenirs and biscuits, there is this mediation institute teaching students for free! I was taken aback. 10 days accommodation, food, and meditation all without a single penny? I was like, Wow, how? And it's the same all over the world! This is something worth giving a try. With 3 months waiting period for the course, I had enough time to prepare myself. When I say this I mean, convincing my parents that it is not an alcohol rehabilitation retreat but a spiritual meditation retreat!

Being an introvert myself I knew I could easily manage noble silence for 10 days. But I did not know what else was in store for me. Since it is purely run on donations and no admission fees, I had no much expectations on the stay but I was caught by surprise to see the center myself. I was offered a clean spacious single room with an attached bathroom. the center itself was located in a very peaceful place surrounded by trees and flowering plants away from the hustle of Bangalore city. But what was intimidating is the fact that whoever I spoke to in the center on the 1st day asked, "Are you sure you can complete 10 days? If not, you can leave the course right away." I used to wonder how difficult it might be to wake up at 4 AM, no food after 5 pm, and sit for 11 hours without talking to or looking into another person's face for the next 10 days? Little did I know what was about to unfold in the coming days.

The struggle was real, at least for the first 5 days for me. Waking up that early on a cold morning was a big no-no. Plus sitting for 11 hours a day with awareness was a real task. By the end of the day muscle soreness, hunger, sleep deprivation, and homesickness would make me ask the same question every single day. Why am I doing this? Is it worth all the pain and suffering? But, one thing kept me going. I can't afford to lose this opportunity. Let's take it one day at a time. With time I realized it wasn't just me fighting the battle. Cos every day I could see a minimum of 10 people would go back home.

If you have read till this you might be thinking that the experience wasn't great. But that's not all. Those were the physical difficulties. Cos 10 days leaving behind mundane life and doing something new altogether isn't something our body is used to do right? They weren't the experiences I went there for. I had gone to learn the technique of Vipassana and it did not fail me. I knew I was in for a new learning, a new quest, a new exploration. Every day unfolded a new universe ahead of me understanding Dhamma, the law of nature. I'm sure you wouldn't want to miss part 2 of this piece. So, do come back for part 2 Same time, Same Jagah next Sunday. Until then, Be happy.😊