The Volunteer Care Council at Bhaktivedanta Manor annually organizes a spiritual retreat at Buckland Hall in the heart of the beautiful rural Brecon Beacons mountains of Wales. This year’s edition in late March saw a record number of attendees, including the management team and residents. There was a total of 170 attendees who were all enthusiastic to immerse themselves in topics about Krishna for the weekend. The theme was ‘Looking back, to move forward’, centered around our meditation for 2017, namely, how to afford godly hospitality to guests. During the retreat, visiting guest speakers delivered thought-provoking seminars. Vraja Bihari das, a monk from Mumbai, emphasized the importance for us to all stop, pause and take time to reflect on our past actions. We can thus learn lessons on how to move forward positively rather than lament about the past. Gaur Gopal das continued the theme of insightful learning, conveying the message of ‘Experience over Convenience’; the process of tolerating inconveniences to concentrate on improving our consciousness. Sutapa das explained how life is like a jigsaw puzzle: to solve it, we first need to put down the corners (understand the overall picture). The children had a fun time going on an organized treasure hunt, as well as taking part in many other activities especially arranged for them. There was also an incredibly heart touching drama based on the history of Lord Ramachandra and His wonderful devotees. Buckland Hall director Akhandadhi das said, “The whole weekend had a wonderful atmosphere where Srila Prabhupada’s Krishna consciousness family came together to support one another and learn in harmony, sharing the same goals in reviving our relationship with Krishna.” Harish Baldi said, “The experience was excellent!” Haridasvarya Das and Sundari Gopika devi said: “We feel spiritually charged. It was a great opportunity to walk in beautiful country surroundings.”
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