Toronto Sikh Retreat: The Spiritual Pick-Me-Up

December 12th, 2008 Source: thelangarhall.com



For those of you that have never attended a retreat before, its not like the Sikh camps you went to as a kid. Its not Sikhi boot-camp, but a chance for you to explore you own spirituality and really examine how you’re incorporating Sikhi into your life.  

The Toronto Sikh Retreat has been held in various forms for almost a decade. Never formalized into a full organization, its always been a fluid mix of Sikh students and young professionals coming together to put them on.  

What I love about the retreat is that the workshops and activities are all planned by the youth and EVERYTHING is meant to be interactive. Even the divaans are two-way. At no point does anyone lecture to you or claim to know the right answer. The facilitators are merely individuals who have taken the time to do their homework on a particular topic so that they can guide the workshops. 

Best of all, the retreats are a blast. They’re one of the funnest and most energizing weekends of the year for me. I look forward to them all year.  

This year retreat promises to be amazing. The organizers have added an extra day to allow for lots of outdoor fun and more opportunities for informal discussion. The first workshop covers the life of Guru Tegh Bahadur and why his sacrifice is as relevant in today’s age as it was over three hundred years ago. The other workshop is going to be on we can use our creativity to express our Sikhi and spirituality. Also, this year there’s going to be an open mic night where attendees will be able to showcase their hidden “talents”.  

The location of the retreat is also worth seeing. Nestled next to a great big toboggan hill, the Ecology Retreat Centre has separate buildings for the divaan hall, dining/meeting hall and sleeping quarters. As a creature comfort myself, I can tell you the accommodations and bathrooms are just fine. * So it doesn’t matter where you are on the path of Sikh, the retreat is a chance to recharge your spiritual batteries, push your own thinking and make a ton of new friends. 

The Toronto Sikh Retreat runs from January 8th to 11th, 2009. It will be held at the Ecology Retreat Centre in Orangeville. For more registration and information visit the TSR website or the TSR blog.

Posted by Maple Leaf Sikh | Friday, December 12, 2008 – 6:12 am

Comments

December 13, 2008 - 1:28pm bachittar

Toronto Sikh Retreat

Gur Fateh, It is wonderful to learn that somebody is organizing a Sikh retreat in Toronto. I wish similar retreats are organized in every city in North America and for that matter everywhere else including India. It is heartening to note in the pictures that were posted, I presume of previous retreats, that Sehjdhari Sikh youth were very much present. In some Sikh retreats the concept of inclusion is overlooked and activities are normally run by Keshadhari Youth only. I hope this is corrected in Toronto. We have to work to make sure that all Sikh youth are active and get involved in all the rereat activity. Whether Sikh Youth are in compliance with the Saroop or not, they are never the less Sikh Youth and should be encoraged to take part in reading Gurbani,. doing Ardaas, singing Shabad Keertan, preparing Langar and indeed taking part in every activity. I hope those who are taking the intiative to organize the retreat will work hard on making non-keshadahari youth included and involved.This is our opportunity to make all our younger generation feel that they belong and can be fully participating members of the family. I would like to see some statistics of the retreat being made available to the Sangat and Sikh community at large after the session is completed. Best of luck and continued success.

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