When asked about just one learning that they achieved from the camp, the participants were all excited to pour out their hearts. Many have felt like being gifted with a new pair of eyes, to look at life with a whole new perspective.
One important subject which most of the participants found interesting was the concept of attachment. Being emotional creatures, we humans are bound to get attached to objects and people in life. But attachment could also become a source of pain, when you lose the object you’re attached to or the individual you’re attached to doesn’t reciprocate your feelings. It definitely becomes the cause of heartache for many but the Nipun ’18 camp was able to give the participants a clear understanding of the subject.
In light of the teachings from Gita, the participants were able to understand the importance of practising detachment. Even though some among them doubted that detachment meant you shouldn’t possess anything, later they realized that it meant nothing should possess you. Rohith T., a participant said that the revelation ‘I’m only acting my role’ has set him free from expecting the results of his action. Preethi P. found the principle of detachment to be an eye-opener and observed that ‘the individual is only a user of the world, not the owner’. Ms Gayathri Sarmishta found this lesson to be especially important in interpersonal relations and decided to put it into practice. She said that ‘The camp has taught me to keep my loved ones happy, without expecting anything in return. I know it’s going to be difficult, but I want to try it out.’
Another topic of interest was happiness. The participants couldn’t believe that we can always be happy irrespective of the circumstances. It was a surprising revelation for many that you don’t need a reason, a person or any other external stimulant to be happy. As Mr Srivardhan T.P. has put it beautifully, you only need to’ live in the present to attain happiness in life’. Mr Kartik Krishnan was of the opinion that you should ‘keep your happiness on Self-start, not on kick-start.’ He also observed that ‘let not your happiness be conditioned by external factors and don’t let external factors prevent you from tasting the inner bliss.’ Camp participant Mr Arpit Agarwal said that the camp experience has made his first priority to ‘stay happy’ and second priority to be ‘not to be sad’.
Looking at life with objectivity was another key lesson many participants found intriguing. The learning that ‘life is neither a bed of roses nor a burdensome experience’ was a true eye-opener for many. Mr Venkatesh P.G. felt that the camp enabled him to have a balanced outlook towards life.
After the session, Mr Abhishek Ahuja made a decision ‘not to tell myself false stories and make excuses’.
Many participants like Mr Dhanush B.N. found the concept of Dharma, the right path, to be inspiring. “Now I know my destiny is to become a yogi.”, said Mr Dhanush with enthusiasm and he was determined to learn and implement the principles in his daily life. He felt that the camp was truly an eye-opener and has expressed his heartfelt gratitude to everyone. Mr Ashwin Kumar observed that “Nature of the nature always changes according to dharma and it was important to learn this to take necessary steps towards becoming a Karma Yogi.’’ For Mr Praveen Raja P., the camp was a life-changing spiritual experience which has shown him the true path, the correct path of action called Dharma. He observed that ‘’The experience has taught me the way in which to act, the attitude with which to act and what for to act.’’
“I realized the importance of being alive every moment”, said Ms Preetha Sampath who found the lessons on effective time management to be highly useful. “The experience has taught me about the value of time as there was hardly a second of inactivity at the camp. We were all engaged in some kind of activity all the time and that atmosphere contributed to great learning”, she remarked.