Hello !
We are the young generation of Spiritual Warriors and we seek to design and develop challenges and games on all levels ; physically, mentally and spiritually. In fact we have provided many ideas for the adult spiritual warrior challenges. We have come to realize that in a playfull environment in the outdoors we learn things that we don't necessarily learn in school.
Here some of the things we learnt from the Quest Center camp in July 99' :
“I learnt to preserve water for a long time and to start a fire with only sticks.”
“Mind can control parts of your body that nothing else can.”
“I learned how to go into the nucleus of my body and get deep down “
“You can’t trust on winning with a good team. You can never know what will happen.”
“I learnt that while dealing with people of inimical nature its hard to keep aloof from anger, hatred and vanity.”
“I learned how dependent I was on everyday technology (video games) and how to do without it.”
“I learned how to be more forgiving.”
I learned how to do kaoshiki dance
I learned how to wake up early
I learned the red tender leaf song
I learned to concentrate more effectively
On maps pay attention to small details
A compass can be very usefull
Don't rely on strangers to give directions
I learned about the five fundamental factors
Never walk first in tall grass in swampy areas
Never turn around when someone says "surrender"
How to put out a fire without water
Here our campout story by Dada Moksesh (July 1999):
Crisis: We have hiked 2 hours from where we parked the car and we realize, we have only three gallons of water left&ldots;A ranger also told us that we should not camp&ldots; All are exhausted, since we already hiked two hours in the morning. We finally find the opening that we had figured out on the map and take a break. A beautiful view shows us rolling hills filled with green lush forest. Our planned campsite is not far. After a battle with little green apples that Vijay is throwing at us we get up and go.
Near a creek we set camp and figure out a tree to hang our food in case there are bears. After a short meditation in the woods, we start a fire-pit by collecting big stones and wood. Then Vijay is all-busy again trying to collect the silver-foiled potatoes getting them ready to put them into the fire. Meanwhile we ration the water (we are a total of 16 people) now that there are only two gallons left, we get two cups of 200ml. One for the meal and one afterwards.
Now its time for night games while the potatoes are baking. We go back to the open field and play hide and seek while we see the moon slowly coming over the edge of the mountain. Some are getting worried about the water, so I ask “ Who is willing to walk back and get the other three remaining gallons in the car ?
Caetanya, the service minded, is the first to respond, followed by Taraka and Vimal and many others. Finally we decide to let Vimal go with me early in the morning by 6 A.M.
Camp fire vigil:
Every hour a team of two brothers keeps the fire going until dawn, watching out for wild animals, keeping each other awake&ldots;
Early morning I venture back to the car with Vimal and we successfully bring back three and a half gallons for us to last until noon, when we will get lunch at the river. The fire is already out and we play some games to sharpen our senses. One of us is blindfolded with a stick under his legs and everyone is trying to approach trying to get the stick without being heard. Any sound that the “owner” of the stick hears, he has to point at and the one caught has to freeze. Only one of us succeeded to eliminate everyone else before they got to the stick.
Visit of the ranger:
When we are in the middle of the game, out of nowhere a ranger walks at us. Firm at first, he takes our names and photo, warning us not to camp in the future again, then mellowing out, begins to tell us about the history of the area and some stories about himself. He was happy to see that we didn’t leave any garbage anywhere on our hike, unlike the people for which these laws are actually intended that go hunting and leave beerbottles everywhere.
Then we brake off thinking that lunch and more water is near but alas a steep mountain still lies ahead of us. At its base we color ourselves with paint from the stones and with warrior-energy climb up the mountain. Almost on the top, we find a cave of an animal, where our mountain man Dada Ramanuja takes position with his stick. Now we are all exhausted and the last snack is on top of the mountain after a short meditation. ..Only two sips each ! From the juice Vijay mixed. Then we head down as fast as we can to get our lunch. We almost loose each other and another suspense arises as the van that we expected is not there. But eventually Adhyatman arrives with the food (he had been looking for us in the area).
Spiritual Warrior Principles (15 Shiilas) :
Our core principles are based in the 15 Shiilas or shields that protect us from the 6 enemies and 8 bondages. A chart was developed at the first YSWC in the summer of 1993 :
6 enemies :
1.Lust
2.Anger
3.Greed
4.Enchantment
5.Pride
6.Envy
8 Bondages :
1.Fear
2.Hatred
3.Shyness
5.Pride of heritage
6.Pride of culture
7.Vanity
8.Backbiting
15 Shiilas:
1.Forgiveness
2.Magnanimity of mind
3.Perpetual restraint on behaviour and temper
4.Readiness to sacrifice everything of individual life for ideology
5.All-round self-restraint
6.Sweet and smiling behaviour
7.Moral courage
8.Setting an example of individual conduct before asking others to do the same
9.Keeping aloof from critisizing, condemning or mudslinging and all sorts of groupism
10.Strict adherence to the ten moral principles
11.Due to carelessness if any mistake is committed, unconsciously or unknowingly, one must admit it immediately and ask for punishment
12.Even while dealing with persons of inimical nature, one must keep oneself free from hatred, anger and vanity
13.One should keep oneself aloof from talkativeness
14.Obediance to structural code of discipline
15.Sense of responsibility
If you want to be part of next summer's YSW program please do :
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