Jeevan Vidya: The Workshop That Was

Austrian poet and novelist Rainer Maria Rilke had said, "The only journey is the one within." And the journey within seems to be the toughest. Tough not physically but emotionally and mentally. Tough because you don't know where are you going and what is the destination? Sounds philosophical?

Well, Ghumakkad was recently at Dharwad in a forest farm in north Karnataka attending the Jeevan Vidya workshop. The workshop was about 'doing' the philosophy and not 'studying' it. It was about undertaking a journey within.

We had posted a curtain raiser about the workshop in our story linked here. You may browse it to know what the workshop is all about. In this post we are sharing some on-ground activities and learnings from the workshop. But before that a glimpse of the train journey from Secunderabad to Hubbali. What do you do when you have already reached the platform and the train is two hours late? Read on.

Mid-night Arrival

Due to delayed train, we reached the farm well past midnight amidst rain and darkness. Special thanks to Commodore Arvind Shiggon for staying awake and picking us up from the railway station at midnight.

Took a jungle walk in darkness with a torchlight and tents were set up next morning. Pictures and a short video clip below.

Now feel the walk in the darkness in the video below:

How the perspective changes once darkness yields to daylight? Picture below.

Bathing in the open has its own charm. We had one tap for bathing which was well captured by Sarang. The video clip is titled 'Yeh null bahut yaad ayega' meaning 'This water tap will be missed dearly for long'.

The Venue

The Suman Sangama a 17-acre forest farm located about 10 kms away from Dharwad provided the ideal setting for the workshop. Unpolluted atmosphere, away from the noise and distractions of urban life helped in introspection by the participants. Few pictures of the venue. Don't miss the forested area, eco-friendly huts and reused-saline-bottles to build eco-friendly walls.

Our dining area under the trees was a happening place. Pictures below:

A lone calf in the farm was an integral part of our stay.

Around the Farm

The farm had so much greenery all around. Our eyes and the mind couldn't soak enough of it.

The forest is abuzz with the full throated chirping of crickets. Short video below has captured the sounds of the forest.

When you live in a forest in a tent without a shower, mirror or other creature comforts, it brings you down to reality. How and where do you trim your beard? No mirror? Then you improvise. The bike driven by Mahesh, one of our participants from Bengaluru, came in handy. See the picture below.

The video below shows the marking of crocodile bark trees on which the pepper creeper climbs!

Sarang has captured the serenity of the farm in a short video titled 'Sukoon' सुकून meaning peace.

The Participants

We were 23 of us from different walks of life and age group ranging from 26 to 74 years. One overseas participant added to the diversity which enhanced the quality of our discussions. We could not take a formal group photograph. Here are two pictures taken during the tea breaks.

The Vidyarthis

Listed below are all the 'Vidyarthis' विद्यार्थी (students or participants) of the workshop.

Akhil- More heard than seen

Archana- Nurturing all

Aparna- Serious questions

Anushree- Silent and smiling PhD

Deepak- Focussed thinker

Ganesh- Clear thoughts; vanishes every morning

Gaurav- Quiet observer

Harsh- ‘Youngest’ participant

Kanwal- Eco-warrior

Luv- Genuine buddy

Mahesh- Art and life

Monika- IT Prof from Amravati

Pankaj- Spontaneous poet

Prapun- Living in the moment

Pushpa- Correlation with life

Quasim- 'Line is where I draw it'

Sarang- Deep diver

Saraswathi- Yoga and calmness

Savita- Energetic teacher-singer

Shakti- Active overseas participant

Shruti- Communicates with a smile

Sukanya- ‘Lost in the forest’ lessons

Yashaswi- Grounded in reality

On the last day of the workshop, Ghumakkad had read out the above one-liners. Sharing below a video clip of the feedback session which included our appreciation and gratitude to Mr Vinish Gupta, the facilitator of the workshop.

The Facilitator

The workshop was facilitated by Vinish Gupta who is a linguist.  He was a doctoral student at IIT Delhi when he chose to become a Buddhist monk. You may browse his journey in a story titled 'Monk's Sojourn With a Sage'. Hindi version of the story can be accessed here. He has been conducting this workshop for several years now. He does not take any honorarium except the travel cost. 

He lives in a village near Sirsi in Karnataka. He home-schools his children and grows the grains, vegetables and fruits needed for the family. His house runs on solar energy. He also runs a bicycle repair shop in the village. A real inspiration who walks the talk. On behalf of all the participants, we thank him and owe our gratitude. We summarised his selfless service in the following words:

V: Venerable

I: Intellectual with Integrity

N: Nurturer

I: Inquisitive Improviser

S: Seeker, scholar, story-teller, summariser

H: Humble and honest

The Volunteers

Jeevan Vidya workshop was run so smoothely thanks to a team of volunteers mostly teenaged. Their dedication and sincerity was truly noteworthy. Jhanavi, Naman, Jeet and Akbar need special mention. Sharing a picture with them below.

Do you volunteer? If not, give it a try and feel the sense of fulfilment.

The Program

It is not easy to summarise the workshop content. Suffice it to say that it was all about relationship, self which is different from the body and the understanding of self, body, family, society, nature and existence. The workshop is based on the writings and teachings of Shri Agrahar Nagaraj, an ayurvedic physician who wrote 12 volumes in Hindi. Mr Vinish Gupta the facilitator acknowledges Shri Nagaraj's teachings and mentors like Shri Yashpal Satya of Delhi and Ganesh Bagaria of Kanpur.

We share below a few illustrative diagrams and charts used during the Workshop.

What are your desires? All of us spelt out  a few. The list was then capped at 50, jotted on a white board and kept alive till the last day of the workshop. Through these desires emerged further triggers and proposals. See the desires circled in red. What do you make of it?

A Day at the Workshop

The day began at 7AM with optional sessions on yoga, meditation or morning walks around the forest. The first session at 9AM started with a song in Kannada (local langauage) sung by the volunteers. Each day had a different song which was briefly translated by a volunteer. See the short video clip of the morning song below:

The first session everyday was devoted to review and reflection of the previous day's discussions. This reflection sharing was optional. However, listening to the reflections of others as also own reflection led to internalisation of previous day's theme and discussions. The reflection also included the previous night's movie.

Daily program which was pasted on the front door of Ashtagriha, the octagonal shaped hut which was the main venue of the workshop. Sharing the program sheet below.

As you can see the workshop was a heavy dose. However, we did have some fun time.

Fun Time

The paticipants created some fun activities during the otherwise intense workshop. Glimpses below.

Mud Bath: There are three ponds which collect the rain water. The black mud at the bottom of these ponds has therapautic value. In the lean season, the ponds were mostly dry. However, some of the participants ventured into a pond which had some water (I had spotted a cormorant in the pond the previous evening) and plenty of mud. See the picture below.

Waterfall Bath: Next to a pond, a water fall has been created using a four-inch PVC pipe. From a height of about 10-feet, the force of the water falling on your head is simlar to bathing under a natural water fall like in Lonavla or elsewhere. The jet of water also has therapautic value. Ghumakkad experienced it. See the picture and video below.

Noon Games: During the afternoon break, we played some fun games including Improv and Zip-Zop etc. Sharing a video below.

Afternoon session titled 'Learning Exchanges' also gave us an opportunity to learn spining the Charkha (manually operated cotton spinning device) and such other activities. Pictures below.

Bonding

The workshop has created bonds among the participants which will last long. Sharing a few fun pictures of the bonding.

Learnings

It is not so straight forward to state the learnings from the workshop. However, Ghumakkad has attempted to summarise it through a poem. It was read out during the feedback session.

The Workshop That Was

Jeevan Vidya was more than a Workshop 

That brought out our life’s many a flip-flop

Understanding Relationships appeared rather abstract

However, with Vinish’s explanations it soon became exact

Analysing Self was a very tricky exercise

But the real-life examples made us all wise

Studying the Harmony in Society and Nature

Has sure elevated our human ‘stature’

Forest bath or Shinrin Yoku took us on a self-exploration

And even though we got ‘lost’, it gave us a revelation

Wherever we live, whether in a high rise or on land

We have learnt how to be Productive even on an island

We now look at Nature as inter-connected borders

Across Material, Plant, Animal and Human Orders

Apart from serious probing, we also had moments of jive

Like labelling a query as ‘Keep that Question Alive’

The Workshop was a journey like a ‘Teerth Yatra’

Uniquely travelled together without any ‘shastra’!

------ 

In addition to the above, few quotes, definitions or experiences will remain with us:

Hurt people, hurt people.

What is a question? It shakes up something!

Treat your body as a heritage.

Don't put anything on your skin which you can't eat.

Gradual mustard oil massage may improve your eyesight (Pahari Joota)

Forgiveness- where both parties grow.

Waste- A resource in the worng place.

If you intend to do the right thing, it is so difficult to go wrong!

Pay forward- the universe operates on this principle.

Learning from Nature

Besides the learnings from the sessions, we took away many life lessons from observing the Nature in the farm. Sharing few pictures with related lesson in each picture. Your comments on these pictures and learnings are welcome.

White Leaves- teach you something?

A lonely flower! Signifies something?

Greenery and serenity- can we be as calm in our life?

Invasive Weeds- any lesson for us?

Snail clinging to a leaf! Teaches us something?

Dead Wood! Utility?

Grow that you want to consume!

Shinrin Yoku or Forest Bath- to discover yourself.

Reuse and reuse!

Parasites on a mango tree! Are we a parasite on someone's life?

City dwellers of Bengaluru and Chennai would recall the floods, caused by encroached and choked drains. Even the forest drains need cleaning before the monsoon. See the picture below.

Letting go like the Baya Weaver bird!

Adaptation in life- learn from a Jackfruit tree!

The Finale

The workshop had two activites on the last evening. One which happens in any camp- the camp fire. But the other was an innovation to promote large heartedness and letting go of our attachments. Titled 'Dariya-Dil-Dukan' दरिया-दिल-दुकान, the participants and volunteers could do a window shopping of all the items (gifted away by individuals) or their other offers. It was so humbling when two participants accepted my offer of coming to Hyderabad, staying with me to pluck the mangoes from our yard and eat them! Pictures below.

The campfire energised everybody, volunteers included.

We end with a quote about introspection.

Once again, it was a unique experience attending the Jeevan Vidya workshop for eight days in a forest farm. If you are excited to attend the workshop, mail me at hbindia@gmail.com . As we had mentioned in our earlier story, there is no fee for the workshop. Previous participants have paid for it. At the end of the workshop, accounts are shared. If you feel like 'paying forward', you can do it. And the cycle goes on. The search also goes on like the picture below.

Thanks for browsing, stay connected. Do leave a comment, even if a few words. It encourages us.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ Secunderabad/ 12th May 2025 with inputs from the participants

#JeevanVidya #HolisticLearning #Dharwad #JourneyWithin #SelfDiscovery #Introspection #ForestFarm #SumanSangama #Hubbali #karnataka #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb #SelfAndBody #relationships #nature #existence #WhoAmI #WhereDoYouWantToGo #understanding #desires #consciousness