Secret Is Youविसावा
A weekend retreat with Pankaj
Two days of silence, sitting and satsang with Pankaj, in a quiet house of chira stone at Pirangut, on the edge of Pune.
Come home to yourself
All week, attention runs outward: to screens, to people, to the next thing that needs doing. A weekend retreat turns it gently inward. For two days Pankaj guides you through silence, breath and honest reflection, so that what has been crowded out has room to return.
This is not a homestay or a holiday. The house, built of chira stone, open to light and air, with a few arches that recall an old wada, is simply a still place to practise in. Pankaj sits, walks and eats with you, from the first sitting to the closing circle.
It is for one family or a small group of up to six, and it can be held on any weekend of the year. Each season brings its own teaching: the green of the monsoon, the clear mornings of winter, the long slow dusk of summer.
वृक्षवल्ली आम्हां सोयरीं वनचरें
The trees and the creepers are our kin, and so are the creatures of the forest.
Sant Tukaram
Two days, held in practice
- Saturday morning
Arrive, and let the week settle like dust. A cup of chai, then the first sitting with Pankaj: simply watching the breath come and go.
- Saturday afternoon
A meal taken in gratitude, a rest, then a session on the breath and the Life Matrix: how you hold yourself, the people you love, and the work you do.
- At dusk
A lamp is lit as the light fades. A slow walk in silence, then dinner and satsang under the evening sky. Children's questions are welcome. They are often the deepest.
- Through the night
A gentle silence from satsang until the morning sitting. Nothing needs to be said.
- Sunday at dawn
A sitting as the sun rises, then poha and chai. A session on relationships: listening, forgiving, and loosening old knots.
- Sunday afternoon
A closing circle, where each person names one thing they will carry home. Then the drive back, quieter and lighter than you came.
Food as prasad
The Taittiriya Upanishad says annam brahma: food is the sacred itself. Meals here are received that way, in quiet, with a word of thanks and without hurry. The food is simple Maharashtrian home cooking: poha and chai in the morning, varan bhaat and bhakri at lunch, and something warm at night. Tell Pankaj about any food needs when you write to him.
Who it is for
Families
Two days of being truly together, without screens. Pankaj shapes the practice so that children take part, and parents often learn the most from them.
Small circles
Friends, a few colleagues, or fellow seekers who want to sit, reflect and speak honestly together. Up to six people.
Before a yatra
A first taste of the practice close to home, before you walk a sadhana yatra in the Himalaya.
Join a weekend retreat
Write to Pankaj with the weekend you have in mind, who is coming, and what you are hoping to find. He will talk it through with you personally.