What is Maitri?
Sanskrit is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, of all established human languages. It is the dominant classical language of the Indian subcontinent and the language of many eastern philosophies and religions including Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
For centuries professional and amateur theologists have tried to translate the beauty and power of this language, recognising that contemplating the meaning and application of specific words can introduce significant personal growth.
Maitri has special meaning to the creators of Maitri Retreats.
This Sanskrit word, in it’s simplest form is most commonly interpreted as loving kindness, compassion, friendliness, benevolence and good will towards self and others.
Western culture tends to label emotions as good and bad. Happy versus sad. Patient versus impatient. Angry versus calm. The list is infinite. We are encouraged to present our best self and suppress anything we deem to be bad or wrong. This puts enormous pressure on our being and depletes are ability to apply kindness to any given situation.
Once we bring Maitri into the equation we can embrace the concept that our emotions are just emotions. They are not good or bad, black and white. They are just how we feel at that given point in time. And if we can look at our emotions with kindness, compassion and empathy we begin to learn to alleviate the anguish they create. Further, we discover exploring and fostering Maitri allows us to move with more patience and understanding, not only internally but externally as well.
If we welcome whatever arises, like fear, guilt and shame like friends we no longer disown parts of ourselves and discover a new found comfort in our own being. Feelings of non-judgement and compassion bring a sense of peace that spreads to our immediate surroundings and in turn brings greater tranquility to the World at large.
It is with this attitude that the creators of Maitri Retreats want to foster an environment for people to come and explore their fullest self in a gentle non-judgmental environment.
Why create Miatri Retreats?
No matter where you go, there you are.
Life is a journey. A journey we navigate with no definitive rules. Through experience, intuition and external influence we learn mechanisms that help us traverse our individual paths.
But the World is a complex place. Be it work, relationships, social, health or economic circumstances; we all encounter challenges that test our abilities.
Sometimes our coping skills can introduce unnecessary pain, stress and anxiety. In some circumstances it can lead to significant physical and emotional distress.
The sanskrit word Maitri has many translations but ultimately represents compassion. Learning to be unconditionally kind and loving toward oneself gives us space to find peace and contentment, helping us move through this World, comfortable with our emotions regardless of the situations surrounding us.
The founders of Maitri wanted to create a safe and nurturing environment where people of all walks of life can come together, reflect and learn how to reconnect with their ability to give and receive infinite love and kindness leveraging Eastern philosophies and techniques. A space where participants can delve into their emotions with caring guidance and discover the powerful and healing application of self empathy.
We realise that ultimately life is emotion and emotions can sometime be difficult to manage. Maitri represents our ability to lead a full and complete life if we learn how to live comfortably with complex and difficult emotions regardless of our circumstances and Maitri Retreats aims to provide a nurturing and secure environment to traverse our inner self to discover peace and contentment.