IKS Meta-Retreat: Towards A Self Conscious Nation

INDICA is pleased to launch an IKS Meta-Retreat on the theme ‘Towards a Self-Conscious Nation State’ from 24-26 November-2023 at Bilvam Foundation Retreat, Tiruvannamalai. The objective of the Meta-Retreat is to imagine the elements of a Self-Conscious Nation for the civilization where the past, present and future are in a cultural continuum and harmony – the civilizational Saatatya – while acknowledging and solving existing problems.

IKS Meta-Retreats are immersive intellectual explorations spanning 2-3 days, led by an Acharya in the ambience of a Gurukula and conducted with an attitude of Shraddha. Acharya, is the subject matter expert (SME), seeking to explore a specific topic, discipline, or domain along with a cohort. 9-12 participants who possess shradda and the right experience in the chosen theme form the cohort. This cohort then comes together with an upanishadic attitude of learning through immersion at a location that echoes the ambience of a Gurukula.

Bharatavarsha has gone through a tumultuous 1000 years. The Dharmic balance of the individual, society and the state has been altered. Our ancestors fought their civilizational challenges in remarkable ways. With Bhagavad-Anugraha, we have risen time and again. We have seen several renaissance. Time has come for one more Renaissance/Reconstruction/Navodaya. This Navodaya requires cultural leaders with a penchant to seek a continuum with our multidimensional past while synthesising with the present and resolving problems. The future we imagine must be a harmonious one. This Meta-Retreat is an opportunity for the civilization design thinkers to take a stock of the national flow and imagine a sustainable future for the Nation State.

The 2-Day program broadly has 8 sessions which were organised around the following elements weaving together an immersive and transformative experience.

• Invocation
• Cohort Introduction and Concerns around the subject
• A Stock Taking of the Present
• A Deep Dive into the Past to understand the Present
• Problems, Concerns, Conflicts that require Resolution
• The Emergence and the Opportunities
• Desired Future
• How do we get to the Desired Future
• The Next Steps

The Evenings shall be spent in informal conversations around the subject with a visit to the Arunachala Shiva Temple and Ramana Maharshi Ashram.

The Meta-Retreat would be led by Shri. Ajay and Shri. Shivakumar GV.

As an outcome, we seek to create a Vision Paper to be produced and published in 2024-25 along with another focused Group Project of immediate impact.

INDICA is pleased to invite applications civilization design thinkers to be part of this Meta-Retreat cohort. The cohort will be carefully selected by the SME and INDICA consisting of practitioners, academics, thinkers, and activists. Please send us your bio at namaste@indica.org.in. A 300 word summary mentioning the subject, domain, or discipline you seek to explore along with the names of cohort participants they would like to invite should also be furnished.

Travel, logistics, and accommodation at the Retreat will be hosted and managed by INDICA.

Speakers

Shivakumar GV

Director - Guru-Sadhaka Sachiva, INDICA

Shivakumar G V is 'Director - INDICA (Guru-Saadhaka Sachiva). His responsibilities focus on INDICA’s critical mission to cultivate leadership. He guides initiatives to serve Gurus, perpetuate their legacies, enable/empower leaders committed to IKS to become influential thinkers, institution builders and public leaders, and bolster the broader IKS ecosystem.

Over the next 36 months, Shivakumar embarks on an ambitious pledge to honor and sustain the legacies of 108 Living and Past Gurus from the 20th Century. His efforts will focus on organizing, making accessible, and cultivating a parampara that highlights their significant contributions to our civilization.

As an IKS Research Scholar, Shivakumar remains dedicated to his scholarly pursuits in Itihasa-Puranas and Indian Knowledge Systems. His work includes developing contemporary frameworks based on IKS principles, with a special focus on the Mahabharata and Purushartha. He has been a prolific contributor to INDICA Today, sharing his insights and knowledge with both academic and general audiences. He has delivered several story telling and courses on Mahabharata, Purushartha, Indic Civilization Studies for aspiring leaders and students. He is the curator of ‘Aryaa - An Anthology of Vedic Studies’ a collection of 10 stories on 10 Vedic Women by 10 Authors published by INDICA.

Shivakumar holds an M.Tech in Computer Science from IIT Bombay and a B.E. from the National Institute of Technology, Surat. With 25 years of experience in the IT industry, his expertise spans theoretical computer science, algorithms, and learning system design. Shivakumar resides in Bengaluru with his family and is a devoted follower of the River-Goddess Saraswati.