Lama Marut’s "A Match Made in Heaven: Devotion as a Path to Happiness"

Guest Contributor David Simmons

A very special event took place in Lake Tahoe during 2008. But I wasn't there.

I wish I had been there because Venerable Sumati Marut delivered an unforgettable retreat about the supercharging power of devotion found through the practice of Guru Yoga. For those of us who were not able to attend, we have the good fortune of a new DVD of this amazing retreat. Now you can sit comfortably at home and bathe in the humor, passion and wisdom that flowed from this incredible event.

The retreat focuses on why Guru Yoga is what Lama Marut describes as the fastest path to enlightenment. The DVD was carefully curated by Lama Marut and Cindy Lee and contains more than two hours of what they consider to be the most valuable moments.

Lama Marut artfully explains how constituting someone as "the cipher to the sacred" catalyzes an almost alchemical process within our minds to rediscover the sacred in our lives. He addresses the challenges and pitfalls of our seemingly innate resistance to this practice. And he draws upon his vast knowledge of the sacred texts of many faiths to show that this path is far from being rare. In fact, this way of empowering the figure of the teacher in our lives is the universal access point to higher states of being.

The DVD chapters are organized by subject and arranged in chronological order, which gives you a feeling of the progression of the retreat. It’s enjoyable to watch from beginning to end, but also can be useful just jumping to one of the 15 subject chapters. The conclusion shows a portion of the always lively and powerful "Stump the Lama" Q&A session.

Perhaps one of the best uses of the DVD would be as a resource for your own personal retreat. It would be a great practice to set up a weekend retreat as though you were attending the teachings. Start with the first few chapters on Friday night. After viewing the teachings, do a meditation on what you heard. Saturday morning, get the inner energies flowing with some form of exercise followed by a meditation session reflecting further on the Friday night teachings. Then conduct two or three more viewings evenly spaced out throughout the day with meditation at the conclusion of each session. Repeat the same practice on Sunday with the remaining chapters until you’ve finished the DVD. The experience would be unique and intimate, as you would feel as though it was just you and Lama Marut on retreat.

The DVD provides an encapsulated experience of a divinely guided retreat, suitable for viewing again and again. You may purchase this special teaching at: www.createspace.com/300087

David Simmons’ work life has ranged from Merrill Lynch to currently managing I.T. for a 30-year old marketing business. Raised in a Christian household, he has also studied many different traditional and esoteric traditions in which he has completed retreats. In 2008, he found his heart teacher in Lama Marut and is working to establish an ACI (Asian Classics Institute) branch in Nashville, TN. For more details please visit www.nashvilledharma.org