The Datta Retreat Center

By Kris Mortensen

About an hour north of Pittsburgh, off the beaten path of West Sunbury, lies a peaceful and tranquil property. On it you will find a few cabin-esque buildings, a small pond filled with coy, a dog, a few cats, and most likely Padma, the caretaker. What I’m describing is the Datta Retreat Center (DRC), a facility built to function as a spiritual healing retreat and on April 1st will be the new home of one the largest crystals ever found as it receives the blessing of DRC founder, His Holiness Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Swamiji.

Last Thursday I was given the opportunity to visit and tour the center. After finding my way down the winding, snow covered roads, I discovered the property nestled amongst an alcove of trees. The whole drive there I was thinking heavily about what I was going to experience during my visit. “What if I do something completely insulting? How do I greet Padma? Do I shake her hand or do I bow?” were all questions running through my mind. I had never really researched Indian culture before, nor did I know much about the spiritual or religious rituals, so I didn’t really know what to expect.

Once I found the parking lot I made my way through the deep snow to the office. Padma, who quickly ushered me inside, greeted and welcomed me into the restaurant-sized kitchen of the office/house. After introductions were made Padma informed me a bit about the property and how it came to be. As we walked down the main drive to the temple, we occasionally took turns throwing the dog’s ball as Padma described how Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Swamiji (Sri Swamiji) decided to build the Datta Retreat Center (DRC) in this spot. She said he visited the site in 1986 and found 3 large sacred rocks on the property. Sri Swamiji had previously seen these rocks in a dream and knew at this point that this is where the DRC (then Datta Yoga Center) would be built.

“The rock is like a powerful Crystal. I don’t call it a rock. Now it is a powerful soul. There is a good vibration here.”

-Sri Swamiji

As I threw the dog’s ball, she continued. In 1988, the construction for the temple began. The temple was built around two of the rocks, Vishnu and Shiva, which already had deities previously installed on them. My first thought was, “A temple? How big is this place? Did I miss something on the way in?” Let me assure you, any image of a temple you may or may not have just envisioned in your head is most likely wrong. As we rounded the corner of the outdoor recreational hall, a small, hexagonal building emerged. Three sides of the building were glass panels, and the other three were wooden, aside from the large rock that appeared to merge with the wall.

Inside the temple rested a large rock in the center, along with the rock from outside protruding into the back of the room. The center rock was covered with various statues and ornaments Gods of various religions; among which were Datta, Shiva, and Jesus. Padma told me that this is because Sri Swamiji has stated, “The Center is not a religion. It is not Hindu, Christian, or Buddhist. It is a nature center, a healing center … a natural healing center.”

Shortly after we lit some candles in the temple, we replaced our shoes to our feet and headed up to the prayer/meeting hall where Sri Swamiji has held many ceremonies. Padma informed me that the upper floor of the prayer hall is also a sleeping quarters for families who want to stay overnight at the center.

After peeking into the prayer hall for a moment we made our way over to the construction site of the Crystal Chamber. The room is being painted like the universe. The rendering and quality of the galaxies had me wondering if it was even a painting at all. Padma told me that the crystal was found in the East, and then moved to Canada, and finally met its resting place here, at the DRC. I was quite shocked to hear that the crystal was already there and I was already bursting to ask if we could take a look at it. Thankfully Padma had planned that to be a stop on the tour.

She showed me to the outside of the building and headed into another door. Even though it was dark I could tell the room was small. Padma shuffled around for a moment and then light beamed down from above. The crystal itself was massive. It lay on the floor in a thick, wooden frame with Styrofoam bracing it. Padma encouraged me to touch it, and when I did it sent a shiver down my spine. She explained to me that the base for its stand was currently being built, and would hopefully be completed in the coming weeks.

After taking in the sheer size of the crystal, she assured me that I could come back down and take pictures. We made our way back up the main drive, going further into detail about the Sri Swamiji’s visit planned for April.

“The Center is not a religion. It is not Hindu, Christian, or Buddhist. It is a nature center, a healing center … a natural healing center.”

The ceremony is planned to be one the biggest events the DRC has ever seen. Granted, any time Sri Swamiji visits the DRC (about once or twice a year) is a big deal, but this ceremony is a keystone in the history of the DRC. Over 1,000 people are estimated to attend, all from every corner of the world. This event is something we plan to document, and documentation has already started. I encourage you to make some time for this event, and if not the event I recommend you head out to the Datta Retreat Center and spend even just a few hours there. I guarantee you will immediately feel the warmth and love of the people there and you will want to return. Remember, it doesn’t matter what religious background you are from, or if you even make claim to a religion at all. In fact, Sri Swamiji encourages his supporters and followers to remain in their respected religions and to worship the God(s) they were raised to, “It is a nature center, a healing center.”

Please keep a watchful eye here, as in the coming weeks we’ll be providing more information, as well as videos/pictures, about Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Swamiji and the Datta Retreat Center.

For more pictures please visit our FLICKR.

Please take the time to visit the DRC Website.