Chilla (retreat)
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Chilla (retreat)
Chilla ( fa, چله, ar, أربعين, both literally "forty"), also known as Chilla-nashini, is a spiritual practice of penance and solitude in Sufism known mostly in Indian and Persian traditions. In this ritual a mendicant or ascetic attempts to remain seated in a circle practicing meditation techniques without food for 40 days and nights in imitation of the Arba'een. The word ''chilla'' is derived from the Persian word ''chehel'' "forty". Chilla is commonly performed in a solitary cell called a ''chilla-khana''. The main purpose of chilla is to attain laser like focus and get rid of unnecessary thoughts in your mind. Incidents of Chilla The most famous case of chilla is found in the biographies of the 14th century Sufi poet Hafez of Shiraz. In music A practice similar to chilla is also performed by Hindustani classical music practitioners at an advanced level. It is called chilla katna. See also * Khalwa * Meditation * Sādhanā * Shugendō * Tabligh Jamaat ...
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Hindustani Classical Music
Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sitar and sarod. Its origins from the 12th century CE, when it diverged from Carnatic music, the classical tradition in South India. Hindustani classical music arose in the Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb, a period of great influence of Perso-Arabic arts in the subcontinent, especially the Northern parts. This music combines the Indian classical music tradition with Perso-Arab musical knowledge, resulting in a unique tradition of gharana system of music education. History Around the 12th century, Hindustani classical music diverged from what eventually came to be identified as Carnatic classical music.The central notion in both systems is that of a melodic musical mode or '' raga'', sung to a rhythmic cycle or '' tala''. It is melodic music, with no ...
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Religious Practices
Religion is usually defined as a social-cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements; however, there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion. Different religions may or may not contain various elements ranging from the divine, sacred things, faith,Tillich, P. (1957) ''Dynamics of faith''. Harper Perennial; (p. 1). a supernatural being or supernatural beings or "some sort of ultimacy and transcendence that will provide norms and power for the rest of life". Religious practices may include rituals, sermons, commemoration or veneration (of deities or saints), sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trances, initiations, funerary services, matrimonial services, meditation, prayer, music, art, dance, public service, or other aspects of human culture. Religions have sa ...
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Tabligh Jamaat
Tablighi Jamaat (, also translated as "propagation party" or "preaching party") is a transnational Deobandi Islamic missionary movement that focuses on exhorting Muslims to be more religiously observant and encouraging fellow members to return to practising their religion as per the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and secondarily give dawah (calling) to non-Muslims. "One of the most widespread Sunni" ''islah'' (reform) and ''daʿwa'' (missionary) organizations "in the world today", and called "one of the most influential religious movements in 20th-century Islam," the organisation is estimated to have between 12 and 80 million adherents worldwide, in over 150 countries, with the majority living in South Asia. The group encourages its followers to undertake short-term preaching missions (''khuruj''), lasting from a few days to a few months in groups of usually forty days and four months, to preach to Muslims reminding them of "the core teachings of the Prophet Muhammad" ...
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Shugendō
is a highly syncretic religion, a body of ascetic practices that originated in the Nara Period of Japan having evolved during the 7th century from an amalgamation of beliefs, philosophies, doctrines and ritual systems drawn from local folk-religious practices, Shinto mountain worship and Buddhism. The final purpose of ''Shugendō'' is for practitioners to find supernatural power and save themselves and the masses by conducting religious training while treading through steep mountain ranges. Practitioners are called or . The mountains where ''shugenja'' practiced were all over Japan, and include various mountains of the Ōmine mountain range such as Mount Hakkyō and Mount Ōmine. The ''Shugendō'' worldview includes a large pantheon of deities (which include Buddhist and Shinto figures). Some of the most important figures are the tantric Buddhist figures of Fudō Myōō and Dainichi Nyorai. Other key figures are , which are considered to be the manifestation of Buddhas ...
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Sādhanā
''Sādhanā'' (; ; ) is an ego-transcending spiritual practice. It includes a variety of disciplines in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions that are followed in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual objectives. Sadhana is done for attaining detachment from worldly things, which can be a goal of a Sadhu. Karma yoga, Bhakti yoga and Gnyan yoga can also be described as Sadhana, in that constant efforts to achieve maximum level of perfection in all streams in day-to-day life can be described as Sadhana. ''Sādhanā'' can also refer to a tantric liturgy or liturgical manual, that is, the instructions to carry out a certain practice. Definitions The historian N. Bhattacharyya provides a working definition of the benefits of sādhanā as follows: B. K. S. Iyengar (1993: p. 22), in his English translation of and commentary to the ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali'', defines sādhanā in relation to abhyāsa and kriyā: Paths The term sādhanā means "methodical dis ...
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Meditation
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state. Meditation is practiced in numerous religious traditions. The earliest records of meditation (''dhyana'') are found in the Upanishads, and meditation plays a salient role in the contemplative repertoire of Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism. Since the 19th century, Asian meditative techniques have spread to other cultures where they have also found application in non-spiritual contexts, such as business and health. Meditation may significantly reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and pain, and enhance peace, perception, self-concept, and well-being. Research is ongoing to better understand the effects of meditation on health (psychology, psychological, neurology, neurological, and cardiovascular) and other areas. Etymol ...
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Khalwa
Khalwa (Arabic, also khalwat; lit., "solitude"; pronounced in Iran, "khalvat"; spelling in Turkish, ''halvet'') has several meanings in Sufism, Islamic jurisprudence, and the Druze religion, which in some way derive from the concept of being alone or withdrawing from the world. Sufism In Sufism, a solitary retreat, traditionally for forty days (see " chella"), during which a disciple does extensive spiritual exercises under the direction of a Sufi master. A Sufi murid will enter the khalwa spiritual retreat under the direction of a shaykh for a given period, sometimes for as long as 40 days, emerging only to pray and, usually, to discuss dreams, visions and live with the shaykh. Once a major element of Sufi practice, khalwa has become less frequent in recent years. It is the act of total self-abandonment in desire for the Divine Presence. In complete seclusion, the Sufi continuously repeats the name of God as a highest form of dhikr, remembrance of God. Then, "Almighty God w ...
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Chilla Katna
In Hindustani classical music, Chilla or Chilla Katna (Doing the Chilla) is a stage of training or ritual where the student is fully isolated from the outside world and lives for music only. Some musicians spend long periods of their training in varying degrees of isolation and describe these as their chilla; for others, it's a shorter, more extreme retreat, traditionally lasting 40 days. In either form, it is thought to have the power of transforming not only the student's music, but their whole life. Chilla is widely used in the Punjab gharānā (school) of tabla playing. Origin of Name The word Chilla in music comes from the practice of forty days after childbirth during which the mother is said to be "unclean", or quarantined, or more generally a period of religious fasting and worship. Method The musicians lock themselves up in a solitary cell called ''chilla-khana'' for forty days and practice their instrument severely. A special diet, often omitting meat and grains, i ...
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Shiraz
Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 people, and its built-up area with Sadra, Fars, Sadra was home to almost 1,800,000 inhabitants. A census in 2021 showed an increase in the city's population to 1,995,500 people. Shiraz is located in Southern Iran, southwestern Iran on the () seasonal river. Founded in the early Islamic period, the city has a moderate climate and has been a regional trade center for over a thousand years. The earliest reference to the city, as ''Tiraziš'', is on Elamite Clay tablet, clay tablets dated to 2000 BCE. The modern city was restored or founded by the Arabs, Arab Umayyad Caliphate in 693 CE and grew prominent under the successive Iranian peoples, Iranian Saffarid dynasty, Saffar ...
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Penance
Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of Repentance (theology), repentance for Christian views on sin, sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic Church, Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. It also plays a part in confession among Anglicanism, Anglicans and Methodism, Methodists, in which it is a Sacrament, rite, as well as among other Protestants. The word ''penance'' derives from Old French and Latin ''paenitentia'', both of which derive from the same root meaning repentance, the desire to be Forgiveness, forgiven (in English see contrition). Penance and repentance, similar in their derivation and original sense, have come to symbolize conflicting views of the essence of repentance, arising from the controversy as to the respective merits of Faith in Christianity, "faith" and "good works". Word derivations occur in many languages. According to dictionary definitions, the primary mea ...
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Hafez
Khwāje Shams-od-Dīn Moḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī ( fa, خواجه شمس‌‌الدین محمّد حافظ شیرازی), known by his pen name Hafez (, ''Ḥāfeẓ'', 'the memorizer; the (safe) keeper'; 1325–1390) and as "Hafiz", was a Persian lyric poet, whose collected works are regarded by many Iranians as a pinnacle of Persian literature. His works are often found in the homes of people in the Persian-speaking world, who learn his poems by heart and use them as everyday proverbs and sayings. His life and poems have become the subjects of much analysis, commentary and interpretation, influencing post-14th century Persian writing more than any other Persian author. Hafez is best known for his Divan of Hafez, a collection of his surviving poems probably compiled after his death. His works can be described as "antinomian" and with the medieval use of the term "theosophical"; the term "theosophy" in the 13th and 14th centuries was used to indicate mystical work by ...
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