Five days with room to think
A retreat is the hour spent sharpening the axe, stretched to a few days. There is one with Vyasa in Bhutan this November, and residential retreats at the Vedanta Academy in India for young people and for adults.
Sanctuary Pursuit, Bhutan
- Dates
- 29 November to 3 December 2026
- Where
- Bhutan
- Hosted by
- Pure Pursuit
- With
- Vyasa Dass, resident teacher
Five days in Bhutan with room to think. Pure Pursuit built Sanctuary Pursuit around peace, unhurried conversation and space for new ideas. Vyasa joins it as the resident teacher: a few short talks, conversations in small groups, walks, open questions and time with him one to one.
It suits people who have spent years doing, leading and providing, and want a few days to look at what it is all for. Vyasa has had to live what he teaches. He grew up in a family business and has spent his working life applying Vedanta to leadership, responsibility, relationships and hard decisions.
How Vyasa takes part
- Short talks. One idea or question at a time, sized so the retreat keeps its quiet.
- Small-group conversations. Working out what the idea means for your own life, work and relationships.
- Open questions. Unscripted time to ask what you came with.
- Walks. Conversations at walking pace, with time to listen.
- One to one. A confidential conversation about your own situation and how these principles might help you resolve it.
- Quiet. Prompts and pauses to take in what you have heard.
What the talks cover
- Sustainable leadership. Leading as a steward of people and purpose, and succeeding without spending your health to do it.
- Purpose. Getting clear on what matters, and letting it set your priorities.
- Inner wellness. How thoughts take hold, and the space between what happens and how you respond.
- Happiness. The what, where and how of it, and why achievement on its own leaves people wanting.
- Balance. Ambition without agitation. Work, family and self, and knowing when to act and when to pause.
- Slow connection. Listening before responding, and reflection as the place new ideas come from.
How the days move
Pause
Step away from the noise.
Reflect
Look at your assumptions, priorities, desires and habits of thought.
Connect
Listen properly, and talk about what has been hard and what has gone well.
Clarify
Name what matters to you, and why.
Choose
Turn what you have seen into decisions for work and home.
What people take home
The habit of pausing before they react or decide. A clearer view of their values and priorities. An understanding of how achievement and fulfilment differ. Steadier ways to lead. Real conversations with the people they spent the week with. And questions that keep working after the flight home.
“Live each day self-surpassed.”
Vyasa Dass
Residential retreats in Malavli, India
The Vedanta Academy, founded by Swami A. Parthasarathy in 1988, is where Vyasa trained. Its retreats are residential, with study in the morning, sport and work in the afternoon, and the company of people from many countries.
Youth retreats
A week for young people: classes on the mind and the intellect, games, early mornings and late conversations. Young people and parents.
The adult retreat
A retreat for adults built around the Academy’s own course, for people who want a week of systematic study inside the place it is taught.
Through the Academy
Bookings are made with the Academy directly. Write to us and we will introduce you and send the current dates.
Ask about the Academy retreatsA retreat day in Durban
When a group is ready, Vyasa runs a retreat day near Durban: a morning of teaching, a quiet afternoon, and a conversation at the end. It is announced on the calendar and on WhatsApp. Organisations can book one for a leadership team. For organisations.