In India from January 3rd to February 6th 2013
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| The streets of New Delhi |
The purpose of this journey is to advance towards our spiritual growth, that is why we are proposing to spend as much time as we can in each place we will visit otherwise we could not go in depth into the experience. We are not running after getting to know as many places as we could in India, to the contrary, we are looking for making a pause in a propitious surrounding to take a deeper look inside our selves.
We begin our program in India from New Delhi, the Capital, which already is an adventure; To experience a clearly different paradigm and overall habits, to move through what seems to be a totally chaotic paced city, an incessant stimulus of a nation of two point two billion inhabitants.
Cultural differences can be noticed from the moment you get off the aircraft, creating since that moment the vivid impression that you are setting foot in a completely different world.
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| The Holly River Ganges |
We will depart as soon as possible to the North, heading to the Holy City of Rishikesh ("place of wise men or seers"), city of Yogis, situated on the banks of the sacred Ganges River, one of the most important icons of the powerful Hindu religion. The devotion to this Goddess in form of a river and the enormous daily offerings that are made to her are perhaps a unique phenomenon in the world; this is full of the nuances of this culture, full of contrasts and rational contradictions that lead our logical minds towards their most acute spaces of criticism, but at the same time of spiritual inquiry. Rishikesh is in many ways a city like any other Indian city; chaotic, or alive, as you may think of it. Nevertheless it is one of the Hindu sacred cities, therefore it shares with us many interesting aspects: The place is full of ashrams, yoga studios and temples. It has been widely visited for thousands of years by spiritual seekers in the ascending pilgrimage of the sacred River, and is one of the few almost completely vegetarian cities of the world.
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| Sadhus in the street of Rishikesh |
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| Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Ashram |
Our destination is on the outskirts of Rishikesh: the Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Ashram, from the tradition of Yoga Himalayan. Here we will spend twelve days, sharing the ways of life of the place and its inhabitants, learning ancient yogic practices and bathing us in wisdom, growth and divinity. This first Ashram we will visit is part of a tradition whose iconic master Swami Rama has already left this plane, passing on his task to his disciple and also teacher of many people nowadays, Swami Veda Bharati. Our program of activities here corresponds to the activities of the Ashram; they have an itinerary to introduce us in meditation, pranayama and asanas, supported by lectures and videos. And we, the coordinators of the program, will always assist you through every process and in the understanding of every teaching.
Swami Rama Ashram works with the traditional educational system called "gurukulam", this means that there are students who live with their master, Swami Rama. The Ashram is therefore the residence of Yogis who have been studying there for years with their guru. They will welcome us and be our teachers as well.
After twelve days we will return to New Delhi, to get a flight to the South of India. We will arrive to the city of Chennai (Madras), another big city from which we want to leave promptly. We will take a taxi to travel for many hours towards Tiruvanamalai, spiritual center of south of India in Tamil Nadu district.
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| Main Temple, Tiruvanamalai |
Tiruvanamalai city and its holy mountain Arunachala, are a powerful spiritual place. This city was residence of the great enlightened master Sri Ramana Maharishi. His ashram is still visited by thousands of seekers every year to nourish themselves with the still vibrant energy of this Guru. We will visit the caves where this mystic man lived and meditated for years, in the same way many have done, nourishing this place with a subtle energy that leads us more easily to the innerself.
Tiruvanamalai is a powerful place for the practice of meditation. Also getting closer to what was Sri Ramana´s life is a tremendous inspiration; His simple teachings will nourish the rest of our lives. The place is one of the few ashram where ancient Vedic mantras are still recited and life there is lived according to this teachings. We will be there for about five days (2) , and if possible, a great spiritual living teacher, Swami Chaitanya Sudhi, will join us. A man whose wisdom and endless knowledge is a blessing; whose happiness, simplicity and affection is a divine nectar.
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| Daily yoga clases |
Then we will continue our spiritual journey further South to reach the Sivananda Ashram, at Neyar Dam. An international spiritual centre, located in a privileged and wonderful environment. Quiet and next to a beautiful lake this Centre provides us with all the necessary elements to combine spirituality, fun and life in the open air. The environment and coexistence in this ashram are very nourishing and somehow pleasurable. It will give us the opportunity to learn a lot about yoga and at the same time to meet people coming from all over the world in search of the same aim. Every day is full of activities, which we will remember for the rest of our lives.
In this place it is also possible to have the opportunity of taking therapeutic treatments and ayurvedic massages for those who would like to.
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| Meditation at the lake, Sivananda Ashram |
This journey will be undertaken by a wonderful group of people. It will be an immeasurable contribution taking this experience back to their homes and community.
You will return with a transformed mind, with new ideas and ways of seeing and experiencing life. Nothing can benefit you in life as much as what you do to expand your consciousness and raise your heart.
We wish to share these experiences with you.
You will return with a transformed mind, with new ideas and ways of seeing and experiencing life. Nothing can benefit you in life as much as what you do to expand your consciousness and raise your heart.
We wish to share these experiences with you.
AUM SHANTIH AUM
Note: The program might be subject to changes, either for the convenience of our spiritual purpose or sometimes because of imperative logistical changes within Indian culture.
(2) There is a certain flexibility of time whitin our program to dicide to stay in Tiruvanamalai or visit some other places wich could be of our interest, depending on the energy of the group and the opportunities that might arise.