TRANSFORMATION IN TRAVEL

A Report on our Pilgrimage and Extension in India, 2010

A pilgrimage is a special journey for anyone who undertakes it. Although we organize and facilitate our annual pilgrimage, we approach the experience as pilgrims ourselves. Each year the journey gets more and more profound. It may sound like a pitch, but it is absolutely true. Perhaps it is because our own life journey and spiritual practice has been deepening and this draws people who are themselves deepening in their own journey. However, despite our commitment to daily spiritual practice and continued spiritual growth throughout the year, we would insist that it is the pilgrimage itself each year that has deepened our spiritual life more than any other practice. In this report, we will try and share some of the reasons why we find this experience so transforming.

First, there is a sense of liberation from life as usual. Like all the other pilgrims on this journey, we make arrangements to be away from our home and regular routine. However, unlike a vacation, there is the instinctive feeling of undertaking a sacred adventure and this lends a very special energy quality to the experience. The first, most profound moment, is when our international flight takes off. This is when there is that distinct sense that we are on a sacred journey and there is a natural state of surrender that comes upon us and a sense of immense love, blessing and protection that cannot be described accompanies this moment.

We compare the flight to India to that of a spiritual birth canal. This is a powerful bonding experience. Time flies by as we rest, pray, meditate, eat sumptuous meals and have access to an enormous selection of movies and games on the private little video screen that comes with each seat.

The next landmark moment is getting off the plane in India. Although quite a number of pilgrims have been with us on one of our previous pilgrimages, the eager childlike excitement of arriving in India is evident in everyone’s eyes, ours included, even though we grew up in India.

The third special moment is our arrival at the ashram. By this time, most of us have acclimatized to India for we have spent a couple of days by the ocean, which helps us with jet lag. The ashram is unassuming; however, there is an unmistakable spiritual energy about the place and it is stunningly beautiful. As one of our 2010 pilgrims eloquently states in her reflections after returning to the US: “Shantivanam, which means “forest of peace”, immediately embraces and relaxes the visitor, who is charmed and soothed by its emerald canopy of trees, colorful exotic birds (including a devoted pair of peacocks), and cooling refreshing breezes from the nearby Cauvery river”.

Life at the ashram is simple, but this is the whole purpose of our travel and it is precisely this simplicity that creates such a huge shift in our consciousness. We are used to a lot of comfort in the west and this comfort can certainly offer many valuable forms of support to our inner lives. As many of us know, our minds are excessively active here even though we have so much control over our environment. India is not excessively quiet, and though we are out in a remote village, sounds from the temples nearby and from various festive occasions filter through. Yet there is something special here that facilitates an inner quiet. Each year, when we return to the States, this inner quiet carries through into our lives for at least four to six months. There is, quite literally, a sort of cocoon of palpable silence that we feel enveloped in.

There are also our sacred encounters in the temples. While we do have profound experiences when we visit temples after the pilgrimage is over, there is something about experiencing these temples with a group of spiritually charged people that is very special.  Perhaps it is because our pilgrims are from the west and they are especially mindful about being respectful of the culture and spirituality. Perhaps it is because they know that these spaces are not spots that they can conveniently access again in the near future. Perhaps it is all the preparation and anticipation that goes into such a journey. Perhaps it is the special ceremonies that we undergo as a group in these temples that lend such a charge to our experience. We can’t explain why, but there is an enormous amount of energy that we process and encounter in these temples.

Our movements between these powerful temple experiences and the simplicity of life at the ashram move us into quite an amazing inner space. Year after year we find ourselves transformed mid way during our retreat. Our pilgrims see it in each other as much as we see it in them. By the end of the trip we are all affected by the enormity of what has transpired. India blesses us, the ashram blesses us, the temples bless us and we are blessed by each other. Again, it is quite extraordinary how each year we experience a deeper sense of community in our pilgrim group.

We would like conclude this report with a funny incident that happened during our visit to the gypsy village. Everyone was shooting pictures of the kids who were excitedly clamoring for their pictures to be taken. A young girl, about ten years old, wanted to view her picture off the camera but the pilgrim who took it could not figure out how to retrieve the image and gestured an apology. The girl sensitively took hold of the digital camera, deftly maneuvered the camera buttons, and in no time retrieved the picture to everyone’s amazement and amusement. Our gypsy friends are doing well in many ways and on many levels, not to mention becoming technology savvy despite not owning or having access to computers. It is so wonderful to witness their progress, year after year, and particularly their ability to improve their lifestyle without losing touch with their roots.

We would like to invite you to participate in our pilgrimage in January 2011. We will also be offering an add-on retreat to the chanting pilgrimage, which is a specially guided retreat with personalized attention and includes a mini trip to one of India’s holiest pilgrimage spots. Please note that this special add-on is only available to those participating in the main pilgrimage and extends the experience to about a full month.

To participate in our upcoming Journey to Find the Other of the Soul in January 2011, please review all of the information on our website www.russillpaul.com and register soon so that you can prepare well for this extraordinary adventure.