Spiritual Journeys
Backpacking, adventure travel, sightseeing, leisure travel, driving trips are all sorts of things you can see on India Travel Blog. A spiritual journey is another addition.
I have made many such journeys, some half spiritual and some completely. My trips to Rishikesh and Varanasi did have a spiritual angle to it but not entirely; seeing the places was the main agenda. But once in a while, I escape from the everyday world and spend a few days in a spiritual retreat, meditating and looking inwards.
I spent the last five days at the Art of Living center in Bangalore and have just returned back refreshed. The changes that come after five days of grind and torture are amazing. After all these days of sitting almost entire day with legs folded and pain all over the body, trying hard to follow strange instructions and trying harder not to break off in the middle and runaway, life suddenly looks a lot more better than it was five days ago. There is new energy and enthusiasm, a will to go for anything, a never fading smile and happiness oozing from every part of the body.
Meditation hall and amphitheater at the Art of Living Center, Bangalore
The intricacies and details of things spiritual are beyond my comprehension and I would rather not get into details of all the things we did on these five days and what we felt every day. Often it all looked strange and we wonder what is going on. It is not exactly pleasant when you are there, and sitting on the floor for long hours can be a pain. Some yoga exercises feel like no less than a torture and it is not surprising if you feel like running away at the end of your first day itself. But those who manage to hold on and complete(every one did) seem to find a new vigor in life and appear full of happiness and smiling all the time.
End of five days, I feel sufficiently energized that I am already thinking when should I consider another such meditation retreat!