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Spiritual India: A Yoga Journey travels through a
diverse cross section of India both geographically
and spiritually, from the Himalayas through Rajasthan,
visiting the holy pilgrimage sites of the various
religions of India. As yoga means 'unity,' or 'union
with a higher consciousness,' the intention of the
tour is to experience such unity in the midst of diversity.
This year we are offering the yoga journey in two
parts. For those who do not have the time for the
full tour, you can join us for the first 19 days which
travels from Amritsar, holy city of the Sikhs to the
Himalayas (Dharamsala, Haridwar-Rishikesh) through
Agra (Taj Mahal), the ancient holy city Benares (Varanasi)
and Jaipur the capital of Rajasthan. For those with
more time, the 25 day complete journey continues to
the holy village of Pushkar; Ajmer, the pilgrimage
for Muslims; Mt. Abu, location of the Brahma Kumaris
ashram and spiritual university as well as rare Jain
Dilwara temples; Udaipur and Bombay.
In the west, we tend to think of yoga as the physical
practice. Although there are opportunities to practice
physical yoga with local teachers nearly every day
at the hotel or various ashrams, the emphasis of the
journey is on spiritual practice as an inherent aspect
of daily life in India.
There are also opportunities to engage in meditation,
chanting, dharma talks and other traditional rituals
throughout the journey as we learn about the histories
and philosophies of Sikhs, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus
and Jains.
On the journey we will celebrate Dussehra, an important
spiritual festival symbolizing the victory of Rama
(good) over Ravana (evil). It will be an elaborate
celebration with floats, fireworks and ceremonies.
The hotels are five star in Delhi/Agra/Bombay, heritage
and best available elsewhere. The meals, a family-style
buffet, are primarily vegetarian with choice of chicken.
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