A travel guide that explores over 500 places of spiritual interest for the modern traveller
By Roger Gabriel, April 20 2017. The word ashram comes from the Sanskrit word, Srama, which means “religious exertion.” However, in more recent times the term “ashram” is used to describe any facility used by a spiritual community. They can vary in size from a small hermitage housing just a few people to multiple building complexes …
Simonetta travelled in India during the 1960s and 1970s, where she established a colony for the care of lepers as well as a craft training program. Duchess Simonetta Colonna di Cesaro was born in Rome in 1922. Descended from Russian aristocracy, the daughter of intellectual & politically inclined Giovanni Duke of Cesaro,’ she grew up in a sophisticated environment, and …
A boarding and day-school for boys and girls, the Rajghat School taught from kindergarten to high school and college levels. Rajghat was one of the two schools of the Rishi Valley Trust, founded by Annie Besant and handed over to Krishnamurti so he could implement his ideas. It was an experimental community where students and …
By PANKAJ MISHRA Published: July 23, 2010 A few years ago, the pop singer Sting confided to an interviewer that a specific yoga asana, or posture, had enabled him to have sexual intercourse with his wife, the star of a line of yoga videos, for as long as eight hours at a time. “Your stomach,” he said, …
By Jeffrey Gettleman Jan. 5, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ET HIMALAYAA Human HistoryBy Ed Douglas When I first came to India, I asked one of the most erudite politicians in the Indian government a question I had been scared to pose to anyone else but that seemed fundamental to understanding the region: Why does India have so many …
Ella Maillart was the pioneer solo woman explorer who found her spiritual side in India. By Ravi Shankar. The New Indian Express. Published: 27th September 2020 05:00 AM | Last Updated: 25th October 2020 11:02 AM | A casualty of the internet and satellite mapping is the explorer. Before technology, Huen Tsang, Marco Polo and Columbus explored uncharted lands, …
Extract from Saints Alive by Hilda Charlton Hilda Charlton was a spiritual teacher who taught meditation in New York City from 1965 to 1988. In her teachings Hilda stressed the importance of a life of giving and forgiving, unconditional love and remembrance of God. She uplifted the lives of thousands of people who sought her spiritual …
By Scott & Ida, head teachers of Ghosh Yoga. We have discovered a complete work by Labanya Palit from 1955! She was a student of Bishnu Charan Ghosh and we were able to find a copy of her book in the National Library. In the 60 years it has been here, it has never been checked out …
A 1945 dormitory for members of a spiritual commune in southern India is an enduring example of architecture’s capacity for nuanced experiences.
Article by Tsem Rinpoche. A curious, yet ethereal photograph of Lord Buddha has been in circulation for quite some time. Supposedly a photograph taken of Siddhartha Gautama, also known as Buddha Shakyamuni, it raises a lot more questions than answers. According to rumours, the photograph was taken by a devotee visiting the holy site of Bodhgaya. After taking a …
Theos Casimir Bernard’s life story is one filled with adventure, spiritual encounters and a worthwhile determination. He pioneered expeditions to Tibet including the famed city of Lhasa in 1937, at a time when Tibet was closed to foreigners due to a policy of self-isolation. He was only the third American ever to set foot in …
Ashrams of India: Volume 2 Chapter 21 Uttarakhand, Crank’s Ridge Former haven for hippies and mystics during the 60s and 70s Alfred Julius Emmanuel Sorensen (October 27, 1890 – August 13, 1984), also known as Sunyata, Shunya, or Sunyabhai, was a Danish mystic, horticulturalist, and writer. He lived in Europe, India and America. The son …
Granddaughter of Indra Devi’s friend Ruth Taylor, Francesca Rheannon speaks with Michelle Goldberg about Indra Devi. Her biography is The Goddess Pose: The Audacious Life of Indra Devi, the Woman Who Helped Bring Yoga to the West.
Article by Richard, Hatha Yoga in America, from its introduction in Chicago back in 1893 to its contemporary proliferation across heartland USA. https://www.beezone.com/YogainAmerica/yoga_in_america.html
Article by Kendra Sand who is a writer, yoga teacher, and world traveler with an affinity for orchids, hardcover books, and dancing in the moonlight. https://www.yogiapproved.com/yoga/classic-yoga-babes/
A traditional residential school for girls in India’s holy city of Varanasi stands out for its singular history. Ma Anandmayee Kanyapeeth is like a cloistered hermitage for girls and is one of the few places in the country which caters to the educational and spiritual training of young girls. In many ways, it is a …
One of the few foreigners to stay back in Rishikesh during the lockdown, the author notices that the Ganga is cleaner and purer than it has been in a long time. “It was not until I landed in Rishikesh with no means to leave, for weeks on end, and living on the Ganga amidst quietude, …
Today, I have the pleasure to introduce Yael Bloch, Yoga teacher and author of the book Ashrams, Journey to the Sources of Yoga. I read this book recently and it inspired me a lot. A real motionless journey, from my rocking chair, the park or my bath, to discover these magical places bathed in spirituality and sharing. I …
Ralph Abraham. University of California, Santa Cruz. 3 November 2015. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284190331_Entheogens_in_the_Himalayan_Foothills/link/564fa3f608ae1ef9296eb892/download Abstract. Reporting a miraculous week of entheogens and sadhus in a temple in the montane jungle of the Himalayan foothills in 1972. 1. Introduction In the Fall of 1968 I arrived in Santa Cruz, California, to begin a tenured position as Asso-ciate Professor of …
By Ganesh Dass The day was ending at Madhuban Ashram, as the sun’s last golden rays shined out as it nestled its way down between the peaks of the Himalayan valley. Just miles from Kainchi and Nainital, Madhuban, the Himalayan branch of the Shri Aurobindo ashrams, posed a logistical launching point and picturesque backdrop for …