Need honest advice for Ashram in India

michelle1971

I know, I know - there are a lot threads and advice about asharms, yoga, meditation resorts in India - but I am looking for something specific - well, I think it is specific.

I recently sent in my app for the Osho Meditation Resort Work as a Residence program. Reading threads and articles has brought up some serious doubts whether this is the correct place for me.

here is what I am looking for and why I want to go to India:

I feel I am at a cross-roads in my life - as my friend said "are you having a mid-life crisis" - perhaps I said. I have lost my spark, my light, my lightness. I believe I can get this back in getting to know myself and I believe this can be done through meditation,etc.

I need some honest advice from all of you - is there a program, 2-3 months, where I can work and learn meditation, etc. minus the bullcrap stuff that seems to be coming up in the Osho Resort?

guava

Hi, I wouldn't go anti-osho commune just because of some posts. Different places mean different things to different people so you're always going to get mixed reviews! I'd say spend a few days there first before you decide.

If that's not for you, then you could give other places a try such as:
-www.oshonisarga.com
-www.samdarshi.com/jabalpur.htm
-www.tapoban.com (if you're feeling more adventurous & don't mind popping over to Nepal)

Not too sure about the working part..you might want to save a bit before you head off although it isn't very expensive anyway.

Alternatively there are lots of ashrams in Rishikesh(Dayananda..etc)that you might want to give a try & would obviously cost much less.

Wherever you decide to go, I think it's important to go with an open mind (& heart) and no expectations. If you go with resentment and borrowed thoughts, it's not the best start to 'finding yourself'!! Goodluck!

"Meditation is the only way to enter into your own self. Paradise is not outside you, it is within you."~OSHO

michelle1971

I really appreciate your reply and absolutely agree to your comments - every experience I have is my experience - not anothers experience. The Osho retreat has so many things that I am looking for - I will go with an open mind and hope to find more of myself on the other side - smile!

Goran

Right, the best thing is to be open and without opinions and experiences, no one will be happier about that than those “harvesting” the wallets of naive people And not only wallets

The Dalai Lama (even if he is not any kind of a role model in my opinion...) said a few interesting things.. that a person should test and check a teacher for 10 years before accepting him, that 92% of monks (Ti-betan) are monks for wrong reasons and not that great.. Not that it helped western “Tibetans” running after great “enlightened” lamas just like that

Don’t be naive, it is big business, a business not accountable to anyone and you will find more garbage there than sincere things. If an open mind is accepting every kind of crap if it is packed in a nice package without using common sense, experience (personal and those of others) than it is better to close it

kullukid

In your case it sounds more like your vulnerability could be taken advantage of rather than your naivety.
You are right it can ONLY be done through Meditation, but you don't need to visit an Ashram for that,in order to find your SELF you must first lose yourself, so it sounds like you are nearly there which is why you've reached the crossroads (unless you're just having a mid-life crisis of course!)
Where you are trying to get to you already are, you just haven't realised it yet.....The seeker is the sought!
So why not stay where you are & be still & know Thy SELF. KK

michelle1971

Kullukid,

I am probably vulnerable and naive but I trust myself and know that whatever becomes before me, I know what is right or wrong for me...

So, you say why not stay where I am and be still - well, I have been still for a week now (I know, not that long). I have no idea what to do with myself or how to be with myself. Its actually been a very beautiful process but very hard. Part of me wants to stay here in Turkey but if you have been to Turkey- its one of the least spirtual places I have been to - atleast in what I am looking for..I could go back to the U.S., back to Maui but I dont have a desire to live in the U.S.

How do you stay in a place that you dont like? physically and mentally - very different place for me - atleast to hold both at the same time..

theyyamdancer

You are from Hawaii? And you live in rural Turkey? Why not try a meditation retreat in Europe? I mean as a preliminary to going to India and total immersion in an ashram. There are Vipassana courses going on in Greece for instance. Just a thought.

__________________
"Wandering seemed no more than the happiness of an anxious man." - Albert Camus

michelle1971

I was not born in Hawaii but that is where I made my home. I do live in rural Turkey - very different to say Istanbul. Do you have any recommendations in Europe? My inital thought here is the expense - Europe is expensive especially to the dollar but I am open to other optins. BTW - my favorite island is Crete, if that is where you are from?

theyyamdancer

Well, Vipassana is for free, donations gratefully accepted of course. There is a website. You can google it. I know people who have done the course in South of Crete.

No, I am English, but I live in Crete.


Edited -
I found the website for the link to the course in Crete:

http://www.dhamma.org/en/schedules/noncenter/gr.shtml

michelle1971

Thanks for the web link - its amazing how much information is out here and the number of options...it blows me away...especially for someone that is new to this arena...what to do - so many choices...its funny, the world is so open with so many choices -sometimes I think it is just as bad as no having choices...eveything is a perspective..

I will research the site and see if it resonates with me - thanks so much

omtapas

Crete is getting cold now, you are probably better in India and for sure a lot cheaper!

Vipassana is a great entry into meditation. There are lots of vipassana centers in India and from November to March it is not too hot to practice.

Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu is a nice place to go. Fews ashrams and healthy energy...

Blessings - Tapas

__________________
Videos about my trips and more:
http://www.youtube.com/omtapas
Om Sai Ram - Tapas

krish2009

Friend,
Your idea of spending time for meditation in India is correct. You have been suggested osho, Vipassana, and may be given some more.
at the outset I wish to tell you that your worries are correctly reflected when you say "is there a program, 2-3 months, where I can work and learn meditation, etc. minus the bullcrap stuff that seems to be coming up in the Osho Resort?"
So you will be attracted to pure 'Vipassana', But I should tell you, please be aware that the pure vipassana is the ultimate form of meditation and modern man is stuffed with complexity in mind and so many emotions creating split in personality and psyche. So Osho devised very active and cathatic ways to cleanse. This you know already, and hence you chose for working and meditating at Pune. But when you fear the 'bullcrap', you will need to be iformed that it is upto you to avoid, or involve. No one will be forcing you over there against your will. and there is always guides, and management office to compaint about, give feed back. If you miss this place , you may not get this chance again. Only thing you need to see that , you keep to yourself. Near Pune Resorts, there are cheap accomodations available and managed by sannyasins. You will get guidance from Welcome centre. Or if you google , you may find the email address, (just 5-10 minutes walking distance.). Before doing vipassana, you just enjoy the cathartic meditations, relaxed working place, and respectful individuality in most modern uptodate place.

you may read the following Osho lectures what it says on vipassana of Goenka,:From Death to deathlessnes, ch.#21,Q.1
The Great Pilgrimage,ch.#7,ch.Q.2#13,Q.2
Hari Om Tat Sat #28,Q.1
Further, you should have some preliminary preparaton, if you are prone to cold cough when you do dynamic, see that you are not taking cold bath, cold drinks , pastry, curd , banana, etc. this will keep your throat and stomach clean out of cough. Take papaya before you retire. this will clean the bowels and you will have nice day. take hot water bath to feel fresh, after dynamic meditation.
It is your choice to go or not, but be prepared first, then do Vipassana, you may contact me at my mail address krishprud_at_yahoo.co.in for further ideas.
thanks and best wishes.

hash666

try auroville, pondycherry..

michelle1971

Thank you to everyone who took the time to post their comments here - I am so appreciative of your kind words and advice...I hope to continue to be a part of this forum..

With Love M-

krish2009

I thank the management of this forum for guiding memebers on what to post and what not to post, what to write and what not to write.

It feels good to know ideas from many knowledgeable members for their rich and vast treasure of experience and knowledge. it is more than diamond and gold.
thank you all.

__________________
Sitting Silently, watch breathing,
Turbulence melts, showers soothing.
Miss you watching breathe,
thoughts catch you in seethe!