The spiritual India as it once was

grizzlyofalaska

Hello Seekers,

And i hope you are the seekers. I have been thinking about this for a while and it has taken a while to put this thread on here.

In a nut shell, in 2006 i quit my highly paid sales job to travel to India. In those days i was empty. I was seekign for the truth that i was not able to find in London. I was getting the matrialistic gains but more money i made the empty i got.

So in november5 2006 i embarked on an unplanned journey to India...or as i like to highlight it, journey to the himalayas.

So today is 2007 23rd of december and i am back in London. I got back to london in 2007 Jan the 17th, yes it has been nealry a year since i have been back. I today reflect and comprehend the purpose of my journey to India; i conclude that my journey changed me forever but it failed to give me the peace and enlightenment i seeked.

India was not what i expected it to be. it was more!! but short of my needs. Short of what i wanted!! I look back and say, sometimes, that i waisted my time!! But i knwo in my heart that i did not. What the jopurney in India gave me was a different perspective but what I lacked was that India itself has changed. India is not the mother of spirituality. Capitilism has got the grips on it. However, i felt, during my journey that there are parts of India still untouched. Like they were in the 60's. I want to feel those parts. I want you to feel it with me and at this point I will dislcose the purpose of my post on India mike. I want you all to join hands with me. I want you all to unite and reach out to me. I want to hear from you, from all of you who travelled to india and felt the same as me but would liek to give it another go. today i call upon all the restless souls who once felt the need to give up all they had to go to India and felt the same way i did. i want you call to reach out to me. We all can share experiences. In 2010 i want to go back to India and travel with a bunch of liek minded people. So this thread is a build up to find that community.

I want you all to email em or post in this thread your experience. if you want to go back to India again and find some offbeat off trakc places in 2010 then please get in touch.

I look forward to hearing form you all.

Oh namash shivaye!!

Thanks,
Sumit


Wioth this thread i aim to build a community who, one day would liek to travel the offbeat trascks of India and plan a journey togather that will touch places of India still untouched by capitalism. i call upon you to submit your ideas to me. I want you to hear your inner yearning and respond to me.

Freereedsqueezer

India always has had materialistic parts, just like anywhere else. You won't escape it as the need to eat and have things is just as important in India as the rest of the world. What do you think led the sages of old to seek enlightenment if not disatifaction with the status quo? If you look for your salvation outside of yourself or in another person or place you're guaranteed to always be disappointed, just my 2 cents worth. I love India for what it is, which to me is simply beyond any definition...

Lars

ranjan154

Hi Sumit,

Thanks to share your views with IMikers, let me tell you that India is something to feel from the bottoms of your heart. You failed to touch that cord in your last visit to India. I have a blue print to touch the Real India from within.What makes this country quite different from the rest of the world. In case you are interested to know more, get back, we together can show the world the Real India.

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machadinha

Maybe the question is was there once a spiritual India as envisaged here. And is the question about spiritualism or cheap off-beat acommodation for that matter. I couldn't tell you, my eyes soon glazed over and I honestly couldn't follow the post.

btw That community you were thinking of may well be here. It's called IndiaMike, with all its ups and downs & its manifold divergent views.

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capt_mahajan

And now I am off to listen to Moody Blues and The Who:

The who, first, The Seeker.


and Moody Blues, In my World.

batistuta

Sumit, India, has never claimed that it is mother of Spritualism. It would be great if you can read some of the books from India's spritual giants and maybe, you will come to the conclusion that you do not need to come to India to achieve the peace of mind that you seek.

Wishing you well in your quest.

PS I am that by Nisargadatta Maharaj would be a good start, Imho.

karuna

grizzlyofalaska

It's Christmas Eve and I've had a little too much Sangria, so apologies if I ramble on, but....

I too quit my job to go travelling, in India and elsewhere, although I ended up extending my stay in India several times over.

Have you ever heard the saying, wherever you go, there you are?

You bring your own wants, your own expectations, your own prejudices, needs, desires, rose-tinted specs, fears, misconceptions, preconceptions and good guesses with you.

I brought plenty of my own weirdness to India with me, but dropping the spiritual thing before I arrived was probably the best thing I could have done.

Countries can't answer your questions. And they are what they are. Try again without seeking. In fact you could turn it round and think about what India is asking of you and whether you can answer its questions.

Yeah, I drank too much today.

Sama

the essence of the Path is knowing that the nature of reality is impermanence, that nothing ever stays the same, even from moment to moment. and to cling to and attach to things that are by their very nature impermanent creates our suffering. likewise, aversion is also a form of attachment.

I leave for my 3rd trip in 3 days. do I expect India to be the same or treat me the same as it did one year and nine months ago? no freakin' way, because it's different and I'm different.

that's reality.

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amarama

not in sure I have a response. These are some very good answers. Their still are great spiritual masters in India. When you are refined enough to attract one, one will appear. It sounds as if you feel you missed some great era. A scared energy, that now is no longer accessible. It is possible through meditation, to acces any energy, any where in the universe, at anytime. The past is not gone, its is only our perception of time that is gone. Good luck, and focus on what it is you want

Shiver me Timbers

I think we all expect a bit too much from so-called 'spirituality' - I often hear complaints about how commercial Christmas is and all that - but people fail to realise the significance of simple acts such as exchanging gifts, wishing a stranger 'Happy Christmas', etc - for me, that's about as much spirituality as I need, it's doesn't have to be all about sitting under a tree meditating all day, although if that flicks your switch, then why not?

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machadinha

Nah. Words of wisdom. Your very own.

Rachmilievitch

We leave for our first trip in five days, and if my recall is correct, like you, Chennai. Perhaps we'll see you at St. Thomas mount or the gardens at the Theosophical Society or the Vansanta Vihar [Krishnamurti] study center where we'll stay for a few days. (We're an older couple and we'll probably look lost.) Like many people, the spiritual part of life is very important for me. However, I'm a "the truth is a pathless land" kind of person and suspect that Indian will meet my expectations.

PeakXV

Excellent words Conor .... I find the spirituality resonates best at home ..... no real need to go searching for it as it usually comes from within - India is like an old friend now, a constant dose of smelling salts for the senses, and an Indian Jones-like set to explore .... but at the end of the day there ain't no place like home & plenty of spirtuality-catalysts to be found in the tranquility of one's native woods, lakes, & dwellings.

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Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

grizzlyofalaska

Hello All,

Thansk for the reply to my post. I find your replies to be interesting and relevant. I would like to clarify though, I would not blame India!

I merely state that deep within me there is somethign missing and what i currently do with my life is not inline with my spiritual calling. It gets more complicated as I can not pin point that calling. Nonetheless, i know deep within me that my answers are in India. I just need to find my questions.

Yogagal, Karuna, Ranjan thanks for your views and thanks everyone else i just pointed these three names as I have directly or indirectly communicated with these three people before.

Please keep posting, would anyone like to share their experience of a truly mystical place they may have visited in India? Something that affirmed their belief on spirituality.

Thanks,
Grizzly

Sama

I get rather emotional in murugan temples, but that's just me. don't ask how -- I'm a private gal.
but yes, it confirmed certain beliefs I have.