Sacred Pilgrimage to Mother India 2018 - the North & the South
27 January – 24 February

Rev. Padma will be staying in India next year for 3 months and we will visit her there during our Pilgrimage. This trip is being organised by a group of her devoted students and teachers.
For more details of cost and how to book, please contact Lavanya Matos by email at yoga@loveflowsfromtheheart.com

Itinerary
South India
27/1/18 => Flight from London to Chennai;

28/1/18 => Arrival and transfer (private bus) to Hotel (Clarion Hotel or similar, Chennai – 2nights);

29/1/18 => In Chennai visit to the Ramakrishna Ashram and the Ashtalakshmi Temple by the sea. 
- The Ashtalakshmi Temple is a famous Hindu temple to the Goddess Lakshmi, the aspect of Divine Mother that is abundance, grace, beauty and love. 
- Shirdi Sai Baba temple in Mylapore, Arulmigu Kapaleeswarar temple, Saint Thomas Basilica, Vivekananda House
- Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Mylapore, Chennai is a temple of Shiva. The form of Shiva's consort Parvati worshipped at this temple is called Karpagambal is from Tamil.
- Shirdi Sai Baba Temple is a Hindu dedicated to the Indian saint Sai Baba of Shirdi. 
- Saint Thomas Basilica is a Roman Catholic minor basilica, built in the 16th century by Portuguese explorers, over the tomb of Saint Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus
- Vivekananda House (also known as the Ice House) is a historical place being maintained by Ramakrishna Mission. You can still feel the presence of Saint Ramakrishna and The Mother here in this ashram and we will have the opportunity to meditate. Swami Vivekananda stayed in this building for a couple of days after his famous Chicago visit. The first Ramakrishna Mission in Chennai was started in this building.

30/1/18 => Travel to Tiruvannamalai (our own AC private minibus) and staying at the Aakash Inn or similar (3 nights)
On our way, travelling by the coast we will stop at Pondicherry (approx. 3 h) and visit Sri Aurobindo Ashram and walk along the promenade by the sea side. We will have the opportunity to visit Auroville, the City of Dawn created in 1968 by its founder, The Mother. The purpose of Auroville is to realise the human unity.

- Tiruvannamalai is the nearest place to the sacred mountain Mount Arunachala, a place of great pilgrimage in India and the home of Sri Ramana Maharshi, the famous saint, mystic and teacher of Jnana Yoga. During our stay we will have the opportunity to visit his ashram, walk up Arunachala to his meditation caves (Virupaksha cave) and also to circumambulate the entire mountain at dawn.

2/2/18 => Travel to Palani (driving in our own AC private minibus, approx. 6 h) and staying at the Ganpat Grand Hotel or similar (2 nights).
Visit the famous hilltop temple at Palani dedicated to Lord Muruga & special visit with Prof Haresh Pandya

4/2/18 => Travel to Coimbatore (driving in our own AC private minibus, approx. 2.30 h) and staying at the Treebo Corner Stay Hotel or similar (5 nights)
During our stay in Coimbatore we will be visiting the family home of Sri Swami Satchidananda and the L.O.T.U.S. Temple nearby, the Integral Yoga Institute in Coimbatore, Swami Satchidananda’s international school (Jyoti Niketan) in the Nilgiri foothills, driving to the hill station at Ooty. We will also be visiting Perur temple and the Perur Ashram run by Swami Marudhachalam Adigalar under his Guru Santalinga Ramaswamy Adigalar.

North India
OMMM and for these last two weeks of the Pilgrimage we are blessed to have our beloved teacher Rev. Padma Devi Sumananda with us

9/2/18 => Fly to Dehradun and transfer (private transport) to Rishikesh and stay at the Vasundhara palace Hotel or similar (8 nights) 

- We will visit Kunja Puri Mother temple - this Divine Mother Temple is high in the mountains above Rishikesh and we can see the Himalayas in all their glory. We will share Puja to Mother in the temple and bask in the pure divine energy here.
- Vasistha Guhar Cave where the Sage Vasistha meditated and Sri Gurudev received his enlightenment experience in 1949. It is possible to safely take a bath in the river here and at least to receive Mother Ganga blessing standing in the water. 
- Sivananda Ashram - this is the ashram of Master Sivananda and where Sri Gurudev lived for many years. Many swamis still live here and we may have the blessing of their presence and/or talks.
- Triveni Ghat evening Arathi and at Parmath Niketan Ashram – this is the daily offering of light to Mother Ganga with flower boats and chanting which we will experience at different ashrams.
- Visit Mastram Baba Ashram, Ramana’s Garden orphanage & organic café.

- During our stay here we will have the possibility to serve in the Heart of Living Yoga Ashrama and enjoy Satangs with our beloved teacher Rev. Padma Devi Sumananda.

17/2/18 => Travel to Kankhal (private transport, approx. 1h) for private retreat at
- Anandamayi Ma Ashram (7 nights)
- We will visit Neem Karoli Baba Ashram (Maharaji) the guru of Ram Dass and Krishna Das & Hanuman Temple in the afternoon for special Hanuman Chalesa. 
- We will experience an evening of Arathi in Haridwar. 
- We will have the opportunity to visit the Daksha Mahadev temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, and is named after King Daksha Prajapati, the father of Sati (wife of Shiva).

We will be blessed with the opportunity for daily meditation and Arathi at Anandamayi Ma Mahasamadhi and Ashram. We will be able to visit Ma’s private Ghat on the Ganga and have yoga classes in her beautiful garden. 

24/2/18 => Travel to Dehradun airport and back home with blissful Heart

Rev. Padma will be staying in India next year for 3 months and we will visit her there during our Pilgrimage. This trip is being organised by a group of her devoted students and teachers.

For more details of cost and how to book, please contact Lavanya Matos by email at yoga@loveflowsfromtheheart.com