Mumbai - Ramdas Ashram – Allephy - Amma ashram – Poovar - Kankyakumari – Madurai – Tanjore – Kumbhakonam – Tiruvanamalai - Aouroville – Puducherry – Mahabalipuram – Chennai – Mumbai depart
Jacques Vigne
Born in 1956, Jacques Vigne was very fond of mathematics early on, then, chose to study medicine and psychiatry in Paris. After practicing medicine in Algeria, he received a scholarship to study as a psychiatrist from the ‘Roman Rolland Foundation’. He then received a grant from ‘La Maison des Sciences de l’homme’ to study the connection between psychological recovery and traditional teaching of Yoga.
He has been living in India for 28 years and shares his time between an ‘ashram’, near the riverside of Ganges, close to Hardwar, and a hermitage located 2000 meters high in Himalaya. He has written numerous books about science and spirituality, which are a link between Eastern and Western worlds. Jacques Vigne is the author of major literary works. His writings are careful to establish bridges between modern psychology and spirituality, as well as between the wisdom of India and that of Christianity.
Most of his articles can be found on his site: http://www.jacquesvigne.com/
Overnight in Mumbai.
Mangalore north Kerala to the border with Karnataka, from here we travel by taxi three hours south to the ashram of Swami Ramdas, author of Diary of Pilgrimage (Albin Michel) and Arnaud Desjardins presented in his Ashrams film. After the death of Krishnabai and Sachidananda, there are now Muktananda who looks after the ashram with great dynamism. Unlike other ashrams that have a policy of expansion sometimes at all costs, the institution of "Papa" Ramdas has remained family size. We are immersed in the Ram mantra like a river constantly renewed, yet still. There is, a priori, a satsang (meeting) a day with Swami Muktananda.
Night in Ramdas Ashram.
We will dive deeper into the river mantra Om Shri Ram, Jay Ram Jay Jay Ram.
Night in Ramdas Ashram.
We will continue our practices in the ashram.
Night in Ramdas Ashram.
A third day probably the mind more at peace at the time of departs before catching the night train in the picturesque station Kanhangarh.
Overnight in train.
Early morning arrive at Allephy rly station, on arrival pickup & transfer to hotel, after breakfast transfer to boat jetty, lunch on house boat, on arrival short visit of amma ashram, later drive to Poovar.
The canals and lagoons of Kerala are famous, is a network of 2400km in total, which allows admiring the tropical nature and the boxes under the coconut trees, sometimes passing just a few meters from them. The slow pace of this mode of transport in the middle of the green is relaxing and meditative after the entire bus ride on congested roads of India. It is rightly one of the great attractions of Kerala. We visit in passing the ashram of Ma Amritanandamayi, but will not stay.
Having awakened great hopes among the people, it is now surrounded by scandals, particularly to the quest of the world for the poor of India and not to redistribute them a very small proportion.
Overnight in Poovar.
This is an Ayurvedic centre by the sea where we will spend two and half days with three massage sessions of one hour and a half a day, most of hatha yoga in the morning and two meditation sessions with Dr, Jacques Vigne.
Overnight in Poovar.
From Friday, October 28 afternoon to Tuesday 01st November am Ayurvedic Cure
Route bus south Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin) the southern tip of India, to meet the three seas, the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Mer. The place is illustrated by a temple of the goddess as virgin, kanya, and also by a memorial on an island beyond the Cape itself, devoted to the memory of Swami Vivekananda who came to meditate in 1892. There contemplated the future of India and its independence, which finally occurred a little more than half a century later.
Overnight in Kanyakumari.
The name comes from Madurai (Madhura) meaning nectar, it is said that the city was born from a drop of nectar fell the hair of Shiva. In all cases, it is the second city in the state, its existence is attested already in the 5th century BCE and it is a contemporary Rome. The temple to the goddess Minakshi is like a city within a city, with its markets and ambulatory where crowds throng. We leave absorb through this sacred world …to come out different! We will also visit the temple 200m from moving house where Ramana Maharshi had the experience of the Self, when he was only 15 years and nothing seemed to predispose to this. The afternoon will be free; Madurai is famous for its fabrics. We will dine early at the hotel and go to attend the festive ritual of the evening, which honours with great pomp both the goddess Minakshi and her husband Shiva.
Overnight in Madurai.
Tanjore features the largest temple of India dating back to thousand Brihadeshwar, which means "the great god" Shiva in the case with many sculptures in the great tradition of Tamil temples. It is a jewel of Chola art, a dynasty that dominated around the year 1000 all of India and parts of Sri Lanka. The royal palace of the seventeenth and eighteenth century also contains the only museum that we will have the opportunity to visit on our route, with magnificent bronzes and medieval statues.
Overnight in Kumbhakonam.
will leave form Tiruvanamalai approx 4.00 pm to Chennai by bus 160 km, 4 h drive, on arrival transfer to hotel near the airport, dinner in hotel.
Overnight in Chennai.
Chennai – Mumbai by morning flight on arrival in Mumbai, short sight seen of Mumbai evening approx 6.00 pm transfer to hotel for wash & change & farewell diner, after dinner transfer to International airport.
End of the services
Morning visit the temple in the evening arati at the ashram of Ramana Maharshi. We will make a few visits to sacred places. We will not be staying at the ashram of Ramana Maharshi himself hardly accept groups, but in a quiet hotel in the countryside a little further. A Tiruvanamalai is one of the largest temples to Shiva of India at the foot of Arunachala sacred mountain, a name which means 'Red Mountain' and is associated with the fire element. The temple buildings are mainly fifteenth and sixteenth century, but location is much older. The sage Ramana Maharshi Vedantic came to Arunachala at the age of 15, and n "has not left the holy mountain until his death at age 72 in 1950. He taught all his life a form of Vedanta Simple centered on the question: "Who am I?"
Overnight in Tiruvanamalai.
Pradakshina around the sacred mountain, approx 10 km in flat 4h. Rest in the afternoon and in the evening meditation.
Overnight in Tiruvanamalai.
Overnight in Tiruvanamalai.
North of Pondicherry, 15km is Auroville dense forest that was planted by enthusiastic ecology on a red earth that was rather sterile 40 years ago. This large town of 3,000 inhabitants was born from a vision of 'Mother' of Pondicherry and was founded in 1968. A well-mounted exhibition makes us feel history and aspirations of the city that would be ideal. We will see the outside of the sphere, but not inside because Auroville administration requests to fill a lot of papers for that, which is probably the only case of its kind in India. We visit in the late afternoon the white city of Pondicherry, one of the few French colonies in India and the ashram of Sri Aurobindo, one of the great sages of India twentieth century. We gather from his samadhi.
Overnight in Pondycherry.
Mahabalipuram was developed as a commercial port by Palavas in the seventh century of the E.C. In addition to a beautiful beach and small temples, but old and beautiful, this village holds the largest bas-relief in India of that time, Descent of the Ganges, which illustrates vividly multiple scenes from the Mahabharata. In this sense, Mahabalipuram has become as vital traditional Indian sculptors and can acquire many interesting statues there.
Overnight in Mahabalipuram.
We will fly to Mumbai from Chennai airport, which is west of the city.
Overnight in Mumbai.
After breakfast leave for Elephanta Island with its famous Trimurti seventh century in a cave that had inspired the highest point André Malraux. By early afternoon we will visit the Prince of Wales Museum which is near the jetty for Elephanta and contains some fine pieces.
After a farewell dinner, departure for France.
End of services.
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