Yoga Travel Alliance

26/02/2017

06/10/2016

06/10/2016

27/08/2016

18/08/2016

Soon our voices will join this nightly chorus!

04/08/2016

in 5 weeks we'll be there!

Parmarth Niketan Aarti 14th July 2016 Singers - Manohar & Kapil A voice that touches your soul

09/06/2016

Sharing an insightful story on the concept of Dharma. The Sanskrit word Dharma means to uphold one's own duty in conformity with the eternal law of cosmos, inherent in the very nature of things. Dharma shapes an individual's thoughts and actions. We all instinctively have it, but to understand and cultivate it would mean one's blossoming into fully-conscious and evolved beings.

Remember your Own Dharma : The Saint and The Scorpion
Once there was a sadhu (monk), living on the banks of a river performing his sadhana with great piety and determination. One day as the holy man went for a bath in the river, he noticed a scorpion struggling in the water. Scorpions, by nature cannot swim and the sadhu knew that if he did not save the scorpion, it would drown. Therefore, carefully picking up the scorpion, the saint lifted it out of the water and was just about to set it down gently on the shore when the scorpion stung his finger. In pain, the sadhu instinctively flung his hand and the scorpion went flying back into the river. As soon as the sadhu regained his composure from the sting, he again lifted the scorpion out of the water. This drama went on for several minutes as the holy man continued to save the life of the dying scorpion and the scorpion continued to sting his savior's hand before reaching the freedom of the river bank.
A man who had been out hunting in the forest noticed this drama between the holy man and the scorpion. He watched as the saint carefully and gingerly lifted the creature out of the water, only to fling it back in as his hand convulsed in pain from each fresh sting. Finally the hunter said to the sadhu, “Revered Swamiji, forgive me for my frankness, but it is clear that the scorpion is simply going to sting you each and every time you try to carry it to safety. Why don’t you give up and just let it drown?”
The holy man replied, “My dear child, the scorpion is not stinging me out of malice or evil intent. It is simply in his nature to sting. Just as it is the water’s nature to make me wet, so it is scorpion’s nature to sting. He doesn’t realize that I am carrying him to safety. This is the level of conscious comprehension greater than his brain can achieve. But, just as it is the scorpion’s nature to sting, so it is my nature to save. Just as he is not leaving his nature, why should I leave my nature. Why should I let a small scorpion rob me of the divine nature which I have cultivated through years of Sadhna.

10/05/2016

Like to see this? Come with us!

16/04/2016

10/04/2016

08/04/2016

A short video about our trips to Incredible India. If you ever dreamed about practicing yoga in India, trekking the Himalayas, seeing the world the way few people ever get to then this is the way to go. We have been taking small groups of people to India for many years and look forward to each one.

Check out our web site for more details and dates for our 2016 trips.

Peace

03/02/2016

The Havan referred to in this article is a regular part of our India experience

http://thespiritscience.net/2015/11/26/study-shows-how-smudging-does-a-lot-more-than-just-clear-evil-spirits/

The practice of smudging dates back to prehistoric times, and is still very much in use today worldwide for cleansing everything from dwellings to human spirits. However recent research has shed light on the popularity of this activity, revealing that burning certain plant matter actually clears har…

01/02/2016

14/01/2016

A Temple bell is another scientific phenomena; it is not just your ordinary metal. It is made of various metals including cadmium, lead, copper, zinc, nickel, chromium and. manganese. The proportion at which each one of them mixed is real science behind a bell. Each of these bells is made to produce…

20/12/2015

3 years ago a similar flooding disaster in Northern India that killed 10's of thousands and displaced over a million people also got no news coverage here

Even as climate change pact was being hammered out, a perfect storm of unprecedented flooding and poor urban planning was laying waste to Chennai, India

11/12/2015

Wanna visit this place? Come with us.

The retreat where the Liverpool band stayed and meditated in 1968 is now open to visitors again after being closed for more than three decades

03/11/2015

The Buddha would cry.

Buddhist mobs attacked Muslims in Myanmar two years ago. Now, with elections looming, many Muslims worry Buddhist monks are still fanning religious hatred.

07/10/2015

https://youtu.be/ZLh153lNxco

Exactly what the title says! Hajmola is a very famous Candy/ Digestive Pill which Indians have been taking since they are kids. Now Americans in Los Angeles ...

25/09/2015

07/09/2015

Boys afternoon out

07/09/2015

Dinner at Karim's. Crazy good

21/08/2015

Delhi is a city that everyone loves to hate. From the ancient city of Indraprastha to the seven cities during Muslim rule and now to the Lutyen’s Delhi, the ‘city of djinns’ has seen been...

11/08/2015

You can do it!

04/08/2015

Answer (1 of 32): (Quick background: I grew up in India, went to US at 21 to study. Spent 8 years there (including 3 years working). Moved back to Pune, Maharashtra, India, India in 2001, and have been here ever since.) (Clarification: This post is intended to just be context- and expectation-se...

29/07/2015

Marta Martinez Samalea and Boris Kanev left their Bulgaria home on a rainy October afternoon to embark upon a 511-day journey.

27/07/2015

Do we care about world opinion? We care what the people in our neighborhood think about our lawn, garden, cars, furniture, kids etc, so why not our world neighbors?

Donald trump's quick rise demonstrates how a politician can manipulate the electorate, particularly when the field is so large and divided.

11/06/2015

The seat where Ram sat after the long war with Rawan to rescue his beloved Sita

08/06/2015

These pictures of Kedarnath, a very very special place we visited 3 years ago, are startling in many ways. The destruction is crazy. But that the temple is completely intact is even more amazing.

A visit to the sacred Kedarnath temple, led by Pujya Swamiji and Sadhviji, was a powerful and deeply transforming experience. Pujya Swamiji commended the efforts of the Government and said that just as they had been successful in getting Uttarakhand back on its feet, He urged the people of Garhwal to also get back on their feet and support these efforts to ensure that such tragedies are not repeated, lives are saved and the rich spiritual-cultural heritage of this sacred land is retained for all.

With hundreds of devotees lining up for darshan, one could still see signs of the devastation, as JCBs and volunteers continued to work to remove the rubble and boulders left behind from the disaster as light snow came falling from the sky.

With the grace of Bhagawan Kedarji and with Pujya Swamiji’s blessings, all devotees had the opportunity to sit and perform a sacred Abhishek puja of the divine deity in the mandir. For nearly a full half hour, we poured water, milk, ghee and honey, placed sacred sandalwood and rice on the divine natural Linga of Lord Shiva.

The first snowfall in many days occurred just during our puja, so that we had several extra divine hours in the sacred land, waiting for the weather to clear for the helicopters. The priests were so thankful for Pujya Swamiji’s blessings to bring much-needed snow onto the mountain.

During Pujya Swamiji's visit He also meet with the SDM of Kedarnath and planned in detail with him and his team ways in which we could bring the sacred pilgrimage of Kedarnath on the world tourism map, while retaining the divine and deeply transformative nature of the pilgrimage. They discussed the challenges and obstacles as well as the solutions and plan of action. The local administration, priests and volunteers were incredibly inspired by His visit and were eager to work together to bring this divine vision to fruition.

Download and read the full and gorgeous Yatra News Magazine:http://www.parmarth.org/updates/yatra.pdf

*Pictures courtesy of Hansa Natola

05/05/2015

Powerful article about some determined women.

http://www.ipsnews.net/2015/04/watch-what-happens-when-tribal-women-manage-indias-forests/

Women from the Gunduribadi tribal village in the eastern Indian state of Odisha patrol their forests with sticks to prevent illegal logging. Credit: Manipadma Jena/IPS

29/04/2015

Want to learn more about going to India with us? Open house at the studio this Sunday at 4PM to show you pictures and discuss the trips.

FREE!