And our journey comes to a close... or does it?
This last week has just flown by... as we knew it would. Most of us spent this closing period doing our last minute gift shopping, saying our goodbyes and giving thanks to those people who had touched us during the semester, and spending late nights up talking to one another. As many other things this semester, and I think I speak for the whole group, there aren't words that can explain or accurately convey the incredible bond that we have created and shared this semester as a community. We have watched and supported each other to grow as individuals and as members of a whole, something that most of us have never before experienced in our lives. In the near future, some of us are headed home to continue our undergraduate studies, some to start grad school, some to travel India and beyond, and some to just live for a while. However, no matter what we all end up doing, for the rest of our lives we will be connected on some level that is unknown to those around us... on a level that embraces consciousness, awareness, acceptance, and true unconditional love.
Many thanks and hugs to everyone, family, friends, Aurovillians, etc., who have supported us through this period of vast development; physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
And so the journey begins...
NAMASTE.
More on Hampi...
An exquisite sunrise at Ecodaya
To start out with, I'll give you a little background on Hampi. It's located in the state of Karnataka, 200km north of the capital Bangalore. It is home to some of the oldest rock on earth, estimates at about 4billion years old. Yep... all the way back to the early days of Pangea! It is also the home of the Yamini Hills, also known as the playground of the gods and the oldest know human settlements.
More...
Hampi
Hampi is an indescribable place. It is a land of ancient knowledge and wisdom. It is one of the few places on the Earth where the landscape is untainted by mankind. We spent a total of ten days on retreat. In Hampi we were surrounded by nothing but the skeletal four billion year old rocks and ourselves. We spent the week going inward and asking ourselves deep questions while outwardly connecting with our community. Each night we slept out on the rocks and woke to the sunrise More...
Turning the page...
A close up look at one of the permaculture beds one of the students was working on.
The service learning portion of the semester is officially over. After talking to the other students, it seems that everyone has gained valuable information and a deeper understanding that they will carry back to the states after India.
More...
A peak into transformative education...
All fourteen of us spread out in different directions, focusing on different projects and learning different concepts to enrich our lives…. I can’t speak for any of the other students, but I know that this immersion portion of the course has suited me well. Although many of the students decided to do their service learning on a farm or at a school, for the past two weeks, I have been spending part of my time at a local cultural center in one of the surrounding villages, part time at an organic food processing unit, and part time working on inner personal discovery and transformation.
The Indian sunset from my room at Windarra.
More...
Internships coming to a close
we are on the last week of our three week long internship. It has been exciting as we come back together once a week to share everything that we are learning and how it is influencing the self. I am happy to report that everyone is doing well, staying healthy, and learning lots. This past Friday our dearl Laurel had her 19th birthday and we celebrated with good food and good company. Over the past several weeks we have seen so much of Auroville, these three weeks have allowed each individual to go deeper into what it means to work in Auroville and to get more aquanited with the Auroville lifestyle.
More...
A little trip to the big city!
What an incredible last two weeks we have had…
After arriving in Madurai after our 4 hour train ride, which was actually quite pleasant, we were picked up at around 1:30am by the ashrams bus and taken to settle in to our rooms. CESCI, or the Center for Experiencing Socio-Cultural Interaction is an ashram designed especially for activists to live and learn together. Its vision is based around Gandhi’s philosophies of non-violence and promotes social and cultural interaction between different groups of activists from around the world. During the five days we were there, we attended seminars on the women’s movement in southern India, environmental sustainability, globalization, theatre and non-violent social change, Gandhian philosophy, and yoga. We also visited a women’s temple and attended two seminars in nearby villages where we were met with open arms by different women’s groups working on collective savings programs.
Monkeys tearing apart a motorcycle in the pavillion of the women's temple.
Patrick wears the wrong type of dress and is forced to take it off before entering the Meenakshi Temple.
More...
Service Learning
Hey everybody. Lena is working on a huge blog from Madurai where we spent 9 days and had a blast. We are now on to our service learning projects. We have been in Auroville for 7 weeks now and have hit the half way mark... yay! Now that each of us has been aquainted with Auroville we have been blessed with the chance to go and live, learn, and love some place other than Verite. This is a unique opportunity to get into Auroville and work. Everyone is doing exciting and different things. More...
Tiruvannamali
We have been busy in Verite working or sorting out our three week service learning project before we are off agian on Wedensday to Madari. Last week we spent an amazing weekend in Tiruvannamali, the body of Shiva. In Tiru we had an opportunity to see a holy town at work. Tiru is at the base of Mt. Tiruvanammali, the mountain that is the body of Lord Shiva one of the most important Hindu gods.
We stayed at the Sri Sheshardi Swamigal ashram which was a pure experience in itself. In the short days that we were there we had many experiences. We were fortunate enough to be only a two minute walk away from the Ramanasham, Rama spent 30 years of his life in complete silence on the Shiva mountain in a cave. It was here that he contemplated one of the most important question in life “Who Am I?”
More...
Our night of traditional Tamil culture.
Last week we visited the Mohnam Cultural Center in one of the local villages nearby...
A traditional meal like this is usually served for lunch and consists of rice and sambar with two to four types of chutnies or other spicy side dishes served on a large slice of banana leaf.
More...
| NEXT page |
