My India Journey 2013 - by Katherine Austin

Katherine wrote this on Saturday, March 9th...

It's Saturday 3/9, the sun is setting and I'm on a train now to Amritsar, about halfway through my trip. Looking back over this past week, I am so filled with gratitude for being able to experience all that was presented.

India has and continues to be for me a beloved affair.  She challenges you, inspires you, and loves you more than one can imagine.  To be amongst such a different culture, different way of life, when I am in India, the experience asks me to let go and let God more than ever.  I grow more here than any other time or place.

Travel from the States was smooth and easy. Always meeting interesting and lovely people along the way.  Already Facebook friends with so many  new souls!  Love FB, so great for staying connected with new friends.

The yoga festival was a great time.   The classes were such a beautiful exchange of love and energy between so many students. Endless yoga, meditation and learning was enjoyed and shared by people from around the world.  So great to see many old friends, too!  The yoga world is a family.

The hotel was fabulous and I enjoyed deepening my friendship with the owners as we finalized the details for my 2014 retreat here. (Are you coming? Email me if you're interested!)

They are excited and ready for Karma Yoga to arrive.  The staff became sweet new friends of mine especially dear Aarchya Sri Maharishi, the owner's resident spiritual guru.

One of the many highlights was visiting the ashram where the Beatles came and learned to meditate with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the father of TM (transcendental meditation). The spiritual energy was so strong there.  Filled with history.

It was never renovated or opened to the public after closing in 1991.  With the right connections, you can get in, and we were lucky enough to have them. I felt chills from head to toe to be on this sacred land, amongst the buildings and stories.

It was so powerful, I had to go back a second time to meditate and chant with my travel mate Kelly Haskee.  Whoa, we couldn't believe the amplification of energy while being in one of the meditation domes.  How it must have been for those souls to be there and what a spiritual journey they were on.  Magical.

So we ended our week with a visit to a very famous cave that I've been told about.  It was something I'll never forget. It was impossible to imagine what that sage was like who lived in that cave and how he spent his life. Pitch black, deep silence and the massive grounding energy was powerful.  To meditate in that cave was such a gift.

Saying goodbye to Rishikesh and my Indian family was hard this morning.  This was my second time to this city and I've quickly developed a deep love for this area and the friendships.  We really are one.  To experience this on the other side of the planet continues to confirm this more than ever for me.