What is a Spiritual Journey? How to Start It?

 

What is a Spiritual Journey? How to Start It?

 Malar is a very talented, creative lady and she teaches classical dance. She is married to Dhiraj, a retired IT professional, who now teaches computer science at a University. They live in Dubai, but they have humble Indian origins. Their son, Nandakumar, was born and raised in Dubai. He is bright, promising and ambitious. He has just given his A levels (12th Std) and wants to relocate to the USA for his graduation.

 Malar and Dhiraj want him to study in India, and get exposed to his cultural roots; but Nandakumar is fearing that India’s pollution, population, and people will not be something he can adapt to.

 All three of them are at a crossword; in a conflicting situation.

 Dhiraj is worried about the cost of supporting Nandakumar in the USA, but at the same time doesn’t want to deny Nandakumar an opportunity of realizing the American dream.

 Malar wants to keep her family happy, at the same time keep it simple, and closer to her cultural roots.

 Nandakumar doesn’t realize that it is his fear that is stopping him from stepping out of his comfort zone; he is unable to comprehend that the American dream can be realized without soiling his parents’ wishes.

 Should Nandakumar study in India or America? Who will put their foot down and make the decision?

 Since life is about choices that we make, the choices that we make can either make us materially successful; or evolve us to rewrite our destiny. Although material success is important, in the long run, learning to evolve using spirituality is better as one can enjoy the best of two worlds. In learning to rewrite our destiny spiritually, we will better handle the complexities of reality: stress, failures and depression. And, in fulfilling our desires and ambitions with a spiritual approach, we will not only gain material success but also end up not hurting or losing a dear or near one.

 What is a spiritual journey? Why is it taken?

In the above example, the characteristics of Malar, Dhiraj, and Nandakumar are deliberated to denote the three components of the mind and their functionality. Malar is the

thinking-feeling aspect of the mind, Dhiraj is: the loyal-rational aspect of the intellect and Nandakumar is: the ego-sense that is constantly negotiating preferences and priorities. Each of these components is so powerful that they can take control of our personality completely and run our lives by themselves if we don’t learn to be mindful of their traps.

In order to be mindful, bring the various components of the mind to collaborate with one another, we need advanced knowledge and practices. Seeking this knowledge and practice is a spiritual journey.

 A spiritual tour is thus taken to learn how to yoke our inner world: the various components of the mind and then, use it to bring the nature of the body in harmony with Nature. Once our inner world is also developed and fed with the right knowledge, the right attitude for practicing the path of righteousness also falls in place.

 

What happens on spiritual Travel?

The idea behind spirituality is the practice of mindfulness. If yoking of the mind and body is practiced continuously and mindfully, then a churning will occur that will refine and usher a seeker into the next realm. For initiating a churning, targeted practice in a destination identified as a sacred ford (thirtha) is recommended; as Nature can alone correct or cleanse the karmic imprints. Also, mindfulness practices that involve seclusion in specific destinations, help in upgrading a sensory organ and its functions to regulate higher perceptions and dimensions.

 

How to start a spiritual tour?

Yoga is a spiritual tool that is best suitable to start a spiritual journey. Yoga is India's most ancient practice tradition. The wisdom text, Bhagavad Gita which discourses on the abstract: dharma contains 18 chapters named yoga; and the Yoga Sutra, is a classical treatise that deals with practical existential questions like how to deal with pain and sorrow.

 

Yoga is a mind and body science that does not require anyone to change their faith. In fact, its global reach and acceptance are because it accommodates even those who do not belong to any faith and do not believe in any God. Another reason for yoga’s fame is that it is a practice tradition that focuses on the wellness of body and mind. Its greatness is its universality, which will suit anyone, irrespective of ethnicity, gender, and physicality. The uniqueness of Yoga is the range of disciplines it offers to practitioners. And its distinctiveness is also that there is no one fit model, it's a spiritual journey that will suit any adventure seeker as they are taught to master the forces of Nature.

 

Also, while regular yoga practice is good for strength and flexibility, a yoga retreat at spiritual destinations will reduce the effects of karma.

 

Why you need Jvala for Spiritual Travel

Jvala’s yoga retreats are unusual as it combines slow travel and cultural tourism. Jvala’s travelers are hand-picked and belong to an intellectual class of people who are taught how to interpret the nuances in any culture so that they can choose to adapt to what's best suiting their geography and lifestyle. To achieve this, Jvala uses the concept of yatra, or pilgrimage to a destination to teach how to tune into their naturalistic intelligence to develop their ecological awareness. Hence the practice modules are designed specifically to suit the destination and not any individual. In this way, Jvala helps a spiritual practitioner to take back with them the destination.

Another unusual approach of Jvala is that it doesn’t preach, promote or prescribe to withhold or withdraw any pleasures related to the senses. The scholars of Jvala will merely facilitate an environment and break down the concept of freedom and liberation in relation to the 5 elements of Nature and one unseen aspect of Time. The idea is for helping practitioners to transfer their dependency on any orthodoxy, institution or human (as Guru) to elements of Nature and Time: the ultimate teachers qualified to teach wisdom truths.

 

Jvala’s curated spiritual destinations

Combining the varnāśrama dharmā of ancient Vedic culture and the ainthinai concept of ancient Tamizh culture, 5 ecosystems suitable for cleansing the pañca bhūta-s and refining their tanmatra-s have been chosen as a must-visit spiritual destination in India. Among the five, the first two levels in two less-explored spiritual destinations are listed below.

 

Chidambaram - coastal thinai

Touch Him!

Seek Him: who is higher than the gods! Hear Him: who is Sanskrit of the North and Southern Tamizh, and the four Vedas! Feel Him: who bathes in milk and ghee, Witness Him: who dances: holding the fire, in the wilderness of the burning ground; Please Him: who blessed the hunter-saint!

Savour Him: as honey welling up in your heart space!

At Chidambaram, yoga practitioners will learn the artistic interpretations of Śiva from classical traditional artists. The iconography of Śiva: its semantics, semiotics, and symbolism will be explored to better experience the element ākāśa in its sacred state.

 

Thiruvannamalai - mountain thinai

He, who destroys, for his devotees,

the bondage of past karma

as well as the fruit of future deeds;

He who lives in the shrine of Annamalai, on whose ancient rocky slopes

Echo the best of drums,

when the evening moon rests.

At Thiruvannamalai, spiritual seekers will learn to hear the drum of Śiva. To achieve this, the retreat will incorporate abstract healing chants with asana practice, and the sacred nature and element of focus, to be experienced, will be agni.

 

To sum up, spirituality is a discipline and an attitude that nurtures and fine-tunes one’s nature so that the right choices enrich life experiences, furthering us in our evolutionary journey.