Who may be interested in this kind of trip?
Someone who wishes to travel to India on a fully organised programme, staying at a home away from home and where every aspect of the journey will be taken care of personally by Dr Mukherjee. This is a true package spiritual holiday, which includes every aspect of the journey and from food to your luxurious own room, transport, laundry etc., all details are included in the price. You do not need even to carry any money while you are on this trip except if you wish to buy any personal articles etc. The typical trip will be for twelve days experiencing a very traditional Hindu way of life. You will get a feeling of the spiritual atmosphere and be given instructions in meditation and worship in an authentic Hindu Brahmin way. At the same time you will be able to tour some of the very ancient temples where real Tantrik worship / rituals takes place and feel the atmosphere of down to earth Indian rural life. The main focus of the programme will be revitalising and de-stressing with treatment based on Ayurvedic herbal remedies i.e. which will be applied to the body in massage form. Ayurvedic treatment can also be taken to cleanse the stomach and clear the system from all sorts of intoxication. In this case this will be in the form of a medicine taken during the whole period of stay in the early morning. The package will also include preliminary discussions on individual Astrological situations in both Western and Hindu systems to give a good basic understanding of this ancient knowledge. There will be daily massage to develop the body and mind. There will be daily spiritual meditation and Hindu Pujas / spiritual rituals. There will be plenty of opportunity for discussion and informal lectures on the Vedas / Hindu scriptures. Also at the same time it will be possible to explore the extremely busy and interesting metropolis of Calcutta and compare this with the rural quietness of the Indian countryside and villages. In order to experience the true atmosphere of India you will live in a very authenticated Indian way (not as a tourist) with proper Indian food and lifestyle and visits to places of real significance to understand the philosophy. Anybody who is interested in getting the mental opening this tour may give will enjoy this experience. One can be either young or old, single or married - there are no restrictions. It will not be a tourist tour and neither will it be a total retreat. In this way you will have both but in a balanced manner. At the end you will get the feel of India and some understanding of the arts and cultural side of India. When the trip is over you will have the choice to return to Calcutta and get the return flight back to London or we can organise a journey to Darjeeling and a chance to see Mount Everest. That will involve an overnight train journey by Darjeeling Mail from Santiniketan. This extra journey can also be supervised by us but the cost will be borne by who ever wishes to take this trip.
Introduction
India is a vast country and it is regarded as a sub-continent. It covers an area of 3.28 million sq. km.: 3220 km from north to south and 2980 km from the east to west. About 60% of the total land is fertile whereas this is only 10% in China and only 20% in America. Over 80% of the population is Hindu. There are references to 330 million Gods named in the Hindu [purana] Veda i.e. scriptures. Of these Gods and Goddesses, the Gods of Creation, Preservation and Destruction, respectively Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara are the chief trio. The Hindu way of life is distinct in its clothes, food, life style and language.
The trip will be to the eastern part of India, Bengal, and our journey will begin in Calcutta. Most of the time will be spent in Santiniketan, which is 200 km from Calcutta. Almost 100% of the land in Bengal is fertile and it has many rivers and of course the river Ganges flows through Bengal. Bengal is extremely rich and grows many varieties of vegetables and fish. There is no other land on earth that is so bountiful. It has great rivers, the sea and the greatest mountain range, the Himalayas are all part of this province.
Bengal is now known as West Bengal after the partition of India. A basic feeling of joy seems to run through the veins of Bengalis and permeate the atmosphere of Bengal. Bengal has produced all three Indian Nobel Laureates and it has also produced many great musicians and artists It is extremely rich in culture and more so than any other province in India. Many great artists from Tagore to Ravi Shanker are Bengali. Spiritually, also, Bengal has always shown the lead. Maharishi Aurobinda and Swami Vivekananda are both from Calcutta. Swami Vivekananda was the first Indian to take Hindu religious thought to the west over 125 years ago. He was a follower of Ramakrishna, who was a devotee of the goddess Kali and used to worship in Dhaksineswar, North Calcutta. Bengal is the centre of Tantra discipline and also Krishna consciousness.Sree Chaitanya was born here and many people believe Sree Chaitanya is the reincarnation of Krishna. In culture and ideas Bengal has always forged ahead.
Calcutta [Kolkata]
Calcutta, which is the 4th largest city in the world, is the capital of Bengal and was capital of India during the British Raj. More than 50% of the Calcutta population come from other states and even other countries. Many observers believe that Calcutta represents the whole world in its happiness and misery. The name Calcutta comes from the name of Kolikata and this is derived from the temple of the Goddess Kali in Kalighat in South Calcutta. The holy river Ganges crosses through the middle of Calcutta and reaches the sea Bay of Bengal, which is only 20 miles south of Calcutta.
Santiniketan
Santiniketan was built in 1861 as an Ashram by Nobel Laureate Rabindra Nath Tagore's father Mahrasi Dendra Nath Tagore.Rabindra Nath Tagore has had a huge influence on Indian culture and thought and made a vast contribution to poetry, literature, music, arts and also social ideas. Today Santiniketan is truly the cultural centre of India. If any one wants to know about India and its culture they need to come and spend some time in Santiniketan. Rabindra Nath Tagore started a Brahmacharyashram [ school of Hindu way of life] with 5 students in 1901. School classes were and are held under the blue sky away from brick built buildings and in the midst of nature. In 1922, Santiniketan became a University. Today it is the cultural centre of India and teaches all the languages and music, arts, dancing as well as science and classical subjects. It has a Chinese Learning Centre, which is one of largest in the Asia and also a large collection of ancient Buddhists and Jain documents. The Art and Music school is one of the very best in the South East Asia. Einstein, Bertrand Russell and the Nobel laureate Yeats visited Santiniketan and spent time here. People from all over the world come here to study philosophy and the arts and the Vedas and Sanskrit. One will find students from every continent in the world. So the University was named by Tagore is Viswabharati University, which means the University of the World. All the world leaders who visit Calcutta visit Santiniketan as well.
Tour
A typical twelve day trip to India will begin by arriving in Calcutta and we will spend the first day in Calcutta while the rest will be in Santiniketan. Calcutta will give us the flavour of noise and bustle of India, the history and the human side of life and of course the religious part of the India. Calcutta will also help us to be more tolerant and acceptant of life and humanity as a whole. In many people's eyes, Calcutta not only represents India but also the world as a whole. Our first visit will be to the Goddess Kali Temple in Kalighat in South Calcutta on the day of arrival and our journey will end on the twelveth day evening i.e. the day before of departure by visiting the Goddess Kali Temple in Daksineswar in North of Calcutta where the great Ramakrshina used to worship. It is believed that he used to talk to the Goddess and the Goddess Kali showed herself to him. Swami Vivekananda was a devotee of Ramakrishna.
Santiniketan will be the time to search ourselves and understand our inner feelings and the inner soul and try to purify the soul through worship and mediation. There will be visits to the very oldest temples and the real heartland of our Hindu culture. Generally there will be freedom in the mind, we will not try to bind ourselves to the rush but we will try to discipline the mind. This is a break for your mental spiritual awakening and to purify yourself and to have rituals to clean your self from the evil spirit. Santiniketan is in the district of Birbhum which is in West Bengal. The Birbhum district is regarded as the most spiritual part of India. The greatest Tantrik Sadhana came from here and the great number of Sadhakas have achieved their sadhana goal here in Birbhum than in any other part of India. It is believed that the air of Birbhum has some thing special and we hope you will be able to find that and feel that yourself in Santiniketan. India has produced two great Nobel Laureates from Santiniketan. The third one came from Calcutta. There is peace here and it is believed that by simply staying calm you can get the feeling of internal joy. The whole purpose will be to develop and feel that internal peace. In fact the atmosphere is such in this place that just being there you will feel good and may not wish to do anything else but to stay there and feel the air, the calmness and the peace. The main objective will be to help you to feel that inner calmness.
Further Details about a typical twelve day trip
How many people will there be at a time in the retreat?
The total number of people will be very small and will not consist of more than four people. They can be of any age, religious background and nationality.
Dr Mukherjee will be personally guiding the team throughout their stay in India and he has set the whole programme. He will personally lead the meditations, Pujas, astrology, yoga and lectures. He will be all the time with you and you will be treated as guests of Dr Mukherjee. It will be a home from home and you will feel totally at home there and nothing will be artificial or formal. You will never feel strange and that will be the most important part of the trip. In fact you will be sharing with Dr Mukherjee and will be able to feel home.
Accommodation
The accommodation will be in a private Ashram type house of magnificent architectural design and a beautiful garden. There are almost five hundred rose plants in the garden and also almost every other plant and bush which is available in India. The house has a very large hall, dining room, kitchen and worship room. There are five large double bedrooms and attached bathrooms. The guests will have double bedrooms and large bathrooms with shower and 24 hours hot water supply. This house is in very good order and truly has the feeling of an Ashram with cleanliness and purity. The atmosphere will be very much as though you are in your own house and there will be total freedom about the place. There will be 24-hour attendants and there will be many highly skilled staff to look after the guests. As regard to the security, Santiniketan is one of the safest places with no antisocial problems of any kind. In fact Calcutta too enjoys one of the lowest crime rate in the world where teenage crime is unheard of. However the house has security staff and the night guard. There will be telephones and faxes and also Internet facility.
When is the best time for the retreat i.e. Travelling?
The best time for travelling will be during the January to March and then also during the September to November. Normally departure from London on the Saturdays or Thursdays afternoon at 3.30pm and will be by non-stop British Airways flights (flying time about 9 hours) and arrival at Calcutta on the following morning at about 6am. The departure from Calcutta will be at 8am on a Sundays or Fridays morning and arrival in London will be 2pm on the same day.
Food
Bengali cooking is regarded as the finest Indian cuisine. Bengal produces more varieties of Vegetables than anywhere else in India and in fact anywhere in the world as the mineral rich waters of the Ganges and the Himalayas enrich the soil. The food will be all very fresh and purely organic. Vegetables are all picked on the same day and the fish and meat will also be fresh that day. The food will be cooked according to individual choice and there will be plenty of fresh fruits, fruit juice, fresh yoghurt and fresh milk straight from the cow. There will be continental and also Indian cooking. The menus will be dictated by your needs and wishes at whatever time and however much you wish. Bengal is also famous for it delicious sweet dishes and that will be provided to you every day. The water will be pure and will be pumped from 500 feet below the ground.
An outline of the programme for the twelve days
Generally every morning in Santiniketan will begin with morning prayer and worship and then there will be breakfast followed by a trip to places and also a variety of discussions, relaxations and meditation. On some days there will be fasting and inner cleansing. In the evening there will be evening prayer, worship and meditation as well as talks and discussion. We will also have local music evenings. There will also be much time to relax yourself and to enjoy the most beautiful fragrance of the air and share the atmosphere which is just the same as the great poet first found this place. The following programme is just an outline of a typical trip but it will be entirely your wish to do whatever you like to do and there will be many choices. From our experience in the past, people who have taken this trip have mainly liked to stay in the ashram and to relax and to clear the mental state as well as enjoy the garden and surroundings and delicious food.
Day 1: Calcutta
Arriving in Calcutta by British Airways at about 6am and received by Dr Mukherjee's representative. Check in at a hotel or the famous Tollygunge club which was started during the British Raj and is still run in the same way. The Tollygunge club is also famous for it's golf course and it is the second oldest golf club in the world. Many British celebrities have spent time here in this club. Dr Mukherjee will meet the guests after break fast. Trip to Kali Temple, visits to places of historical and cultural interest as well as the ghetto and slums of Calcutta.
Day2: Calcutta to Santiniketan
Morning trip around Calcutta. Lunch in a central Calcutta restaurant and then travelling to Santiniketan by car which may take about 4 hours. Arrive in Santiniketan in the late afternoon/early evening. The evening will be spent discussing how the week will be spent, relaxing and acclimatising ourselves.
Day 3: Santiniketan
Body detoxification and you may wish to just relax and enjoy the calmness of the place and have break fast of your own choice. You can join in the morning prayer and then visit the University Ashram and also the museum, art school and China house etc. In the evening you will have body massage and relaxations and also prayers and can have music etc.
Day 4: Santiniketan
Free day at Santiniketan, to relax and enjoy the atmosphere and to gain knowledge about spiritual matters, pujas and astrological ideas through discussions with Dr Mukherjee. Ask anything you wish to do and feel free. Body detoxification and massage etc will continue.
Day 5: Trip to Phullara Temple and Uddharaynpur Ghat (cremation ground) in the bank of river Ganges.
Trip starts after a heavy break fast and we will take a packed lunch. See one of the very beautiful sites of the River Ganges and burning ghat [ Hindu crematorium ]. On the way back, see the Phullora Temple which has been rebuilt recently. There is no idol inside the temple but a large tortoise shape stone, which is worshiped as the Goddess Durga. According to the local belief, Rama [in the oldest Hindu scripture Ramayana] when he worshiped Goddess Durga thousands of years ago required 108 blue lotuses and his devotee Hanuman [Monkey ] looked for the lotuses and found the lotuses here.
One can also visit place called Bele, which is about 5km from here. This place Bele, is renowned for a Dharamraj Temple. People come from far off, especially with arthritis problems to bathe in the pond adjoining the temple and then apply massage oil having divine curative power.
Day 6: Santiniketan
Daily worship, yoga meditation and music afternoon / or evening and then the prayer.
Day 7: Trip to Bakreswar Dham temple, Dubrajpur Hill Temple, Joydeva temple.
These are very old temples and were named in the Mahabharta and Ramayana [ the oldest Hindu scriptures]. Bakreswar Temple is devoted to Lord Shiva and has several hot water springs. Leave in the morning and participate in rituals / pujas in the temples at Bakreswar/ Dubhrajpur/ Hetampur [ Shiva Temple, Hot water spring and Kali temple]. The day will include local sight seeing and visiting a typical Bengali village.
Day 8: Trip to Murshidabad and the Palace of Hazarduari (the round trip will be about 380km and it is whole day trip about 12 hours).
Trip starts after a breakfast by 7am and we will take a packed lunch. This is the district where the British Raj first began and where Lord Clive started the East India Company folowing the defeat and murder of the young 18 year old Nawab (King). We will visit the place where Lord Clive himself stayed. We will visit the Palace of Hazarduari, which means 'the palace which has 1000 doors'. This is a spectacular building constructed in 1829, and was built in the Italian style of architecture by the the British architect Sir Duncan McLied, for the then puppet King. It has a huge chandelier of 161 candles presented by Queen Victoria. The whole place is on the bank of river Ganges. This is the one of the most important historical places especially for the British Raj and this will give some insight into the history of India and the interaction of the British Raj. This trip will be extremely interesting and we will also be driving through a most beautiful part of rural India.
Day 9: Santiniketan
Relax with meditation, lectures and purification. There will be a habhisanaya meal after fasting all day [The habhisanaya meal will contain special boiled rice with boiled potato, split peas, green banana and plenty of butter, milk, banana and sugar].This will give the inner strength and clear the soul. There will be more meditation, yoga and astrology.
Day 10: Santiniketan and big Puja / worship of the Goddess Jagadhatri.
Every one will be involved in organising and helping the Puja and there will be fasting until the Puja offering is made and the blessing has been obtained. There will be special cooking and it will be offered in a spiritually appropriate way. After the finish of the Puja, every one will have the blessed food which was offered to the Gods and Goddesses during the Puja.
Day 11: Free day at Santiniketan and analysis
Morning meditation, Puja and a summing up of the astrology and yoga lessons. Relaxation, discussions and sight seeing.
Day 12: Return to Calcutta.
A free morning to do what one wants and there will be general discussions as well as final talks on meditation, yoga and astrology. After an early lunch, travel back to Calcutta by car and on the way see the Goddess Kali temple in Dakhsineswar, North of Calcutta and then check in at the Airport Hotel for the night.
Day 13: Morning flight back to London.
Leave for the airport at about 6am to take the British Airways flight back to London.
Price
The price includes everything except for the air ticket to India (this varies by season). The price includes all the travelling while you are in India during this trip and all the food and accommodation during the ten /twelve day trip. There will be no other costs involved except any personal expenditure. There are no hidden extras. Body massage and the Ayurvedic detoxication programme, musical entertainment etc are all included in the price. It should not be necessary to spend any money during the twelve days on food, travelling or accommodation and even the laundry will be included in the price. The price per person starts from £500 + air ticket fare.
The above price and programme is just a typical example for a group journey to India. However one can have an exclusively tailor made retreat to fit your own particular needs. This can be organised for you and the trip can be for any time period from 5 days to 30 days. You can be definitely assured that this will be a really memorable trip which you will thoroughly enjoy and which will give you both the inner and external joy and an understanding of the reality of life in all its aspects. This trip will be totally conducted and guided by Dr Mukherjee. He will be available at all times to give you the support and guidance throughout the visit.
For further details please talk to Dr Mukherjee and he will give you more details of the trip. He can also design modifications according your own special interests.