PILGRIMAGE TO THE HEART OF SACRED INDIA | WITH PETROS & VISVAMBHAR

Travel Date: February 15 – 23 2020

A Pilgrimage to the Heart of sacred India
Goverdhan, Vrindavan | Indien

with Petros Haffenrichter & Visvambhar & Shreyaz

Bhakti | Kirtan | Satsang | Yoga

Govardhan, the hill most sacred to devotional practitioners.

We will practice Yoga and Satsang at Kusum Sarovar, day trip to Badrinath, Shiva Ratri in Kedarnath, day trip to various pilgrimage places like Barsana (Radha’s home), Nandagaon (Krsna’s home), and Jatipura.

Vrindavan, the town of 5000 temples at the center of the Sacred whorl of Vraj.

There will be time for shopping at the world renowned Loi Bazaar (famous for clothing, jewelry and various worship articles). We will visit and sing in various temples including Raman Reti, Bhelvan, Gokul, and the special opportunity to experience a boat ride on the Yamuna River.

The external places that we visit may be sacred hills, rivers and temples, while the internal journeys are inspired through personal practice and meeting with beings of great wisdom who recognize our internal mapping. These are locations where the divine is intuitively present and experienced. Every day, huge numbers of Yatris (pilgrims) visit these sacred places to have “Darshan” of their favourite gods or goddesses. Darshan derives from the Sanskrit verb ‘drs’: ‘to see’ or also ‘to be seen’. Not only do we seek to see the deity but also to be seen by the Divine. It brings us spiritual renewal.

The ancient ‘Puranas’ of India are large literal volumes containing stories of the makings of the universe as well as fascinating tales of innumerable gods and goddesses. The geography of the Puranas coincides with that of the entire Indian sub-continent. Countless places mentioned in these ancient texts are alive today and are important places of yatra.

PETROS SHARES

We will explore temples, visit ashrams and sit with saints, following in the footsteps of Lord Krishna. Vish and myself will guide along with local friends. We will immerse ourselves in stories of Radha and Krsna that are relived in these mystical places, personal insights and of course ongoing Kirtan. This will be a special celebration and unique experience, connectig to the roots of Bhakti Yoga.

“The word 'Yatra' means 'pilgrimage on multiple levels). 'Ya' can be understood as the movement of spreading outwards, to go on a journey. 'Tra' expresses a feeling of an internal recollection, or re-assembly.<br /> A Yatra is a pilgrimage to places outside and to places within that help us experience our path in a way that supports our holistic growth, insight and spiritual renewal.”

VISVAMBHAR SHARES

I am thrilled to be co-facilitating a retreat/pilgrimage to India. The special aspect of this retreat is that we will be spending 7 days exploring the Holy Land of Vraja, including Vrindavan and Govardhan, the playgrounds of Krishna and Radha.

I spent many years of my youth practicing Bhakti and learning from teachers in this sacred land. My father brought me on a one-month walking/ barefoot pilgrimage around Vraj (Vraja Mandala Parikrama) when I was 5 years old.
I feel honored to be able to share the sacred stories and moods of these places with the retreat participants.

We will dive deep into the essence of these mystical portals to the spiritual realm through discussion, singing and association with the saints that still walk amongst us in these holy lands. We also expect to have many bhakti teachers and musicians join us, as we ourselves also want the uplifting association.

ALL ABOUT YOUR HOTEL

Shri Radha Brij Vasundhara Resort & Spa

Brij Vasundhara is a scenic resort, peaceful commanding superb ambi at the foot of Govardhan Parvat. The resort comprises of luxuriously appointed cluster of detached cottages with 87 percent green landscaped areas. Rest is left for Visitors’ imagination.

The hidden treasure at the foot of legendary Goverdhan parvat is all about the experience where the divine blessings of Lord Krishna recreate the lap of nature. A landscape of expansive greens and every breath filled with fragrance of the petri chor surrounds the very being of soul and divine. The luxury unspoken and unheard spread over the acres of green, pampers you with delicious food, peaceful abodes, relaxing pool, splashes of water, chirping of birds and the dance of peacocks.
And that is not all pamper yourself with the steam, sauna and The exotic Anubhuti – Feel the Spa.

The Hotel is located 12 min from Mathura City in Uttar Pradesh. It features a well-equipped fitness center, an indoor pool, steam and sauna, free parking and free WiFi only in the public areas.

Shri Radha Brij Vasundhara Resort & Spa is 15 min from Mathura Railway Station.

Agra, where Taj Mahal is located, is 50 min away from the hotel.

Rooms each come with air-conditioning and heating and a flat-screen TV . Views of greenery are available from each room.

Billiards, outdoor chess, cycles and tennis facilities are offered in the hotel. Guests can enjoy a pampering spa at Anubhuti.

ALL ABOUT YOUR TEACHERS

Advanced Certified Jivamukti Teacher

Petros, musician, yogi, life-artist is senior jivamukti yoga teacher and globally one of the most renown teachers & musicians on the global yoga-train

Petro’s honest, funny and challenging teaching inspires to be fully aware in the present moment. So experience comes through intuition and not from a place of personal preference or dislikes.

Returning to that place, where, independently from outer circumstance there always is peace: the pure light of the heart. There are many obstacles, yoga gives us the possibility to free ourselves from. So our true nature remains no longer hidden. We really are free, wild, full of love and joy – without conditioning, without fear.

He has great gratitude for all teachers, known and unknown, he had the honor to study with and is grateful to all circumstance that gives the chance to experience this feeling of unity, of non-separateness. To learn to accept the greatest of all teachers: life & nature.

Visvambhar Sheth, starting at the age of 5, he has spent his life leading Kirtans in the ISKCON (Vaisnava) tradition.

He is a multi-instrumentalist, and a master of the Mridanga drum and performs in traditional as well as fusion styles. Vish started performing in the modern yoga studio culture 2009, and since then he has performed at countless studio gatherings and well known spiritual venues like BhaktiFest and Omega Institute.

Vish is the lead singer of the internationally acclaimed group ‘The Mayapuris’, a headlining Kirtan group that has rocked stages from India to Florida, Australia to South Africa. He also sings and plays percussion with ‚The Hanumen‘.

In addition to being a master percussionist, Vish also sings, and plays harmonium and bansuri flute. Vish is an in-demand sideman as well, and has toured with Kirtan pioneer Jai Uttal.

Vish has not only mastered his art but has a rare capacity to invoke the ‘rasa’ of the essence do the transcendental energies that define the Kirtan path.

TRAVEL COSTS

RATES PER PERSON

Price Includes:
All ground transportation in India, within the itinerary
Accommodation & two meals per day, usually breakfast and dinner and 1 meal on arrival and departure day.
All required tips and taxes
Professional local guides, and tour leaders
All hotels, Trips, Restaurants etc have been personally inspected by the Teachers.

Price does not include:
Flight to and from India; passport and visa fees; travel insurance; excess baggage charges; beverages; any transportation outside of group activities.

*Special note: if you book a shared accommodation but there is no one to share with you, you’ll need to pay the upgraded occupancy rate.

Payment: In order to reserve your space, please submit a down payment of 500€/$500. You will get all details from us after sending an inquiry via our Booking Button.
European Payments through bank transfers / Non-European Payments only through PayPal (creditcard on request)

Other Informations:

Passport: You will need a passport that is valid until 31st of August 2020. If yours expires before August 2020, you must renew it before you request your visa. If you need a new passport, or need to renew one, do so immediately

Visa: The easiest way to obtain a visa is to go to a near by Indian Embassy
Flights: You can fly on your own to Delhi. The airport designation is DEL. We will arrange your pick-up from the airport to the resort during the 15th of february!

Date:

January 1, 2019