PARMARTH Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh, is one of India’s largest ashrams, nestled between the lush, pristine Himalayan forests and the banks of the divine Mother Ganga. On the opposite bank of the Ganga lies the outer edge of Rishikesh, the city and land known as the birth place of yoga. Rishikesh is a holy and sacred land whose rich spiritual energy remains imbued from the presence and penances of sages, rishis, saints and pilgrims over the millennia. Rishikesh is abundant with temples, ashrams and busy narrow lanes packed with locals and tourists alike, all jostling between the many roaming cows. From Tripadvisor to Lonely Planet guides, Rishikesh has been advertised and listed as the capital of yoga throughout the world.
Rishikesh – the yoga destination
Although Indians have always known of Rishikesh as a spiritual destination in itself, or a stopping point on a Himalayan yatra, it was relatively unknown outside India until the 1960’s when the Beatles put it firmly on the world stage when they stayed at the Maharishi’s Ashram to explore and deepen their spirituality. Since then, westerners have come to both Rishikesh and Parmarth Niketan, seeing it as a natural destination for spirituality and alternative tourism.
The Ashram offers a range of yoga courses throughout the year for people of different abilities, but there is always daily yoga, meditation and the divine Ganga aarti. Each evening, hundreds of people from the Ashram and beyond, gather together on the banks of the river and, as the sun sets, give thanks to the divine and the Ganga. Together, they light lamps, join in prayer and satsang to end the day in unity and gratitude. The Ganga aarti has become an integral part of the Ashram experience and attracts visitors and dignitaries from around the world.
However, the flow of visitors has grown rapidly in the last few decades and the Ashram now welcomes thousands of pilgrims and visitors from all over the world throughout the year. There are dedicated western visitors, NRIs and Indians who come to participate in voluntary work or attend intensive yoga courses, but many visitors come to just spend time in the Ashram. The motivation for coming to Parmarth lies in the sheer simplicity of ashram life, where days can be spent in contemplation, having Pujya Swamiji’s darshan, as well as bathing in the holy waters of Mother Ganga. Visitors come from many different faith backgrounds; they do not all necessarily want to learn about Hinduism, but they wish to have the space to recharge their batteries in the rich spiritual vibrational energy that surrounds them.
Within this incessant flow of visitors from all races, creeds, castes, religions, wealth and professions, one event has caught the imagination of thousands of people around the world: The International Yoga Festival, held every year at Parmarth Niketan from March 1-7, which has grown to become one of the biggest internationally recognised yoga festivals in the world.
The festival, which is jointly organised by Parmarth Niketan and the Uttarakhand Tourism Board, is now in its 17th year, and offers its truly international audience the opportunity to experience a blend of learning from the most learned traditional Indian masters as well as world class international western masters from established yoga schools and styles. Over 1000 people from over sixty countries come together to participate in over 60 hours of yoga, meditation, satsang, discourses and seva, whilst practicing the multiple styles of yoga including Kundalini Yoga, Power Vinyasa Yoga, Iyengar Yoga and Kriya Yoga.
Why yoga?
Western travellers to India are increasingly coming specifically to learn yoga or are incorporating yoga as part of their vacation. There could be many reasons attributable to this trend, but in truth they are being driven by an innate feeling that there is something more to life. In the western world, and increasingly in the east, the concept of materialism and consumerism has become embedded in the culture and politics of daily life. For many though, this experience of material wealth has not provided them with the fulfilment, peace and the deep meaningful connections they desire.
A spiritual haven?
The Parmarth Ashram, which is a thriving, living, working embodiment of its name – “for the welfare of all” is led by its spiritual head His Highness Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswati, one of India’s most revered saints. Pujya Swamiji has dedicated His life to be in the service of God and Humanity and, under His guidance and leadership, the Ashram has become a living expression of deep universal spiritual values and is now one of the best known ashrams in the world. Despite its size and status, the Ashram has a small dedicated team working from small, simple offices who run innumerable environmental, humanitarian and vocational projects to help those in the greatest need, the most recent being a huge disaster relief project to bring shelter and water to the Nepalese people after the tragic earthquakes. Alongside work with the United Nations and a global campaign to clean up the Ganga, the Ashram serves over a hundred schools in remote and rural areas as well as running a Gurukul onsite to provide food and shelter for orphaned and impoverished boys. These young boys are given a home as well as full education and scholarly training in ancient Vedic texts. All the services and projects of the Ashram are supported by many visiting volunteers attracted by the opportunity to be in service. –Rena Pathak
Actually, the western paradigm has been far from fulfilling and in the United States, the top ten medications that are prescribed by doctors are now for depression, anxiety and sleep disorder. These medications are taken just to get people through a day and they sadly reflect a culture that has created a nation full of people with dis-ease – a lack of ease in their body, mind and spirit. His Highness Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswati (see box above) is very aware of this phenomenon and gives a beautiful observation that in the West, people have shelves that are full. These shelves are full of material objects and symbols of wealth and yet their ‘Self’ remains empty. But now interestingly in the West, there is a deeply rooted growing awareness that there actually is more to life than material gain, and in order to fulfil their ‘Self’, thousands are turning to the truth of yoga.
The degree to which this ‘touch’ of truth is received will vary in each person. But throughout the history of the yoga festival, the continuous theme has been to experience the joy, and sometimes pain, in taking a personal journey and realising that yoga is not just the union of nose to knees, of fingers to toes, but the union of our body, mind and spirit. This union leads to the union of our ‘Self’ with the divine. That connection is the key to everything that ails us, everything that is the source of our dis-ease in our hearts, emotions and bodies.
In the West and now increasingly in the East, that inner connection between our ‘Self’ and the divine has been broken and the spirit’s call for connection is responded to and, ultimately, healed through yoga. People come back to the yoga festival year after year; they bring their friends and family and so the festival grows. Yes, it’s wonderful to have the friendship, food, schedule, new experiences and joy of being at the ashram on the banks of Mother Ganga. In reality, people continue to come because, through the grace of Pujya Swamiji and the divine, their ‘Self’ is given an opportunity to become full. When the ‘Self’ is full, it comes to the realisation that a righteous life – a life of honesty, integrity, non-violence and purity – replaces their dis-ease, the dis-ease which no amount of full shelves can eradicate.