To celebrate the completion of our sacred tour to Southern India, we wanted to remind everyone why Southern India is the perfect place to go if you’re embarking on a spiritual journey. It has stunning landscapes, vibrant cultures, ancient temples, and amazing people, all of which create the perfect atmosphere for inner and outer exploration.
Even the land is sacred here. This particular area of the world is known for having given birth to many saints and sages, all of whom have impregnated the country with their sacredness.
And while you could jump on a plane and head to India on your own spiritual pilgrimage, a tour is often a better option, especially for the first time visitor to India.
Here are 7 great reasons to take a spiritual tour of South India.
1. You Can Focus On Your Spiritual Journey
Getting around in India, especially for the first time traveller, can be challenging and confronting. While some people love the adventure of navigating in an unknown land, other’s find it extremely stressful.
If you are going to India to experience the rich spirituality, culture, and history, you don’t need to be worrying about the details of where to go, and how to get there.
A reputable tour company has trusted vendors, so you won’t have to question where you are staying, what you are eating, what attractions to see, and how you’ll get there.
2. Your Journey Of India Is Guided
A guide brings your trip alive with their intimate knowledge of the sites and areas you’ll visit.
There is no guide to Southern India like Andrew Harvey.
At Sacred Earth Journeys, we are honored to be working with Andrew for this wonderful journey and are continuously amazed at his wonderful teachings and passion about India.
Born in South India and educated at Oxford, Andrew began his own spiritual journey in the late 1970s. He knows the ins and outs of this sacred land like the palm of his hands and has studied with a number of Indian saints and sages over the past four decades.
Andrew is an award-winning author, activist, and documentarian. This is will be his third, “Shiva Dancing” group tour to South India, and as always, he’ll use his years of training and knowledge of the land to take pilgrims on a journey in the footsteps of great mystics like Ramana Maharshi, Sri Aurobindo, and Father Bede Griffiths.
Throughout the journey through Southern India, Andrew will not only share his knowledge of the land, he’ll also be bringing you the teachings and initiations needed for your own internal transformation, giving you the tools to spread the revolution of the divine human across the world.
3. Dive deeply into the mystical world of Indian Saivism
To this day, Saivism remains one of India’s best kept sacred secrets.
This mystical branch of Hinduism has very rarely been studied in the Western world, which is why travelling with Andrew is truly unique. His 40-year journey into Hindu mysticism gives him the knowledge and experience needed to guide pilgrims through an unbelievable experience of self-discovery that draws its lessons from the astounding vision of God the dancer.
By going on this incredible pilgrimage with Andrew, you’ll be able to learn about the teachings and spirituality of Shiva, dive deeply into the evolutionary vision of Sri Aurobindo, and explore the expansive universal vision of Christ consciousness that Father Bede Griffiths, the greatest Christian mystic of the 20th century, gave to the world.
It is truly unique and transformational.
4. You’ll see the majestic Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram through new eyes
Mahabalipuram, the first stop on this incredible journey, is famous for its Shore Temple. It was also the second capital and a bustling seaport during the time of the Pallava Kings of Kanchipuram. Ravaged by wind and sea, the temple complex, built in 700-728AD by the Pallava Dynasty, retains its alluring beauty and is a must-see site for pilgrims and travellers.
Complete with intricate rock carvings and monuments such as the Descent of the Ganges and the Arjuna’s Penance relief, depicting animals, deities, and other semi-divine creatures, Mahabalipuram is one of those places that conserve a deep kind of sacredness, which will be tapped into thanks to Andrew’s knowledge and experience.
5. Have we mentioned Indian food yet?
We could spend hours talking about the amazing tastes of Southern India.
Some of the foods you’ll experience in South India include:
- Dosas – a thin crispy crepe made of fermented rice and lentil offered with a variety of fillings (try the masala dosa) and served with sambar (soup) and coconut chutney.
- Biryani – rice, meat, veggies, and spices.
- Appams and ishtu – thin crepes made of fermented rice flour and coconut milk served with an Indian stew.
The meals you’ll have with a tour will be at restaurants that we know are good. The best part, of course, will be the stimulating conversation, which is often the highlight of these tours.
6. You’ll experience the once-in-a-lifetime night walk in Arunachala
Seekers come to Arunachala with the intention of realizing the Self.
Arunachala is the place where Sri Ramana Maharshi lived his life in the twentieth century. It is alive with the presence of Shiva and is one of the most sacred places you’ll get to experience.
7. You’ll find inner peace at the Shantivanam Ashram
Father Bede first stayed at the Ashram in the late 50s and took over stewardship in 1968. Under his leadership, Shantivanam became an internationally known centre of dialogue and renewal. The aim of Shantivanam has always been to bring the riches of Indian spirituality into Christian life, to share in that profound experience of God that originated in the Vedas, was developed in the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita, and has come down to us today through a continual succession of sages and holy men and women.
Accommodation at the ashram is humble and basic: pilgrims sit on the floor and eat vegetarian meals with their hands. This brings a change of pace that fosters reflection and spiritual connection.
Our Call To Join Andrew Harvey’s upcoming Sacred Journey to Southern India!
Join us on a magical journey in the footsteps of the great mystics Ramana Maharshi, Sri Aurobindo and Father Bede Griffiths, whose lives were dedicated to and paved the way for the birth of the divine human. Our leader, Andrew Harvey, is celebrated for his continuation of this work through his books, documentaries, and seminars and, of course, most potently, through pilgrimages like this one. Andrew will share with you teachings and initiations for your own internal transformation and to spread the revolution of the divine human across the world.