Travel has always brought in change in you. Transformative holidays go beyond the traditional idea of a vacation or leisure trip. The modern world that we see today has become very complex and to cope up with that we have stretched ourselves too hard. Transformative travel brings personal growth, self-discovery, and positive changes in the lives of the travelers. Instead of just focusing on relaxation and enjoyment, they holidays create opportunities for learning, reflection, and personal development. Ayurveda rejuvenation could be considered as an example of transformative as it urges you to take up a new healthy lifestyle. I traveled from Kochi to Tiruvannamalai to learn and experience Vipassana, a transformation for the mind.
Vipassana is technique of meditation, found in the ancient Indian text of Rig Veda, which was lost somewhere in history. It was Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha who rediscovered it and became enlightened after a forty nine days deep meditation. Over the course of time as we travel down 25 centuries, again we lost Vipassana in its true form. But then something happens.
One of the most well-known contemporary proponents of Vipassana meditation is S.N. Goenka, who popularized the practice through his teachings and meditation centers. Mr. Goenka was a businessman in Burma with Indian origins. He learned Vipaasana from his teacher Sayagyi U Ba Khin. In one of his talks he mentions that it was only in Burma that Vipassana was still practiced and taught in its very true form. Vipassana has gained recognition beyond its Buddhist origins and is practiced by people from various religious and secular backgrounds as a means of developing mindfulness, self-awareness, and personal transformation.
The sole goal of Vipassana experience is to overcome misery and observe an wholesome life, whch is achieved through meditation. To introduce yourself to Vipassana, you have to become a monk for 10 days, and keep up five Silas - No killing, only vegetarian food, no sex, no alcohol, no lies. You have to maintain a mode of silence for ten days, learn and undergo rigorous meditation from morning to evening. It is a free program where you can join by applying for the course, at the end of the course you can make a donation if you life, a donation for another student to undergo the program in the coming batch of students. By the end of the course you learn the technique and rest is in your hands as you need to practice Vipassana in your life to get the complete benefit.
Dhamma Arunachala is a larger center with a lot of trees around, nice pathways with canopies both side, an eco friendly living environment, with construction technique to reduce the intense heat of Tamil Nadu plains. They recycle water, use no plastics, and follows a zero waste process. I would say, I would go to Dhamma Arunachala again, the vibe of the place is amazing, truly a place aligned to the Vipassana experience . The Tamil vegetarian food is amazing, through it is little as part of the course, one would relish every bit of those rice grains. Sharing with you more photos of the place, if you are considering to undergo a Vipassana course, Dhamma Arunachala should be one among the top list, irrespective from where you are applying. Travel there, it is worth taking the effort.
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