traveladvice

India Travel Advice

for the

Veda Mandala & Yatra Ayurveda

by Prashanti as of 2023

This is Key:

Happy Calm Kind Certain

Centered Empowered Respectful

Inquisitive Sattvic Attitude-Presence

{:} SOME KEY ITEMS

•VISA VISA VISA, get your Indian Visa!

•Makes sure your passport has ample time

•Change some money at airport, at least $200.

•Drink only bottled water.

•Bring earplugs: Deep sleep is Key!

•Bring good sunglasses!

•Don’t eat uncooked food.

•Bring a high quality lavender oil.

•Bring Gaia oregano capsules.

•Bring Nigella capsules.

•Get OptiOil from Prashanti asap!

•Bring ample but minimal clothing...

•Bring positive happy attitude of a victor

- Remember that you can only spend 180 days in India per year now

{:} ATTITUDE

•By far by far the best thing to bring to India on this journey is a:

•Happy Calm Kind Certain Centered Empowered Respectful Inquisitive Sattvic Attitude coupled with a proactive initiative to be a kind and clever support to optimize any situation you are in!

•You have this and all else will come to you

•My Guru often told me such a great Kabir poem to this end, in which Kabir showed how the devatas will run after and try their best to give gifts to the one who has this attitude, who is this attitude

{:} SADHANA

•We will be in some potent places that will naturally amplify Sadhana

•I would recommend that you come prepared to accomplish Sadhana on this journey, especially if that Sadhana is to simply BE!

•If you wish I could help you create protocols for a Japa Sadhana, Mantra Sadhana, Aushadhi Sadhana, Trataka Sadhana, Advaita Sadhana, Chalisa Sadhana, and so many other types of sadhana.

•I just want you to make the most of the depths of Shakti that you will be immersed in, both at Dunagiri and in Ganga Ma, two of the greatest places in all of India for connecting with the Divine Feminine (In many ways, Dunagiri Mountain is the esoteric manifestation of Durga Ma)

{:} BASICS

• Flipflops & Shorts/Lungi & Credit Card & Toothbrush (FFS)

• I am not being flippant nor audacious here. The first time I went to the Himalayas in 1987 I planned for a year, had all the uber-high tech gear, spent oodles of cash, and then had my gear carried by porters in flipflops and lungis (FFS = FlipFlopShorts). I woke up.

• Recently my Son and I spent a few hard-core weeks in the High Himalayas, and again, I spent so much money getting gear for him, and he spent almost the whole time in beach shoes and shorts and a T-shirt, he did the FFS version, even at and above the tree line. True, it was monsoon, and the paths were mainly rivulets, but still.

• My friends who live in the Himalya do the same, they live in FFS-land. I actually have one friend who travels India and he makes a special point to do ‘credit-card-tooth-brush’ travelling only. The point is:

• ‘yes the Himalyas are remote and exotic,

and please don’t worry, don’t over-think, simple is good,

“trust Allah and tie your camel!’

•

Truly people, I mean it, take what you need and know this is not an expedition. Truth is, one of these days I will take some of you to some epic Himalyan heights where the beauty is only matched by the danger. But even at that, my partner in Dunagiri Foundation, Vajra Ashara, spent years in these places barefoot and in simple sadhu robes with a simple woven reed basket on his back as a backpack, and that includes all the sharp rocks, ice and snow and insta-storms out of nowhere. This is not that trip.

{:} MONEY

•Cash: Even if I have to carry a thick wad when buying murtis or supporting farmers I tend to use Cash because it is clear, I stay within budgets, it is much more secure, and credit cards don’t always work.

•Credit cards: Can be used in the big cities but not elsewhere. Almost all retail is micro-mom-n-pop! Definitely tell your bank you will use the card, and know that about 30% of the time that I did tell my bank they still shut the card down. I had a friend who was pregnant and told her bank and they stopped her card and she could not even get a hotel room! Yikes!

•Exchange Rate: is nearly 70 Rups for a dollar which is crazy good for many people. I remember when it was 15!

{:} DOCUMENTATION

•Notebooks

•Pens, pencils

•Canvas, brushes, paints

•Carving tools if you want to document in wood

•Cameras/Video

•Sound Recording equipment (recording the early morning sounds in some of these places can be majestic)

•Just don’t get lost in the documentation, best to make sure your heart is filled first, and then document that

•As far as documenting the classes you are welcome to for your own education

•I plan on documenting the classes and making a ‘product’ from them, and that is not always so easy, so you can assist in this if you wish.

{:} CAMERA

•The Himalayas tend to be incredibly photogenic

•Bring whatever camera you want but If you bring a DSLR I recommend bringing filters as well

•Speaking of filters, sunglasses are actually important in many ways!

{:} LIGHT

•Often when it is dark it is dark, so bring:

•Candles of high quality fuel like beeswax

•Tall candles and votive candles

•Flashlight/torch for walking with spare batteries of course

•Matches/lighters

•You will not likely need a bigger light than that

•A side benefit of having beeswax candles is that then you can always shave them up to make face cream and lotion emulsifiers

•My favorite is the Black Diamond ReVolt headlamp that has a USB recharger!

{:} FOOD

•We will supply all the basic food, of course

•If you have special needs/desires let us know, and/or bring what suits you

•Food to share, like I will likely bring a bunch of sushi nori so that one evening I can make some Himalayan Sushi for you all. In the same way, feel free to surprise your community, like a nice Miso, Honey, White Tea, Chocolate, True Ghee, etc

{:} SNACKS

•Your snack of choice may be the local samosa

•And you might want to bring a few snacks that speak to you, especially if you are a Pitta

{:} SWEETENERS

•I often carry my own sweeteners as white sugar is the staple in India.

•We will try to sort out responsible sweeteners… and to each their own, not everybody may like honey and gur!

{:} CLOTHING

Basically, bring lots of warm layers, preferably wool & silk

•Shawl Weather: Ask anybody who spends time in India and you will know ‘Shawl Weather’ is the perfect time to be in India. ‘Shawl Weather,’ almost a secret code, refers to days that are warm and sunny and comfy, and nights where you have to wear your favorite shawl in the evenings and early mornings.

•Wool Underwear: Now I am a big fan about not spending too much money prepping to come to the mountains but getting some expensive Merino wool underwear and thin layers is one exception! Also wool socks! Wool wool Wool is where it is at!

•Making/Buying Clothes: usually I tell people to bring as few clothes as possible as you can buy clothes very cheaply at the Gandhi Ashram and also have them made. Also, International brands make clothes in India and sometimes you can get the real thing for 10 cents on the dollar. One time I went to India I brought just one change of clothes, a lungi, a toothbrush, some essential oils, and some money. That was it, all in a tiny bag. You need very little. Some people opt for more, much more. What I typically do is bring some clothes that I really like and then buy gorgeous handspun cotton and silk fabric there and have the clothes duplicated by a local tailor. But we will not be around tailors this trip.

•Layers: layers are a great way to go, with a relatively thin water resistant windproof outer layer. I also am a wool and silk person. I am a total believer in thin merino wool socks for the Himalayas, but know the locals are in flipflops.

•Arms not Legs: In India it is respectful for a woman to show her arms but not her legs. Since 1993 when M-TV came to India, the clothing began to get more risqué in the cities, but we will be remote and I am old-skool respectful to the old-skool ways. So I recommend no short shorts.

•Lungi & Shawl: We like simple.

{:} FOOTWEAR

My last few months in the Mountains my epic SoleRunner boots finally died and I wore $17 ultra-light ‘water-shoes’ the whole time! They were great!

•Personally, I will hike every day, looking for herbs, and visiting sacred spots

•As a ex-bricklayer, ex-hunter and ex-Marine, my preference in the past has been a simple old-skool black leather boot with a thin merino sock, and now I am more of a ‘Barefoot’ leather boot, like Sole Runners or VivoBarefoot!

•I like the protection and the grounding and the ankle support.

•Bring very lightweight footwear! Strong, sturdy but lightweight! Makes a huge difference as we climb the mountains!

•Your choice

{:} ASANA

•I know many of you think asana is a pose, but in yoga it also refers to your seat, what you sit on

•I tend to have my own asana of wool and grass

•As far as postures, bring what you want to practice postures on, yoga mats, etc

•Personally, I am a yoga rug kind of guy, and it is relatively easy to buy a simple Asana once you get to India

{:} WATER

•Take Responsibility: Regarding water, you are right, don't drink it unless it is filtered or bottled or directly from a pure mountain SACRED SPRING (which actually most of our water will be)

. You will be supplied with water at the course. It helps to take water as your own personal responsibility and do not rely on anybody else.

•Filters: A katadyn is great and what I used for years. But many people do not use water filters, they either drink tea or bottled water, but often the bottled water is faux and is buggy. Don't worry about showers as long as you don't drink it.

{:} PREVENTATIVE SHOTS

•Personal choice: It is a personal choice and my personal choice is to strengthen my body/mind/ojas and not do the shots. I know thousands of people that go to India constantly and never get shots. The ones that do usually only get Gamma globulin. The problem with shots is that tend to weaken your natural immune system. Again, it is your choice.

•Fear Management: The sickest I have seen people get in India were those people who got the most shots. I do not know if the shots made them sick or their hypochondria did them in. Be smart, take care of yourself, trust Allah, and tie your camel. If fear comes to eat you rest still in your heart, put a small smile on your face, put a sweet smile on your eyes, and imagine yourself ‘transparent’ to the fear, where the fear has no place to ‘land.’ Then ‘read’ the fear, meaning see its message and learn from it, and then totally relax your heart and mind and by doing so remove all ‘hooks’ that could hold fear, and allow the fear to melt and dissolve and drift away while you remain as a still and wise and clear heartmind. If you know it then know that Danda Pranayama destroys fear.

•Shots/Drugs/ are your Choice:

{:} PARASITES

•Uddiyana Bhanda: If you are worried about parasites start doing dynamic uddiyana bhanda (agnisara) now and all through India. A few hundred Uddhiyana per day will not allow parasites to live in you.

•Dipanas: Also take good dipanas (Tulsi/Ginger/Trikatu/Atis) that suit you and you can always add a little ‘Auromune to your diet. Food Grad 35% Hydrogen peroxide and Colloidal silver are two other helpful anti-parasites that can be taken prophylactically. Kutaj is the main Ayurvedic herb for ameobas, and the herbs with Berberine are great for Giardia.

•Don’t eat fresh food and don’t drink uncertain water: There are many things that you can do to prevent parasites.

•The main thing is to be totally responsible for your own water, and drink only water that you have cleaned yourself or bottled water that is clearly not tampered with. Of course, we will give you parasite-free water, no worries.

•The next thing is to not eat salads unless you have cleaned them your self with the aforementioned water. Be careful with fruit as well and don't eat skins, etc.

•Keep your innate strength up. Don't over do it. Your own immune system can deal with so much. Don't overload your mind as this will tax your body.

•Do not overeat! The food can be soooo good and overeating is one of the best ways to get really sick!

•Pollution can look like parasites: I have seen people get sick but they had been in my care and I knew they did not have parasites. I gave them copious antioxidants and sure enough, it cleared up because it was pollution, not parasites.

•As a yogi/yogini you have an advantage because dynamic uddhiyana bandha is fantastic to remove and keep parasites away. It ignites the agni to burn them away and also all that inner massage removes any home that they would try to live in. Go for deep steady uddhiyana, not short choppy. Do sets of up to 20 and about 200-400 per day. Of course, Nauli is all the better if you can manage that. This alone works, I and several western sadhus that I know who have lived with nothing but robes that can attest to it. In fact, it is a western sadhu living parasite free in the 1980s who originally taught me Agnisarah.

•Auromune is a fantastic formula. I always travel with several bottles when I am in India, and tend to give them all away by the time I leave india!

•If you can’t find Auromune, I have made an improved version of it called OptiOil!

•Take your triphala every night. Get it from a good source, like us!

{:} AUROMUNE & OPTIOIL

•Basically 5 base oils; about 10 herbs; and about 14 of the best essential oils for inner detox, and antiparasite and pro-agni actions that are emulsified in Lecithin so that you can take them internally.

•Highly recommended

•Can make your own by adding the right Eos into olive oil at a 10% solution, and then take enough of that to consume 2-4 drops of EOs per dose

{:} HERBS & MEDICINE MAKING

•We will have many herbs there and we will find some of the wilds ones

•You are welcome to bring your own bulk herbs, and I would like that, from your homeland, and we will weave them into the formulas that we make

•You so do not have to bring anything around medicine making equipment, nad if you have some favorite pieces that you want blessed by this place and these herbs, then bring them: Mortar/Pestles, mixing bowls, etc.

•Essential Oils are one thing I always bring, and I recommend that you bring your favorites, not just for your own use, but also to make medicines from, like avalehas, face cream, massage oils, etc

•Order Oils from us if you want, and you will get a great discount!

{:} EMERGENCY MED KIT

•I will have a pretty good EMT kit there, and I have 2.5 years of professional training as a paramedic

•You may ask, ‘Prashanti, why bring a EMT kit? What is happening? ’No worries, I have the kit not because we will need it, but because I recently went up to the Himalyas to assist in some mishaps there, so I left the Kit up there when I left. One of the days I will go through it as an hour-long intro to emergency medicine.

•You can bring the simple things, like extra bandaids, sunscreen, lipbalm, tweezers, gauze to assist in hiking blisters which you won’t get if you have the right footwear, etc.

•And remember the FFS! You will be fine with minimal items

{:} NUTRACEUTICALS

•Vitamins and all that: Just do what you do, and I am open to consult about them

•Green Drinks/smoothies: I am into this, I often take homemade mixes of superfood greendrinks. It is part of the path of the Yogin for sure

•Probiotics: can be a good thing. I tend to only prescribe them in cases where the person is prone to fungal/yeast imbalances like candida. But they are often good

•Anti-Stress adaptogens: Of course OI is one of the best Adaptogen sources, and I will be teaching about them and how to make formulas, and having said that, you may want to bring your favorites in a form that works for you

•The Prajna Remedies OptiOil, Siva Shilajit, and Ojas Powder are a great team to keep you well and very strong!

{:} BITS & BOBS

•Sunglasses: very key not just for the sun, but to literally ‘hide behind!’ When walking in markets or out and about it is good to cover your eyes as this will keep your energy in and excessive energy out! There is nothing wrong with the energy you want to keep out, it is just “All things according to digestive capacity!” And having sunglasses (light ones so you can wear them in the morning/evening as well) is a really great way to protect your agni and energy!

•Ziplock bags to keep things sorted and safe

•Power adaptors for your devices (simple $2 adaptor works for ‘smart items’) and I do not even take non-smart devices to India anymore, meaning use devices that can take a broad range of voltage and current

•Water bottle

•Small and large shawls

•Sweet little day backpack (4 hours is likely the longest hike you will take)

•Jack Knife for little things like harvesting herbs, etc! I use my jack Knife many times every day!

•Sewing kit (truth is I bring these kits more to use creatively and less for actual mending)

•Small umbrella: if it rains then the mountain walks in those gorgeous soft rains are exquisite

•Waterproof asana

•Knee brace if weak knees

•Emergency kit inc tea tree and lavender oil, plasters, blister plasters

•Walking/hiking poles: they can help

{:} INTERNET

•Available in Delhi and often available at Dunagiri Retreat

•If you need Internet the best thing might be to get a simple ipad in India that has a phone chip in it, but even then you never know what phone company will have the best reception at any given time, or if there is any reception at all.

•The Himalayas are funny that way. I have been in some remote place really high at or above the treeline, and have reception because there is a tower on some distant ridge. And I have been in a big town like Almora and not have reception.

{:} OTHER TRAVEL

•Some people may stay, some may go to other places like Varanasi, Jaipur, Vrindavan, Chitrakut, Lucknow, etc.

•Rajiv Tomar of Mystic Journeys (I have known Rajiv since 1999) He is also a great connection for Khumba Melas

•Saini of Noble Travels (I have known Saini since 1990)

•Tell them I sent you

{:} GUIDEBOOKS

•I am so not into guidebooks but they often have nice things in them. To me the best guidebooks are the lives of Saints

•Lonely Planet India

•Travels in Sacred India by Roger Housden

•Search in Secret India by Paul Brunton

•The Way of the White Clouds by Lama Govinda

•Wondering in the Himalyas by Topavan Swami (Rare, but my favorite)

•Autobiography of a Yogi (We are in sight of Babaji’s cave)

{:} SHOPPING IN DELHI

•If you get to Delhi early there are some good things to look into

•Janpath market in Connaught place has oodles of shops in which you buy really inexpensive things like paper lamps and peacock feathers and shawls and saffron and incense and kashmiri boxes

•My favorite shop in Janpath is #15 in the Tibetan section. These are very good people with authentic items from Tibet that I tend to buy not because I want them, but because I feel I should protect the items, like a museum.

•Old Delhi Book Publishers like MotiLal Benarsidas or Chouwkambha is where I go to buy books by the meter. Yes, I often buy 1 meter of books when I am there. A book that you will pay 50 Euro for in London is 2 Euro straight from these publishers

•Khari Baoli Wholesale Herb Market is one of these places where you see hundreds of bags of beautiful spices all open and radiant!

•Gandhi Ashram on Connought Place is a great place for handspun, handwoven, handmade Khadi clothing. There is nothing like a Khadi silk shawl from the Gandhi Ashram.

•Arya Vaidya Sala is likely the best Ayurvedic Herb Formula company in India and have a shop in South Delhi. They are the main ones that I buy Ayurvedic formulas from, At least the formulas that I do not tend to make myself

{:} SEEING INDIA

Don't forget to take time to cognize '5 element explorations!' Meaning…..

…. it is soooooo uber-easy to just 'see' a place, but we must 'see' it in other ways as well. This is one reason why I like the Chai Stalls in India so much. I sit in the Chai stall, and though I am appearing that I am simply drinking a chai, I am actually seriously amplifying my senses of

•Hearing (akash)

•Feeling (vayu)

•Seeing (agni)

•Tasting (jal)

•Smelling (prithvi)

and in general merging with the vibe of the place. I know you know what I mean but I am just saying that sitting quietly in a chai stall is such a good 'cover' for when you really want to cognize all the five elements of place. You can guide the young ones in this as well! It will soooo enrich their experience. Just sit and cognize. Stop 'seeing and running around' in order to start 'seeing and 'oneing' around!' So see more by seeing less and cognizing more. Look within, see yourself as pure consciousness, and you will be able to cognize the consciousness of the place all the better.

What to do in India?
(A little prose I wrote years ago)

I hear it all the time: "I am going to India for the first time, can you tell me about it? What should I do?"

This is such a grin as in every dimension possible India is so vast, so it is like saying, "I am about to be born for the first time as a human somewhere in the world, can you tell me about it? What should I do?"

So I ask them, can you narrow it down a bit?

On the superficial levels questions like these need to be answered:

Past? Present? Future? facets of India?

(Can you at least narrow it down to a Yuga?)

North? South? East? West? Far North?

(Can you narrow it down to which country within India, or which region)

Then there are general topics of interest:

Spiritual? Religious? Art? Yoga? Vastu/architecture? Nature? Meditation? Trekking? Music? Sustainable Agriculture? Healing? Saints? Temples? Ayurveda? Jyotisha? Flowers? Hinduism? Jain? Bon? Muslim? Sufi? Buddhism? Tibetans? Spirits/Entities? Sanskrit? 64 Kalas? Skiing? Swimming? Alchemy/RasaShastra? MegaBioDiversity? Dance? Partying? Mountains? Beaches? Islands? Forests? Rivers? Gems? Fabric? Paraphernalia? Antiques? Crafts? Etc? Etc? Etc?

There is so much! India is not a country, it is a continent, and India is as much a verb as it is a noun, more of an event than a place, an event that has been happening for at least 50,000 years at all levels of Being.

And on deeper levels, it is DeviBhumi, home of the Gods, as well as a billion humans, and who knows how many aliens and thousands of different species of entities/Bhutas. And the deal is so much of what India is, most in fact, is far previous to our conscious minds.

So what should you 'do' in India? Know this:

India is often a challenging place to 'DO'

India is always an incredible place to 'BE'

So if you want my advice on what to do in India,

I would have to say, Be.