Ever experienced the need to go to an Ashram or explore the kind of life they live? We all know how much love outsiders have been showing to our yoga capital, Rishikesh, ever since the Beatles first made their visit to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s ashram in 1968. However, if being a local Indian, you are recently planning to visit an Ashram to traverse the yoga & meditation retreats, here is an overview of how a day in an Ashram would look to you.
Before heading towards how a day in an ashram looks like it is essential to first know what are ashrams. An ashram is a place of spiritual retreat having all its focus on living a life away from all the worldly pursuits and helping people find a place where they can solely concentrate on the spiritual aspect of life. This is the reason why Ashrams are made and are given the highest importance so, people could take an off from the daily troubles and enjoy a spiritually-inspired life for a while.
A Glance over the Daily Routine at an Ashram:
The fact that all the ashrams follow a strict daily schedule is hidden to none. However, the rules and schedules can somewhat vary depending on whether the ashram caters to foreign nationals and Indian students. You will notice that ashrams serving Indians specifically, would tend to be stricter than the ashrams serving foreign nationals. The next mentioned is a list depicting the time and activities done by that interval.
- Combined silent meditation at 6 am
- Yoga session with Asanas at 7 am
- Breakfast at 8 am
- Performing Karma Yoga (bestowing skills or time to the Ashram) between 9-11 am
- Attending Satsang ( a session of spiritual inquiry with the teacher) by 12 pm
- Lunch at 1 pm
- The afternoon is usually free and you can have a walk around the Ashram
- Combined meditation session at 6 pm
- Dinner at 7 pm
- Sing songs of God (kirtan) or indulge in reading holy books by 8 pm
The list consists of combined activities including meditation, Satsang, yoga, kirtan, and mealtimes. Other than these activities, personal time is also granted for additional exploration at the ashram, perform exercises, spend time reading and writing or anything of your choice. The food served here is totally vegetarian and even the use of onion and garlic is restricted. The craziest thing about the food here is, it tastes so good even after the minimal use of spices. The experience of eating your meal in a communal dining hall along with other fellow mates is exceptional and the cleaning of the plate is done by you itself.
Specifically talking about what’s the food like, at an ashram, breakfasts are usually completed with either roti/ paratha/ naan, daal, fruit, and tea. However, for lunch, there is rice, daal, salad, accompanied by a fruit or an Indian dessert, whereas dinner is much similar to the lunch. Already mentioned, the food in the ashrams is lightly spiced and the vegetables are first well-washed and purified by the people here itself. The main concern for most of the foreigners traveling to India stays the spicy food of the country, however, while staying at an ashram, you don’t have to worry because the food is prepared with keeping the delicate tummy of the foreigners in mind.
By the end of the day, it would be unfair to not suggest you to enjoy the dusky sky in the evening. The whole sky turns up into a magic show as soon as the sun starts to fall behind the majestic mountain peaks and the flares of lights tend to cross the paths, lush green lands and verdant forests.