By Nayaswami Nischala
To go on pilgrimage is to attune oneself to higher awareness, and to bring that consciousness deeply into your soul.
The spiritual value of pilgrimage is when we are able to attune to the wise and saintly lives of those who have gone before us, as well as to those places that have been infused with spirituality for hundreds and thousands of years.
In Greece, we will have the opportunity to commune deeply with Christ during Greek Holy Week in the town of Kalambaka, along with the monastics and saints who have lived in Greece over time.
Greece and the island of Crete are filled with temples, monasteries, caves, streams and ancient sites dedicated to spirituality. We can still to this day connect with the Greek Pantheon from Ancient Greece, through our prayers and meditations. The twelve Olympians of Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Demeter, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus are available to us as we tune into their deeper spiritual meaning.
These Gods and Goddesses truly did exist. They lived at a time in the Yuga Cycles of Time when spiritual powers existed, but due to the fact that the yuga was in a decline, people tried desperately to save their connection to these Gods and Goddesses by preserving them through songs, poetry, and eventually, Greek statuary.
Join Ananda College on the trip of a lifetime through mainland Greece and the island of Crete. Together we’ll explore parallels between Greek and Hindu mythology in a stunning landscape while encountering thousands of years of spiritual practice. You’ll have a chance to experience Greek life and spirituality up close, while learning about ancient Greek myth, history, and culture. We’ll explore mystic oracles, gleaming temples, and miraculous caves and streams. Visit our website for costs and itinerary.
Here I’ll share a bit more about the spiritual value of our trip, starting with our misunderstandings of myths. Vanamali Devi, a great female Indian mystic who has written many books on the deities of Hinduism, says “these Indian Gods and Goddesses are not myths or fantasies, they were great human beings with God-like powers because they existed at a time of higher consciousness on this earth.”
As we are now in an ascending yuga our awareness of higher spiritual living is becoming more important for the upliftment of the planet. As we realize our oneness with all that is we understand that our own consciousness has a powerful effect on our environs—the people we interact with, the land, forests, and sentient beings, even the air we breathe, the water we drink, the rivers and the oceans we travel through. As all is holy, our pilgrimage to the land of the Gods in Greece and Crete allows us the opportunity to attune to the higher consciousness that once lived here and awaits our devotional perceptions.
Each time we go on spiritual pilgrimage, we open ourselves to what Paramhansa Yogananda calls a state of grace. “Expect the miraculous”, Yogananda would say. If we truly live like this we will draw to us little miracles that affirm God’s presence in our lives. This state of grace is more magnetic when a group travels together for the express purpose of drawing God to us with our devotion and prayers.
During our pilgrimage to Greece and Crete, we will be creating our own “holy bubble” through the optional daily Energization Exercises, chanting, prayers and meditations we do. We invite you to travel with us to Greece and Crete, enjoy the land and the people, and experience a deepening awareness of God that will help you, transform you, and provide uplifted inspiration for the rest of your life.