Our group came from Singapore, Germany, India, New York City, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Palo Alto, Sacramento, and Ananda Village. We ranged in age from 16 to 86 and everything in between. Here we are at the Hatshepsut Temple near Luxor, Egypt. Join us in November, 2025 for our next tour.
Scroll to the bottom for a gallery with photos from our journey!
Touring Egypt, down the Nile and inside the Great Pyramid
Fourteen days after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel, we began our 2023 tour of Ancient Egypt, one of the oldest civilizations in the world that still remains standing. Egypt is a veritable living museum of pyramids and temples, many winding down the irrepressible Nile, the longest river on earth.
We came to Egypt after a 7-week online study course, which all our guests were welcome to join. Paramhansa Yogananda (1893-1952), author of Autobiography of a Yogi, visited Egypt in 1935, and afterwards wrote a letter to his followers saying, “The sphinx and the pyramids talked to me much about ancient history. However, I mustn’t tell everything now, but must leave something for the future in case you want me to come back soon.”
Many of the oldest temples in Egypt were used for spiritual initiations and healings beyond what we are currently able to cognize, due to our limited consciousness. In a higher age, when Yogananda has said he will reincarnate on earth, humans may finally begin to understand the subtle energy and powerful vibrations these temples carry.
According to some, the great civilization of Egypt may have started as early as 10,500 BCE, in the higher Satya Yuga, when human consciousness would have been highest.
For our 2023 tour, we studied the temples first, talked with each other, and shared our beliefs as to what they were used for, then had the chance to meditate, sometimes together, on our own or in a small group inside the temples.
In meditations on our cruise ship we consciously devoted time to offering healing prayers for affected citizens in the nearby Middle East countries of Palestine and Israel. The very first time I did a healing prayer for the war I held my palms up and when chanting Om, Om, Om, I could tangibly feel the energy being quickly withdrawn from my fingertips, as if our little group was somehow helping on a level we couldn’t understand.
Our guide told us about the wonderful “motorless” sailing Dahabiyas that can quietly cruise the Nile with a group our size. “Next time you come to Egypt, this is the way you will travel the Nile,” he affirmed. Since all of us meditate, Nakula and I investigated. Hence, our 2025 tour is now taking sign-ups.
Egypt is run by the military, and the military tourist police guard and chaperone groups who visit, protecting tourism, their main economy. Each time we’ve visited Egypt, we’ve been protected and cared for.
Many on our group had experiences in the various temples and while on this sacred pilgrimage, and one that decided to share her experiences is Sri Vanamali Devi, from Rishikesh, India.
Sri Vanamali Devi inside the Great Pyramid. We were blessed to have Vanamali, one of India’s foremost female mystics and authors, on tour with us. Read about her experiences inside the Great Pyaramid below.
Inside the Great Pyramid on Pilgrimage with Ananda College
By Vanamali Devi of Vanamali Ashram, Rishikesh, India
Since I am quite claustrophobic I was sure I wouldn’t be able to enter the Great Pyramid. The climb up the entrance along the external pathway was exhausting, and I decided not to risk going inside. Strangely enough, one of the local guides, a Nubian, approached me out of the blue, caught my arm, and pushed me against the wall just before the entrance. The Egyptians are usually small-built and light-skinned, while the Nubians are very tall and dark. This man was tall and dark, wearing a burnous and a turban tied around his head. He guided me into the small opening into the tunnel and kept pushing me up the sloping, uneven path going steadily up. Suddenly, we came upon a ledge in the wall of the pyramid. It was quite narrow and must have been about three feet higher than the path. He gestured that I could sit and meditate there. I really don’t know how I jumped onto the ledge, hauled up my legs, and sat in sukhasana. I must have sat there about thirty minutes easily. After a few moments, I was wafted into another realm. I didn’t feel my body at all, I was totally unconscious of where I was sitting or who was next to me. It must have been a full thirty minutes if not more when I became aware of Nischala telling me that the time was up and we should go down. I opened my eyes slowly and was jolted back into reality. The ledge was hard and my legs were numb. I tried to jump down but found it really hard. It was only then that I started to wonder how I had managed to get onto that narrow ledge in the first place and what power had kept me up for so long!
I realized that this indeed was a magical place. The ones who made this must have been great spiritual scientists like our rishis. I also felt that there was a Shiva Lingam down below, surrounded by flowing water. I looked around for the man who had shown me this place. He was nowhere to be seen.
Vanamali’s grace has taken me to pilgrim spots of all types of religions. It was indeed his grace that had taken me to this unbelievable place filled with the esoteric secrets on an ancient culture.
The pyramids have stood the test of time. Although their outer limestone layers have long since been stripped or turned to dust, they still stand—stark reminders of a bygone civilization. They are indeed time capsules floating in eternity, waiting to reveal their mysteries to those who are capable of empathizing with their inscrutable view of this incredible universe.
Hari Om Tat Sat!
Prayer for World Peace
We did this prayer every day on our Egypt tour. We recommend doing this prayer during times of war, an affirmation to bring peace to our planet:
Say this prayer 10 times out loud:
Lord, fill this world with peace and harmony, peace and harmony.
Then, say this 3 times out loud:
Lord, fill me with peace and harmony, peace and harmony.
After you’ve done this, you can rub the palms of your hands together about 25 times, and holding them up, chant Om, Om, Om sending your prayers out into the ether.
Photos From Our Journey
Our group engaged in discussions and analysis of the various temples and how they were used in the higher ages.
Looking up at the fascinating zodiac ceilings at the Dendara Temple of Hathor.
Inside the ancient temple walls, surrounded by hieroglyphs that conveyed spiritual knowledge from a higher age.
Reading the hieroglyphs and understanding the consciousness that went into creating these magical, mystical temples.
Our group engaged in discussions and analysis of the various temples and how they were used in the higher ages.
Our guide for 10 days was a big-hearted Egyptian Sufi who explained various details of each temple with intense devotion and love, something we all appreciated.
This friendly camel at the Giza Plateau was fond of nuzzling his master.
While in Luxor, all of us took an early morning ride in a hot air balloon that floated effortlessly about the Valley of the Kings and the Queens.
Playing at the Giza Plateau during our 2023 tour of Egypt with Nischala and Nakula. Our next tour will be in two years, if you’d like to join us. It’s not too early to reserve your space.
In Divine friendship,
Nayaswami Nischala & Nakula,
Ananda College of Living Wisdom