Hey All,

I am planning a trip to India this coming December, I want to do a soul searching trip this time around. Can you guys provide any ideas on where I should travel. I am looking to go visit various temples and spiritual places. I would like to do an Ashram for a few days as well.

So far I have been recommended to go visit a few temples in Rajasthan, but I cant recall the names.

Thanks

If you go to South, you will want to go to Tiruvannamalai (famous shiva temple), about 5 hours from Chennai. If east, then Puri (Jagannatha temple, Konarak temple, and some others), near to Bhubaneswar. If north, you want to go to Rishikesh and Haridwar at the base of the Himalayas. Also in North is Vrindavan and Jaipur, which are nice to visit if you are a devotee of Krishna.

thanks for the info but are there any particular sites to see where one can experience something abnormal. Also where would one get information on gurus?

If you want to see the various facets of Hinduism and a glimpse into its past visit Banares, the Spiritual capital of the Hindus. It is also known as Varanasi.

Banares is Hinduism.

I think that is more connected with your personal practice than with a physical place. If you do sadhana sincerely you may have a mystical experience in your own house, whereas if someone isn't following any spiritual path, they may live even in Badrinath and not have any experience.

For a first visit Benares, Rishikesh and Haridwar are nice. Vrindavan is also nice with its thousands of temples.

Go easy on your Guru hunting. I did that for more than a decade. But then I got a Guru when I had almost given up all hope. So you will find a Guru at the right time.

Abnormal experience? Risky business. Most of it are drug induced states. You could get extraordinary experiences anywhere. Banares, Brindavan, Haridwar/Rishikesh. These places vibrate. You feel the vibrations.

But be on your guard. There one too many charlatans around looking for a gullible foreigner.

Thanks for the info, I have been told need to be careful specially in the smaller villages.