I took my first trip to India in 2011 with my parents, visiting a math in Sringeri, home of Sri Bharati Tirtha, Shankaracharya of the South. He is the guru who guides the Advaita Meditation Center, which is an organization my parents are part of.

People said that there would be culture shock. People said that transitioning from America to India was challenging. I don’t know why, but for me I loved it the moment I got there. Despite being someone who struggles with crowds, loss of personal space, loud noise, and interruption of routine, I thrived in my two weeks there. I can only describe it as feeling like coming home. India felt familiar to me.

A recent past life, I have to assume!

During that trip I was not up for a lot of the spiritual aspects. We spent one week touring and one week at the math. I was in a period of really struggling with my distrust of authority and it was hard for me to get into a proper mindset for seeing the guru.

I think this time will be different.

Last time my family had an audience with His Holiness and the request that my parents made was for me to find a good husband. I think it was really sweet and loving of them to use their request for my happiness.

I don’t know if it was His Holiness’s doing, but I did meet the man who would become my husband shortly after that trip and he was indeed perfect. I didn’t believe in 2011 that I would ever have love again. I definitely didn’t believe that I would ever marry after a decade of trying with everything I had to get someone to marry me! Yet suddenly it just happened and it was easy.

This time I am ready for the spiritual parts of the trip. I want to attend pujas and darshans. Even though I think we can find spiritual energy where ever we are, that we can always tap into it, there is something special about being in the presence of someone like Sri Bharati Tirtha.

I am thrilled to be going back. Once again it is a trip through the Advaita Meditation Center and I’ll be going with my dad and several friends I haven’t gotten to spend much time with since I left Massachusetts. They’ve got a whole schedule worked out, so I’ll just be along for the ride and up for whatever they’ve got planned!

Shopping Agenda

The only thing on my agenda is to pick up a Saraswati murti, as I’ve been having trouble getting one in the U.S . Oh and also to get a new mangalasutra because mine broke and turned my skin green! 🙁

Meet Up

I was thinking that when I know more details of where we’ll be and when, I’ll post the schedule and if you’re in the area you can meet up with us and say hello. I’ll bring a stack of postcards from America to give anyone who approaches me in India and says “Hi, Ambaa, I read your blog!”