Articles from April 2013

What is that attracts that many seekers from Western cultures to India? Often it is the search for meaning in life, the longing for a guru and the interest in ancient wisdom that is calling people to India.

As the famous yoga teacher Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa once said in an interview: In India the question, whether God exists or not, is not at all relevant. For Indians belief and spiritual life are so natural, that this question would not make any sense at all. The more relevant question would be:

In which FORM does one worship and honor the divine?

Spirituality any visitor would notice very soon is visible everywhere. It is probably impossible to find any room that is not located next to a temple, mosk or church. Early wake up will be guaranteed in any case! Again it is just the form that differs…

As birthplace of some of the world’s major religious traditions; namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, India is a place of huge diversity when it comes to spiritual life.

Whether you drive in a rickshaw or a bus, whether you go to buy your groceries or visit any official institution – you can immediately recognize which religion the owner or group follows. Hindu deities with colourful blinking lights and garlands, Jesus-figures and guru-pictures are commonly found accessories along other images of masters and teachers. You may even find a mix of various religious elements.

In India there seems to be no conflict between them. As the Sikhs would say: There is only ONE creation.Everything falls under that umbrella (if you are aware or it or believe it or not!). We are all brothers and sisters and all children of that one Creator.

That is probably the reason, why so many of us westerners experience an unseen sense of TRUST in this country. A certain doubt that we experience in our rational world simply vanishes in India. And we reach a point where instead of analyzing and thinking we can open up for the experience of being.

The so-called Bodhi Tree is a fig tree, but not every Ficus religiosacan be called a ‘Bodhi tree’:

A ‘Bodhi tree’ must be retraceable to its parent, another Bodhi tree, and the line of heritage goes on unto the first Bodhi tree under which Lord Gautama Buddha is said to have gained enlightenment.

 The Ficus Religiosa has distinctive heart-shaped leaves and bears small figs that turn from green to purple. The trunk can have a diametre of 9.8 ft, and its total height can be up to 98ft.

In Sanskrit, Bodhi means “wisdom”, “enlightened”, and as a Sinhalization Bo or Peepal in India. The tree is native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, southwest China and Indochina.

 The Buddhist legend tells that Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment (bodhi) while meditating underneath the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, North India. The Sri Maha Bodhi’s planting date goes back to 288 BCE; that is the oldest verified age for any flowering plant (angiosperm).

Sadhus meditate beneath sacred fig trees and Hindus do pradakshina, a worship by circambulation: Seven pradakshinas are done around the tree in the morning time chanting “Vriksha Rajaya Namah”, “Salutation to the King of Trees”.

Ficus religiosa is used in traditional medicine for about 50 types of disorders including asthma, diabetes, diarrhea, epilepsy, gastric problems, inflammatory disorders, infectious and sexual disorders.