To the extent possible the daily practice of Christian Meditation and other commitments of Christian life will be observed during the pilgrimage. Clement Sauvé will oversee this part of the programme.

Note for participants from USA/Canada: We recommend joining the tour in London. If you wish to make your own travel arrangements to and from India the tour cost will be reduced by £680.

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with optional extension to with optional extension to with optional extension to with optional extension to

Sri LankaSri LankaSri LankaSri Lanka

A Soul of India Tour Operated by Indus Tours and Travel Ltd. ATOL 4586

Minor changes may be made to the programme in the light of local circumstances

and opportunities. At the time of going to print it is not possible to specify aircraft types.

Sri Lanka Extension Itinerary

Sun 13 Dec

Mon 14 Dec

Tue 15 Dec

Wed 16 Dec

Thur 17 Dec

Fri 18 Dec

0935 departure from Trichy on Sri Lanka Airlines flight to Colombo, arriving 1035. Afternoon visits to Buddhist and Christian sites in the city. Stay at Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel.

Drive to Habarana, via the ancient capital of Polonaruwa, for a two-night stay in the grand Cinnamon Lodge Hotel.

Habarana. Visit the historic city of Anuradhapura, the Bodhi tree, temples and palaces.

Morning climb up to the spectacular Rock Fortress at Sigirya, perched 200m above the jungle. Afternoon drive to Negombo via the historic sites of Kelaniya and the caves of Dambulla for a two-night stay at the Jetwing Beach Hotel.

Free day to enjoy one of Sri Lanka’s lovely beaches.

0950 Emirate Airlines flight to London, via Dubai, arriving 1815.

Tour costs The main tour cost will be £2590 per person in twin bedded accommodation. Single rooms are available for a supplement of £346. Costs for the extension to Sri Lanka are £780 per person, with a £312 single room supplement. The tour cost includes

• International and internal flights as per the itinerary

• All group travel in India and Sri Lanka

• Accommodation on half board basis (full board in ashrams, breakfast only in Colombo and Negombo)

• All entrance and guide fees

• Full ATOL bonding

• Services of Kenneth Wilson as Tour Leader in India

The pilgrimage will be accompanied and managed by Kenneth Wilson of Soul of India, who managed the 1998 Way of Peace Pilgrimage, and the WCCM visits to India in 2005, 2007 and 2013. He is the author of Orange Dust: Journeys After the Buddha.

Itinerary & Programme

Thur 26 Nov 2015

Fri 27 Nov

Sat 28 Nov

Sun 29 Nov

Mon 30 Nov

Tue 1 Dec

Wed 2 Dec

Thur 3 Dec – Sat 5 Dec

Sun 6 Dec

Mon 7 Dec

Tue 8 Dec

Wed 9 Dec – Fri 11 Dec

Sat 12 Dec

Sun13 Dec

1335 Depart London on Emirate Airlines flight, arriving Dubai 0035, to connect with 0245 flight to Chennai.

0815 Arrive Chennai. Stay at Hotel Ambassador Pallava for four nights.

Chennai. Visits to Hindu and Christian sites in Chennai, including the Theosophical Society.

All day visit to Srikalahasti (115km from Chennai) the first of the Bhuta Sthala of Lord Shiva.

Chennai. Visits to the St. Thomas sites in Chennai, including St. Thomas Mount and Little Mount.

Drive to Kanchipuram, the second of the Bhuta Sthala, and onward to Mamallapuram. Stay at the GRT Temple Bay Hotel.

Mamallapuram. Morning visit to the 10th

century Shore Temple and other World Heritage sites. Afternoon drive to Tiruvannamalai for a four-night stay in the Sri Ramana Ashram.

Three full days to join the life of the Sri Ramana Ashram, including a visit to the third Bhuta Sthala, the vast Arunachaleswara temple in Tiruvannamalai.

Drive to Pondicherry (120km) for a two-night stay at Maison Perumal Hotel.

Visits to the famous Aurobindo ashram in Pondicherry.

Drive to Kulitalai (230km) via Chidambaram, the fourth of the Bhuta Sthala, for a four-night stay at the Shantivanam Ashram.

Three days to join the life of the Shantivanam Ashram.

Morning drive to Trichy (1 hour) for a one-night stay at Breeze Residency Hotel. Visits in Trichy, including the Tiruvanaikal temple, the last of Lord Shiva’s Bhuta Sthala.

Free morning in Trichy. 1545 flight to Chennai, to connect with 2140 Emirate Airlines flight to London, via Dubai, arriving 0710 on Mon 14 Dec.

Booking Form To: Indus Tours and Travel Ltd. Avanta Harrow, 79 College Road Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 1BD, UK Tel +44 (0)20 8901 7630 E-mail:enquiries@soulofindia.com Please reserve………………….place(s) on the WCCM Pilgrimage to India, 26 Nov 2015 Including / Not including* extension to Sri Lanka for…………………………………………………………..….

…………………………………………………..………Name of…………………………..……………………….………… ……………………………..………………..………..Address Tel…………………………...…… ……………………………... Email………….........…….........................………………….…. Date of birth...........…….......................................................... Passport no., date and place of issue…………………………. ……………………………………………………………………… Room requirement: Single / Double / Twin* Please return your booking form with deposit cheque for £200 per person. Please make your cheque payable to Indus Tours and Travel Ltd.

(Please telephone or email yasin@soulofindia.com for

credit/debit card payment details)

*Delete as appropriate Signed………………………………………Date………………… Your final balance will be invoiced when we receive your booking form. The final balance is payable 8 weeks prior to departure. Standard booking conditions apply, and can be viewed at www.soulofindia.com

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This WCCM pilgrimage follows in the tradition of meditative visits of engagement to the sub-continent begun in 1998 with the first Way of Peace event. On this occasion our encounters will be in South India, the most Christian part of the country, where the tradition goes right back to the visit of St. Thomas the Apostle.

There are very important roots of the Christian Meditation movement here also. The Hindu saint Sri Ramana Maharishi, whose ashram we will stay in, strongly influenced Swami Satyananda, and hence John Main himself. Ramana also inspired the founders of the Christian ashram at Shantivanam, later made famous by Bede Griffiths. Fr. Bede played a significant role in the development of the Christian Meditation Community. At the heart of our pilgrimage, therefore, will be a meaningful stay at each of these wonderful ashrams, one Hindu and one Christian. We will have the opportunity to engage with two further aspects of India’s vast and complex dharma. We will see the Western involvement in Hindu philosophy at the Theosophical Society, and at Auroville. And in the nature of pilgrimage, we will visit the five sacred sites of Lord Shiva known as the Bhuta Sthala, fabulous temple sites at each of which Lord Shiva manifested himself in the form of one of the five elements – earth, air, fire, water and space.

The connection with previous Way of Peace events will perhaps be felt most closely by those who continue to Sri Lanka. Here we will visit many ancient and important Buddha sites, including the sacred Bodhi tree at Anuradhapura, and the heart-melting rock carvings of Polonaruwa which so profoundly marked Thomas Merton’s spiritual journey.