Spirituality

From India With Love -
Travel with Purpose

Magic unfolds when we mix passion with purpose

Everything in life has a purpose. But when we mix passion with purpose, then magic can unfold - and the impossible becomes possible. We often plan our vacations with the intention of experiencing exotic places, seeing extraordinary sites, eating delicious food, and indulging in rest and rejuvenation. But while traveling to a foreign land is admittedly an enchanting endeavor, it doesn’t have to be only that.

There are two ways to experience new countries and cultures -- as a ‘passive tourist’ or as a ‘purposeful traveler’. The latter can have a deep ‘inside out’ transformational effect -- where you come back feeling reborn. Such a “once in a lifetime” spiritual sojourn is something to reach for.

Lessons learned by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr from his sojourn to India

Last year, while studying how to promote nonviolence, I accidentally stumbled upon one such spiritual sojourn that was undertaken by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1959, he visited India to deepen his understanding of the non-violence teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. Most of us know that Dr. King was a follower of the Mahatma’s nonviolence teachings and used them to shape the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

I was pleasantly surprised to read of his five-week pilgrimage to India and the deep impact that it must have had on him. Upon his return from India, Dr. King wrote “I left India more convinced than ever before that the method of nonviolent resistance is the most potent weapon available to people in their struggle for freedom and human dignity. As a result of my visit, my understanding of non-violence is greater and my commitment deeper.”

How did the “From India With Love” initiative begin?

​In 1959, when Dr. King visited India, Mahatma Gandhi had already died. So I strongly feel that the immersive five-week journey within India might have given Dr. King a practical experience of the finer aspects of nonviolence in action (or ahimsa).

In order to test this hypothesis, I created a social initiative called From India With Love that would invite America’s civic leaders to travel and experience India's ancient culture and wisdom of nonviolence. I wondered….now nearly sixty years later, would Mother India provide them a similarly transformative experience that Dr. King must have had?

 

And the transformation continues

Now, 18 months later, we have completed three trips to India. The delegates have included  American Mayors, police officers, social activists, former gang members, and victims of violence. During the journey, the delegates experience India’s ancient culture of yoga, Sudarshan Kriya, and meditation, as well as participate in traditional festivals and celebrations to interact with India’s people and learn the finer aspects of India’s culture and traditions.

A documentary film was made on the transformational experience of the delegates of our inaugural trip to India that consisted of victims of violence, including Scarlett Lewis -- a single mother who lost her son in a tragic school shooting (from Sandy Hook, Connecticut), and Jason Quesada - a former gang member, (from Los Angeles, California). To purchase the film, click here.

After the trip to India, Scarlett said: “During the trip, I felt the most hope since my personal tragedy, because there was so much love that I received here.” Jason was so inspired by the trip that he joined me a year later to co-facilitate the delegation that included police officers.

I feel humbled and grateful to have been of service to Scarlett, Jason and others who have

I would even go to the extent of saying that if the whole world is a home, India has always been the prayer room – for reflection and inner transformation.

joined on the trips to India. Based on the experience of the delegates, I am convinced that India’s ancient culture has something unique to offer to build our human capacity in promoting love and nonviolence and stop the senseless violence that is ongoing in the United States and beyond.

We invite you to make the voice of peace louder

Violence, especially in the United States, is no longer restricted to certain neighborhoods, but can happen anywhere and affect everyone, regardless of social or economic status. In the United States, each year, over 13,500 people are killed due to gun violence, over 43,000 commit suicide, and over 100,000 are abused by an intimate partner. There is an urgent need to design solutions that promote nonviolence and compassion and make our communities and neighborhoods more safe, harmonious and peaceful.

As community leaders and social activists, we need to deepen our understanding of nonviolence and reimagine how to promote love and compassion in our communities.

Would you like to join us for our upcoming delegation to India - and “travel with purpose”?

Would you like to be with other like-minded changemakers who are concerned about the ongoing violence in the world?

To join on one of our upcoming pilgrimages to India, click here.

Launching and hosting the film - India With Love

The From India With Love documentary film will be launched in Washington DC on the eve of Dr. King’s birth anniversary on Jan 15th. The film can be screened in local communities and neighborhoods to promote love, compassion, and nonviolence. My friend, Ruben Cantu, shares his experience at a screening we hosted in Austin, followed by a practical discussion on nonviolence and compassion. If you would like to host the screening of the film, please go ahead and purchase the film, click here.

We invite you to join us and be part of the movement to promote compassion and reinvigorate nonviolence in the communities that we live in. We invite you to lend your voice towards building better neighborhoods, and thereby a better future for our children.

To partner with us or to donate to our nonprofit mission, click here.



By Mandar Apte, a Visiting Scholar at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University. Mandar is passionate about innovation learning and won the prestigious "Ashoka League of Intrapreneurs" award for his efforts to design and facilitate the EMPOWER program to nourish the innovation culture at Shell to over 2,000 colleagues using meditation techniques. Mandar has also launched ‘From India With Love’ - a unique initiative to promote nonviolence.

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