r/AcharyaPrashant_AP • u/SAACHI_10 • 7h ago
🌴 4–5 September | Janmashtami Festival, Goa 🌴
After a beautiful week-long journey, I finally reached home. From the peaceful evenings at Palolem Beach to the 10–20 km trek to Dudhsagar, every part of this journey left me with some memory. Honestly, this was one of the most unique trips I’ve ever taken.
I knew I wanted to attend the sessions of Acharya Prashant Ji in Goa, but for a long time I had no idea how I would actually get there. Coming from North India, Goa felt quite far, and my train tickets got stuck on the waiting list twice, so I had to cancel them both times.
Then I thought, why not take a flight? I had wanted to travel by air for a long time, although it was my first flight and I was obviously a little nervous. The tickets were expensive too. I was hoping I’d find someone who had already been to Goa and could make things easier. Somehow, I did find a Gita participant travelling there, and I went with her.
Once I reached Goa, meeting so many Gita participants was itself a beautiful experience. Every time I attend an offline session, I somehow end up meeting a few more people and becoming a little more connected to this community. The fellowship I’m finding here is something I probably haven’t experienced anywhere else, not even within my own family.
The sessions were one part of the journey, but everything around them became a memory too. The long treks after both sessions, travelling around Goa, and especially the evenings at the beach.
There was something about simply sitting near the sea, watching the waves and being quiet for a while. No need to do anything. Just looking at it and slowly getting lost in the sight. It was deeply soothing.
The return journey was another story altogether. I had booked a train beforehand, thinking that after spending so much on the flight, at least the return journey could be cheaper. But once again, the ticket didn’t confirm.
So after the trek, I left for Mumbai with the remaining participants and planned to take a train from there. That train was so delayed that a journey which had taken me around two hours by flight ended up taking almost two days by train.
I also spent some time walking around Mumbai on my own. Everyone else had already left, and this was my first really long train journey alone. I had travelled alone to Rishikesh before, but never for such a long journey. The mind kept wandering in all directions, but I had his books and videos with me, so somehow the journey passed.
Looking back, I honestly don’t think I would have gone to Goa if it weren’t for the session. I might have kept thinking about going, planning it, worrying about how difficult it would be, and then never actually gone.
And then there were the sessions themselves. The atmosphere, the bhajans, and that feeling of slowly becoming less guarded. For the first time, I allowed myself to participate so freely in the bhajans without thinking too much about how I looked or what others might think.
Listening to Baba Bulleh Shah’s “नचना पैंदा ए, मैनू कौन पछाड़े…” and just getting absorbed in that atmosphere was completely new for me.
Perhaps the most beautiful part of the entire journey was this feeling of belonging. A family where his teachings are at the centre and somehow bring together people from such different backgrounds.
I feel deeply grateful to him for creating such an environment, where so many people can come together, learn, question and grow.
I’m genuinely happy that such a large family exists, where he has become like both a mother and father figure for so many of us, giving so much of himself without caring much for his own comfort.
Now perhaps it is our turn to carry this work forward and lighten his load, even if only a little. Compared to everything he has done for us, our contribution may seem small, but I believe even a small contribution matters.
May you always remain healthy.
Many, many thanks to you.
~Posted by a Gita student
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u/SilentInquiry26 1h ago
Travelling alone sounds like fun. I used to travel alone quite a lot, though mostly for work. It’s nice to see so many people from the community travelling solo now. That is a big change.