Spiritual Travel And Spiritual Journeys

Traveling is a great way to find something to take your mind off everyday routines though sometimes you may come away feeling dissatisfied when you return home from your travels which is the main reason to consider the benefits of spiritual travel. Cathedrals and Madonna portraits can only provide a certain level of satisfaction and often you won't feel spiritually awake and so it pays to consider traveling to be spiritually awake.

Spiritual travel is of course not a buzzword that travel agents use to entice customers. In fact, people have traveled on pilgrimages from the very earliest times of our history and so it is something that has always held attraction to a certain type of person. From the 16th century onward it was common for Spanish Jesuits to travel to places such as Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay where they established missions to educate natives of those countries.

Today, however if you want to travel to find spiritual awakening there are as many different options available to you can imagine and these options provide you with a chance to visit places other than the Vatican and Yucatan and Egypt. If you wish to enjoy solitary spiritual upliftment then it pays to take in a few idyllic places such as Buddhist monasteries that are mostly situated in Asia with a few also located in the USA and in Europe.

For the real Buddhist spiritual travel experience you ought to consider making Bodhgaya (located in Bihar in India). This is the very place where the revered Lord Buddha sat and obtained enlightenment beneath a huge Bodhi tree. Today, this place has seen a huge Mahabodi Temple complex being constructed here and which is inhabited by Buddhist monks from every part of the world.

This particular place is truly exceptional as the surroundings are serenity personified and everything here is absolutely peaceful so as to promote true spiritualistic experiences. It is here that monks read the Holy Scriptures and spend their time contemplating the complexities and meaning of life.

Bodhgaya is home of many a Buddhist monastery each of which is maintained by Buddhists from different countries. If you are planning on flying here, there is an airport at Gaya that is about seven miles away from Bodhgaya and which sees a few flights arriving here from the not too distant metropolis of Kolkata.

To get the best out of your visit to Bodhgaya you need to plan your travel during the months November until February. You should also avoid coming here during June up till September which is when the rains lash Bodhgaya and make it hard to do any contemplation.

There are few better places to find spiritual peace than Bodhgaya that has kept itself pure and untouched by the ravages of modern civilization. So, a visit to Bodhgaya will not only be very pleasant and productive; it will also be a very different and unique experience as well.

Article Source: TravelFreeGuides.com

About the Author

Commentary originated by Howie Holben. Spirit Journeys arranges gay weekend breaks and has gay tantra retreats. Discover leading edge concepts for a gay journey at Spirit Journeys website.

by: Howie Holben

Total views: 4 Word Count: 503 Date: Sun, 10 Jan 2010 Time: 6:31 AM - 0 comments

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