December 15th - 22nd    -     Virtually on the beach

I am becoming impatient. I keep making lists, sorting and resorting, to try and establish what I really want to take, and what I will miss desperately if I don't take it. 

I am becoming anxious about how basic I want to be, and just how much I actually want to "rough it." How many amenities do I want, and can I trust that this hut on the beach at £6 /night (full breakfast £1 extra) will be as dreamy as it looks.

I feel as if I am in training for Desert Island Discs . . . so what one luxury should I take? To be honest, the temptation of picking up duty-free Scotch at the airport, is nothing compared to the luxury of the wonderful vegetarian cuisine of Kerala. I will treat myself modestly and be in seventh heaven.

En-suite at Kurisumala ashram

Speakingof heaven, I finally came to a decision about my ashram retreat. 

The more I researched, the less one particular location appealed. The en-suite bathroom consisted of a hole in the floor and a tap in the wall. I have had worse in Africa, but I was much younger at the time. What really worried me was the fact that I suffer from obstructive sleep-apnoea, and wear a sleep mask that is connected to a constant pressure air pump. The rooms at the ashram have no electricity, and having no desire to wake up dead, I decided to seek out another location, where I could dream peacefully and be confident of waking up.

I have now booked myself into Saccidana ashram, also known as Shantivanam.

 This Ashram was founded in 1950 by two French Fathers, Jules Monchanin, who took the name of Parama Arubi Ananda (the bliss of the Supreme Spirit) and Henri Le Saux, who took the name of Abhishiktananda (the bliss of Christ).

They named the ashram “Saccidananda”  which means “Being, Consciousness and Bliss” and is a Hindu term for the Godhead. For the two Fathers, this signified the three aspects of the Christian Trinity. Their purpose was the quest for the Absolute, which has inspired monastic life in India from the earliest times, and they also intended to relate this quest to their own experience of "God in Christ" in the mystery of the Holy Trinity.

Entrance to Shantivanam 
Ashram of the Holy Trinity

Since 1980 Shantivanam has been part of the Benedictine Order as a community of the Camaldolese Benedictine Congregation.  

The ashram seeks to be a place of meeting for Hindus and Christians and people of all religions or none, who are genuinely seeking God, and has a guest house, where visitors can be accommodated for retreat, recollection and for religious dialogue and discussion. 

The ashram also has clear material aims within the community, and is conscious of the poor and the needy neighbours in the surrounding villages. They run a Home for the Aged and Destitute; and are involved in educating the children of the poorest, with 420 local children receiving books, school uniforms and clothes every year. The ashram also gives free boarding and lodging and medical care to 20 elderly and destitute local people.

I think I will be more comfortable in every sense at this ashram and look forward to seeing what happens when Benedictine monks blend their liturgy with Hindu tradition. It sounds like a powerful mix.

If you want to read more about Shantivanam, you will find their website here, is very interesting. 

For my part, it's time to recalculate my packing and make some decisions on what to take and what to leave behind.