Pilgrimage in Southern India – temples, rituals & gods
Date: Monday April 7, 2025
Time: 2 – 4 p.m. with intermission
Location: Comox United Church, 250 Beach Drive, Main Hall
Instructor: Robert McDonald
Cost: $10 payable in cash at the door
To register: Email Elaine Brown at broelaine@gmail.com
In January 2019, Robert McDonald traveled to Tamil Nadu state in southern India on a month-long intentional Pilgrimage. Traveling with a group of 18 interested in learning more about Hindu teachings, experiencing worship practises, and learning how they differ from Christian practices, the group was led by a couple who had deep experience with both Christianity and the Indian Vedanta (Hindu) tradition. There were teachings about Vedantic beliefs, worship, chanting, meditation and yoga, as well as south Indian culture and food. Most of the month was spent living in a rural Benedictine Ashram on the Cauvery River, eating simple vegetarian food. After arranging for suitable clothing for temple visits and learning the temple practices, they visited major Temples on day trips from the Ashram with thousands of other Hindu devotees. On two occasions, at smaller temples, there were special services arranged just for their group.
In addition to providing insight on his experiences and learnings, the role of a “guru” in the spiritual life of an Indian spiritual seeker will also be explored, by describing two twentieth century examples from Tamil Nadu, whose Ashrams we visited.
The talk will use photographs, videos and PowerPoint to explore a narrow slice of Indian culture and spiritual life, at a level much deeper than most tourists experience. Robert McDonald spent his career in engineering and management but has spent most of his retirement teaching Elder College and exploring different spiritual traditions and sites. He completed a two-year program in Spiritual Companioning in 2015.