{"id":1290,"date":"2018-03-22T16:08:13","date_gmt":"2018-03-22T16:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yogadirectorycanada.com\/community\/?p=1290"},"modified":"2021-04-26T18:50:05","modified_gmt":"2021-04-26T18:50:05","slug":"a-real-indian-ashram-in-the-heart-of-rishikesh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yogadirectorycanada.com\/community\/a-real-indian-ashram-in-the-heart-of-rishikesh\/","title":{"rendered":"A real Indian Ashram in the heart of Rishikesh"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photos and story by Leslie Smith<\/h3>\n
\"Authentic

Authentic Indian ashram, Rishikesh<\/p><\/div>\n

SWARG ASHRAM\u2014In the throbbing heart of Rishikesh, on the left bank of the Ganges lies Parmath Niketan, a long-established ashram frequented by pilgrim of all sorts\u2014though not so many Westerners.<\/p>\n

RISHIKESH IS THE PLACE: Rishikesh is the place to go for Western yogis and yoginis and the town has increasingly based its economy around Westerners. Though it has long been a place of pilgrimage for Hindus by virtue of its location on the banks of the sacred Ganga River (which we call the Ganges) and its proximity to the equally sacred Himalayas there are other more sacred sites along the river, usually connected with Kumbha Mela, a sacred water rite which is held every three, six, twelve or 144 years in four different cities\u2014nearby Hardiwar, Prayag (Allahabad) in 2019, Ujjain and Nashik\u2014attended by hundreds of thousands of devotees. (https:\/\/www.kumbhamela.net<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/div>