Summary

| Day 14 - 15 |
THE SEVENTH STEP
is to conclude your journey by with
AN UNBOUNDED INSPIRATION
and
PURSUIT OF A DREAM
so that,
You leave India with the a new born seed of vision
and
this all begins at
MANIKARAN
where one man's crazy dream came true and inspired million others

Chapter Theme

We undergo two major moments in our lives, one being the moment we are born. The second is when we realize why.

This 2nd major moment – also called the point of inflexion - comes when we identify a deeper purpose, a passion towards something, a dream that make us who we were meant to be. Life goes through an inflexion, a dramatic favorable shift, when one comes to this realization. This chapter is dedicated to finding this moment, for our classrooms, workspaces, homes and lives in general don't give us enough time to initiate, leave alone conclude this search.

And, we will make this effort at a place to be: Manikaran, a beautiful place where a single man's dream of uniting all the religions led to the creation of a multi-storey Gurudwara (Sikh shrine) constructed with manual labor over a period of 50 years and it remains one of the handful of shrines in the world that celebrates multiple religions including Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism under one roof.

This chapter is about knowing his motivation, struggle and the masterpiece he created, and introspecting on your own life journeys ahead. The idea is to draw out an inspiration with which you can identify and pursue a new direction, long-hidden dream, a meaningful life-journey once your India journey is over.

Chapter Specifics

The chapter begins at the Manikaran Shrine, a five-storey monument that magically appears at a surreal location on the top of a mountain across a gushing river belt. You begin your journey by discovering the incredible vision with which this shrine was started: to provide food, shelter, healing and blessings to individuals who belong to any faith in the world. You would discover this not through a guided tour, but by taking part in this vision yourself and having a firsthand experience.

Staying at the shrine, you eat in a community kitchen, where food is cooked 24 hours in natural hot spring water and, surprisingly, it has never failed to feed its visitors, even when it once had the peak crowd of 10,000 pilgrims every day. You find the temple filled with the chants, images and statues of deities of various religions, including Christianity, Buddhism, Sikhism and Hinduism. In the morning, take a bath with the pilgrims in sulphur hot springs known for its miraculous healing properties and, besides this, give seva (selfless service) in serving food, helping pilgrims find shelter, and other daily operations inside the temple.

What make this stay even more inspirational are the three stories you hear from your Chapter Navigators. You hear from a special pilgrim and a live-in devotee; from one of the family associates of the founder or possibly his granddaughter if we are lucky; and you'll hear from people who have fulfilled their own unlikely dreams after coming to Manikaran.

Amidst these stories and inspirational experiences, you will have plenty of time to introspect and ponder over your life course in the backdrop of like-minded participants, grand mountains, green pastures, crystal clear spring water and a serene shrine. All this definitely leaves you with enough groundwork to conclude your journey of self-discovery.