IndiaQuest, December 2003

From the inception of the Pilgrimage Project, it has been our intention to have our first non-Western pilgrimage in India - in December 2003, we fufilled this dream. Our goals and objectives for the pilgrimage to India were shaped in the context of our knowledge that there exists in India perhaps the most richly diverse expressions of human spirituality in the world. India is also the home of a variety of approaches to non-violent peacemaking. These approaches are situated in various mystical, ethical and philosophical dimensions of spiritual and intellectual traditions.

In December 2003, conversations were held in Delhi, Coimbatore, Kerala and Calcutta, India focusing on the "Woman's Quest for Sustainable Peace: Spiritual Practice, Activism, and Art." This Pilgrimage included Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Indigenous and Christian women and will ultimately facilitate a broader network of women peace activists. This will allow us to exchange information and strategies; and help us form alliances that will foster site-specific projects in peacemaking, cross-cultural communication, and the arts.

In April 2003, the Project convened in Berkeley California for a preliminary conference that highlighted discussions and presentations concerned with active programs for women of South East Asia while addressing aspects of making a pilgrimage to the East. Use the link for more information and multi-media options.

Itinerary

Dec. 5

Arrived in New Delhi

Dec. 7-10

Conference for Religious Solidarity in the Midst of Communal Violence, by the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions

(Pre-Conference to the Parliament in Barcelona, Spain in July 2004)

Dec. 10-11

Indiaquest: Conversation II, Delhi

Dec. 12-14

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Link: Amritapuri

Indiaquest: Conversation II, Kerala (Amritapuri near Kullam (Quilon)
From Delhi we flew south to Kerala where Rama’a Devi, from the Ammachi community, had arranged for us an unforgettable visit among followers of Amma who are in redsidence at Amritapuri. We spoke in-depth with two women priests and learned of Amma’s humanitarian projects in India and around the world

Dec. 15-16

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Link: Arsha Vidya

Indiaquest: Conversation II, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
In Tamil-nadu, Vrnda Chaitanya (Dr. Brinda Rao, Wisdom Circle member) greeted us at the (Vedantin) Arsha Vidya Ashram where we attended classes with the renunciants in community, and were introduced to local humanitarian projects sponsored by Swamiji Dayananda Saraswati and his foundation. Internships will be possible at, at least one of these sites.

Dec. 17-19

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Link: Jadavpur University

Indiaquest Conversation II, Calcutta
Dr. Chandana Chakrabarti, our Director of Conferences who is from Calcutta, conducts conferences there annually and arranged a schedule that brought us as guests into the homes of wonderful new artist friends from differing economic strata. She also arranged a visit to a university setting where we spoke with the Director of Women’s Studies and where we hope to develop internships and possible exchange programs. We also visited an ashram on the outskirts of Delhi where we spoke with renunciant women whom Chandana has visited since childhood.

Dec. 20-22

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Link: AIWC

Indiaquest Debriefing in Delhi
On our return visit to Delhi we were invited to meet with members of the Board of Directors for an organization that has been committed to women’s empowerment in India for over 75 years. We discussed in some depth the possibilities for internships for women in the US in several of their numerous programs that are flourishing not only in Delhi but within over 500 sites throughout the country.
Photographs and excerpts from our conversation are available in the India Media Gallery on this web-site.

Dec. 23

Departed from Delhi