Every year we hear so much about Sri Ram Ashram and the connections that the students make with the children here. It is crazy to finally be here and get to experience something that we have waited years for. 

The day after arriving at Sri Ram, we made our way to Rishikesh. On the bus ride we listened to the White Album which was written here in India. Every single person on our bus knew the songs, the teachers and the students. The Beatles have had such an impact on so many generations. Their music is truly inspiring. 

When we arrived, I immediately felt at home. Everyone is so nice and welcoming. Everyone wants to play.I  can’t even remember the last time I jumped rope, played on a playground,or ran around playing ultimate frisbee for almost an hour.  In America, I feel like a lot of the time it’s easy for teenagers to forget that we are still kids. But here, you lose track of time. Being in this moment, it feels like nothing else matters. 

Being at the Beatles ashram was surreal for me.  I started the day in kind of a bad mood but the energy at the ashram made the way I was feeling completely shift. It was incredible to walk through the remnants of what were once buildings, thinking about how people you look up to so much once walked in the same place. In a way, it felt very spiritual. 

I have grown up listening to the Beatles and hearing stories from both of my parents about how their sisters were obsessed with Paul, Ringo, John, and George. How they would scream when they saw them on the television. I started playing guitar about 2 years ago and the first song I ever learned was “Blackbird.” It is definitely an experience I will never forget. -Chloe Smith

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Rishikesh, a city nestled along the Ganges river, is not only one of the greatest yoga and meditation capitals of the world, but is also considered incredibly holy and has been featured in Hindu mythology for centuries. Many people who visit are ones hoping to embark, or continue, on a spiritual journey- the Beatles famously being one of them. The Beatles lived in Rishikesh in the 1960s at an Ashram, and sought spiritual teachings from the well respected Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It also was during their time at the ashram that they wrote and recorded the famous White album. 

Yesterday we had the great pleasure of visiting the city of Rishikish, where we got to visit the famous Beatles ashram, and dip our feet (both literally and figuratively) in the powerful spirituality that the city is known for. 

The Beatles ashram was something I had been greatly looking forward to for a long time. When I was younger, my dad would tell me stories of the Beatles Ashram, and its significance to the band’s music and spiritual journey. Upon entering, the ashram was not at all what I was expecting. Many of the huts and houses at the ashram were in slight disarray and many were slowly collapsing into the forest floor. Despite this slight surprise, there was an aspect to this decay that I greatly enjoyed. To the Beatles, and the many spiritual teachers and beings that lived there, it was not about material possession, or lavishness, as many of the huts were quite simple and small. I wondered if the former inhabitants would have enjoyed the way the holy buildings are embodying the universal nature of impermanence. 

There was a special energy at the ashram, one much of the city seemed to share. It was not just the energy of the famous or significant people who have lived or visited there, but the energy of every person who has come and left a part of their heart. The city is incredibly significant to many people, both spiritual and historically, and their love and reverence for the city is evident, as you can feel and see it clearly. 

At sunset we got to experience the city’s Aarti- a nightly Hindu ritual that typically involves music, mantras, hymns, and prayers as a way to express devotion to the gods. I learned a bit about Aarti and evening prayer through my conversation with Dr Metre about her nightly practice, and by experiencing the ceremony at Sri Ram Ashram. It is a time of pure devotion and presence- an incredible thing to witness. 

Once the sun had set over the city, my classmates and I, released a bowl of flowers, and incense onto the Ganges river. The candles on each of these boats lit up the river- a beautiful way to conclude both the evening’s ceremony, and our day in the city.-Emi Lord