Top 4 Meditation Centers in North India – A Detailed Guide

Meditation is the best way to heal your both mental and physical illness. It gives you enlightenment in life. India is the place where yoga was originated. People from all over the world come to meditation and yoga centers in India to seek inner peace.

So next time when you travel to North India, experience these Meditation Centers in North India to become a new person in and out and return with loads of positive energy and wellness.

Osho Meditation Resort

The Osho meditation resort is located in Koregaon Park, Pune. It is spread across 32 acres of land filled with greenery. It was founded by Osho Rajneesh. The beautiful landscape and calm surroundings makes this place best suitable for meditation. This ashram conducts many training programs on spiritual living and stress free lifestyle. Daily meditation classes such as, Osha Vipassana meditation, Osha Nadabrahma meditation, Osho Kundalini meditations are conducted here. It offers personal development classes such as, martial arts, healing arts, creative arts and many more. It also has spa facilities, pool, Jacuzzi, gym and tennis court.

Visiting hours to this meditation resort is 6 AM to 10:30 PM.

Attractive Places in Osho Meditation Resort

Osho Auditorium

It is also called as Buddha hall and is the world’s largest meditation hall. It is a massive pyramid structure where many concerts and huge gatherings are conducted. Daily meditation classes are conducted in this auditorium.

Osho Teerth Park

It is a Japanese style Zen garden and is located next to ashram. Previously, this place was a barren land but, now it is a place of beautiful landscape. The timing to visit this garden is from 6 AM to 9 AM and
3 PM to 6 PM every day. The entry is free to this park.

How to Reach:

It is located in Pune. When travelling through air, Pune International Airport is the nearest airport, which is 8 km from the Osho meditation resort. From airport, you can either book a prepaid taxi or rikshaw to reach the meditation resort. When travelling through train, Pune railway station is the nearest railway station, which is 3 km from the ashram. Many buses ply from Pune to Osho meditation resort.

Food:

Zorba the Buddha is a pool side eatery where you can get varieties of cuisines from pasta, pizza, omelet to masala dosa. Cool drinks, coffees and dessert are also available here.

Accommodation:

OSHO guesthouse has many rooms for accommodation. The room rates are different for single occupancy and double occupancy. You can choose accordingly. The rooms are wheel chair friendly for physically ill people.

Things to Carry

• Maroon and white wardrobes are must to visit this place
• Valid visa and passport for foreigners
• Valid photo ID
• Passport size photo
• Personal medications

Dhamma Giri – Vipassana International Academy

This is one of the largest vipassana centres in north india and India. It is located in Igatpuri town, which is 45 km from Nasik. It is surrounded by sahyadri hills and covers 23 acres of land. It was founded by S.N.Goenka. Vipassana means to see the things as they are. It is the oldest method of meditation for self-liberation by observing the breath. This technique heals both mental and physical illness. Many courses are held at Dhamma Giri, out of which, minimum 10 day course is required to get benefit from vipassana meditation. Special 10 day course, Satipatthana Sutta course, old student short courses are held at this centre. All the courses run on purely donation.

Visiting hours is from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM every day. It is closed on 10^th day of each course.

Attractive Places in Dhamma Giri – Vipassana International Academy

Pagoda

It is the magnificent main building for meditation and has Myanmar style architecture. It has concentric rings of 400 cells for individual meditation. The huge meditation hall has capacity of 300 people who can meditate at a time.

Dhamma Giri has seven meditation halls and has a capacity of 250 students for each hall.

Art Gallery

Documentary videos of Dhamma and beautiful paintings of Buddha are presented in this visitor art gallery.

Buddha Park

This park is filled with greenery. It has attractive engraves which depicts Buddha’s life. The beautiful engraves are made from granite stone by Thailand artisans.

How to Reach:

It is located in Igatpuri town. When travelling through air, Mumbai International Airport is the nearest airport, which is 137 km from Igatpuri. When travelling through train, nearest railway station is Igatpuri railway station, which is 10 – 15 min walk from the railway station. From railway station, you can either travel through share taxi or share autorikshaw to reach Vipassana International Academy.

Food:

Food is free of cost. Simple vegetarian meals are provided. Breakfast is provided at 6:30 AM to 8 AM, lunch is provided at 11 AM to 12 PM and snacks with tea are provided at 5 PM to 6 PM. Dinner is not provided. If you are on separate medication and need to have dinner, if the medical prescription is shown, then dinner is provided to you.

Accommodation:

Accommodations are free. It has many single rooms, dormitories and cottages. You need to book 2 to 3 months in advance to avail meditation courses.

Things to Carry

• Comfortable and modest clothing which covers shoulders and knees
• Toiletries such as soap, toothbrush, paste and shampoo
• Light footwear
• Umbrella
• Torchlight
• Mosquito repellent

Parmarth Niketan

Parmarth Niketan is the largest ashram in Rishikesh. It was founded by Swami Shukdevanand Saraswati. It is located on the banks of the holy river Ganga and is surrounded by mesmerizing Himalayan Mountains. This ashram has beautiful gardens and people across the world come here to seek spirituality. Activities such as yoga, meditation, satsang, lectures, kirthan and Ganga aarti in the evening are conducted daily in the ashram. Different courses such as, yoga, pranayama, meditation, acupressure, reiki and stress management are conducted in this ashram. Ayurvedic treatment and nature care is also provided. Many cultural and spiritual programs are held in this ashram to spread divinity and rejuvenate mind and body.

Visiting hours is from 8 AM to 9 PM.

Attractive Places in Parmarth Niketan

• Lord Shiva Statue of 14 Feet Height
• Kalpavriksha, the Devine Tree
• Statue of Lord Hanuman
• Parmarth’s Garden

How to Reach:

It is located in Rishikesh near Ram Jhula Bridge. You can travel through road, train or by air. When travelling through train, nearest railway station is Rishikesh Railway Station, which is 4 km from ashram. When travelling through air, nearest airport is Jolly Grant Airport, Dehradun which is 20 km from ashram. You can book a taxi from railway station and airport.

Food:

Vegetarian healthy food is provided in this ashram. Breakfast, lunch, snacks with tea and dinner are provided with specific timings.

Accommodation:

Accommodations are provided only by prior booking. You need to book 15 days in advance. There are more than 1000 rooms to accommodate many people.

Things to Carry

• Comfortable clothes which covers shoulders and knees
• White clothing to perform yoga is mandatory
• Lock and keys for your bags
• Valid photo ID
• Water bottles

Root Institute

Root institute for wisdom culture is a Buddhist spiritual centre located at Bodhgaya which has a tradition of Tibet. It is a unique place which offers retreat for inner transformation for both individual and in group. It is spread across 2 acres of land having a peaceful ambience, vibrant flowers which create a monastic environment. Courses such as, Liberation in the Palm of your Hand, Wisdom of Emptiness, Tibetan New Year Retreat and many more are offered by this institute. Many spiritual programs and social services are conducted here. Meditation and yoga are conducted daily in this institute.

Visiting hours is from 9 AM to 12 PM and 1:15 PM to 5 PM.

Attractive Places in Root Institute

Prayer Wheel

The magnificent prayer wheel is 12 feet in height. This is the most attractive place in the institute. People who have physical and mental illness turn the wheel and chant the mantra. It is believed that it will cure any diseases and gives positive vibes.

Stupas

In the garden of institute, there are many golden stupas which are sponsored by the students for their loved ones who have died.

Statues

There are many attractive statues such as, Shakyamuni Buddha, Arya Nagajuna, Maitreya Buddha, Tara, Namgyalma and many more which are painted in the form of Tibetan culture. Students in the evening perform mantra recitation by offering flowers, incense, candles, water and khatas to each statue.

Meditation Hall

There are separate two large meditation halls to perform meditation.

Yoga Hall

The shaded roof top of dining hall is the yoga space. It creates a perfect space ideal for yoga. Yoga mats are provided by the institute.

Video Room

This room provides viewing equipment and many spiritual DVDs.

Library

The library has extensive collection of books of spiritual, Buddhism, pilgrimage and many more. Different language Buddhist texts are available in this library.

Clinic

The Shakyamuni Buddha clinic provides western and homeopathic medicine for the locals and guests in the institute. It is the famous clinic which is being running from twenty years. It is open from Monday to Friday at 9 AM to 4 PM.

How to Reach:

It is located in Bodhgaya. When traveling through air, Gaya Airport is the nearest airport, which is 8 km from Bodhgaya. When travelling through train, Gaya railway station is the nearest railway station, which is 13 km from Bodhgaya. When travelling by road, many taxis are available to Bodhgaya from cities like Varanasi, Patna and Ranchi.

Food:

Vegetarian healthy meals are provided at dining hall. Filtered water is available all the time. Different varieties of tea such as, milk tea, ginger tea and lemon tea are available in the morning and afternoon every day.

Accommodation:

This institute offers various accommodations such as, retreat houses, single rooms, double rooms, triple rooms and dormitory. Pillow, bed sheet and blanket are provided for all types of accommodation.

Things to Carry

• Comfortable clothing which covers shoulders and knees
• Photocopy of passport
• Passport size photo
• Toiletries such as soap, toothbrush, paste and shampoo
• Regular medications
• Torchlight
• Water bottle
• Towel

Visit these meditation centers, when you travel next to North India. Get relieved from all your stress and fill your mind and body with positive energy and wellness.

Along with travelling to different places and enjoying beautiful locations and relaxing in luxury resorts, these vipassana centres in north india also play an important part in rejuvenating our body and mind.

Have been into any of these Meditation Centers in India, share your experience in the comments below.

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Image by Patrizia08 from Pixabay

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