Prashanthi Kutiram

"One week at Prashanthi Kutiram", was the reply from Dr. Nagarathnaji when she examined me for the lower back pain complaints. "Oh no, how will I be able to stay away from work and family for a week?", I thought. But the pain was excruciating, and there wasn't much of a choice, so I signed up. "Kutiram" seemed nice but what if I don't get cell phone network there? Nevertheless, I needed relief from the pains. May be I get to meet people from other walks of life than IT and I can make few friends.

The 11am bus from Eknath Bhavan seemed to be set for a pleasant journey, thanks to awesome weather. The gentleman sitting next to me, Shailendra, was a prolific talker and soon we started talking. We went past Bannerghatta National Park and took a right turn at Jigani industrial area and soon enough entered gates of 'Prashanti Kutiram'.

 Jamunaji welcomed us warmly and without getting into any registration formalities sent us straight to Annapurna, for lunch.

 "If you really want to see improvement stay for at least two weeks", said Dr.Padminiij after preparing my case sheet. Thankfully, boss at office as well as home were courteous enough to let me stay on for the second week.

What a place! Pure Nature everywhere. We came across a 5 feet long snake within a couple of hours of our arrival, and pretty much got an idea of what to expect. The routine kicked in pretty soon - getting up at 4am, going through various sessions of Om meditations, Maitri Milans, Special Techniques, Vedantic and spiritual discourses, Pranayamas, Aasanas, Bhajans, MSRTs, Cyclic meditations, occasional physiotherapy sessions and above all 'Tune into Nature's.  Our day would end at about 10ish, with some spiritual readings at our respective rooms. Shailendra, the gadget-man, gave a great company with melodious music he used to play.

Soon enough our group of Shailendra, Sudhir, Rajat and Krishna started enjoying each other’s company during nature walks. Others such as Karate uncle, Tension aunty, Terror, Karma yogi, Akash gave us good company and made our stay a memorable one for years to come.

A serene lake, mango groves, acres and acres of greens, vast valley just outside of Prashanti, coupled with fantastic library (Anveshana), football field, ATM, phone booths, browsing center (ever occupied) - the atmosphere could beat any resort on any day. A small store stocked day-to-day stuff and loads of spiritual books and CDs. Conversations with fellow participants and students of S-VYASA University made up for intellectual stimulation aplenty.

Courteous doctors, therapists and staff did not let us feel that we were 'patients'. We were just 'participants' who got better by the day. Things started getting better for me as the second week rolled in - with my 'back' getting back to normal.

The Pancha Kosha Shudhi philosophy experiences of me and my fellow participants proved that Allopathic was not a necessity to get over life-style issues such as Back pain, Diabetes, Hypertension, Obesity and the rest.

Million thanks to Dr.Nagarathnaji for her motherly love and affection towards us, Dr.Nagendraji for such in-depth easy to understand discourse on Karma, Bhakti, Raja and Jnana Yoga as well as other spiritual topics, Dr.Padminiji for regular guidance, Jamunaji for feeding us sumptuous meals with ever smiling face, and to Rajesh for suggesting me this place in the first place!

Prashanthi Kutiram is a place where one can spend some time every year and get back into 'Physiological Baseline state' as Dr.Padminiji puts it. If you have not already visited, my high recommendations. :-)

For more details about Prashanthi Kutiram please visit www.svyasa.org

Dr.Nagarathnaji can be reached at her clinic in Chamrajpet, +91-80-2650-7585