Purna Pilgrimage to India: Embracing the Nine Forms of the Divine Feminine
Format
In Person
Event
Next
21 September - 1 October, 2025 (During the Indian Festival of Navratri)
Location
Goa, India
Faculty
Facilitated by Margot Esther Borden, PhD & Preeti D’mello
Credit
Bachelors – 8 credits Masters – 8 credits Doctoral – 8 credits
Available to the public
or for Academic Credit
Overview
In our modern, externally-focused world, many people seek meaning in the fast-paced chaos. This is where the myth embedded in Eastern wisdom traditions provides a way for us to understand our way of being and becoming in the world. Hinduism, as a tradition, has been interpreted as yoga, tantra and other easily visited aspects. The foundation of the Vedas, the Hindu scripture of reference for Vedic practitioners, is to convey the truth of who we are. These deeper dimensions of knowledge and wisdom, the innermost revelations of the ancient rishis, are often neglected.
This 11-day intensive retreat is an invitation to self-initiation into Vedic practices through the ancient sacred festival of Navratri. Each day, participants will have an opportunity to learn and journey into the Vedic culture, philosophy, psychology, and spiritual practices in relation to the nine goddesses that manifest during Navratri.
Through exercises, lectures, meditation at ancient Hindu temples, traditional rituals, offerings, somatic journeying, psychospiritual healing and development, writing as a ritual to the Divine Feminine™, and Vedic Astrology, each participant will discover their unique journey of alignment with the Divine Feminine.
Purna Pilgrimage to India:
A Journey Through Grace and Strength into Our Whole Selves
This course is for pilgrims seeking to:
- Explore the oldest wisdom schools of India.
- Delve into Eastern wisdom through its diverse philosophical, spiritual, and mystical traditions and practices.
- Access and embody their feminine and masculine dimensions and aspects.
- Explore the portals that allow deep, inner exploration, creating space, and finding and aligning to the divine feminine. We aspire to uncover, clear, clean, and align and connect within ourselves
- Develop a deeper understanding of ‘Sanatana Dharma’, Vedanta and Hinduism and dispel appropriated forms of the philosophies.
- Heed their deep, sincere desire and courage to develop consciously through an in-depth process of intentional transformation.
Course Design
Learning and Experience Structure
11-day in-person learning and experience structure (Location: Goa, India): The participants will experience lectures, rituals and prayers to invoke each day’s deity. Visits to ancient temples of ‘Shiva’, ‘Vishnu’ and ‘Durga’, chanting mantras, somatic practices, personalized Vedic astrology readings, writing ritual and dream integration will facilitate the journey.
Learning Objectives
- Learn and personalize a framework of engaging with the Divine as a living, universal force.
- Explore the basic and practical principles of divine living (dharma).
- Learning to read the everyday metaphors of our lives as a conduit of wisdom.
- Understand how to live according to the roles and responsibilities of our current context (varna).
- Adventure into the mystical dimensions of ‘Advaita Vedanta’ and ‘Sanatana Dharma’.
Learning Outcomes
- Understanding: Embodied understanding and creative assimilation of your personalised learnings.
- Reflection: Life overview establishing a framework for the future.
- Introspection: Embracing metaphors and mystical experiences and perceptions within our daily, practical lives.
- Action: Creating a life design
Sample of Daily Schedule
Yoga: 7:30 am to 8:30 am
Breakfast: 8:45 am to 9:45 am
Sadhana (Practise): 10 am to 10:45 am
Dreamwork
Reflection
Writing as a Ritual
Shiksha (Learning) 10:45 am – 11:45 am
Evoking the Goddess of the day
Myth & Mystical: 30 minutes
Psychological & Practical: 30 minutes
Break for tea: 11:45 am to 12:15 am: 30 minutes
Samvaad (Dialogue/Q&A) – 12:15 am – 1:00 pm
Samarpan (Surrender): 1:00 pm to 1:30 pm
Invoking within
Lunch: 1:30 to 3:30 (extracurricular activities)
Temple Visit 1: 2:45 to 6:45 pm
Temple Origin and Story – 15 minutes
Tea break (approx 4 pm)
Ritual: 45 minutes
Reflection/ Inner work: 45 minutes
Invoking the Goddess
or
Shiksha (Learning & Integration): 3 pm to 6 pm
Lecture: 120 minutes
Ritual: 45 minutes
Reflection/ Inner work: 45 minutes
Writing: 60 minutes
Dinner + Evening activities: 7 pm
Local devotional music
Dance
Guest lectures
The fire ritual (havan/yagna)
Faculty
Preeti D’mello
Preeti is a Vedic practitioner from the Nath tradition. Her study of Hinduism and Vedic traditions guide her life and work, focusing on human consciousness and fulfillment. She is a direct disciple of Shri Shivabala Yogi and came under his tutelage at 12, learning meditation and observation as a transformative process. Preeti is a disciple of Maa Samvidananda Saraswati and studies the Bhagavad Gita under her guidance.
Preeti is an organizational psychologist, a professional certified coach, and a facilitator. She integrates the wisdom of the East and West with authenticity and intentionality. She is a PhD student at the Wisdom School at Ubiquity University. Her 35 years of work and education have provided her with a rich pathway to change, consciousness, and upliftment through knowledge and direct experience.
Preeti is the co-founder and President of The Fulfillment Institute, an organization focused on the pursuit of fulfillment and excellence in Coach Education.
Faculty
Margot Esther Borden, PhD
Margots discovery of yoga, Indian philosophy, and meditation at the age of 12 sparked her passion for exploring consciousness in its physical, vital, emotional, mental, and spiritual dimensions. Her search has involved both research and direct experience of many psychological and spiritual traditions, experiential therapies, and more than 40 years dedicated to Eastern meditation and yogic techniques.
Margot completed her breathwork training in Paris in 1986 and her Master of Arts in Humanistic Psychology at the University of Durham in the UK in 1997. She completed her Ph.D. of Philosophy in Wisdom Studies at Ubiquity University, focusing on Women’s Spirituality. Margot is the author of Psychology in the Light of the East (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017) and co-author/co-editor of Spirituality and Business, Exploring Possibilities for a New Management Paradigm (Springer, 2010)
Margot is an integral psychotherapist, coach, author, international public speaker, and seminar facilitator. After 30 years of following the path of Kriya Yoga, she lived in India for 11 years. Her client base is in Europe, the USA, and India.
A selection of videos
from Sri M:
The Essence of Navaratri: Essence of Navaratri | Sri M (10:22)
Invoking the Goddess Within: Invoking the Goddess within | Sri M (2:18)
Shakti, The Divine Energy: Shakti – The Divine Energy | Sri M (59:54)
Why is the Devi called Mahishasura Mardini?: Why is the Devi called Mahishasura Mardini? | Sri M (1:27)
Gateway to Sri Vidya: Bala Tripurasundari Mantra – Gateway to Sri Vidya | Sri M, (4:27)
Gayatri Mantra: The Gayatri Mantra | Sri M (7:10)
Parashakti and her Manifestations: Parashakti and her Manifestations | Sri M (4:37)
A Simple Practice For Navaratri: A simple practice for Navaratri | Sri M – YouTube (0:58)
Why Durga Puja? Why Durga Puja? | Sri M – YouTube (0:56)
Kamala, the Lotus Goddess: Sri M – (Short Audio) – 10) Kamala – The Dasha Mahavidyas (5:43)
Shakti and Advaita Vedanta: The Concept of Shakti in Upanishadic Wisdom | Session 1 | Live from Bhopal (57:34)
Durga Chalisa: Durga Chalisa by Navadurgas | Vande Guru Paramparaam (8:10) chanting – listen
Required Reading for Students taking course for credit
Autobiography of a Yogi: Paramahansa Yogananda;
Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master: A Yogi's Autobiography: Sri M;
Wisdom of the Rishis: The Three Upanishads Sri M;
Devi by Ramesh Menon;
7 Secrets of the Goddess by Devdutt Patnaik
End of course essay regarding the learnings in this course using APA style.
- For BA students – 6-9 pages in length
- For MA students – 10-15 pages in length
- For PhD students – 20-25 pages in length
All papers must be written to the APA standard and demonstrate the “subject/object synthesis” — we want students to demonstrate command of the content of the course, and we want students to demonstrate how they have been affected by what they have learned, how the content has informed their spiritual or personal development. We welcome all forms of artistic expression as part of the student’s paper.
