Learn to Serve: India
"If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions, I should point to India."
— Max Mueller
Spend a season immersed in the life of Varanasi, one of India’s holiest cities, while serving those whose lives will be poorer without your help!
The primary purpose of this semester is to serve others, and learn about service, while experiencing the richness of life in India. Over the past decade, while running shorter programs in Varanasi, LEAPNOW has forged contacts with individuals, small organizations and grass-roots initiatives that are working to serve people who have few or no resources or low status or limited rights, and who won’t be helped without the intervention of caring individuals. This includes people who are very poor, children of the red light disctrict, the sick and dying. Semester participants will assist these grassroots efforts in Varanasi, while learning Hindi and living with Indian families, immersing themselves in the life of a culturally rich city. We will challenge ourselves to find new ways to support those who wouldn’t be helped if we don’t reach out to them and touch their lives in a positive way.
Semester in India Timeline
After a 3-day orientation retreat in California, we spend 11 weeks based in Varanasi before returning to California for a 3-day retreat to debrief the semester and re-enter the U.S. in a gentle way.
We start the semester with an in-country orientation in Varanasi accompanied by intensive Hindi language instruction – to more fully meet the people we’ll work with on their own terms. In addition to significant instruction in the Hindi language, LEARN to Serve students will also attend courses on learning to teach English, how to work effectively with children, and other modes of helping. Students will live with Hindu and Muslim homestay families and meet on a regular basis at the LEARN to Serve house - which is our home base throughout the semester. We’ll be based in a quieter part of the city for the sake of our sanity, but will have access to the entire city and surrounding towns for service, exploration and classes.
Service work is complemented by regular and enriching classes such as: hatha yoga, Bollywood dance, silverwork, meditation, traditional Indian dance, woodcarving, sitar or tabla lessons, drum-making, Ayurvedic medicine, energy healing, astrology, jewelry making, and much more. Our weeks in Varanasi are frequently enriched by weekends exploring sites of cultural interest in the region such as Bodh Gaya (site of the Buddha’s enlightenment), the Himalayan kingdom of Sikkim, Sarnath (site of the Buddha’s first public discourse), and the Taj Mahal. Students will also have frequent opportunities to take part in the spiritual life of this vibrantly holy city - yoga and meditation courses, ceremonies and pujas, cremations on the ghats, and visits to other sacred sites.
During the semester, group members will comb the city to find undersupported people, projects, local initiatives and opportunities for service. During the semester each student will received a budget of $300 that they will use to identify and reach out to someone during the semester that they can help, and who isn’t currently being helped. As a group, throughout the semester, we will explore themes such as: Overcoming entitlement; The paradox of the fact that the world needs change, and it’s simultaneously perfect the way it is; How to serve effectively; Opening the Heart & Avoiding Burnout; Selfless service and karma yoga; Helping others, Helping ourselves; etc.
Varanasi - The City of Lights
"Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together."
- Mark Twain
LonelyPlanet.com, the travel website, describes Varanasi in the following way:
"Few places in India are as colourful, charismatic or spiritual as the bathing ghats lining the Ganges in Varanasi. The city of Shiva is one of the holiest places in India, where Hindu pilgrims come to wash away a lifetime of sins in the Ganges or to cremate their loved ones. Varanasi, previously named Benares and Kashi (City of Light)…has always been an auspicious place to die, since expiring here offers moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth and death). The city is the beating heart of the Hindu universe, a crossing place between the physical and spiritual worlds, and the Ganges is viewed as a river of salvation, an everlasting symbol of hope to past, present and future generations. The magical but sometimes overwhelming city is where the most intimate rituals of life and death take place in public on the city’s ghats. The accessibility to the practices of an ancient but still living religious tradition is what captivates many visitors, and a walk along the ghats or a boat ride on the river is one of India’s most absorbing experiences."
Varanasi, also called Benares and Kashi, is an ancient city--over 2000 years old. The famous burning ghats, where the dead are cremated in the open air, are lit by a flame it is said has not gone out in two millennia. The city, like all of India, is a place of extremes. Majestic temples rub shoulders with slums, and a deep spirituality co-exists with extreme poverty. The air is polluted, the smells of spice and chai mingling with ash, and the colors of the clothes are the vibrant variety unique to India.
Religion and spirituality are the lifeblood of Varanasi. Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Muslims live there, at peace or otherwise, and holy men, sadhus, are a common sight.
Living in Varanasi can be overwhelming, which is why we've chosen a quieter part of the city for our Learn to Serve house. But even as you work for those in need, you will be worked by the city. No one leaves India untouched by her richness.
Learn to Serve Section Navigation
Learn to Serve Home | College Credit | Admissions & Logistics | Application