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Sea Surfing Ashram at Mulki – Kaliya Mardana Krishna Ashram at Mangalore in Karnataka

The unique Sea Surfing Ashram retreat is part of the Kaliya Mardana Krishna Ashram at Mulki North of Managlore in Karnataka. People here do sea surfing as part of their spiritual experience. The Kaliaya Mardana Krishna Ashram is managed by Lord Krishna Devotees who follow the Gaudiya Vaishnava Tradition of Hinduism and are known as the Surfing Swamis. The community has strict rules and there are no night parties etc that is associated with Surfing. The life at the Ashram starts at 4:00 AM with Hare Krishna Chant.

This unique sea surfing Ashram and retreat was founded by Daruka Dasa, a native of San Diego, US, with two others and his gurus – Swami Narasingha and Haridas Babuji.

“For some people, surfing is almost a spiritual thing,” Swami Narasingha said, explaining the link between the sport and his interpretation of Hinduism. “It’s to do with a very mellow connection to the ocean” – the connection is more clearly written on a painted surfboard in the courtyard of the Ashram – Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita: “Of bodies of water, I am the ocean.”

You can find more details about the Sea Surfing Ashram in this article on Livemint.

Timesonline UK had written about the Surfing Swamis in an article in October 2009 you can read it here.