In spirituality, India overwhelms you by its variety. From the most naïve and almost disturbing practices to the most empirical and down-to-earth spirituality, in so far that such a thing can exist, the entire spectrum is there, alive and permanently changing, changing itself, and changing lives.

But the most important aspect of an Indian experience is the contact with Indians themselves. Strong, resilient to the point of being stubborn, astoundingly tolerant and so deliciously different. It is their being fundamentally different to us, people of the Middle East and Europe, that provides so much potential for synergies and ultimately life changing experiences. Because India changes your life. Unless you are totally insensitive, you will not be the same once back. You may hate it, you may have an obsession with it or start loving it. But you won't be indifferent.

In my case, there is my life before India, and my life after India. My perception of the world, my perception of happiness, love, destiny, financial comfort, spirituality (indeed) and God, all has been drastically challenged and ultimately modified. Not because I was physically displaced in an unknown country labeled by magazines and guides as "a spiritual place", but because I was submerged into another idea, another reality, which challenges you by its brutal difference, helping you to doubt, to question, and re-consider.

But India is not merely different, it is also powerful. India does that to you if you want it to happen and if you are lucky enough to be at the right place, with the right people, at the right moment. Go there if you can reach it, but beware, India is not just a country; if you do not end up hating it, you will have a difficult time releasing yourself from its claws.

Reza Zia-Ebrahimi, London