Advaita Ashram, Mayavati, India

Location

Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, is a branch of the Ramakrishna Math,¹ founded on 19 March 1899 at the behest of Vivekananda by his disciples James Henry Sevier, and Charlotte Sevier. Today it publishes the original writings of Vivekananda.

As an ashram dedicated to the study and practice of Advaita Vedanta philosophy free from ritualistic settings, and to training others in spreading it, no images or idols are worshipped there, not even of Ramakrishna, and no images were kept in the premises according to the ideals set by Vivekananda.

Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, a branch of the Ramakrishna Math, founded on 19 March 1899. Photo: Soumya IITC/Wikipedia.

Also referred as the Mayavati Ashram, it is located at an altitude of 1940 meters, 22 km from Champawat in Champawat district, Uttarakhand, and 9 km from the town of Lohaghat.

The ashram is a major publication center of the Ramakrishna Order for books in English and Hindi, mainly through its branch in Kolkata. It also maintains a charitable hospital at Mayavati.

Among its important publications are The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda in English and as well as a Hindi translation, The Life of Swami Vivekananda, and English translations of important Hindu scriptures.

Some of the old manuscripts of the ashram have now been microfilmed and preserved at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) in Delhi.

History

Earlier, in 1895, James Henry Sevier, a former captain in the British Indian Army, and his wife Charlotte Elizabeth Sevier, met Vivekananda in England. In 1896 they travelled with him through Switzerland, Germany, and Italy. It was in the Alps that Vivekananda, while travelling with the couple that he expressed his desire to have a place for the monks in the Himalayas to retreat and study of Vedas.

In December 1896, the couple moved to India, with an objective to find a place to set up an ashram. The couple rented a bungalow in Almora and this became the residence of Vivekananda and the Seviers for next two years.

Later, the Sevier couple along with Swami Swarupananda, a monastic disciple of Vivekananda, started travelling looking a suitable place, which was eventually found in July 1898, set amidst dense deodar, pine and oak forests; the land which was until then a tea estate was promptly purchased, and decided upon for the new ashram.

Finally, with the help of Swami Swarupananda, the ashram was set up along with a small dwelling for the monks, ashramites and the couple themselves, in March 1899, around the same time as the Belur Math was being established near Kolkata.

After the sudden death of Rajam Iyer, the first editor of the English Journal Prabuddha Bharata², was discontinued for a few months in 1898. The editorship was given to Swami Swarupananda, who also became the first abbot of the ashram upon its opening on 19 March 1899. He held the position until his death in 1906.

Upon its foundation, Vivekananda sent the following letter, in March 1899, entailing the prospectus of the Ashram:

"...To give this One Truth a freer and fuller scope in elevating the lives of individuals and leavening the mass of mankind, we start this Advaita Ashrama on the Himalayan heights, the land of its first expiration. Here it is hoped to keep Advaita free from all superstitions and weakening contaminations. Here will be taught and practised nothing but the Doctrine of Unity, pure and simple; and though in entire sympathy with all other systems, this Ashrama is dedicated to Advaita and Advaita alone."

Since 1899, Advaita Ashrama had 19 abbots (adhyakṣa). The first three adhyakshas of Advaita Ashrama were also editors of the Prabuddha Bharata. Thereafter, the post of Adhyaksha and Editor were held by different persons. The current adhyakṣa is Swami Shuddhidananda (Sudhir Maharaj).

Activities

Retreats

Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, has a small guest house with limited facilities. Guests receiving prior permission can stay from mid-March to mid-June and from mid-September to mid-November. The period allowed for a party or person to stay here is 2-3 days.

Publishing

Prabuddha Bharata, the spiritual and cultural English monthly of the Ramakrishna Order, has been operating from Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, uninterruptedly since March 1899 till present. The work of soliciting and selecting articles and editing the journal is done at Mayavati by monks.

Charitable Hospital

Since 1903 Mayavati Charitable Hospital caters to thousands of people in this remote region of the Himalayas. They are provided with medical treatment and clinical tests. All medical assistance offered by the hospital is free of charge.

Library

Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, houses a library with more than 14,000 books and 40 journals, and a wide corpus of rare books. Though most of the volumes are in English, a good part is in Bengali, Sanskrit, and Hindi.

Welfare Work

The ashrama conducts reliefs camps in several villages of the Kumaon area. Monks, volunteers, and paid staff freely distribute among needy clothing and other items. Children are supported through scholarships and sponsoring of teachers.

Becoming a Monk in Ramakrishna Order

Unmarried, college graduate men (not women) who are ready to “leave behind one’s family and friends, profession and attainments, all worldly interests, pleasures and concerns, and embracing the monastic life,” may join the Ramakrishna Order.

Women can join the Sri Sarada Math which follows the same ideals. Certain age and health requirements need to be met to be able to bear the hardship of monastic life and selflessly serve others.

Those who join are expected to do the work for the monastery or for the service of other people in a spirit of worship. Daily spiritual practice consists of “japa, meditation, prayer, worship, chanting of hymns, singing of bhajans, study of sacred literature and other spiritual practices,” striving to develop the qualities of a Sadhu (good, virtuous, accomplished person) such as purity, devotion, detachment, unselfishness, truthfulness and brahmacharya (chastity), in order to realize The Supreme.

The spiritual practice (sādhana) consists of a combination of Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga and Jnana Yoga.

Mantra Diksha (Sanskrit: dīkṣ, "to consecrate") or spiritual initiation is a solemn one-to-one ceremony in which the guru imparts a Mantra to a spiritual aspirant. The guru will also teach how to repeat the Mantra and the method of meditation (upāsana, ritual of devotion). When the mind of the guru and the disciple become one, then it is said that the disciple has been initiated by the guru.

A candidate will become a monk (sannyāsa) after a minimum of nine years, which is the time needed to prepare for receiving the monastic vows.

If a member of the Order chooses to disrobe and leave the Order, he can do so at any time, without any legal or financial obligation.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org
• https://advaitaashrama.org/
• https://belurmath.org/

Footnotes

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