There are numerous Hindu ashrams in India
and the West. For the purpose of this
paper, only some of the significant ones representing various idealogies found
in contemporary India are discussed.
These ashrams have made important contributions to the spiritual as well
as cultural life of India. In the
following section a brief survey is given concerning each ashram, its history,
objectives, and activities.
Ramakrishna
Order
The
Ramakrishna Order is one of the well-known ashram movements in India and the
West. Some references were made above to
the discipleship method followed in this order.
The Ramakrishna Order was started by a poor
Bengali Brahmin priest Ramakrishna and has been promoted all over the world by
his disciple Swami Vivekananda, who came to the United States in 1893 to attend
the World's Parliament of Religions held in Chicago. After studying and practicing various religious
traditions including Christianity and Islam, Ramakrishna declared that all
religions are true and merely take different paths to the same God. His teachings appealed to the young, educated
Bengalis who were already under the influence of the New-Hindu reform
movements. After his death in 1886,
Vivekananda became his spiritual heir as designated by Ramakrishna himself.[1]
Vivekananda officially formed the
Ramakrishna Mission on May 1, 1897, at Belur, near Calcutta, with the
objectives of spreading the message of Ramakrishna and helping the community
with social services. National
development, the uplift of women, education, medical service, and training of sanyasis
are the major objectives of the Ramakrishna Order. Since its establishment, the Order has
engaged in establishing hospitals, dispensaries, orphanages, elementary and
high schools, colleges, cultural training centers, and monasteries in India and
abroad.[2]
The Ramakrishna Order is operated like a
typical Christian missionary organization with effective policies and structure. It is obvious that Vivekananda was influenced
by Christian missionary organizations.
He integrated the Hindu concepts of sanyasa and dharma with the
Christian models for monastic orders and missionary institutions in carrying
out his religious movement. Every ashram
that comes under the Ramakrishna Order has a guru to initiate its members, but
commitment and obedience of the members are directed towards the organization
rather than to the individual guru.[3] The Order also emphasizes jnana and karma margas
among its members.
Sivananda
Ashram
The Sivananda Ashram is the most
representative of the many Hindu ashrams.
It was started by Sivananda, a Tamil Brahmin medical doctor, in 1923
near Rishikish in the foothills of the Himalayas. He legally registered his ashram in 1936 as
the Divine Life Society which presently has about three hundred branches all
over the world.[4] Swami Chidananda is its current President and
Swami Krishnananda is the General Secretary.
Under their leadership, the activities of the ashram are well organized
and effectively carried out. The aims
and objectives of the Society are to spread spiritual knowledge, operate
educational institutions, help orphans, and operate medical services.[5]
Sivananda followed the advaita vedanta
system of Hindu philosophy. Although
this philosophy advocates jnana marga, Sivananda believed in karma and
bhakti margas as valid paths to salvation.
In accordance with these teachings, the ashram conducts kirthan, bhajans,
yoga classes, pujas, and satsang, which is a devotional meeting
equivalent to a frontier camp meeting.
The ashram also feeds the poor, cares for the sick, and publishes books
and periodicals.[6] It is open to Westerners, with many
Christians from the West coming to learn about Hinduism. This ashram does not try to convert
Westerners, but instead encourages them to study the Gospels and live
accordingly.[7] Visitors can stay for years in pursuit of
spirituality.[8]
Shantiniketan
Ashram
The word "santiniketan"
means "abode of peace." This
ashram was started by Maharishi Devadranath Tagore in 1863. His son, Rabindranath Tagore, started a
school in that ashram in 1901 to impart spiritual knowledge and culture to
young people.[9] His ashram school gradually grew into an
university in 1921 and is named Vishvabarathi (Eastern University).
The aim of the ashram and the university was
to serve as a center for education that promoted intercultural and inter-racial
amity and understanding. Tagore wanted
to bring unity to all humankind, free people from all antagonism caused by
race, nationality, creed, and caste and do this all in the name of the One
Supreme Being.[10]
Aurobindo
Ashram
The Aurobindo Ashram is located in
Pondicherry, once a French colony in India.
It is a flourishing contemporary Hindu ashram occupying a large part of
the town and owning about four hundred buildings.[11] It does not resemble the traditional Hindu
ashrams in appearance since it has a theater, dance hall, and music center.[12] It is much like a large Western hotel in
appearance and organization.[13]
The ashram was founded by Sri Aurobindo in
1926. After his death in 1950, the
ashram was headed by his disciple Mira Richard, a French woman, until her death
in 1973. It is presently managed by a
five-member Board of Trustees. However,
Mira Richard, known as "the Mother," remains a dominant symbolic guru
of the ashram, and has had more influence than Sri Aurobindo. In the nineties the ashram has more than two
thousand members with many of them
Westerners.[14]
The ashram was established with the purpose
of synthesizing the spiritual heritage of the East with the material heritage
of the West. Aurobindo developed, from
his studies and experience, an integral yoga[15]
bridging the gap between the spiritual and the material.[16] To put this into practice, he established an
ashram with modern facilities. Because
of this emphasis, this ashram is thriving both in India and in other parts of
the world where it has established many branches. Many educated Indians have given their
retirement funds to the ashram and then spend their last years in the ashram.[17]
Ramanashram
The Ramanashram of Ramana Maharishi, a Tamil
Brahmin (1819-1850), is located in Thiruvanna-malai, Tamil Nadu. The ashram was created by the followers of
Ramana as a small community, but it became a large organization after his
death. Helen Ralston observed:
About
seventy men (no women) are permanent residents, while hundreds of visitors, men
and women, foreign and Indian, visit the ashram for varying periods. . . . There is no community life among the
ashramites. Some devotees or disciples
of Ramana Maharishi are guided by individual Swamis of the ashram.[18]
At present the ashram is administered by a Board of
Trustees with a manager as the administrative head.[19]
Ramana was a
mystic and Jnanayogi who attracted people by his powerful presence and
message. He followed the philosophy of
advaita vedanta as taught by Sankara[20]
and did not concern himself with social reforms like Gandhi's and
Vivekananda's. However, he greatly
valued social service.[21] Many Westerners visited Ramana including F.
H. Humphreys, Paul Brunton, Somerset Maugham, Zimmer, Jung,[22]
and the founders of the first Catholic ashrams, Monchanin and Le Saux.[23]
Many modern Hindu ashrams are different
from ancient Hindu ashrams in their activities and have adapted to the
contemporary world. However, Ramanashram
is the only one that seems to follow the ashram model of the Upanishad period
with the aim of advocating the philosophy of advaita.
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