Sri Sri's ashram opens at Bodh Gaya

Jan 22, 2012 | GAYA With the performance of the Rudrabhishekh rituals, the Bodh Gaya ashram of Sri Sri Ravishankar, the Art of Living (AoL) founder, was off to a splendid start on Saturday evening. The rituals comprising hymns and bhajans were performed in the presence of a sizeable number of Sri Sri Ravishankar's followers, including nearly 200 foreign devotees - mostly Chinese and Japanese. AoL's European followers were also present. The ashram at village Shekhwara near Bodh Gaya off NH-82 is spread over 13 acres of land with facilities for meditation and stay in a serene ambience. The centre is likely to attract visitors from different parts of the world as Sri Sri Ravishankar has followers in over 150 countries across the world. Besides spiritual programmes, Sri Sri Ravishankar's Bodh Gaya ashram will also focus on social services, including development of leadership qualities among youths, programme to save girl child and other training programmes. Earlier on Thursday, while addressing a religious congregation at Gaya Gandhi Maidan, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar announced programmes to promote organic farming so that farmers shun chemical fertilizers and sell off their products at lucrative prices. He also announced the creation of an employment bureau to help the unemployed lot of the region. The AoL founder, who spent Friday night at his newly built ashram in Shekhwara village under the Bodh Gaya block area, began his day on Saturday with a visit to the world famous Mahabodhi Temple, the seat of Buddha's enlightenment where a wandering prince attained enlightenment and graduated to divinity about 2,500 years ago. Throwing light on his choice of Bodh Gaya for his ashram, he said there was something very holy about Gaya and Bodh Gaya on account of the Vishnupad (footprints of Lord Vishnu, the preserver) and the seat of Buddha's enlightenment. After visiting the Mahabodhi Temple, Sri Sri left for Madanpur in Aurangabad, which is considered a hotbed of Maoist activities. Madanpur is infamous for the second biggest massacre in the state next only to Laxmanpur Bathe in Arwal district. Sri Sri Ravishankar led a satsang in the Maoist bastion. Reports reaching the divisional headquarters say that at Madanpur too, Sri Sri urged Maoists to shun violence and join him in the task of nation building. Source: Times of India
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