Ashram

This article is about the Hindu hermitage place. For other uses, see Ashram (disambiguation).
Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh, the headquarters of Divine Life Society, founded by Sivananda Saraswati in 1936.
Sabarmati Ashram where Mahatma Gandhi stayed.

Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Hinduism.[1][2] Today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Hindu cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, similar to a studio, yeshiva, iʿtikāf or dojo.

Etymology

The word ashram (also ashrama) comes from the Sanskrit root srama which means "to toil", the a prefix indicates the negative, therefore ashram means "not to toil".[3]

Overview

An ashram would traditionally, but not necessarily in contemporary times, be located far from human habitation, in forests or mountainous regions, amidst refreshing natural surroundings conductive to spiritual instruction and meditation. The residents of an ashram regularly performed spiritual and physical exercises, such as the various forms of yoga. Other sacrifices and penances, such as yajnas were also performed.[4] Many ashrams also served as gurukulas, residential schools for children under the guru-shishya tradition.

Sometimes, the goal of a pilgrimage to the ashram was not tranquility, but instruction in some art, especially warfare. In the Ramayana, the protagonist princes of ancient Ayodhya, Rama and Lakshmana, go to Vishvamitra's ashram to protect his yajnas from being defiled by emissary-demons of Ravana. After they prove their mettle, the princes receive martial instruction from the sage, especially in the use of divine weapons. In the Mahabharata, Krishna, in his youth, goes to the ashram of Sandipani to gain knowledge of both intellectual and spiritual matters.

Kailash Ashram, Muni Ki Reti, Rishikesh, established by Dhanraj Giri

Schools in Maharashtra

Residential schools especially run in the tribal areas of Maharashtra and elsewhere in India are called ashram shala or ashram schools. One such school is the Lok Biradari Prakalp Ashram Shala.[5][6]

Christian ashrams

There are also Christian monasteries in India that are called ashrams and are run by the Saint Thomas Christians.

In the West

In recent years, a number of ashrams have been established outside of India. Typically, these ashrams are connected to Indian lineages. Sometimes they are headed by Indian spiritual teachers, and other times by Western spiritual teachers. Yoga is one of the main activities in the ashrams of the West. Ashrams in the west include Yogaville in Virginia, Ananda Ashram in New York, Yasodhara Ashram in British Columbia, Canada, and Shanti Niketan Ashram in North Carolina. [7][8] [9][10]

References

Look up आश्रम in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  1. ↑ Swami Swahananda (1 January 1990). Monasteries in South Asia. Vedanta Press. pp. 92–. ISBN 978-0-87481-047-9.
  2. ↑ Mayeul de Dreuille (1999). "1 Hindu mansticism". From East to West: A History of Monasticism. Gracewing Publishing. pp. 3–27. ISBN 978-0-85244-464-1.
  3. ↑ S.S. Chandra; S.S. Chandra & Rajendra Kumar Sharma (1996). Philosophy of Education. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. pp. 173–. ISBN 978-81-7156-637-2.
  4. ↑ Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam, ed. India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 70.
  5. ↑ Hetal Vyas (31 January 2009). "Shocked HC files suo-motu PIL over ashram rape and deaths". PuneMirror. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
  6. ↑ "Lok Biradari Prakalp". Lok Biradari Prakalp. 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
  7. ↑ www.yogaville.org/
  8. ↑ www.anandaashram.org/
  9. ↑ http://www.yasodhara.org/
  10. ↑ http://shantiniketanashram.com/
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