Living at Brahmavidya Mandir Ashram

The Ashram where I am staying was founded in 1959 by Vinoba Bhave (see subsequent post) who set it up for women to run on a self-sufficiency basis without central leadership.  All decisions here are made unanimously by the group.  I have watched this taking place, it is laid back, anyone can have their say and everyone is heard, whether they are on a plastic chair at the back or sat on the floor in the middle of the group.  I observed no edge whatsoever …for all I know, they might have been deciding what jobs I was going to be allocated the next day but I expect that most things are agreed this convivially because nobody here is constrained by money or ownership and everyone here is aiming to be selfless, as a result what is best for the community and the Ashram should be clear to all.  The day begins at 4am and involves manual service, community prayer (the ladies chant and sing together in Hindi and I sit doing loving-kindness mediation), daily silence and three organic meals eaten with hands whilst sat cross legged on the floor …I am fit to drop by 8.30pm.

I feel fortunate to be the only guest in this community of 28 sisters who have made me feel truly welcome.  They live here because they have chosen to lead a spiritual life of devotion, service, celibacy and self-realisation.  Vinobaji spent his last 12 years here (he died in 1982) with the sisters and some of his closest brothers (only one now remains) and he said of this place…

“We are not exclusively attached to any country.

We give no special emphasis on any religion

We are not bound to any community or cast.

Our field of study is to soar in the region of the noble thoughts spread all over the world, to assimilate noble thoughts is our sacred duty.

To establish understanding in various specialities and to develop “world-attitude” is our discipline of thought.”

…Unlike the over-populated and slickly produced Amma ashram, I adored this place from the moment I stepped out of my rickshaw.  The simple buildings form a quadrangle around a 2 acre organic allotment housing occasional shrines made from ancient temple carvings excavated here in the early years of the Ashram.  Its Gerald Durrell meets River Cottage at the Buddha Lounge, the perfect retreat for someone who grew up loving Scout camps, The Levellers and stone circles.  Outside of the main courtyard there is a temple/shrine, an arable farm and a dairy (with gorgeous calves).  In my mind at least, this place is what an ashram should be; peaceful, reflective, selfless and in wholly in touch with its environment.