Narayanashrama Tapovanam
Encyclopedia
Narayanashrama Tapovanam is an Ashram
Ashram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....

 located at Venginissery village, 10km South-West of Thrissur
Thrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...

 city, in Kerala state, India. It was founded by Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha
Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha
Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha , is an Indian Sannyasin and social reformer. He is known for his talks and discourses on Vedanta, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and Srimad Bhagavatam, and their practical application in daily life...

 in 1963. The Ashram, which is located in the hillock of Pandava Giri, is a centre for learning and practising Brahmavidya
Brahmavidya
Brahmavidya is an ancient philosophy which could be considered the core of Hindu philosophy. It is the teachings at the heart of the Upanishads. A well-known example of this is the Yoga Philosophy. In ancient Sanskrit philosophical literature the term Brahma is used to denote the Supreme Being,...

 and Vedanta
Vedanta
Vedānta was originally a word used in Hindu philosophy as a synonym for that part of the Veda texts known also as the Upanishads. The name is a morphophonological form of Veda-anta = "Veda-end" = "the appendix to the Vedic hymns." It is also speculated that "Vedānta" means "the purpose or goal...

.

The Ashram conducts classes, workshops, discourses interactive Satsangs etc, to explain the messages of Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita
The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...

, Srimad Bhagavatam, Upanishads and other spiritual Textures, highlighting their application in practical life situations. It has also organized and supported movements for restoration and preservation of traditional and national values, environmental protection, abolition of derogatory practices followed by certain Hindu temples, educational and cultural uplifting of rural children and welfare of the neighbouring villages.

Spiritual knowledge dissemination

‘Jnaana Yajnas’:The Ashram conducts Jnaana Yajnas regularly in different locations, under the patronage of Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha, to disseminate knowledge of the ancient spiritual textures of India. The first Jnaana Yajna was held in Jamshedpur in 1964. Afterwards, in addition to Jamshedpur, these are held regularly in other Indian cities like Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

, Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

, Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

, and Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...

, as well as in Malaysia and the U.S.A.

‘Srimad Bhagavata Tattva Sameeksha Satram’: This 2 week long elucidation, which details the essential values and ideals of Srimad Bhagavatam, is held in Parlikad
Parlikad
Parlikad is a village in Thrissur district in the state of Kerala, India....

 in Thrissur district in the month of December every year. It is attended by a large number of people.

Gita Tattva Sameeksha: It includes a series of discourses on Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita
The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...

, and is conducted every year in Thrissur
Thrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...

, in which Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha describes the essence and contents of the texture. The event is being held every year since 1995.

Residential Program on Experiential Vedanta: The Ashram conducts a residential program of 3 months’ duration on Experiential Vedanta every year. The program focuses on the role of scriptural knowledge in spiritual saadhana (practice), and learning spiritual texts like Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, Vivekachoodamani and Srimad Bhagavatam.

Publications (Books & CDs)

The Ashram has published many spiritual books authored by Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha. Many audio and video CDs/DVDs of various discourses, chanting of Vedic
Vedic
Vedic may refer to:* the Vedas, the oldest preserved Indic texts** Vedic Sanskrit, the language of these texts** Vedic period, during which these texts were produced** Vedic pantheon of gods mentioned in Vedas/vedic period...

 hymns etc. have also been published. Vicharasetu (Path of Introspection) an English monthly journal edited by Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha, was started in 1968. It contains articles, correspondence, and summary of discourses by Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha, Swami Nirviseshananda Tirtha and Ma Gurupriya. Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

 and Malayalam versions of the Journal (Vicharasetu and Vicharasarani respectively) are also being published.

Social welfare activities and socio-cultural reforms

The Ashram conducts classes for children on cultural, moral and traditional values. It also organizes ‘Anna-Vastra Daana Satrams’, where rice, clothing etc are distributed among needy families. Villagers are also provided help in generating self-employment, education, medical treatment.

Led by Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha, the Ashram has stood for abolition of certain unlawful and derogatory practices that were being followed by certain Hindu temples in Kerala. The practice of ‘Thookkam’ at Elavur Puthankavu temple in Ernakulam district, and the singing of obscene songs at the Kodungallur Bharani festival are among them.

Knowledge dissemination centres

The Ashram has the following satellite centres, carrying out its mission in the respective areas.
Centre for Inner Resources Development, Delhi, India

Centre for Inner Resources Development, Jamshedpur, India

Centre for Inner Resources Development, Vienna, Virginia, U.S.A

Society for Inner Resources Development, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

External links

  • http://www.brahmavidya.org
  • http://www.cirdna.org
  • http://www.valuefoundation.in
  • http://www.sirdmsia.org
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK