Santhigiri Ashram is located in

Pothencode Pothencode, is a rapidly developing town and a developing area of Thiruvananthapuram District in the Indian state of Kerala. Spiritual leaders Brahmasree Jagadguru Swami Sathyananda Saraswathi, Sree Rama Dasa Mission, Karunakara Guru and founde ...

Thiruvananthapuram District Thiruvananthapuram District (), is the southernmost district in the Indian state of Kerala. The district was created in 1949, with its headquarters in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, which is also Kerala's administrative centre. The present d ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. The ashram was founded by Navajyothi sri Karunakara Guru and is recognized and developed as a ''Social and Scientific Research Organization'' by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

. The followers of

Karunakara Guru Karunakara Guru (1 September 1927 – 6 May 1999), also known as Navajyothisree Karunakara Guru, was an Indian Guru, and founder of Santhigiri Ashram in Pothencode, Kerala, India. Birth and childhood Navajyothisree Karunakara Guru was born on ...

have built a monument called

Parnasala Parnasala is a village in the Dummugudem mandal in the newly formed Bhadradri Kothagudem district (formerly in Khammam district) of Telangana, India. The village is accessible by road and boats and is situated 32 km from the temple town ...

in the shape of a blooming lotus in white Makrana marble in the Ashram compound. This structure required ten years for completion. It was inaugurated by the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

Pratibha Devi Patil on 13 August 2010 and was opened for prayers and worship on 12 September 2010 .

Vision

Santhigiri Ashram works towards fulfilling Navajyothi Sri Karunakara Guru's vision of a revitalized life involving spiritual, social, economic and cultural elements.

Activities

Offering free food

One of Guru's objectives was to feed the poor and to this effect the ashram offers an ''Annadanam'' or ''gift of food'', at their various centers, to all the visitors as well as inmates. On the aspects of guru's wish all human beings in one society truly followed

Healthcare

''Athurasevanam'' or ''care of the ailing'' is a supporting function to the Guru's vision. The ashram performs this function through a chain of

Ayurveda Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population repo ...

and Siddha research centers, hospitals, onsite and offsite health care programs and camps and social research.

Athmabodhanam

Part of the Guru's vision for the ashram is ''Athmabodhanam'' or ''spiritual awakening''. The awakening is at two levels - rational and transcendental; the former focuses on elimination of ignorance while the latter focuses on knowledge of reality.

Economic development

As part of the vision of a revitalized life, the ashram focuses on economic development, with an emphasis on trade skills and support for women and cottage industry programs.

References

External links

* {{coord missing, Kerala Hindu temples in Thiruvananthapuram district Ashrams 2010 establishments in Kerala Educational institutions established in 2010