The ashram of Sathya Sai Baba at Puttaparthi believes in fostering ananda (bliss), to wean people away from vice, mitigate suffering and want. The ashram with the lyrical name, Prashanthi Nilayam, is situated at Puttaparthi in India's southern state of Andhra Pradesh. Seventy-five years ago, Puttaparthi was just a village of two lanes; today, it is a famous town developed almost single-handedly by Sathya Sai Baba. Prashanthi Nilayam is a large, well-planned ashram, bearing everywhere the stamp of its in-sync-with reality founder. So, while you will find several impeccably maintained temples there, a kalpavriksha ('wish-fulfilling tree) and a 'meditation tree', and a lovely, airy high-domed darshan hall where the Swami meets his devotees, there also is within the sprawling complex a post office, a public relations desk, a canteen and even a bakery. Sathya Sai Baba inaugurated the ashram on November 23, 1950, on his 25th birthday. At that time, of course, it was just a new mandir (temple), constructed to accommodate the increasing numbers of devotees. By then, the young Swami's fame had swept through newly independent India. People flocked to see his 'miracles' - the way he plucked things like flowers, candy, idols, nectar out of thin air. His spontaneously composed bhajans were being sung all over Andhra Pradesh.

Leela on the banks of the Chitravathi When to plan the trip Helping the needy Accomodation at Prashanthi "The divine world is here itself" Wherever you stay, you would need Calendar of events at Prashanthi Nilayam Meals/schedules carried out at ashram Contact Information Daily Schedule Other Important Centres Conduct and attire How to reach Prashanthi Passport, visa, duration of stay Dos & Don'ts of travel

Leela on the banks of the Chitravathi

All the seemingly carefree leela on the banks of the Chitravathi notwithstanding, Sathya Sai Baba already was a man with a mission. At 23, he had written a letter to his brother defining his life-goals. He proposed to foster bliss (ananda), to wean people away from vice, mitigate suffering and want, and teach his devotees to treat joy and grief with equanimity. At 75, the Swami has been able to fulfil these aims to an amazing extent, admit even his most cynical assessors. The Swami recently celebrated his birthday on November 23.

Helping the needy

Prashanthi Nilayam has grown into a unique ashram, with a free school and a deemed university, as well as a super-speciality hospital where open-heart surgery and kidney transplants are performed free of charge for the needy every day. Sai Baba also has another tranquil ashram (Brindavan) at Whitefield in the outskirts of Bangalore, where yet another Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences is coming up on 52.26 acres of land donated by the government of Karnataka. This free hospital too will serve the poor. The Swami has said he will attain samadhi at age 93, which gives him almost two more decades to work towards achieving his goals.

"The divine world is here itself"

The teachings of this frizzy-haired, saffron robe-clad yogi are as rational as his bountiful 'materialisations' defy so-called rationality. For him, all religions are great moral paths and God is omnipresent. As he says, "Prema Swaroopas! God is in us. All the energies and all the powers are in us. We have to recognise this truth and conduct ourselves properly. There is no separate heaven or any other world elsewhere! The divine world is here itself." Sai Baba preaches a life of self-discipline, love and active service. Self-discipline in daily life gives us the power not to waste "even a grain of rice," to limit our wants to what is essential, and eschew vices. Love begets tolerance and harmony in society and defeats divisive forces. Active service means making full and practical use of whatever education or talent we may have and serving humanity to the utmost extent possible in our circumstances. Although Hindu deities and ideals appear as metaphors in the Swami's discourses, his teachings, in their quintessence, propagate a simple, uncompromising morality that people of all faiths can appreciate. This is perhaps why people from all over the world come to Prashanthi Nilayam (Abode of Peace) to meet a yogi who has travelled abroad only once - to Uganda in 1968. (Read more about Sathya Sai Baba in our Guru Section.) Heads of states and ambassadors from Fiji, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Italy and several South American nations have visited the ashram. The Duchess of York had two interviews with the Swami in 1997. Visitors from Japan, Eastern Europe, Russia and Southeast Asia and USA are common. In India, apart from the surge of ordinary people, whom the Swami loves, at Prashanthi Nilayam all round the year, many politicians, artistes, physicians, scientists, industrialists and film stars are among regular high-profile guests and donors at the ashram.

Calendar of events at Prashanthi Nilayam

January: Makara Sankranti, Vaikuntha Ekadashi, Sports and Cultural Festivals (of the Nilayam schools) February-March: Maha Shivaratri March-April: Yugadi (New Year), Rama Navami May 6: Easwaramma Day (dedicated to Swami's late mother) June-July: Guru Poornima August-September: Shri Krishna Jayanti, Onam, Ganesha Chaturthi October-November: Navaratri and Vijayadashami, Diwali November 23: Sathya Sai Baba's birthday December 25: Christmas

Contact Information

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Prashanthi Nilayam, Anantapur District, AP 515 134, India Official website: http://www.sathyasai.org/

Other Important Centres

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Brindavan, Kadugodi, Bangalore 560 067 India There are some 1,200 centres of the Sri Sathya Sai Organisations all over the world, information about which can be had from Prashanthi Nilayam, the official website or by emailing the webmaster of the site.

How to reach Prashanthi

Southern Railway has opened a broad gauge link between Penukonda and Puttaparthi, and now there is a direct three-hour rail service between Bangalore and Puttaparthi. Besides, once the Puttaparthi-Dharmavaram link is completed by end-2001, Northern Railway too will run direct trains to Puttaparthi. The nearest airports to the ashram are Puttaparthi (6 km) and Bangalore (180 km). Indian Airlines operates a flight twice a week between Mumbai and Chennai via Puttaparthi when the Swami is at Prashanthi Nilayam. Devotees could also fly to Bangalore and take a train/bus/taxi on to Puttaparthi. Buses ply daily between Bangalore/Chennai and Puttaparthi.

Dos and Don'ts of travel

Make travel reservations early as flights to Puttaparthi get booked months in advance during rush seasons (July-August and November to January). For taxis, contact authorised travel agencies with help from airport/railway station inquiry desks to avoid getting fleeced. Avoid road travel at night. Prashanthi Nilayam remains closed from 9 pm to 4 am. Try also to avoid the local road rush hours (4 pm to 7 pm).

When to plan the trip

November to February is a good time to visit Prashanthi Nilayam because of the pleasant cool weather. However, make your accommodation arrangements at the ashram early because winters are busy and crowded at Prashanthi. Also, do correspond with the ashram to find out whether the Swami would be in residence at Prashanthi when you would be visiting.

Accomodation at Prashanthi

Address your accommodation queries to: Accommodations Office, Prashanthi Nilayam, Anantapur District, AP 515 134, India During busy festival or holiday seasons, you may be put up in the large halls, which can each accommodate more than a hundred people. At these dormitories, washbasins, toilets and showers are shared. You only pay Rs 10 a day to stay here. There are separate halls for married couples and families, single men and single women. There are also small, unfurnished rooms with attached bathrooms that are allotted if available. Up to six people can stay together in these rooms and the rent is Rs 40 per day. There can be either the 'Roundhouses' and Blocks at New South and West Prashanthi (with Western-style toilets) or the rooms at West Prashanthi with Indian-style toilets.

Wherever you stay, you would need

a mosquito net large sheets or sleeping bag or single-size air/cotton mattress plastic bucket mat hangers, rubber gloves, disinfectant, earplugs, string or twine, plastic bags for garbage disposal, old newspapers Some of these and other things that you miss out can be bought or rented from the ashram store.

Meals/schedules/seva or service to be carried out at ashram

Vegetarian meals are available at the Canteen and condiments and snacks at the bakery within the ashram premises. Schedules at Prashanthi Nilayam change in accordance with the many festivals that are celebrated there all round the year. The Swami believes that every visitor to Prashanthi is there with the purpose of understanding him and his teachings. So he wishes every guest to make full use of his/her time at the ashram to attune him/herself to the atmosphere of spiritual quest and service that pervades the ashram. No guest is compelled to follow any strict regimen, but the ashramites do have a regular routine and anyone who really wants to know what Prashanthi Nilayam is all about would do well to fall in with this routine.   Daily schedule The ashram wakes up at 4 am and sleeps at 9 pm and the day begins with meditation and Omkar at the prayer hall. Throughout the day, programmes are held at various venues at the ashram, except two free, silent hours after lunch. Communal bhajan singing, lectures, darshan of the Swami are usual. Service is voluntary, but certain basic sharing of responsibilities is expected during the ashram-stay. For instance, if you stay at the dormitory, you need to take turns in sweeping the floor, cleaning the bathroom and disposing of the trash.

Conduct and attire

The Swami advocates silence, introspection and a dignified bearing among the ashramites. Earphones are to be used if you'd like to listen to music and an awareness of other people's needs (including using an anti-snoring device in the dormitory if you snore loudly!) is mandatory. No substance abuse is tolerated. Regarding attire, covering the body is advised for men as well as women. Wear cotton if you find the heat oppressive, but wearing garments that do not reveal the body are necessary.

Passport, visa, duration of stay

Every overseas visitor must have a valid passport and visa covering the entire period of his/her stay at the ashram. Visitors can stay at Prashanthi Nilayam for a maximum of 60 days. Anyone who wishes to stay longer must seek prior permission from Sathya Sai Baba.

- Kohinoor Dasgupta

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