An Ashram in ancient India was a Hindu hermitage where sages lived in peace and tranquility amidst nature. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country A Hindu ( Devanagari: हिन्दू is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, a set of religious, Philosophical Peace, in the modern usage is a concept defined by the ideal state of relationship as absence of hostility at the international level that of a War. Nature, in the broadest sense is equivalent to the natural world, physical universe, material world or material universe. Today, the term ashram is sometimes used to refer to an intentional community formed primarily for spiritual upliftment of its members, often headed by a religious leader or mystic. An intentional community is a planned Residential community designed to have a much higher degree of Teamwork than other communities

Traditionally, ashrams were located far from human habitation, in forests or mountainous regions, amidst refreshing natural surroundings conducive to spiritual instruction and meditation. A forest is an area with a high density of Trees There are many definitions of a forest based on various criteria A mountain is a Landform that extends above the surrounding Terrain in a limited area with a peak Meditation is a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the conditioned "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness The residents of an ashram regularly performed spiritual and physical exercises, such as the various forms of Yoga. Yoga ( Sanskrit: योग, IAST: yóga, joːgə refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India, to the Other sacrifices and penances, such as Yajnas were also performed. In Hinduism, Yajna ( Devanagari यज्ञ IAST yajña; also anglicized as Yagna, Yagya or Yadnya Many Ashrams also served as Gurukuls or residential schools for children. A Gurukul ( Guru refers to "teacher" or "master" Kul refers to his domain from the Sanskrit word kula, meaning extended family The word ashram is derived from the Sanskrit term "aashraya", which means protection. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical

Ashrams have been a powerful symbol throughout Hindu history and theology. Most Hindu kings until the medieval ages are known to have had a sage who would advise the royal family in spiritual matters, or in times of crisis, who was called the rajguru which literally translates to royal teacher. A world-weary emperor going to this guru's ashram, and finding solace and tranquility, is a recurring motif in many folktales and legends of ancient India.

Sometimes, the goal of a pilgrimage to the ashram was not tranquility, but instruction in some art, especially warfare. In the Hindu epic Ramayana, the protagonist princes of ancient Ayodhya, Rama and Laxman, go to the Rishi Vishvamitra's ashram to protect his Yajnas from being defiled by emissary-demons of Ravana. The Rāmāyaṇa ( Devanāgarī: sa रामायण is an ancient Sanskrit epic attributed to the Hindu sage ( Maharishi) Valmiki Rama ( IAST: rāma Devanāgarī: राम Khmer: Phreah Ream Thai: Phra Ram Lao: Phra Lam Tagalog: Laxman is a given name or surname and may refer to Eric Laxman, Finnish botanist Adam Laxman, Finnish-Russian explorer and military officer A rishi (ṛṣi denotes a Vedic poet by whom Vedic hymns were composed or according to post-Vedic tradition a "sage" to whom they were "originally revealed" (Ṛṣis Brahmarshi Vishvamitra ( Sanskrit sa विश्वामित्र viśvā-mitra "all- friend " is one of the most venerated For the South Indian film see Ravana (film. Ravanaa, also transliterated as Raavana, Ravan or After they prove their mettle, the princes receive martial instruction from the sage, especially in the use of enchanted weapons, called Divyastras (Sanskrit Divya: Enchanted + Astra: Missile Weapon. The Sanskrit word 'astra' means missile weapon, such as an arrow; as opposed to 'shastra', which means a hand-to-hand weapon, such as a mace. ) In the Mahabharata, Lord Krishna, in his youth, goes to the ashram of Sage Sandiipanii, to gain knowledge of both intellectual and spiritual matters. Krishna (कृष्ण in Devanagari kṛṣṇa in IAST, ˈkr̩ʂɳə in classical Sanskrit is a deity worshiped across many traditions of Hinduism

Sometimes, the word ashram is used as a synonym of matha, but mathas are generally more hierarchical and rule-bound than ashrams, belonging to ancient orders of Hindu sadhus (Renunciants who are still searching for realization, as opposed to Rishis who have found it. A maţha (also written math, matha or mutt) is a term for monastic and similar religious establishments of the Hindu and In Hinduism, sadhu is a common term for an Ascetic or practitioner of Yoga ( Yogi) who has given up pursuit of the first three A rishi (ṛṣi denotes a Vedic poet by whom Vedic hymns were composed or according to post-Vedic tradition a "sage" to whom they were "originally revealed" (Ṛṣis )

A number of Ashrams have been founded in India in the 20th century as well, most notably the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad which served as Mahatma Gandhi's headquarters during the long struggle for India's independence and Aurobindo Ashram, founded in Pondicherry by the Bengali revolutionary-turned-Hindu-mystic Aurobindo Ghosh and Pujya Sant Sri Asaramji Bapu's Ashram on the banks of the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad and Rampura dist Rewari and in Jind of Haryana state in India founded by in 1918. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Sabarmati Ashram ( Gujarati: સાબરમતી આશ્રમ also known as Gandhi Ashram Harijan Ashram or Satyagraha Ashram is located Ahmedabad (અમદાવાદ Amdāvād, Hindi: अहमदाबाद) is the largest city in Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi ( Gujarati: મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી moɦən̪d̪äs kəɾəmʧən̪d̪ gän̪d̪ʱi (2 October 1869 – 30 January Sri Aurobindo Ashram is located at Dandia Bazar in the city of Vadodara, Gujarat, western India. Puducherry (formerly; புதுச்சேரி or பாண்டிச்சேரி పాండిచెర్రి പുതുശ്ശേരി Pondichéry is a Etymology and ethnology The exact origin of the word Bangla or Bengal is unknown though it is believed to be derived from the Dravidian-speaking tribe Bang Sri Aurobindo (শ্রী অরবিন্দ Sri Ôrobindo) ( August 15, 1872 – December 5, 1950) was an Indian The Sabarmati River is a river in Western India. It is approximately 371 km in length Ahmedabad (અમદાવાદ Amdāvād, Hindi: अहमदाबाद) is the largest city in Dayaram Ashram is located in Nanadiya village of Gujarat.

See also

• World Brotherhood Colonies