Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, is a branch of the

Ramakrishna Math Ramakrishna Math is the administrative legal organization of the Ramakrishna Order, of Daśanāmi Sampradaya. It was set up by sanyasin disciples of Ramakrishna Paramhansa headed by Swami Vivekananda at Baranagar Math in Baranagar, a place ne ...

, founded on 19 March 1899 at the behest of

Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda () (12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. Vivekananda was a major figure in th ...

,founded by Vivekananda in 1899.
''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

, 20 May 2003.'' by his disciples James Henry Sevier, and

Charlotte Sevier Charlotte Sevier (1847 – 20 October 1930), also known as Mrs Sevier, was a direct disciple of Swami Vivekananda and was British in origin. She, together with her husband James Henry Sevier established the Advaita Ashrama, a branch of the Ra ...

. Today it publishes the original writings of Vivekananda. As an

ashram An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Advaita Vedanta, no images or idols are worshipped there, not even of

Ramakrishna Ramakrishna (18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886——— —), also called Ramakrishna Paramahansa (; ; ), born Ramakrishna Chattopadhay,M's original Bengali diary page 661, Saturday, 13 February 1886''More About Ramakrishna'' by Swami Prab ...

; and no images were kept in the premises according to the Ashram ideals set by Vivekananda. Also referred as the Mayawati Ashram, it is located at an altitude of 1940 meters, 22 km from

Champawat Champawat ( Kumaoni: ''Champāvat'') is a town and a Nagar Palika Parishad in Champawat district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Champawat district. The town was the former capital of the Kumaon Kin ...

in Champawat district,

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

, and 9 km from the town of

Lohaghat Lohaghat ( Kumaoni: ''Loghāt'') is a town and a nagar palika in Champawat district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Lohaghat is also famous for its various cultural events like Holi Rang Mahotsav, Devidhar Mela etc. The most special thing re ...

. The ashram is a major publication centre of the

Ramakrishna Order The Ramakrishna Order ( Bengali: রামকৃষ্ণ সংঘ) is the monastic lineage that was founded by Ramakrishna Paramhansa, when he gave the ochre cloth of renunciation to twelve of his close disciples, in January 1886 at the Cossip ...

for books in English and Hindi, mainly through its branch in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. It also maintains a

charitable hospital A charitable hospital, or charity hospital, is a non-profit hospital that provides treatment for poor and uninsured people who can not purchase treatment. An example would be St. Jude Children's Hospital that provides assistance to children and f ...

at Mayavati. Among its important publications are ''The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda'' in English and as well as a Hindi translation, ''The Life of Swami Vivekananda'', and English translations of important Hindu scriptures. Some of the old manuscripts of the ashram have now been

microfilm A microform is a scaled-down reproduction of a document, typically either photographic film or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the original d ...

ed and preserved at

Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi is a premier government-funded arts organization in India. It is an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Culture. History The Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts was ...

(

IGNCA Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi is a premier government-funded arts organization in India. It is an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Culture. History The Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts was ...

) in Delhi.

History

The Advaita Ashrama has its origins in 1896, when Vivekananda was travelling through the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

recuperating, and expressed the desire to have a similar place in India, for retreat and study of

Vedas FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...

.Mayabati: A journey towards Self – Dr. Subhendu Chakravrati on a spiritual journey to Mayavati
''

Outlook Outlook or The Outlook may refer to: Computing * Microsoft Outlook, also referred to as ''the classic Outlook'' an e-mail client and personal information management software product from Microsoft * Outlook for Windows, also referred to as ''the ...

, 2008. Earlier, in 1895, James Henry Sevier who had served as a captain in the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

for 5 years, and his wife Charlotte Elizabeth Sevier, met Vivekananda in England. Later in 1896, for nearly nine months, they travelled with him through Switzerland, Germany, and Italy. It was in the

that Vivekananda, while travelling with the couple, that he expressed his desire to have a similar retreat for the monks in the Himalayas. In December 1896, the couple moved to India, with Vivekananda on board a steamer from

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, Italy, with an objective to find a place near Almora, and set up an Ashram, and arriving at Madras in February 1897. The Missionary Work of the First Hindu Sannyasin to the West And His Plan of Regeneration of India Madras Times, February 1897. ''

wikisource Wikisource is an online wiki-based digital library of free-content source text, textual sources operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole; it is also the name for each instance of that project, one f ...

.'' Soon just as Vivekananda left for Calcutta, the couple left for Almora, where they rented a bungalow and this became the residence of Vivekananda and the Seviers for the next two years. Later when he left for Kashmir, the Sevier couple along with Swami Swarupananda, a monastic disciple of Vivekananda, started travelling to the interior area looking for a suitable place, which was eventually found in July 1898, set amidst dense deodar, pine and oak forests; the land which was until then a tea estate was promptly purchased, and decided upon for the new Ashram. Finally, with the help of Swami Swarupananda, the Ashram was set up,Mayawati Route – Visitors Booklet of Advaita Ashrama
''Advaita Ashrama''. along with a small dwelling for the monks, ashramites and the couple themselves, around the same time as the

Belur Math Belur Math () is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, founded by Swami Vivekananda, the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. It is located in Belur, West Bengal, India on the west bank of Hooghly River. Bel ...

was being established near

, when they moved in on 19 March 1899. After the sudden death of its first editor, 24-year-old B. R. Rajam Iyer at Madras (

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

), the publication of the English Journal ''

Prabuddha Bharata ''Prabuddha Bharata Or Awakened India'' is an English-language monthly journal of the Ramakrishna Order, in publication since July 1896. It carries articles and translations by monks, scholars, and other writers on humanities and social science ...

'' was discontinued for a few months in May 1898. Meanwhile, in

Almora Almora ( Kumaoni: ') is a municipal corporation and a cantonment town in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Almora district. Almora is located on a ridge at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of the ...

, Vivekananda asked the Sevier couple to revive the magazine, and the editorship was given to Swami Swarupananda, who not only became the first head of the Ashram upon its opening on 19 March 1899, but also remained its editor, at its new base hence forth; and they held the position until his death in 1906. Upon its foundation, Vivekananda sent the following letter, in March 1899, entailing the prospectus of the Ashram: "...To give this One Truth a freer and fuller scope in elevating the lives of individuals and leavening the mass of mankind, we start this Advaita Ashrama on the Himalayan heights, the land of its first expiration. Here it is hoped to keep Advaita free from all superstitions and weakening contaminations. Here will be taught and practised nothing but the Doctrine of Unity, pure and simple; and though in entire sympathy with all other systems, this Ashrama is dedicated to Advaita and Advaita alone." James Sevier died on 28 October 1900, and was cremated by the nearby

Sarada River River Sarada is a medium-sized river in Alluri Sitharama Raju and Anakapalli districts of Andhra Pradesh, India. The catchment area of the basin is 2,665 square kilometers. It rises at an elevation of 1,000 meters in the Eastern Ghats. It run ...

, according to Hindu traditions as he had wished.Serene heights
''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'', 24 December 2006. Vivekananda visited the Ashram from 3 to 18 January 1901, primarily to console her, Letter 6 January 1901 The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 5/Epistles – First Series/XCIV Mother – ''

''."Mrs. Sevier is a strong woman, and has borne her loss quietly and bravely. She is coming over to England in April, and I am going over with her." and his place of residence has now been turned into a library. Charlotte Sevier continued to stay at the Ashram for several years.

Publications

Prabuddha Bharatha March 1897 Front Cover

Advaita Ashrama publishes many important books in English and Hindi, as well as the English Journal ''

'' which is being published since July 1896, making it the oldest running Journal by Ramakrishna Mission. A list of its most well-known other publications is as follows. * ''The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda'' Online version ** Other works of Swami Vivekananda, like: ** ''Bhakti Yoga '' ** '' Jnana Yoga'' ** ''

Karma Yoga Karma yoga (), also called Karma marga, is one of the three classical spiritual paths mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita, one based on the "yoga of action", the others being Jnana yoga (path of knowledge) and Bhakti yoga (path of loving devotion ...

'' ** ''

Raja Yoga Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The title has a long ...

'' ** ''Letters of Swami Vivekananda'' * ''The Life of Swami Vivekananda'' by His Eastern and Western Disciple
Online version
* ''Srimad Bhagavad Gita'' translated by Swami Swarupananda, 190

* ''Eight Upanishads'' with the commentary of

Shankaracharya Shankaracharya (, , " Shankara-''acharya''") is a religious title used by the heads of amnaya monasteries called mathas in the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism. The title derives from Adi Shankara; teachers from the successive line of te ...

, translated by

Swami Gambhirananda Swami Gambhirananda (1899–1988), born as Jatindranath Datta, was a Hindu sanyasi who servrd as the 11th President of the Ramakrishna Mission. Biography He was born at Sadhuhati in today's Bangladesh. He graduated from Scottish Church Col ...

Adhyakshas of Advaita Ashrama

The first three adhyakshas of Advaita Ashrama were also editors of the ''

''. Thereafter, the post of Adhyaksha and Editor were held by different persons. From 1959, the Ashrama Adhyaksha was also called the Editor of ''Prabuddha Bharata'', and the actual editor called the "joint editor". From September 1993, the Ashrama Adhyaksha is known as the Managing Editor, and the Editor is known as the Editor.

References

External links

Advaita Ashrama, Official website

Advaita Ashram
at '' wikimapia'' {{Swami Vivekananda Ramakrishna Math and Mission branches Ashrams Hindu organisations based in India Religious tract publishing companies Hindu monasteries in India Champawat Culture of Uttarakhand Swami Vivekananda Advaita Vedanta Religious organizations established in 1899 1899 establishments in India

History

Publications

Adhyakshas of Advaita Ashrama

Further reading

References

External links