municipal council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...
Indian state
India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...
of
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 ...
. It lies close to the pilgrimage town of
Rishikesh
Rishikesh, also spelt as Hrishikesh, is a city near Dehradun in the Indian state Uttarakhand. The northern part of Rishikesh is in the Dehradun district while the southern part is in the Tehri Garhwal district. It is situated on the right bank ...
and is known for its ashrams, including the
Divine Life Society
The Divine Life Society (DLS) is a Hinduism, Hindu spiritual organization and an ashram, founded by Swami Sivananda Saraswati in 1936, at Muni Ki Reti, Rishikesh, India. The Society has branches around the world, with its headquarters in Rishi ...
of
Sivananda Saraswati
Swami Sivananda Saraswati (; 8 September 1887 – 14 July 1963), also called Swami Sivananda, was a yoga guru, a Hindu spiritual teacher, and a proponent of ''Vedanta''. Sivananda was born in Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of mode ...
.
History
Literally meaning "Sand of the sages" ( muni), Muni Ki Reti is traditionally considered the gateway for the Char Dham pilgrimage — Badrinath,
Kedarnath
Kedarnath is a town and Nagar Panchayat in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, India, known primarily for the Kedarnath Temple. It is approximately 86.5 kilometres from Rudraprayag, the district headquarters. Kedarnath is the most remote ...
,
Gangotri
Gangotri is a town and a ''Nagar Panchayat'' (municipality) in Uttarkashi district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is 99 km from Uttarkashi, the main district headquarter. It is a Hindu pilgrim town on the banks of the river Bha ...
, and
Yamunotri
Yamunotri, also Jamnotri, is the source of the Yamuna River and the seat of the Goddess Yamuna in Hinduism. It is situated at an altitude of in the Garhwal Himalayas and located approximately North of Uttarkashi, the headquarters of the Utta ...
. It is also known as the place where King Bharata performed penance in the ''
Ramayana
The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...
''.
In modern history, 'Kailash Ashram' was established here in 1880 by Dhanraj Giri. It was one of the first large ashrams to be established in Rishikesh. Before that it was mostly as a place for individual seekers or pilgrims to stop over on way to Char Dham temples pilgrimage.
Subsequently, Swami Atmananda founded Swargashram in 1908; Sivananda Ashram was established by
Swami Sivananda
Swami Sivananda Saraswati (; 8 September 1887 – 14 July 1963), also called Swami Sivananda, was a Modern yoga gurus, yoga guru, a Hinduism, Hindu spiritual teacher, and a proponent of ''Vedanta''. Sivananda was born in Pattamadai, in the Ti ...
in 1936. Gradually other ashrams came up and soon it became a popular destination for yoga and meditation practitioners and seekers of
Veda
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 ...
ntic knowledge. The town became a
Nagar Panchayat
A nagar panchayat () or town panchayat or Notified Area Council (NAC) in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a form of an urban political unit comparable to a municipality. An urban centre with more than 12,00 ...
on 30 November 1949 and elevated to
Municipal Council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...
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 ...
Govt. Official website. Over the years other
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' (< Parmarth Niketan of Swami Chidanand Saraswati and Vanprastha Ashram — all on the opposite bank of the Ganges.
In February 1968
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
visited the now-closed
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (born Mahesh Prasad Varma, 12 January 191? – 5 February 2008) was the creator of Transcendental Meditation (TM) and leader of the worldwide organization that has been characterized in multiple ways, including as a new ...
's ashram.
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
recorded 'The Happy Hrishikesh Song' here. The Beatles composed nearly 48 songs during their time at the Maharishi's ashram, many of which appear on the ''White Album''. Several other artists, including
Mike Love
Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who is one of the vocalists of the Beach Boys, of which he was an original member alongside his cousins Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, and Carl Wilson and their frien ...
of
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...
,
Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...
and Gyp Mills, visited the site to contemplate and meditate.
For years boats were the only way to go across the Ganges where numerous ashrams lie, but in 1986, the building of a suspension bridge, Ram Jhula, similar to the Lakshman Jhula at
Rishikesh
Rishikesh, also spelt as Hrishikesh, is a city near Dehradun in the Indian state Uttarakhand. The northern part of Rishikesh is in the Dehradun district while the southern part is in the Tehri Garhwal district. It is situated on the right bank ...
, allowed easy access and rapid growth to the area.
Demographics
According to the 2011 Census of India, Muni Ki Reti had a population of 10,620. Males constitute 63% of the population and females 37%. The town has an average literacy rate of 73%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 79%, and female literacy is 63%. In Muni Ki Reti 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Gallery
File:Ramjhula - bridge over the Ganga.jpg, Ram Jhula, the bridge over the Ganges.
File:Ghats on the Ganges and Ram Jhula bridge at Muni ki Reti, Rishikesh.jpg, Ghats on the Ganges and Ram Jhula bridge at Muni ki Reti.
File:Ghats by the River Ganga, Rishikesh.jpg, Ganga ghats across the river Ganges, at Muni ki Reti.
File:Shiva in rishikesh.jpg, The Shiva statue overlooking the ghats, near Parmarth Niketan.
File:Meditation chambers at the old Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram, now in ruins, Muni Ki Reti.jpg, Meditation chambers at the old
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (born Mahesh Prasad Varma, 12 January 191? – 5 February 2008) was the creator of Transcendental Meditation (TM) and leader of the worldwide organization that has been characterized in multiple ways, including as a new ...
Ashram, now in ruins, Muni Ki Reti.
File:An Outlet of Gita Press, Gorakhpur, a religious publisher, Muni Ki Reti.jpg, Gita Press outlet, Gita Bhavan, Muni Ki Reti.
File:Ashrams on the banks of Ganges, Rishikesh.jpg, 'Shivananda Kutir' on the Shivananda ghat, with Shivananda Ashram above.