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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}} | ||
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2017}} | {{Use Indian English|date=July 2017}} | ||
'''Gurudev Siddha Peeth''' is an Indian [[ashram]] run by the Gurudev Siddha Peeth Trust and serving the [[Siddha Yoga]] path. It is situated between the villages of | '''Gurudev Siddha Peeth''' is an Indian [[ashram]] run by the Gurudev Siddha Peeth Trust and serving the [[Siddha Yoga]] path. It is situated between the villages of Ganeshpuri and [[Vajreshwari]] in the state of [[Maharashtra]], {{convert|70|mi}} north-east of [[Mumbai]]. On the Siddha Yoga path it is known as the "mother ashram" because it is where Siddha Yoga really began.<ref name="Brooks">{{harv|Brooks|Sabharathnam|1997|p=49}}</ref> | ||
==History== | == History == | ||
The ashram's origins date back to the [[guru]] known as [[Bhagawan | The ashram's origins date back to the [[guru]] known as [[Bhagawan Nityananda]], who had been in the nearby village of Ganeshpuri since 1936.<ref>{{harv|Brooks|Sabharathnam|1997|p=8}}</ref> Before he died in 1961,<ref name="Brooks pp47-48">{{harv|Brooks|Sabharathnam|1997|pp=47–48}}</ref> Nityananda is said to have told his devotee, [[Muktananda|Swami Muktananda]], to build an ashram near Ganeshpuri on land that Nityananda gave him.<ref name="Brooks pp47-48"/> Nityananda prophesied that the ashram would become "very big and beautiful" and would attract people from all over the world.<ref name="Brooks p42">{{harv|Brooks|Sabharathnam|1997|p=42}}</ref> | ||
Swami Muktananda established the ashram and called it Sri Gurudev Ashram,<ref name="Brooks" /> in honour of Nityananda. In 1978, Muktananda changed the name to Gurudev Siddha Peeth. The ashram has since grown as Nityananda predicted and is the site of shrines to both Nityananda and Muktananda (who died in 1982).<ref name="Brooks | Swami Muktananda established the ashram and called it Sri Gurudev Ashram,<ref name="Brooks"/> in honour of Nityananda. In 1978, Muktananda changed the name to Gurudev Siddha Peeth. The ashram has since grown as Nityananda predicted and is the site of shrines to both Nityananda and Muktananda (who died in 1982).<ref name="Brooks p42"/> It functions as a full-time spiritual retreat for people who want to pursue their Siddha Yoga practices. The ashram also runs short-term retreats, for example a seven-day "Pilgrimage to the Heart Retreat."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://siddhayoga.org.in |title=Retreats |accessdate=23 November 2014}}</ref> | ||
In addition to spiritual practice, the ashram established significant charitable services for the benefit of the [[adivasis]] (tribal people) of the area. Medical services and housing were provided for these people and for other poor people in the valley. The PRASAD Project was set up to administer these projects.<ref>{{harv|Brooks|Sabharathnam|1997|p=153}}</ref> The | In addition to spiritual practice, the ashram established significant charitable services for the benefit of the [[adivasis]] (tribal people) of the area. Medical services and housing were provided for these people and for other poor people in the valley. The PRASAD{{efn|[[Prasada|Prasad]] means a religious offering in Hinduism.<ref>{{cite web |title=Prasad |url=https://www.eastern-spirituality.com/glossary/spirituality-terms/p-definitions/prasad |website=Eastern Spirituality: Glossary |access-date=29 March 2022}}</ref>}} Project was set up to administer these projects.<ref>{{harv|Brooks|Sabharathnam|1997|p=153}}</ref> The Project also organized several eye-camps in which those who were blind from cataracts received free corrective surgery that restored their eyesight. Current PRASAD projects include organic farmers' initiatives, irrigation and water conservation projects, women's self-help groups, and AIDS prevention awareness.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prasad.org/what-we-do|title=About Us|accessdate=23 November 2014}}</ref> | ||
== In popular culture == | |||
Gurudev Siddha Peeth has been linked by multiple commentators with the ashram in [[Elizabeth Gilbert]]'s 2006 memoir ''[[Eat, Pray, Love]]'', since, among other clues, it has a multilingual female guru who was a swami's translator, succeeded him, and resides in the United States, attributes of [[Gurumayi Chidvilasananda]], and where a 90-minute ''[[Guru Gita]]'' is sung every morning.<ref>{{cite web |title=No ashram for Julia Roberts |url=https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/no-ashram-for-julia-roberts/20090810.htm |work=Rediff.com |access-date=5 October 2021 |date=20 August 2009 |quote=it is widely guessed that she stayed at Gurudev Siddha Peeth at Ganeshpuri (Thane district) in Maharashtra and her guru was Gurumayi Chidvilasananda}}</ref><ref name="Shah 2010">{{cite web |last=Shah |first=Riddhi |url=https://www.salon.com/2010/08/14/eat_pray_love_guru_sex_scandals/|title=The "Eat, Pray, Love" guru's troubling past |work=Salon |date=August 14, 2010 |access-date=August 22, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Stewart |first=Sara |work=New York Post |url=https://nypost.com/2010/08/10/eat-pray-zilch/ |title=Eat, Pray, Zilch |date=August 20, 2010 |access-date=August 22, 2021}}</ref><ref name="Leba 2010">{{cite web |last=Leba |first=Jennifer |title=The Guru Looked Good: Valley Yogi vs. Eat, Pray, Love |url=https://hvmag.com/life-style/the-guru-looked-good-valley-yogi-vs-eat-pray-love/ |website=Hudson Valley |access-date=5 October 2021 |date=12 October 2010}}</ref> | |||
''[[Hinduism Today]]'' magazine states that in the 1960s, the ashram was "an austere sanctuary" with few people.<ref name="Hinduism Today 1995"/> From 1970, Muktananda traveled widely, bringing thousands of visitors to the ashram. According to Catherine Parrish of SYDA Foundation, "People were coming to the ashram for the wrong reasons"; she explained that "tourists were showing up to eat at the ashram's non-existent 'five-star restaurant'."<ref name="Hinduism Today 1995"/> Crowding increased still further when Gurumayi was at the ashram. Accordingly, visitors were required to apply for at least a month's stay. The magazine reported that by 1995 there were once again fewer people: "everything is simpler; the silence is deeper."<ref name="Hinduism Today 1995">{{cite news |last1=Anon |title=Muktananda's Legacy |url=https://www.hinduismtoday.com/magazine/april-1995/1995-04-muktananda-s-legacy/ |access-date=29 March 2022 |work=[[Hinduism Today]] |issue=April 1995 |date=1 April 1995}}</ref> | |||
== Notes == | |||
{{notelist}} | |||
== References == | |||
{{reflist|30em}} | {{reflist|30em}} | ||
==Sources cited== | == Sources cited == | ||
*{{cite book |last=Brooks |first=Douglas Renfrew |author2=Sabharathnam |title=Meditation Revolution |publisher=Agama Press |year=1997 |isbn=81-208-1648-X |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e9nCbvOdKY4C}}{{ | |||
* {{cite book |last=Brooks |first=Douglas Renfrew |author2=Sabharathnam |title=Meditation Revolution |publisher=Agama Press |year=1997 |isbn=81-208-1648-X |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e9nCbvOdKY4C}} | |||
== Further reading == | |||
* {{cite book |author=Swami Muktananda |author-link=Muktananda |title=Bhagawan Nityananda of Ganeshpuri |publisher=SYDA Foundation |year=1996 |isbn=0-911307-45-1 |ref=none}} | |||
== | == External links == | ||
* [http://www.siddhayoga.org.in Official Indian Website] | |||
*[http://www.siddhayoga.org.in Official Indian Website] | |||
{{Siddha Yoga}} | {{Siddha Yoga}} | ||