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tarmac road diversion on Karkala-Udupi State
Highway at Bailur snakes through the undulating terrain. The human dwellings
thin as you near a hillock, a little away from the foothills of the Western
Ghats. There stands Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama,
Bailur, on the bank of River Swarna.
Though the surrounding areas have fallen
victim to the development at the cost of nature, this quiet and quite a vast
patch has still retained its verdant beauty with minimum damage to the wild
vegetation. The sprawling Math premises
is an embodiment of serenity.
Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, also known as
Bailur Math, is a monastic organisation for men with a provision to accommodate
non-monastics interested in pure spiritual life. Sri Ramakrishna Sharada
Ashram is a parallel women monastic wing without any connection with the men’s wing.
Interestingly, the monastery known also as
Bailur Math, rhymes with the Belur Math in Kolkatta, the headquarters of
Ramakrishna Math and Mission founded by Swami Vivekananda. However, it’s not a branch of Belur Math but an
independent private organization under the Global Ramakrishna Movement. There are thousands of such monasteries in
the country working on the lines of the teaching of the great saint Sri
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.
The
monastery came up a little over a decade ago on a patch of 16 acres of land
with the coming together of a few spiritually inclined people. It functions on
the twin ideals of Swami Vivekananda for one’s own salvation and also for the
welfare of the world.
The 16 acres of Math land encompasses an
aesthetically laid holy mother rock garden, a prayer hall dedicated to the holy
trio of Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sharada and Swami Vivekananda, a statue of Vivekananda enshrined in a
beautifully constructed rock structure and accommodation facilities. Another
plot of around 18 acres is developed as Sharada Ashrama for the woman
inmates.
All activities of the Ashram hinge upon
spirituality and service. Classes on
scriptures, physical exercises, meditation, bhajans and pujas and other service
activities are the regular features on any day.
Most of the day today chores of the monastery are carried out by the
inmates themselves. External help is hired only for skilled and additional
works.
Through service, the inmates toil to
uplift their lives and also to build up the infrastructure of the Math. The
monastery also involves itself in activities like extending educational help to
the needy, conducting spiritual classes, personality development workshops for
students, motivational seminars, Bhajanamrtha on the last Sunday of every
month, Yoga, Satsanga, discourses as well as summer camps for students and
promotion of rural art and culture.
Both religious and national festivals are
celebrated with equal gusto. Festivals like
Durga Pooja, Gurupoornima, Krishna Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, birth
anniversaries of the holy trio, Shivaratri are celebrated with due fanfare. Swarna Gangarati marks the night of December
31 every year.
Swami
Vinayakananda Maharaj of Sri Ramakrishna Order of Sanyasa heads the
monastery. The Math has around 40
inmates. The Math also shelters battered souls, disillusioned individuals in
addition to those who seek nothing but spiritual enlightenment. Even a short
stay in the ashrama can bring about tranquility. It’s indeed an ideal location
to get detoxified spiritually.
Alternately,
the
ashram can be reached by taking a diversion at Hiriyadka, 15 km from Udupi
enroute Karkala.
