Friday, December 7, 2018

Bailur Math – For Spiritual Detoxification



A
 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.




   

    
      



 
      

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