Celebrating The First International Day of Yoga

MADURAI ASHRAM, SOUTH INDIA
The growth of an Ashram is
exciting for both staff and regular
visitors to watch unfold
Developments
at
Madurai Ashram
TAMIL NADU, SOUTH INDIA
Since the opening of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Meenakshi Ashram, 20km North of Madurai City in Tamil Nadu,
South India, only three permanent buildings have been built. These were built last year and are Shanti Nivas (the
first building of 2 staff rooms and a kitchen), Ganga Kutir accommodating the reception, office, boutique, six special
guest rooms and two long dormitories, and thirdly Yamuna Kutir, a permanent ladies dormitory. Ganga Kutir is
topped by a temporary dormitory made with coconut leaf walls and roof. Satsangs and yoga classes were held for
years under the coconut leaf roof above Yamuna Kutir. Idyllic surroundings for our Yoga practice, except for a minor
road which is busy at the wrong time of day! However, since January this year, the Ashram inmates have been
meditating and practicing away from the road in a specially designed space in the middle of the Ashram.
Swami Vishnudevananda Satsang Hall
The Swami Vishnudevananda Satsang Hall was so named by
Swami Durgananda on 17th January 2015 following a beautiful
puja to purify and give the hall an auspicious start. With the
presence of Swami Kailasananda, Swami Sivadasananda, Swami
Rajeswariananda from Neyyar Dam, Swami Keshavananda from
Europe, Swami Shivabhaktan anda and Prahlada from Canada,
plus our own Swami Satchidananda, director Anoop and all the
staff, guests, students, Trustees and all the India branch directors
it was an energetic puja and inauguration satsang. Swami
Durgananda honoured all present, particularly our Trustees –
Dr. V. Narayanasamy, Ananthakrishnan and Lalitamma, for
keeping a watchful eye on the project. Special thanks went
to the brains behind the satsang hall project, the temple shelter,
landscaping and agricultural works, Ravi Kumar, Anjaiah, Thulasi
and Pramila of the Dual Group along with all their associates.
We must not forget Bharatiraja, the site engineer who was
on site day in and day out attending to all the details.
Though modern in design, the satsang hall fits into the
traditional rustic surroundings of the Ashram due to its simplicity.
With open sides, natural light and fresh air can be fully appreciated
as also can the excellent views. The northern side gives a view
of the Ashram’s pond area, the adjacent forests, distant hills and
a full expanse of sky. Students comment that the energy of the
54 YOGALife |Autumn/Winter 2015