Golden Jubilee Year – Gayatri Teerth, Shantikunj

Gayatri Teerth, Shanti Kunj was established in 1971 by Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya, as a living model of a futuristic society, unity ad equality. It is a modern adoption of the age old wisdom of Vedic Rishis, who practiced and propagated the philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. The divine intentions of Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya for the Ashram were given shape and converted into reality by his spiritual consort and collaborator, Vandaniya Mata Bhagvati Devi Sharma.

Overlooking the sacred city Haridwar and nestled in the serene Himalayas on the bank of the holy Ganges, Shanti Kunj Ashram celebrates its 50^th anniversary in june 2021 as a centre of pilgrimage, spiritual awakening and social upliftment. A holy place of global importance, it fosters peace and goodwill among people of all backgrounds, beliefs and identities. It is the home to the Global Gayatri Pariwar, a mass spiritual movement, with more than one hundred million followers.

Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya, born on September 20, 1911 in Anwalkheda village, Agra District, Uttar Pradesh, India, devoted his life for the emergence of a new era of universal peace, harmony and goodwill. When he was only fifteen years of age, he endeavoured 24 Mahapurushcharans of Gayatri Mahamantra, took part in the non-violent struggle for India’s independence as a volunteer, went to jail a number of times during freedom struggle and embarked upon the task of social and moral upliftment through spiritual means with the blessings of Mahatma Gandhi. He translated the entire Vedic Vangmaya in lucid Hindi with eloquent comprehensive introductions and accomplished a feat of writing more than 2400 enlightening books in Hindi on all aspects of life. He lived a simple, disciplined life full of devout austerity, visited the Himalayas several times and attained spiritual eminence and foresight. When Pandit Shriram Sharma, Acharya took Samadhi on June 02, 1990, Gayatri Jayanti day, Mataji took over all the responsiblities of the mission and managed with great courage.

Gayatri Teerth, Shanti Kunj welcomes seekers of all faiths and backgrounds. Spread across several acres, its campus constitutes a network of shrines, temples, eateries, lecture theatres, libraries, yoga and meditation halls, recording studio, farms, medical clinics, ayurvedic surgeries and simple residental quarters. At any given point of time, the campus accommodates approximately three thousand sadhaks and their families. The Ashram and Gayatri Pariwar are wholly sustained through the voluntary contribution of one rupee, one handful of grain and one hour a day of voluntary work from each of its many millions of adherents.

Gayatri Teerth, Shanti Kunj, Haridwar is the embodiment of silent revolution that Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya launched for social and spiritual transformation through continuous work on seven major area of outreach: Inner Transformation, Village Autonomy, Reform of Religious Understanding and Practice, Promotion of Health and Well being, Environmental Protection, Empowerment and Education of Women and Disaster Management.