Shrimad Rajchandra Ashram is a vibrant and sanctified ashram that is located on the hillock of Mohangadh, in a village named Dharampur, in the district of Valsad, in the state of Gujarat, in Western India. It is spread over 223 acres of land in the sublime environment. This holy place brings solace and peace to one's soul. One can also feel experience of elevation and exhilaration at this spot. The nearest railway station is situated at Valsad Station. This station can be reached by train starting from Ahmedabad and Mumbai. Those who are coming by road can reach Valsad bus depot and then commute the Gujarat S.T. Intercity buses to Dharampur bus depot. These buses are readily available between 6:00 a.m. and 9:30 p.m and run at half-hour intervals. One can hire from Dharampur bus depot a rickshaw to the Ashram. There are rickshaws and 9-seater jeeps that can be directly hired from Valsad bus station or Railway station to the Ashram. Shrimad Rajchandra Ashram Dharampur is nearly 215 kms from Mumbai, approximately 125 kms from Nasik, 352 kms from Ahmedabad, 230 kms from Baroda and 100 kms from Surat. The closest domestic airport is at Surat and the closest international airport is at Mumbai.

Meditation Programs at Shrimad Rajchandra Ashram Dharampur

A course that largely initiates a seeker into meditation is known as Sadhana Bhatti at this ashram. It is a very powerful meditation program. It is to be highly noted that as fire purifies gold, at this ashram seekers are also purified in the perfect fire of meditation. So this particular program has been rightly named as Sadhana Bhatti. It is a wholehearted invitation to the seeker to explore the given world through meditation. Pujya Gurudevshri has well-designed this three day basic program in meditation for all those who are fast paced modern world and don't get time to even close our eyes and meditate plus slip into silence. The salient features of the Sadhana Bhatti is observing silence complete for three days.

Daily Sadhana

• Meditation - 3 Sessions

• Mukhya Dhyan / Instrumental for 2 x 45 mins

• Guided Meditation for 1 x 45 mins

• Swadhyay

• Listening for 60 mins

• Reading for 60 mins

• Bhakti

• Morning Kram

• Evening Kram

• Exercise - 1 hour

• Yoga / Walk for 45 mins

• Pranayam for 15 mins

Self Bhatti

There should be strict discipline followed in the program of Self Bhatti. There is a need for maintaining 72 hours continuous maun or silence. There shouldn't be any emails, SMS and no interaction with anyone. The participant should wear only White clothes. It is highly advised to indulge in Self Bhatti in Pujya Gurudevshri's presence for your spiritual progress at Dharampur ashram. It is to be remembered that Self Bhatti must be only undertaken under unavoidable situation, circumstances and condition. On the other hand, all those who have indulged in Sadhana Bhatti in Dharampur are fully eligible to directly undertake Self Bhatti.

The schedules of this program are:

• Yoga

• Breathing exercises

• The meditation technique taught by Pujya Gurudevshri

• Guided Meditations

• Chanting

• Pujya Gurudevshri's pravachans based on meditation

According to the experts in this field, Sadhana Bhatti is the kind of program for all thse seekers who have direct inclination just towards meditation to a great extend but are afraid to move towards the final plunge. It provides the right kind of platform in order to these kinds of aspirants to immediately start on their inward journey with a lot of perfection.

Facilities at Shrimad Rajchandra Ashram

Fitness center - A healthy body and mind are really essential for more effective Sadhana and seva. The fitness centre is located within the ashram in the Administrative Block and its play a significant role in keeping the heart and body. It has advanced exercise equipment such as Abdomen Bench, a Cross Trainer, Treadmills, Multi Gym Unit, etc.

Health care centre - It is a well-equipped dispensary for medical examination and primary treatment of major and minor illnesses. It also has emergency resuscitation equipment such as a laryngoscope, suction machine, Ambu bag, an ECG machine and oxygen cylinder. Medical accessories such as nebulizers and wheelchair also can be arranged. Serious patients are referred to the Shrimad Rajchandra Hospital that is located in Dharampur town. It is situated in the Administrative Block. The normal timings are from 9am to 9.30am and from 6.30pm to 7pm.

Conference room - It's a Conference Room that is equivalent to Corporate style. It is situated in the Administrative Block. It was personally developed for Pujya Gurudevshri in order to have various types of meetings with Steering Committee members, the Master Plan Committee architects, various Trusts, etc. it is equipped with latest and advanced electronic and electrical equipments such as microphones for facilitating discussions and presentations, an LCD television set and with a projector and screen plus sofa seating arrangement.

Mini Auditorium - It has a seating arrangement for nearly 32 people. It is equipped with small meeting tables for one-to-one meetings and an LCD television set. It is situated in the Administrative Block.

Amphitheatre - It situated at the same spot where Pujya Gurudevshri wholeheartedly received the intuition of personally selecting Dharampur for the Ashram Site. Under the blessed tree, there are life-sized depicting the creation of Shri Atmasiddhi Shastra through the representation of Pujyashri Ambalalbhai and Shrimad Rajchandraji. It can accommodate 200 people.

Gardens - There are three beautiful gardens named Raj Upvan and Dhyan Upvan marked as Meditation Areas plus Bal Upvan marked as Play Area. There is a garden overlooking the hills of the Dang forest known as Arhat Garden. The Vrindavan Garden is dedicated to Lord Krishna. It has a beautiful pond in the middle. The lawn of the garden is the best place for indulging in yoga and mediation activities to a great extent. There is a need to get prior permission for using this garden for yoga and meditation activities from the concerned authorities in advance. Unauthorized use of garden for any other activities apart from yoga and meditation is strictly not allowed.

Kitchen - It is the place where nutritious and wholesome food for the inmates, students, participants, guests and visitors for three meals with tea in the break hours. It has the capacity to cook for nearly 2000 people at a time. It is fully equipped with modern cooking ranges and other basic equipments. There is a staff rest room attached with the kitchen area. There is also a washing area, cooking area and preparing area marked within the kitchen space.

Dinning tent - This particular tent is the dinning hall in order to accommodate 1000 people at the same time. This hall is always kept neat and cleans after every meal. This hall has good ventilation facilities. The dinning table and seating chairs are arranged in a systematic manner.

Dormitory - It accommodate 450 people. It is situated in the Yajnasthal. It perfectly fosters a spirit of community living among the inmates. Apart from dormitory, there are single rooms, double rooms, shared rooms and special guest rooms in the residential block of within this ashram. The room comes with fan, lights, cot, mattress, pillow, a kettle and other basic furniture and furnishing items. The rooms have good ventilation facilities. Inmates are advised to cooperate and coordinate with room service staffs for keeping the rooms neat and clean always.