Sai Baba Ashram

Address
Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
Prashanthi Nilayam, Anantapur District
Andhra Pradesh, India

Location
A three hour rail service between Bangalore and Puttaparthi is available. Besides, once the Puttaparthi-Dharmavaram link is completed by end-2001, Northern Railway too will run direct trains to Puttaparthi. The nearest airports to the ashram are Puttaparthi that is about 6 km and at Bangalore.

About the Founder
In 1926, Sri Satya Sai Baba was born in the village of Puttaparthi, Andra Pradesh, India. At the tender age of 14,he went through some weird experiences, that his family and others believed at the time to be demonic possession. Soon after one of these, Satyanarayan asserted that the spirit of a guru known as Sai Baba of Shirdi, Maharashtra, who had died more than twenty years earlier, had come into him.

About the Ashram
Prashanthi Nilayam is a well designed and a systematic ashram. The ashram endorses a several faultless temples, a kalpavriksha or the wish-fulfilling tree and a 'meditation tree', and a darshan hall where the Swami meets his devotees. The campus also houses a post office, a public relations desk, a canteen and even a bakery. The ashram was inaugurated by Sri Sathya Sai Baba on November 23, 1950, on his 25th birthday. During that time, it was of course, a new temple, that was constructed to accommodate the increasing numbers of devotees. By then, the young Swami's fame had swept through newly independent India. People crowd the ashram to watch his 'miracles' -- the way he plucked things like flowers, candy, idols, nectar out of thin air.

Prashanthi Nilayam has developed into an unexceptional ashram, with a free school and a deemed university, as well as a super-specialty hospital with good facilities. Interestingly, an open-heart surgery and kidney transplants are performed free of charge for the needy every day. This free hospital will also serve the poor. The Swami has proclaimed that he will attain samadhi at age 93, that enables him to work for two more decades towards achieving his objectives.

Activities at the ashram
The activities at the ashram start in the morning at around 4 am and stops in the night at 9 pm. The ashram is quite only for two hours after lunch, otherwise it is bustling with activities and programmes through out the day. The ashram authorities wish that the visitors should work and help in making the environment clean.