Eco Spiritual Ashram in Pokhara promoting spiritual tourism

Som Gurung had suicidal thoughts many times. He could not control himself and lost his peace of mind as he ran through endless negative thoughts. However, now he has got his peace of mind after practicing meditation and yoga. “I had never had a peace of mind. I complained about my families and the society and myself," he said.

But, his spiritual transformation took a shape during his visit to Nepal nine months ago after he met with Swami Vikashananda and took meditation classes from him. "Now, I can have a free and spontaneous open-hearted laughter,” said Gurung, who lives in Singapore.

He has now learnt about life and society alongside meditation and yoga. “After practicing yoga and meditation, I feel I have my relatives and families to support me.” Influenced, he has provided monetary assistances to the Vikashananda Foundation Vishwo Pariwar, a non-profit social organisation established by Dr Yogi Vikashananda, founder of Manokranti campaign, for the spiritual, mental and physical welfare of the humankind.

Under this Foundation, eco spiritualism ashram has been established at Barang of Pokhara Metropolitan City-23. It aims to spread knowledge about yoga and meditation home and abroad, it has been said. Preaching, seminars and awareness campaigns were being launched from time to time in a bid to resolve people’s physical and mental problems through the eastern meditation system and the western psychology and parapsychology approach, said Yogi Vikashananda, adding that it aims to develop the ashram as a centre of meditation.

Approximately 100 people can meditate in the meditation centre at a go, he said.

“We are also carrying out infrastructural development simultaneously. We have a plan to build structures with 150 rooms just above the meditation hall,” he said. It plans to construct a spiritual housing, develop a habit of natural diets and create healthy environment alongside building a healthy society by ending family animosity and quarrel through love.

 It aims to create self-awakening through meditation like 'Kundalini Yoga', 'Mahashakti Pathan Yoga' and 'Tantra Yoga', and spread the thoughts that the world is our family; lets human unite and the soul and divine are the one, he said.

People from home and abroad have thronged the meditation centre, said Sushma Paudel, senior advisor for the Foundation, Kaski. “This mediation centre is being developed as another attraction of the tourist city, Pokhara. Anyone wishing to make their life healthy and develop positive thoughts through meditation can benefit from classes here,” she said.

Like Gurung, another meditation practitioner Rabina has experienced internal happiness through meditation. She has felt some changes within after doing meditation and yoga, she shared. “I was not actual me. I was living just a life. I could not feel how I was living a life. Depression consumed me. After meditation, I got a new life,” she shared.

Shiromani Paudel of Machhapuchhare Rural Municipality-5 in Kaski district has his own experiences associated with meditation to share. He suffered from back pain. After knowing about the ashram, he visited there and practiced yoga and meditation. After some weeks of yoga and meditation classes, he got his back pain relieved. “After practicing yoga and meditation at the ashram, I have done it by myself at home. I have got my back pain relieved. Yoga and meditation are proved a boon for me,” he said.

Meditation and yoga in general begin at the centre from 5:00 am to 6:00 pm every day under the direct supervision of Guru Vikashananda. People can do yoga and meditation at the centre residentially. 'Surya Namaskar' yoga begins at 6:00-7:00 am every day. One hour is allocated for a tea break in between. Yogi Vikashananda gives preaching from 8:00 am to 10:00 am. Lunch is served at 1:00 pm before taking half an hour break for rest. Thereafter meditation classes start. Those who live there residentially are charged Rs 1,000 in fees per person each day.

Meditation and yoga are provided for free. Those visiting the centre for yoga and meditation also donate money apart from paying the fees. Diets served here are organic. Brown rice, cooked pulses without salts, curry of unpeeled potato, organic pickles, and tea mixed with various medicinal herbs and molasses are served.

One needs to eat hygienic and organic diets to become healthy mentally and physically, said Yogi Vikashananda.

Meditation practitioners have been provided with yoga and meditation in an experimental way. So, they feel magical changes in their lives, he said.

Before launching a campaign to make people of Pokhara aware about yoga and meditation, he provided yoga and meditation classes in Godavari in Lalitpur and Samakhusi in Kathmandu.

“I have come up with a sustainable plan relating to yoga and meditation for Pokhara,” he said.

Situated in the lap of the Machhapuchchhre Mountain, sacred Panchase at the foot, and Phewa Lake at the head, and next to the Hadikhola, the Eco Spiritual Ashram is under construction at Barang in Pokhara. Dense forests and lakes nearby have also added to the beauty of the village. The project spanning around 40 ropanis of land has an ashram, a garden and park, a cave for meditation, toilets, kitchens and rest rooms. He has the hope that the project would help make people aware about spiritualism.

Local people are hopeful that the ashram would help expose the village and promote spiritual tourism. “Around 15 kilometers away from Pokhara, our village would remain unpopular. After Guru (Vikashananda) came here, there is increasing mobility of domestic and foreign tourists. Structures are constructed here and employment opportunities are being created. We are a happy for this,” said a local Eknath Parajuli.

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