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Book Review: Ashrams of India Volume 1 by the Bronte Company Limited

Produced by the Bronte Company Limited, ‘Ashrams of India Volume 1’  presents a useful resource guide for the people and travelers that are looking forward to visit or connect with ashrams and places of worships such as synagogues, churches, temples, mosques, and divine caves and so on in India.


‘Ashrams of India’ is a bulky book that has compiled information about 500 places across 18 states, of which mostly are ashrams in India, especially of Hindu faith. However, the book is not wholly dedicated to Hindu ashrams and the gurus that have their centuries-old lineage for their disciples and followers, rather the book also focuses on special highlighted places of worships in some of the states such as Goa, Kerala, and Sikkim.

Of course, it’s a prevalent fact that India is a country of myriad gods and gurus, as a result it’s abundant with ashrams that are in existence since many centuries. However, there are some places that hold historical relevance with regard to other faiths that came to India by various ways. For instance, in state Goa, the book sheds light on various churches/cathedrals and their history during the trading times. In Kerala it provides a long list of Jews synagogues and some mosques that were built by foreign traders. In Sikkim, instead of temples and ashrams, you will have divine caves where people go for worshipping to have benefits like increase in knowledge and spiritual upliftment.

From ancient to modern ones, the book houses nearly all famous saints and gurus from India like Ramakrishna Mission, ISKCON, Art of Living, Osho etc. Beside you must have heard news about Nityanand, Shri Satya Sai Baba, and Radhe Ma – this book has special coverage for them. Not all saints and gurus have had the luxury of vast expanse of ashrams, in Mumbai still there are many divine people who live in small compact flats and see their followers every day. The book traverses from north to south and east to west – all back stories of history and saint’s lineage sound fictional but it gives a pleasing reading session.

The fringe benefit of this book is that it provides useful information for modern travelers and spiritual seekers. In the book, they will find address and contact details for visiting hours or booking, GPS so that they can connect directly on Google maps and so on.

Every ashram or place of worship comes with its own protocols and terms and conditions for outsiders and followers, keeping this book handy will equip you with information that can save your time and energy while inquiring about workshops and meditation sessions.

It’s a work of great minds that must have required immense research work. The book is interactive because of short stories about the ashrams, its terms, its history, and most importantly pictures. It is a great read even on Kindle.

Buy from Amazon/Kindle.

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