Sri Kali Vanashram

Spiritual University

A couple of furlongs away from the Nambur Railway station and away from the din and busy National Highway between Vijayawada and Guntur, lies an Ashram amidst the serene and salubrious setting of a greenery grove full of fruit bearing trees and flower growing bushes. It is the famous Sri Kali Gardens - hollowed place buzzing with religious activity and vibrating with spiritual peace and joy. Sri Ramananda Dwaram (Arch) the entrance to Ashram is facing the highway welcoming the Devotees. The road leading to Ashram passes through Sri Purushotham Dwaram (2nd Arch) and Kanthi Dwaram (3rd Arch).

Description of Ashram

The site of the Ashram had already acquired Sacrosance, legend has it that some of the great Rishis of Ancient time lived there in their hermitages doing penance. The place was also sanctified for reason of its being witness to several Vedic rituals and sacrifices (Yagnas and Yagas) performed by great souls centuries ago for the welfare of mankind. The Ashram is between two famous temples i.e. at Mangalagiri on the Northern side is the Vaishnava Temple of Sri Laxminarasimha Swami and on the Southern side at Pedda Kakani a Siva Temple of Mallikarjuna Swami. It is significant and fortunate to have the Ashram in between the Vaishnava and Siva Temples.

Sri Kali Gardens Ashram was inaugurated on 31st May 1972 having been constructed at the persistent requests of the Devotees. In Sri Kali gardens ashram one can always find a truly socialistic society where there is absolutely no discrimination of caste, creed, race or religion. All the inmates live and dine together like brothers and sisters, children of the Divine Mother. A Trust manned by devotees, manages and looks after the routine functioning of the Ashram under the control of the Ashramadhipati. One of the most unique features of the Ashram is that all the devotees live there with their full family units, men and women, young and old, school and college going children, job holders and retired. Every one of them renders some service or other in the ashram and free accommodation is allotted to them in houses and cottages constructed by the Trust.

Five Temples were constructed under Sri Babuji's personal supervision and guidance.

1. Sri Babu Vignana Mandir (1972)
2. Sri Kodanda Ramaswamy Temple (1978)
3. Sri Radha Krishna Temple (1980)
4. Sri Ramalingeshwara Swami Temple (1981)
5. Sri Maha Kalika Parmeshwari Temple (1981)
6. Sri Nagendra Swami Temple

Babu revealed that all the installations in these temples were of live and potent deities and not idols and that the fruit of years (Babuji's) of penance was consecrated to them. He therefore advised people to worship these deities with full faith and sincerity so that all their desires may be fulfilled.

Sri Brindavanam Temple constructed at the Samadhi place of Sri Babuji (Inaugurated on 4-5-1995, Shankar Jayanthi Day) after He shed His mortal form on the evening of 3rd December 1988, the new moon Dasami Day in the month of Karthika, became a center of pilgrimage for those seeking peace and solace.

Sri Babu advocated that God was one and different religions prescribed different methods of reaching Him. Any religion is thus as good as any other and man is free to follow his own religion faithfully and fervently without interfering with or harming other's faiths. His was thus universal religion (Viswamatham) and Sri Babuji and Sri Kali Gardens belong to God-minded people of all regions and religions. He assured that any ardent seeker of spiritual bliss, of whatever following, is bound to experience such bliss if only he sits for a while anywhere in the Ashram and meditates with concentration. Many a visitor to the ashram, of different religions, have testified to this statement with their personal experiences in the ashram during their brief visits.

Innumerable visitors from far and near and of different languages and faith visited the Ashram and had the darshan of Sri Babuji. Every such visitor, after his or her exclusive interview with Sri Babuji, returned with a sense of conviction and fulfillment, albeit the language barrier.

Sri Babu felt that the eighth decade of the century was very crucial and fateful period for humanity all over the world. To ward off the devastating spell of the evil forces, he got performed under His personal supervision, three major yagas in the Ashram for the well-being of all the worlds and the entire human race. These were

1. The Sri Devi Sata Chandi Yagam in 1975
2. Sri Pasupata Vajra gradhita Maha Mrityunjaya Samputita Maha Rudra Yagam in 1978
3. Sri Sagraha Makha, Putra Kamesti, Maha Lakshmi Yaga Sahita Sri Rama Maha Samrajya Pattabhisheka Yagam in 1982 .

Having thus spread his message far and wide and having served the human society for nearly half a century, Sri Babu felt that His mission for this avatar was complete and he therefore shed His mortal frame on the evening of 3rd December 1988, the new moon Dasami day (tenth day) of the month of Karthika.

That was the saddest moment for the human race; yet another great master that guided their destinies had made his exit. But where? Is He not the Sarvadhistana Chaitanya, the Brahman that pervades the universe from the subatomic level to its entirety? Certainly, yes. And let us seek and worship Him in every atom of the Universe as the all-presiding and all-pervading Brahma (Sarvadhistana Chaitanya).

During the celebrations of the three yagas in the Ashram, Sri Babuji used to point out at the "Homa Gundam" (the fire place) and indicate that was to be His abode. Accordingly, the physical remains of Sri Babuji were placed in a marble samadhi constructed at that very place, on the 7th December 1988, amidst the chanting of the Vedas and Akhanda naama sankeertan.

All the devotees decided to bring up a befitting mandir there and thus came up the "Brindavanam", a beautiful and monumental mandir of marvelous sculpture in milky marble. A marble idol of Sri Babu was installed in the Brindavanam on 4th May 1995. The devotees have put all their hearts and souls into the construction of the Brindavanam and the Brindavanam now occupies their hearts and souls.

In His letters to devotees Sri Babu used to sign as "Your Hridaya Babu", meaning "the Babu in your heart". Yes; Sri Babu continues for ever as the heart and soul of His devotees.

After Sri Babu attained mahasamadhi, a seven-day annual function of Sadguru Aradhana is being celebrated every year from the third new moon day to the tenth new moon day of the month of Karthika. Besides, Sri Sadguru pada pooja and satsang are organized on the full moon day and the tenth new moon day of every month.