Gohana

Shree Ram Sharnam Gohana is a dream Ashram where the entire scenario is so surcharged with Ram Naam that one feels the difference as one steps inside the premises. Here the whiffs of breeze filtered through its whole medley of trees, plants and flowers are a panacea for all worldly ills, ailments and afflictions. Countless trees, numberless plants and multicolored flowers vie with one another to add to the beauty of the place. The lush lawns, the intertwined trees, clean pathways with flowers on all sides, speak volumes for the landscape.

Swami Ji Maharaj visited Gohana and held a Satsang in the makeshift thatched hall on November 11, 1959 i.e. a year before his Mahasamasdhi. Unwittingly, the hall turned out to be octagonal (eight-sided) and Swami Ji Maharaj highly praised Pujya Bade Pitaji and his team. Maharaj Ji was delighted and said, “I have never seen such a beautiful Hall(it was temporary). Normally, a hall is four-sided, but it is eight-sided.” Today, the Jaap Room at Gohana is also octagonal.

This is place of pilgrimage for the devotees of Ram Naam. Here Jaap goes on throughout the year but 90-day Akhand Jaap (non-stop day-and-night Jaap) has become an annual feature. Multitrillion beads of rosaries year after year generate powerful spiritual energy. It is nothing short of a Tapobhoomi.

Life in the Ashram enjoins a strict discipline on the devotees. Devotees have to observe a strict time-table. No newspapers, no magazines, no T.V., no radio, no outside tours or picnics are allowed. Routine disciplined life, reading of scriptures, observance of silence, simple food, service to others, and spiritual practices are the main facets of the life in the Ashram.

There is accommodation for about 700 people in the ashram. The Hut-shaped cottages give a feeling of a modern hermitage. Everybody keeps one’s room clean and tidy. The dining hall is kept clean and it serves simple, nutritious and Satvik food to the devotees. Cleanliness, orderliness and purity are the essence of the Ashram. After prior permission devotees can stay here for “Sadhna”.

Timings for Dining Hall:

	Breakfast	:	8.00 a.m. to 9.00 a.m.
	Lunch	:	12.00 noon to 2.00 p.m.
	Dinner	:	7.00 p.m. to 9.00 p.m.

To meet the urgent needs, the following facilities are available :

General Store, Canteen, P.C.O, ST.D. & I.S.D. and Book Store where the scriptures of Swamiji, CDs, cassettes of Amritvani, Bhajans etc are available.

Jaap Yajna is carried out in the octagonal room. Outside this Room, there is Parikrama(Circular Walkway). Outside this parikrama, there is a pool of water. Thus Jaap room stands like a lotus in the water reminding the devotees to stand apart like this Meditation Hall in the midst of the world. Here the devotees tell the beads of rosaries, repeating the holy name, sit in Dhyan(Meditation). This room is the soul of the Ashram. This is the sanctum sanctorum where pin-drop silence is observed.

The congregation hall is situated on a raised ground. It is surrounded by lush green lawns on all the four sides with ponds and fountains. Satsangs are held here.A larger satsang hall for very large gatherings is also there. Satsangs during special events are held here.

Satsang Timings:

“Maharaj Ji in his epic, Ramayan-Sar, has written that Shree Ram Chandra Ji , even while he was in exile and also when he was the King, was most accessible to anyone who came to seek his help and was always ready to facilitate others with his service. He did not hold himself back from people.

सर्व सुलभ हैं राम हमारे, जन मन चाँद नयन के तारे
सबके दुःख सुख में मिल जाते, पूरा हित अति प्रेम दिखते

आर्त पीड़ित को जब पाते, उसके दुखड़े दूर कराते
जाते उत्सव जहाँ मनाते, पिता भाई ज्यूँ वे हर्षाते

The verse written above by Swami Ji clearly hints that the true spiritual Master must meet the masses and distribute the balm in total humility and service. Pujya Bade Pitaji followed this sanatan tradition till the last day of his life. Even today, devotees can feel the humbling presence of the Master as soon as they enter the premises of Satya Hans Udyan, the prayer room dedicated to Pujya Bhagat Hansraj ji Maharaj. This is a smarak (memorial) to his divinity, and place of silent prayers.”