India Heritage Research Foundation

India Heritage Research Foundation has purchased a new piece of land, on the holy banks of Mother Ganga, approximately 10 km from Parmarth Niketan, in a village of Rishikesh called Veerpur.

This land will be the home of a new, smaller, rustic Parmarth ashram. The following will be part of the new project.

1. Gaushala: Cow protection program: Each day we pray to "Gau Mata" [Mother Cow] and we savor her milk as nectar. Yet, we let her wander stray on the roads, hungry and homeless. To address this unfortunate situation, we are building a new gaushala on this land where cows will be brought off the streets and given food, shelter and medicine. They will eat fresh grass and live in pristine air of the Himalayas. Our goal is to give Gau Mata a safe, healthy environment in which to live and to make the roads clean and safe for drivers and pedestrians.

2. Interfaith Harmony Rooms: The rooms of the Ashram here will reflect Pujya Swamiji' s commitment to interfaith harmony. There will be special rooms dedicated to each of the main faiths of the world, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, Islam, Christianity and Judaism. The rooms will have pictures or symbols or other holy objects sacred to each of these traditions. In this way when visitors from various faith traditions come, they can all stay in rooms which dedicated to the name and form of God they choose to worship.

3. Ash Immersion: When people come to perform the sacred ceremony or when ashes are sent by post, they will be kept here in a special, sacred room in which there is continuous chanting of special Vedic mantras as well as various holy images. Then, the sacred vidhi will be performed here, in a quiet, secluded environment in the waters of Mother Ganga.

4. Organic Farming: The land will be used for the cultivation of fresh fruits and vegetables, all grown without the use of any synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Additionally, there will be the cultivation of special, sacred, medicinal plants with ancient healing powers, which will be used in Ayurvedic and Naturopathic treatment.

5. Gurukul: We have already opened a second gurukul/orphanage on this land where 50 rishikumars are living, studying, learning and conducting daily Ganga Aarti. We will be expanding this gurukul overtime.

6. Free School and Women's Vocational Training: We will open a school in the area where all of the local, poor children who are currently not receiving a decent education will be able to come and – at no charge – receive the great gift of an education. We will also open a free women's vocational training program in conjunction with the school.

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Bhoomi Puja at Veerpur

Above: Pujya Swamiji performs the Bhoomi Puja for the new rooms

On 19 July 2004, we had a Bhoomi Puja for the new line of guest rooms, overlooking the banks of Mother Ganga. In Veerpur we are running a special rural development program which includes: A Gurukul, organic farming, medicinal and Ayurvedic herbal garden, gau shala, women's vocational training program, “buy-back” program with local farmers, water facilities to the villagers, etc.

It will also become a divine sadhana and retreat center. This first block of guest rooms sits right on the banks of Ganga. After this, beautiful and simple sadhana “kutirs” will be built right on the banks of Ganga.

Following this, the rest of the yoga, meditation and sadhana retreat center will be built. We continue to buy more and more pieces of adjoining land, making this center larger and larger. Within a few years, a beautiful center of yoga, meditation, sadhana and seva will exist in the village of Veerpur.

The Rishikumars in the Gurukul there have also started daily evening Ganga Aarti, a special spiritual program in which we will involve the entire village.

Above: Devotees from the USA and Switzerland distribute sweets to the Rishikumars in Veerpur

Pujya Sant Shri Morari Bapu visits Veerpur
July 13, 2005

On July 13, the world famous Kathakar (one who recites the stories/epics of Hinduism), Pujya Sant Shri Morari Bapu came to Rishikesh and he came to visit the Gurukul in Veerpur. He was so happy to see the beautiful land, on the banks of Mother Ganga and also to see the rishikumars living there, in a very traditional style - studying the vedas and also caring for the cows, tending to the gardens, performing their yoga and meditation, etc.

By his hand we distributed new school books to the children.

September 20-22, 2005: Pujya Sant Shri Rameshbhai Oza (Pujya Bhaisrhi) visits Parmarth Niketan & Veerpur

Above: Pujya Swamiji shows Pujya Bhaishri the Veerpur land

Above: Pujya Swamiji takes Pujya Bhaishri and the Hathi family to Veerpur where they have a tree plantation ceremony and offer new clothing to the rishikumars at the Parmarth Veerpur Gurukul.

Satsangs in New Jersey, Louisville and Florida

Pujya Swamiji spent the day in Tampa, Florida at the home of Bellaben and Yogeshbhai Patel. A beautiful satsang was organized at home, and the following day they took Pujya Swamiji to see a garden of hydroponic plantation. As we have a large rural development and organic gardening program in Rishikesh, they thought that He would like to see the amazing growth potential with hydroponics.

On the garden where we went to visit, on a mere 1/2 acre of land there were approximately 20,000 plants, using a total of less water per day than the average family of four!

Pujya Swamiji was very impressed by the technology and immediately had visions of being able to help poor farmers produce even more crops with less water and without any use of chemicals/pesticides, etc; when Bellaben & Yogeshbhai came to Rishikesh in December they brought the first trail stacker for our Veerpur garden.

In Veerpur we have huge organic vegetable gardens and also plans for ayurvedic medicinal plants. Pujya Swamiji is committed to bringing the concept of organics to the area, not only for the health of the people but mostly for health of Mother Ganga, into whom all the runoff from the fields eventually goes.