Statues of Lord Shiva, Krishna at the Parmarth Niketan Ashram, in Rishikesh

From the archive record

View of garden of Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh, India. Rishikesh is a land known as the “home of the rishis.” Its alternate spelling of Hrishikesh refers to Lord Vishnu, as Lord of the Senses – it is, therefore, a land in which to conquer one’s senses, to conquer the call of desire, to become master of oneself. It is to this place which in the early 1940s, a revered saint from Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh named Pujya Swami Shukdevanandji began coming, to meditate on the banks of Ganga. As he did so, he slowly began to construct a small space for himself and Pujya Swami Bhajananandji to stay. Slowly, as more and more devotees came to listen to the wisdom of these masters, more rooms needed to be built, along with a satsang hall and bhojanalaya (dining hall). Swami Shukdevanandji na