The ashram, constructed on a 165-acre land on the banks of the Yangtse river in Beijing, will have rooms and dormitories that can accommodate up to 150 people and a three-storey meditation centre.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living (AOL) will open its first ashram in China on October 24 (Sunday). The facility will be inaugurated by the spiritual leader on his maiden visit to that country.
The ashram, constructed on a 165-acre land on the banks of the Yangtse river in Beijing, will have rooms and dormitories that can accommodate up to 150 people and a three-storey meditation centre.
China will become the fifth country to have an ashram set up by AOL International Centre (AOLIC). Germany, Canada, Russia, Poland and the US already have such ashrams, the biggest one being in Canada.
AOLIC spokesperson Karthik Krishna told DNA that for the past decade AOL had been organising various programmes, including earthquake relief. This has led to at least 100 people from other countries visiting the AOL ashram on Kanakapura Road in Bangalore every year.
The Chinese who visited the ashram felt the need to set up one in their country as well.
There are also plans to open a therapy centre in the Beijing ashram in due course.
Sunday’s inauguration of the Beijing ashram will be followed by a satsang which will be co-organised by the state-run Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.
The following day, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is scheduled to hold an interactive session with various religious leaders including Chang Da Lin, executive director of Buddhist Association of China who is also president of World Buddhist Peace Foundation, Pundit Ren Fa Rong, president of China Taoist Association, Cui Zhong San, vice-president of China Tai Chi Chuan Association, and professor Lei Yuan, director of Cultural Institute of Historical Resources, Beijing University.
Several AOL teachers from Bangalore have visited and trained over two dozen Chinese teachers in Shanghai and Beijing over the last two years who will be directly involved in the activities at the Beijing ashram.
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