Under the guidance, inspiration and vision of Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, IHRF has built three ashrams and a medical clinic in the holy land of Lake Mansarovar and Mt. Kailash in Tibet.
Prior to this project, there were no indoor lodging facilities nor medical facilities for hundreds of kilometers. People frequently suffered from basic, treatable ailments due to lack of medical attention. Therefore, after undertaking a yatra to the sacred land in 1998, Pujya Swamiji took a vow that – by the grace of God – He would do something for the local people (who don’t even have running water) and for all the pilgrims who travel there.
The ashram (tourist rest house) and clinic on the banks of Lake Mansarovar were officially inaugurated in July 2003. We have also built two halls there where satsang, meditation and many other divine activities can take place.
Additionally, we have built an ashram in Paryang, Tibet, on the way to Mansarovar, the place where every yatri stays one day prior to reaching Mansarovar. This ashram was inaugurated in June 2006.
A third ashram has been built in Dirapuk, on the sacred Mt. Kailash Parikrama route, at the unprecedented altitude of 17,000 feet, and was inaugurated in September 2009. Dirapuk is the place where all pilgrims spend the first night of the two-night, fifty-two kilometer, treacherous parikrama. At this location, the darshan of Mt. Kailash is the clearest, closest, and most spectacular.
Additionally, we have pledged our support and assistance to the local villagers of Mansarovar.
The project is truly the grace of God and is a divine gift to this holy land, to all Tibetans who live there, and to all the pious pilgrims who cross oceans and continents in order to have a glimpse of the abode of Lord Shiva.