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Soonya Swami

About the ashram

What the ashram is for

For years Dr Bibudharanjan taught meditation at Tulsidas Ashram, by the Birupa River near Cuttack. In 2026 he set out to build a centre of his own, where he could keep teaching freely. He thanks Tulsidas Ashram for the years it gave him.

He wants the new ashram to serve everyone. It belongs to a trust, not to him. He hopes it will be a place for meditation, longer discussions, shared meals and devotional singing.

ଶୂନ୍ୟତା ରେ ହିଁ ପରମାତ୍ମା

“The Supreme Self is found in inner emptiness.” The title of one of his short talks. Watch it

The trust and its aims

The ashram belongs to Soonya Swami Dhyana Peetha, a registered spiritual trust. It serves everyone, whatever their caste, creed, religion or region, with meditation, education and care.

The trust has set itself these aims:

  • Selfless service to everyone, whatever their caste, creed, religion or sex.

  • Help for tribal communities, Scheduled Castes and Tribes, Backward Classes and others who need it.

  • Protecting the environment and planting trees, together with groups that share these aims.

  • Welfare centres for children, women, older people, women without support, orphans, and people with mental disabilities.

  • Relief for people hit by cyclones, floods, earthquakes, fires and other disasters.

  • All of its work done as service, not for profit.

  • Books, journals, films and documentaries that carry this work further.

A Jagannath temple is planned at the ashram.

How the ashram came about

He tells this story across many talks, and he sees every step as Kalu’s doing. Kalu is his loving name for Jagannath.

  1. 2014

    Ashram life begins

    He retires from banking. His younger brother, Brahmachari Satya Chaitanya, brings him to Tulsidas Ashram. He comes to love its riverside, and starts teaching meditation there.

  2. March 2026

    A wish for a centre of his own

    He tells Kalu that he wants an ashram where he can teach freely. A disciple visiting from America urges him to build a lasting centre.

  3. March 2026

    Land, given as a gift

    They look at plots near the Birupa River, worried about the price. Then a local villager offers his own land as a gift, and his wife welcomes it as their good fortune.

  4. 31 March 2026

    The trust is registered

    The ashram’s trust is registered at Salepur. Help arrives with the legal work, and money he never asked for starts coming in.

  5. Akshaya Tritiya, April 2026

    The foundation worship

    He wanted a flag once flown on the Nilachakra, laddu mahaprasad and flowers from Jagannath, but had no time to fetch them from Puri. A carton with all of them reached him just in time. A black dog also came to the worship, and stayed on with the workers.

  6. As building began

    Water for the work

    The borewell was not ready, and the nearby canal was dry. Just before pipes were laid from the river, the canal filled with water. It flowed until the borewell worked, and stopped that same evening.

  7. September 2026

    The roof

    Rain had fallen for days. He says Kalu told him to cast the roof a day early. The rain stopped long enough to finish it that night.

  8. Now

    Finishing work

    The building stands, but much finishing work remains, and the money for it has not all come. He leaves its completion to Kalu, and keeps working.

Meditation camps

He teaches in three-day camps. People learn meditation, breathing exercises and kriya, and bring him their questions. Participants have come from across India and from abroad.

Camps so far have been held by the river at Tulsidas Ashram and by the sea in Puri. The new ashram gives this teaching a home of its own.

Help build it

The finishing work still needs money. Every gift is voluntary, and he says the love behind a gift matters more than its size. You are welcome at the ashram even if you cannot give money.

The trust accepts gifts of money or in kind. To give money, pay into the trust’s bank account, or send it by PhonePe:

Account name
Soonyaswami Dhyanapitha
Account number
32100110088753
IFSC
UCBA0000397
Bank
UCO Bank, Nimapara, Puri
PhonePe
82609 55952

To give in kind, or for anything else, call or write to the ashram. Its phone numbers and email are on the Visit page.