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“Rikhiadham” or the village of Rikhia is the “Tapobhoomi” of Swami Satyananda Saraswati , the disciples of Shri Swami ji now call this village as “Rikhiadham”.
Dham means a place of pilgrimage a place where holy people are established.
Since renouncing his mission of taking Yoga “from door to door and shore to shore” shri Swami ji came and stayed in Rikhia taking Kshetra Sannyasa. Since then he is living here and propagating the teachings of his Guru Swami Sivananda.
Many charitable and social activities are taking place under the guidance of Paramhamsa Ji, as he feel it is his duty to look after the people living around him. Today there are several charitable organizations which are working for the cause of the people around Rikhia and especially for the children. Among them is Sivananda Math which was established in 1984 in memory of Swami Satyanand’s guru, Swami Sivananda Saraswati.
The Math is governed by seva (service), karuna (compassion), prem (love) and sneha (affection), and aims to uplift the weaker and undeveloped sections of society, especially those living in rural areas. It provides the means and opportunities for people to become independent and gain more control over their lives.
| The Math's present activities cover 21 villages, and over 10,000 families, in one of the poorest tribal regions of Bihar known as Santhal Pargana. Each year Sivananda math provides for: |
- families: housing, clothing, games and toys, utensils, sewing machines, cloth and cows.
- students: educational aid in the form of scholarships and books, stationery, uniforms and bicycles to girls.
- the elderly (over the age of 80): special programs including a monthly stipend.
- the disabled: establishment of shops and other earning facilities, hand-propelled tricycles.
- medical facilities: TB treatment, establishment of a 50 bed clinic known as Amrit Kalash with all kinds of medical treatment.
- employment: hand carts, rickshaws and auto rickshaws.
- farming: bullocks, seeds and farming tools.
- cultural development programs to help the tribal people become strong in their own cultural values and heritage.
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