Mantena Satyanarayana Raju Vijayawada Ashram Opening Ceremony

Good news for all the followers of Dr. Mantena Satyanarayana Raju’s Natural Way of Living and all the aspirants of good health. The dream project of Dr. Raju at Vijayawada finally taken shape and started its operations from January 2012. Vijayawada’s Mantena Satyanarayana Raju Nature Cure Hospital is one of the world’s biggest hospitals of its kind with the entire modern infrastructure. Though the operations of the Ashram were started in January 2012 itself, the Ashram was not officially inaugurated as the operations were not fully on due to miscellaneous work under construction. Once the sundry work is completed Dr. M.S. Raju decided to inaugurate the Ashram on the auspicious day of Ugadi, the new year of Telugu speaking people on 23^rd of March 2012.

The hospital is located at a very picturesque location of Venkata Palem Village of Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, India few kilometers away from Vijayawada Town at the banks of Krishna River. 

Countless people are behind the successful completion of this project. But the Pioneer of this wonderful project is the famous industrialist Mr. Gokaraju Gangaraju who is the Chairman of Laila Group of Industries, Nizam Sugars, Delta Sugars and Delta Paper Mills etc. Dr. M.S. Raju during his convention thanked each and every person involved in this project for their support, love and trust on him. He said Mr. Gokaraju Gangaraju is the prime factor for this prestigious project by the banks of river Krishna. He donated 18 acres of fertile lands for the purpose of this project. He helped Matena Satyanarayana Raju Charitable Trust in getting bank loans worth 12.5 crores for the purpose of the hospital from State Bank of India and Canara Bank on his personal surety. He also sponsored the Staff Quarters for the employees of the Ashram which is under construction. He always stands upfront in all the social welfare activities in Vijaywada. Apart from this he has donated lands to various institutions like Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living, Subash Patri’s Pyramid Meditation Center, ISKON Temple, Aqua devils health club and an institution for Vedic studies etc.

I am an ardent fan, follower and a disciple of Dr. MS. Raju for quite some time now. I have been writing a blog on his ‘Natural Way of Living and Mantena’s Kitchen’ on internet since 2009 with an intention to take his teachings to non-Telugu speaking people. I never imagined the blog I started to kill my spare time would gain such popularity among the internet users and the followers of Dr. M.S. Raju all over the world. The funniest part is that I never met Dr. Raju before. I knew him through his programs on TV and his books and CD’s. There was a great transformation in my life because of Dr. Raju. Some of my friends and family members insisted me to meet and tell him about my transformation. But I never seriously thought of meeting him in person, though I had a wish some where in the corner of my heart. Moreover, it was not really important to meet him in person. There was already an etheric bonding between us. It was clear in my mind, if it is there in my destiny, then I will meet him for sure.

 

Two Important dates of my Life:

I will never forget 15^th of July 2011 and 22^nd of March 2012. These two dates have great importance in my life and they are associated with Dr. M.S. Raju. 15^th July 2011 was the day I met the Legendary Yoga Guru BKS Iyengar. I never imagined or even dreamt of meeting the Legend. Just like Dr. Raju I knew him through his books, CD’s and Videos on internet and TV. I practiced yoga through his book Light on Yoga which transformed my life. I am an Eka Lavya disciple for two of these great gurus. Please follow the link for details Guru Poornima with Legendary BKS Iyengar for details. My psychological connection was already established with them. Physical connection was left to the matter of time. Dr. Raju is directly or indirectly responsible for my association with Guruji BKS Iyengar. I had no interest in Yoga before and didn’t even know Guruji BKS Iyengar before joining Yoga. Had I not followed Dr. M.S. Raju’s Natural Way of Living I wouldn’t have developed interest in Yoga and spirituality. When I met Guruji I thanked Dr. Raju within my heart.

22^nd March 2012 is the day I met Dr. Mantena Satyanarayana Raju in Vijayawada Ashram thanks to Mr. Sridhar Reddy the Mentor of NLS Yahoo Group. On 17^th of March 2012, I received a message in my facebook from Mr. Sridhar Reddy providing information on the inauguration of Dr. MS. Rajus’ Vijayawada Ashram and an invitation to attend the ceremony. Though he was in my contact list for quite sometime we never had a direct conversation on facebook. Neither I nor he ever directly communicated through messages in facebook or by phone. This was the first time he left a message in my inbox. I left my mobile number to enquire few more details about the ceremony. He called me up next morning and provided all the necessary information. So Mr. Sridhar Reddy has become the established compound element in my meeting with Dr. MS. Raju. It would be unfair, if I don’t thank him for the pain he took in taking us to the Ashram and all the hospitality we received out there. He is a very kind gentleman. We never met or spoken before. This was our first meeting but he never made us feel new or uncomfortable. He treated us like his old friends known for very long time. Thank you Sridhar garu for all the kind and unforgettable hospitality.

Journey to Vijayawada:

The day finally has arrived. I booked bus tickets to Vijayawada from Hyderabad along with one of my friend Krishna Mohan and my brother-in-law Mohan on 21^st March 2012. Mr. Tirupati Reddy the Mentor of Yahoo NLS Group arrived from Dubai to attend the ceremony also accompanied us in the journey.

We boarded the bus at around 10-30 PM at Hyderabad on 21^st March 2012 and reached Vijayawada at 4-30 AM in the morning. Mr. Sridhar picked us from the bus station in the early hours of the morning and took us to his home nearby. We then had our showers, freshen up and had a small session of yoga practice.

My Experiences in the Ashram:

We then traveled to Dr. Raju’s Ashram in his car at around 7-30 AM. It was a breakfast time out there. We visited the dining hall and had some fine breakfast. We had half boiled sprouts, raw sprouts and some fruits in our breakfast. It was really delicious and nutritious for me and for all the followers of Dr. Raju as they are used to eat recipes without the seven elements of taste viz., Masala, Oil, Salt, Sugar, Ghee, Red Chilly and Tamarind. It was a new experience to my friend and brother-in-law. Though it was their first time eating food without those elements of taste, they had no complaints.

After breakfast we met Dr. MS. Raju who was busy making arrangements for the ceremony. Mr. Sridhar Reddy then introduced us to the Doctor. He said this is Mr. Ram Godar from Hyderabad, an Eka Lavya Shishyudu (disciple) who is writing blogs on your teachings on internet for quite some time. Dr. Raju smiled in his usual self and said Santosham (happy). Dr. Raju then enquired about our accommodation and moved away for making arrangements.

We then moved to Dr. Raju’s house in the second block which is his temporary residence to meet his wife Dr. Vishala Raju. This was my first time to see her. She was looking beautiful and very simple in white clad saree, with a soft spoken voice like her husband. It is rightly said, there is a woman behind every successful man. There is no doubt she is the mentor behind all the success of Dr. Raju. She always worked behind the scene for the success of Dr. Raju. NLS Yahoo group members were having a meeting with the madam, so we decided to have a look around the Ashram and moved out.

I along with my friends walked through the banks of river Krishna, where every arrangement is being made to enjoy the nature. Few beautiful kuteers (huts) were built reminding the architecture of Vedic times of the past. We had great time enjoying the river and the atmosphere out there. When we were moving all over the ashram taking pictures, we noticed Dr. MS. Raju working in the fiery hot Sun directing the volunteers and workers. He was personally looking after each and every minute work that was going on out there. In the mean time, he came across us and asked, “Hmmmm! How do you find the ashram? Are you enjoying?” We said, yes sir, we loved it. After a short conversation he again left saying we shall meet again later as you are supposed to stay.

We then walked into the Library which was made with dry grass. It looks like the replica of Schools or Libraries in the Vedic periods. It was so cool inside without any fan, air-cooler or air-conditioner. The Vijayawada temperature was unbearable to us. The moment we entered the Library room we felt a sigh of relief.

My Association with NLS Yahoo Group Members:

Mr. Sridhar and company joined us at the Library after their meeting with Vishala madam. Mr. Sridhar then introduced to some of the NLS Yahoo group members, some of whom have come all the way from Pune, Bangalore etc. I was surprised to know that Mr. J.K. Mehta from Pune, Mr. Nivas from Bangalore already knew me through my blogs. Mehta Ji was really excited to find me there and I also enjoyed his company very much. Mr. Tirupati Reddy and Sridhar Reddy knew me through one of their fellow member Smt. Archana Kolla from USA with whom I used to interact in facebook from time to time. Anyway it was a great association exchanging information and knowledge on various aspects of Dr. Raju’s Natural Way of Living. We missed Archana this time. Hope to meet you in near future with more mentors and moderators of Yahoo Group.

After some chit chat we decided to go for lunch. We had phulkas, brown rice, couple of varieties of salads and fruits. After lunch we got an opportunity to meet Mr. Venkatapathy Raju, the elder brother of Dr. MS. Raju. It is said that the entire administration and management work is looked after by Mr. Venkatapathy Raju. Dr. MS. Raju is the programmer and Venkatapathy Raju is the executor of all their works. It was heartening to see such a bonding between two brothers. One of the dignitaries in his speech said that in Aryan times, Lord Sri Ram had the younger brother Lakshman as his right hand but Dr. MS. Raju has the elder brother Mr. Venkatapathy Raju as his right hand.

We then walked into the kitchen room. On walking through we found "Welcome to Healthy Kitchen" written on the entrance doors of the Kitchen room. There was a big hall to cut vegetables and fruits, separate store rooms for storing grains, pulses, vegetables and fruits, well equipped grinders, juicers and chapati makers etc essential for making mass meals. The entire premise was maintained very clean, tidy and hygienic. Lot of activities were going on at the time. Group of women was making preparations for the dinner, some were preparing sweets for the inauguration ceremony, some were preparing carriages for patients who cannot walk to the dining hall, some were making chapatis or rotis etc.

We later decided to take a nap for sometime. Since our rooms were not yet finalized we decided to take rest in the kuteers (huts) built by the side of river Krishna. After couple of hours of rest we moved to Yoga hall where arrangements were being made for the ceremony next morning. We also helped our hands in making arrangements and decoration till 7-30 PM. We then had our dinner containing different varieties of fruits. At around 8-30 PM we were allotted the VIP suite with central A/c on the fifth floor of Prithvi Bhavan. The suite was really beautiful with a picturesque view of lush green agricultural fields to the end of our sight from the balcony. We then gone to bed at around 9-30 PM.

Amazing utilization of Man Power:

We woke up early at 4 AM in the morning and followed the daily routine of drinking 1.5 liters of water and cleaning the bowels by 4-30 AM. At around 4-45 AM, when I looked out from the balcony the entrance gate was neatly decorated with flowers and banana leaves and branches. Mr. Venkatapathy Raju was personally looking after the decoration work. I then picked my digi-cam and walked down-stairs to have some pictures. When I came out of the building, I realized hundreds of volunteers and workers had worked the entire night without sleep to make the ceremony a grand success.

The opening ceremony was few hours away and still there was lot of work to be done. Hundreds of volunteers and workers were putting their all out effort to finish their task. I had never seen so many volunteers working on a single platform with a single motto of serving the cause of Dr. MS. Raju. Since it was a prestigious project of Dr. Raju, no body wanted to leave any stone unturned. It was not an easy task as all the decorations are made with natural fruits, vegetables, plants, flowers and leaves in a vast area of the Ashram. The traditional village atmosphere of Ugadi festival, the new year of Telugu people was clearly seen. No artificial items of decoration were utilized. By the time of the Muhurat of inauguration every thing was complete and ready.

I experienced the true utilization of man power for the first time in such a large scale. The work was so brilliantly distributed and conducted, all kudos to the entire staff, volunteers and workers of Dr. Mantena Satyanarayana Raju Aarogyaalayam, Vijayawada.

Inauguration Ceremony:

The inauguration of Dr. Mantena Satyanarayana Raju Aarogyaalayam was held on 23^rd of March 2012 at 9-30 AM on the auspicious day of Ugadi – the new year of Telugu speaking people. Mr. Murthy Raju garu, the freedom fighter and ex MLA is 94 years young and a follower of Natural way of living for the last 60 years was the chief guest of honor for the occasion. He was personally received at the entrance by Raju brothers with great respect. Mr. Murthy Raju cut the ribbons and opened the Mantena Satyanarayana Raju Aarogyaalayam at 9-30 AM, Prithvi Bhavan at 9-40 AM and Yoga hall at 9-45 AM amidst Vedic mantra chanting and applauds from the crowd.

Speaking on the occasion Dr. Raju said that Mr. Murthy Raju has been following the Natural Way of Living for the past 60 years. Even at this age of 94 he has a clear sight and sound. He still reads on his own and needs no hearing aid to listen. Nature Cure and Natural Way of Living has a great importance in his life. It was under his term as a Minister, Naturopathy was recognized as a Medical Science by the Government of Andhra Pradesh and India. He basically belonged to a big Zamindar family of West Godavari District. He received 1800 plus acres of land from his parents. But today he had no single land on his name. He donated everything he had for the development of schools, colleges and hospitals. He established more than hundred schools but no school, hospital or trust is named after him. They are all named after the great national leaders of India. Such a great donor he is. Dr. M.S. Raju used to meet him occasionally and inform him about his work on Naturopathy from time to time. Inspired by Dr. M.S. Raju’s effort and selfless services to the society Mr. Murthy Raju requested Mr. Gokaraju Gangaraju to provide some land to establish a nature cure hospital. Mr. Gokaraju Gangaraju respectfully obeyed his request and visited Dr. Raju personally and offered the land in Vijayawada for the establishment. Dr. M.S. Raju was then working in Jubilee hills area of Hyderabad. Initially Dr. M.S. Raju was reluctant to leave the city like Hyderabad and relocate at some other place. But after visiting the place and watching the site near Krishna River, he felt this is the ideal place for Nature Cure Hospital and shifted his base to Vijayawada. This was how the journey began.

Later, Dr. MS. Raju thanked each and every individual responsible for the establishment of this prestigious project. He explained about the challenges during the construction of this project and how they overcome those challenges. He also provided information on the treatment, infrastructure, atmosphere and other details of the Ashram.

At the end of the ceremony two books written by the members of NLS Yahoo Group under the guidance of Dr. Vishala Raju has been launched.

Vijaywada Ashram at a Glance:

The hospital consists of five blocks of five storied building each. Dr. Raju has named each building after the pancha maha bhootaas or five elements of nature which are the main source of human survival. The first block is Prithvi Bhavan – the element of Earth, second block is Jal Bhavan – The element of Water, The third block is Vaayu Bhavan – the element of Air, the fourth block is Tej Bhavan – the element of Fire and the fifth block is Aakash Bhavan – the element of ether or space. Naming of the blocks itself conveys a strong message of health. Imbalance in any of these elements of nature in our body leads to diseases or disorders. You visit here to correct these imbalances of five elements of nature through various methods of treatment. As you all know that nature cure treatment doesn’t contain any sort of medicines. Diseases are cured and healed through natural processes utilizing these five elements of nature.

I must say that Vijayawada Ashram of Dr. MS Raju is a fusion of state of the art modern technology and ancient medical science of naturopathy. If you look at the administration work it is at par with corporate entities. On the other hand the appearance of the ashram and treatment methodology is of the ancient India.

Prithvi Bhavan is completed and fully functional at the moment. 90% of the work at Jal Bhavan is completed and is partially functional. The work is still on in Vaayu Bhavan, Tej Bhavan and Aakash Bhavan. The work is stagnant in most part of these three blocks due to scarcity of funds.

Treatment Details:

Different types of natural therapies are used to treat the patients using mud, sand, water, sun, air etc. The hospital is equipped all the ultra modern equipments and instruments to be utilized in the therapies. At the end of the day we got an opportunity to see the treatment rooms all equipped with the latest therapy equipments of world standards.

Apart from Accommodation, food, therapies and treatment; yoga and meditation classes for patients are undertaken during morning and evening hours of the day.

Treatment Expenditure Chart:

Many of my readers requested to provide information on treatment details in the past. Since I had no direct communication with the members of Dr. Raju’s Ashram, I couldn’t provide them the details before. In this blog I tried my best to provide all the necessary information related to the Ashram; courtesy Mr. Sridhar Reddy, Mentor NLS Yahoo Group and the staff of Dr. Mantena Satyanarayaraju Aarogyaalayam, Vijayawada.

Presently Obesity camp is under progress. The camp starts at 1^st to 30^th of every month. The rates provided below are for 30 days per person. The treatment cost includes your accommodation, food and treatment. The food includes seasonal fruits, sprouts, juices etc in breakfast, Brown Rice, Chapatis, Vegetable Salads, fruits etc in Lunch and Chapatis and fruits at night. However, the diet varies patient to patient depending on his problem and treatment.

In Bodhan Ashram at Nizamabad they used to conduct 8 days, 15 days and 30 days camps. I am not aware of these short camps here. You can contact at the below numbers for any such queries.

30 Days Obesity Camp at Vijayawada
SNO.	Room Type	No. Of Beds	Cost of Treatment (Non - A/c Rooms)	Cost of Treatment (A/c Rooms)
1	Family Room	4	Rs. 12,000	21,000
2	Couple Room	2	Rs. 15,000	24,000
3	Single Room	1	NA	36,000

Accommodation:

There are total 98 rooms and 224 beds in Prithvi Bhavan with all kinds of facilities for the convenience of the patients.

Details of Accommodation in Prithvi Bhavan:

Details of Rooms in the East (River side View) A/c Rooms
Floor	Room Type	No. of Beds	No. of Rooms	Total Beds
First	Family	4	2	8
	Couples	2	8	16
	Single	1	2	2
Second	Family	4	2	8
	Couples	2	8	16
	Single	1	2	2
Third	Family	4	2	8
	Couples	2	8	16
	Single	1	2	2
Fourth	Family	4	2	8
	Couples	2	8	16
	Single	1	2	2
Fifth	Central A/c Rooms for VIP’s
	Couples	2	6	12
Total	Family	4	8	32
	Couples	2	38	76
	Single	1	8	8
			Grand Total:	116
Terrace	Beautiful place to enjoy the sight on swinging chairs for peace of mind.

Details of Rooms in the West (Farm side View) Non A/c Rooms
Floor	Room Type	No. of Beds	No. of Rooms	Total Beds
First	Family	4	2	8
	Couples	2	8	16
Second	Family	4	2	8
	Couples	2	8	16
Third	Family	4	2	8
	Couples	2	8	16
Fourth	Family	4	2	8
	Couples	2	8	16
Fifth	Central A/c Rooms for VIP’s
	Couples	2	3	6
Total	Family	4	8	32
	Couples	2	38	76
			Grand Total	108
Terrace	Beautiful place to enjoy the sight on swinging chairs for peace of mind.

Address:

Manthena Satyanarayana Raju Aarogyaalayam

Amaravathi Kara Katta Road

Thulluru Mandal

Guntur District – 522503

Andhra Pradesh

India

Contact No. for Enquiry: +91 9848 621 111

Note:

1. Once the patient is admitted in the hospital, he/she is not allowed to go out of the Ashram premises. Even the visitors are not allowed to enter the premises during the term of the camp. Visitors are allowed only up to the specially built up visitors area by the banks of river Krishna. This is done to stop the flow of outside eatables into the Ashram premises.
   

I tried my best to provide detailed and correct information to the best of my information and knowledge. Any discrepancies are please forgiven. This is it for now. Keep watching the space for more updates.