Gayatri Tapobhumi

Gayatri Tapobhumi stands a little apart from Braj's Krishna-centred temples: rather than a lila-sthal, it is the birthplace of a modern spiritual movement built around the Gayatri mantra.

• According to the institution's own account, Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya established the ashram on Gayatri Jayanti in 1953, at the close of a long discipline of 24 Gayatri mahapurascharans he had undertaken between 1950 and 1953.
• He chose Mathura, an ancient seat of learning, as the ground from which to spread a philosophy of self-refinement and social reconstruction.
• The heart of the campus is the yagyashala, where an akhand agni, a perpetual sacred fire said to have been carried from the Himalayas, is kept continuously burning.
• The site was consecrated, followers relate, with sacred water gathered from thousands of pilgrimage places and with vast numbers of hand-written Gayatri mantras contributed by devotees across the country.
• A calm Gayatri Mata shrine, quiet meditation halls and neatly kept lawns give the whole enclosure a studious, retreat-like feel rather than the crush of a festival temple.
• Tapobhumi became the launch-pad for the Yug Nirman Yojana and the Gayatri Pariwar, a family of followers that the movement counts in the many millions today, and for the long-running Akhand Jyoti magazine.
• The landmark 1958 Sahastra Kundiya Gayatri Mahayagya, held here, is remembered as one of the movement's defining gatherings; the principal headquarters later shifted to Shantikunj in Haridwar in 1971, but Tapobhumi remains a revered original centre.
• Vegetarian travellers are on entirely safe ground here: this is a sattvic sadhana ashram, and no meat, egg or alcohol has any place in its ethos.
• For a proper meal, plan to eat in Mathura town: Brijwasi Mithai and Shankar Mithai Wala at Holi Gate serve pure-veg, egg-free sweets and snacks in desi ghee, and Hotel Brijwasi Royal near Mathura Junction does a no-onion-garlic North Indian thali.
• One firm caution for all of Braj: Mathura is heavy bhang (cannabis) country, and thandai or lassi sold at roadside stalls near Holi Gate, Vishram Ghat and Dwarkadhish can be laced with bhang despite looking ordinary, so avoid unknown thandai and buy sweets and cold drinks only from established shops.
• The ashram is an easy trip from Mathura Junction and the Krishna Janmasthan area.
• Dress modestly, keep silence near the sadhana halls, remove footwear where indicated, and ask before photographing the yagyashala or shrine interiors, as many devotional spaces here discourage interior photography.