Ashram - Vinoda Vani

What is an ashram?

The Ashram is a place where spiritual teachings are lived and conveyed. Here residents and visitors can take refuge in spiritual practice, which is lived together in a daily service routine.

In addition to the local services here, one of our main activities at Vinoda Vani Seva Ashram is the publishing of audio, video and online content in German, Spanish and English.

Tradition

What do we believe in?

Our sensory perception and the ability to think and draw conclusions are not enough to recognize life in its full depth.

We are so conditioned by material happiness and suffering that we are unable to understand the causes and working principles of the world.

Knowledge which does not arise from this conditioned state, but manifests itself through scriptures, teachers and saints and triggers a spontaneous personal transformation within us is called revelation.

Director

Bhakti Raksaka Svami

BR Svami is a representative of the Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition of Hinduism. He was born on November 15, 1977 as Daniel Kojić in Austria. He spent the first years of his life until he finished basic education in Bosnia and Herzegovina, then Yugoslavia. Later, forced by the civil war in this country, he returned to Austria, where he studied economic engineering.

After reading the translation of the Bhagavad Gita and other books by AC Bhakti Vedanta Svami Prabhupada, he became deeply driven to follow the path of the Bhakti. He left college at the age of 20 and traveled to India hoping to find fellowship and find a spiritual teacher.

In the years that followed, he had the opportunity to hear, serve, and receive instruction from some of the best-known representatives of Gaudiya Vaisnavism.

He regularly visits various communities in India, Europe and Latin America.

Our ashram

Vinoda Vani Seva Ashram is located in the Gössnitz Valley, approximately 40 km from Austria’s second largest city, Graz.

Thanks to the generous help and cooperation of our sponsors, especially a local family, we have been able to put to service a 200 m2 house and two hectares of land since May of 2020.

In order to be able to use this wonderful space to its full potential, in terms of both infrastructure and the natural Alpine location, we still require more preparation, work and investment. In tandem with our objectives, we will continue with the daily activities of the Ashram.

So far we have made the Ashram habitable. The second phase is about completion so that we can fully offer our services to the community.