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Meditation Huts
Built in 1963 by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi as a venue for his International Academy of Meditation and colloquially known as the Beatles’ Ashram after their stays in 1968, Chaurasi Kutia (Eighty-Four Huts) in the foothills of the Himalaya outside Rishikesh is an enchanted place that is being reclaimed by the jungle.
Rishikesh.
Heat enveloping like a wet blanket, the smell of incense and mud, and memories of the late sixties … Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and the White Album …
Rishikesh is a city of yoga, meditation, and religious philosophy. It is full of sadhus – those who have chosen the spiritual path, and gurus – those who teach others. And, it is full of seekers and pilgrims from all around the world.
One of the the better-known gurus to Westerners was the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The Maharishi (great seer) introduced what he called Transcendental Meditation to India and the rest of the world. Born Mahesh Prasad Varma (1918-2008), he earned a degree in physics before becoming an assistant to, and disciple of, Swami Brahmananda Saraswati. After the Swami’s death, the Maharishi began teaching meditation, with his first global tour starting in 1958.
Rishikesh has long been known as the “yoga capital of the world”, so it was an ideal location for the Maharishi to build his study retreat. In 1961 he leased 14 acres (57,000 m2) of land surrounded by jungle from the state forestry department. In 1963, with donated funds from an American heiress, he built his International Academy of Meditation on a hill known as Manikoot, overlooking the Ganges river, opposite Rishikesh.
Locally, the ashram is known as Chaurasi Kutia (Eighty-Four Huts). Perhaps at one time there were only 84 huts, but today the numbers rise into the nineties, and at least one story counts them at 121. In Hindu and Tibetan Buddhist traditions, eighty-four is the number of Mahasiddhas – people who embody and cultivate the “siddhi of perfection”. A signboard on site states that each of the 84 huts represents a different classic Yoga Asana (posture), and “together they represent whole range of human life.” According to the National Park site “84 is a number that represents the base numeral of the number of species we believe to exist on this earth 84,00,000.“
Tales are told of sex, drugs, and impropriety at the ashram – but in later years, George Harrison emphatically denied any stories that cast aspersions on the Maharishi himself, and gave a benefit concert for the Maharishi-associated Natural Law Party. The Maharishi and his teachings are crediting with steering the Beatles away from psychedelic drugs and inspiring them to write many new songs – and his world influence continued long after the Beatles left the ashram.
The Maharishi stopped using the property during the 1970s and the land reverted to the local forestry department in 2003. Today it is managed by the Rajaji National Park.
I was in Rishikesh for a yoga retreat that included a few scenic daytrips (see: A Himalayan Sunrise). I was very excited about the prospect of my trip to the Beatles’ Ashram after hearing about it on my first trip to the city (see: Iconic India). From my accommodation, I was transported as a pillion passenger on a small motorcycle through crowded streets, across the Janki Setu Bridge (the closer suspension bridge, the Ram Jhula, is no longer open to motorcycles), and over rain-damaged, unpaved, and pot-holed roads to the entry to the fairy-tale-like enclave, nestled into the calming greenery of the encroaching jungle.
Come explore:
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Welcome to Chaurasi Kutia – Eighty Four Huts
The site marketed as the Beatles’ Ashram is now part of the Rajaji Tiger Reserve, under the management of Rajaji National Park. (iPhone12Pro)
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One of the 84 Kutia
The meditation huts are built from river rock from the nearby Ganges.
Path into the Ashram
According to a signboard nearby, each of the 84 hut represents a different classic Yoga Asana (posture). To me, they all look more or less the same!
Looking out from a Kutia
The conical meditation huts were built between 1976 and 1978 – long after the Beatles’ stay.
Huts Everywhere
The huts are double story, with the living space downstairs, and a ladder-stair to the upper meditation space.
Hut Number 22
The Ganges
Brown from the recent floods, even this close to the source – about 200 km (124 mi) from the Gongotri Glacier – the Mother Ganga is deep and wide.
Paul and his Guitar
From the 1990s, trespassers on the abandoned site started leaving graffiti as a tribute to the Beatles. Later, after the decision was finally made to preserve the unique heritage of the place, the artwork became more formalised.
Krishna with His Flute
The intersection of spiritual practice and Hindu traditions is well illustrated throughout.
Graceful Gazebo
Light and Dark and Lines
The abandoned accommodation building, with its ornate window frames, patina of moss and plants, and dappled light, is just magical.
Safe Hands on the Beehive
Meditation huts on top the accommodation building are decorated with wonderful murals. The foothills of the Himalaya roll off into the background.
“Let It Be”
The ruins of the old yoga studio is patterned with lines and light. The Beatles turned this space into a music hall during their stay. (iPhone12Pro)
The Music Hall
The rough and aging walls are now beautifully decorated.
Wanderlust
In 2016, artist Miles Toland was one of those invited to decorate the crumbling space. His contributions are ethereal. (See them on his site: The Beatles Ashram).
Rishikesh
Outside and across the river, the city hums with life.
Corridor to more Meditation Chambers
The Fab Four Plus One
In 2012, street artist Pan Trinity Das (né Graham White) founded The Beatles Cathedral Gallery project to rejuvenate the lecture hall.
The Lecture Hall and Me
Everyone wants their picture taken in the redecorated lecture hall. Good luck getting it to yourself!
Grey Langur – Hanuman Langur
Working our way out through the back side of the ashram, we stop for freshly squeezed juice. Langurs (Semnopithecus) watch us from the wall overhead.
Young Grey Langur
Mike Love, co-founder of the Beach Boys, was a student of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and spent time at the ashram while the Beatles, their partners, Mia Farrow, her sister, and Donovan, were also there. His account of that time there is worth reading (see: The Ashram).
Truly, a magical time – and a magical place.
In the air above the Ganges
A hundred fifty down miles from the source
of the Holy Mother River
Indian spiritual water
ripples seen 100 feet below
are shining in the sun
reflecting through the eyes of one
who feels as though
he’d been there, or nearly so
a long, long time ago
– Mike Love, Beach Boys.
Pictures: 05September2023
