Gita Dham In A NutShell

A)     Significance of the name: ‘Gita’ is the short form of the principal holy book of the Hindus – the Bhagwad-Gita. It is acknowledged worldwide as the most enlightened and thoughtful sacred book produced anywhere at any time, ‘Dham’ means ‘a sacred place’. The ‘Gita Dham’ therefore means a sacred place where the activities will be carried out in accordance with the philosophy of the Bhagwad-Gita.

B)   Mission of the Gita Dham: Creation of a centre in every Panchayat or group of villages for cleansing the Indian civilization by shifting the focus from external rituals and corruption to the inner values of the Bhagwad-Gita; to produce enlightened and integral human beings; and to create a model of holistic development around the Gita-Dham in every Panchayat that will have zero-incidence of poverty and total education for all as its principal goals, without discriminating between communities.

C)  Minimum physical Infrastructure at a Gita Dham in the first phase: A) A temple of the Bhagwad-Gita; B) A permanent or semi-permanent hall (with at least one attached room, and a reception shed) with a minimum seating capacity of 200 (270m² / 2,900 ft2), which will act as an auditorium for the Total Education Centre with an LED TV of 48” screen, an inverter or generator for power back-up, a DVD player and a PA System; C) A Livelihood Solution Centre of similar dimensions ((270m² / 2,900 ft2), with at least one attached room, and a reception shed, which will also act as a production centre for cottage industry goods to be produced jointly by villagers; D) A few store rooms; E) A small library room; F) Accommodation for key full-time management staff ; G) A kitchen; H) Washrooms; I) A barbed wire or other fencing.

D)     Mode of operation: The Gita Dhams will be built by the local people from their own land and other resources, and will be self-sustaining. They will themselves contribute the labour too. However, in the beginning, a few larger Gita Dham Centres may be constructed to provide a model, and to train the human resource of the village centres by obtaining external funding. The rough cost of a model Block-Level Gita Dham Centre will be around 3 crore Indian rupees (5,35,715 USD), and of a State Level Gita Dham Centre, Rs. 10 crore Indian Rupees (17,85,715 USD).