New Rectory Building at Ananda Girisuta Master Unit

·January 21, 2022

The Ananda Girisuta Master Unit, Marshall, Atlanta Region, is located on a forested hill about half an hour from Asheville, North Carolina. The Master Unit has a beautiful dome-shaped retreat center that is the home for Prama Institute, and Ananda Marga retreats for Atlanta Region and New York Sector. Since Acarya Vishvamitra donated the land to Ananda Marga, many Margiis have moved to the neighborhood and live with their families and have started a neohumanistic school, neohumanistic college, fasting and naturopathic center, and other activities.

There was never a residential area designated for a Master Unit rector despite all the activities. Brother Dharmapala recognized that need and has come forward to build a rectory building close to the domes at the back of the kitchen garden. Through his generous donation and personally leading the construction of the building, the work is progressing well, and the two-story building is going well. The new rectory building opens up possibilities for Ananda Marga to post an acarya as rector at Ananda Girisuta, and consequently continue to develop the master unit and its activities, in coordination with Prama Institute the local Margiis.

The building has a wooden frame on a concrete slab and a separate entrance to the first and second floors. The first floor has Dharmapala’s residence, a guestroom for visiting Acaryas, and the second floor has the office and bedroom for the rector, a guest room, kitchen, and living/dining room. The framing is completed, the carpenters are putting tiles on the roof, and the plumbing and electricity will also be completed in the next few days. The target is to complete the building in the summer of 2022.