Prasanthi Nilayam

Prasanthi Nilayam is the main ashram of Sathya Sai Baba located in the village of Puttaparthi in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, India." Sathya Sai Baba was born in Puttaparthi. "Prasanthi Nilayam" means literally "Abode of the Highest Peace." Sathya Sai Baba gave daily darshan to his devotees in this ashram. Sathya Sai Baba was usually present in Prasanthi Nilayam from early June to the middle of March.HistoryAt the age of seventeen, Sathya Sai Baba told one devotee, "The Sai Pravesh will transform that region into Prasanthi Pradesh . There will rise a bhavan ! Lakhs of people from all over India, why only India, from all over the world, will come and wait there for Sai darshan!"In 1944 a mandir was built to facilitate the growing number of Sai Baba devotees. It is now commonly referred to as the "old mandir." Prasanti Nilayam was inaugurated on 23 November 1950, the 24th birthday of Sathya Sai Baba and its construction lasted about two years "Sathya Sai Baba can be said to be the architect and engineer who directed the entire work for construction", says Narayana Kasturi. Sathya Sai Baba supervised the construction, acquiring of equipment, and watched over the devotees who constructed the ashram." Heavy girders for the central prayer hall was transported from Tiruchirapalli by train to Penukonda and then had to be brought over the district road, sixteen miles long." The mandir was painted blue, yellow, and pink "communicating the message of the harmony of spirit, intellect, and heart respectively; for blue stands for spirit, yellow for intellect, and pink for heart . The rich harmony of the three does result in santhi and Prasanthi ; and that really is the message of the Prasanthi mandir." In October 1957 a hospital was inaugurated on the hill behind the ashram."