Kashi was founded in 1976 by Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati, who serves as its spiritual director. The Kashi Foundation is a not-for-profit charitable organization.

Kashi Ashram is a residential spiritual community located on 80 acres in Sebastian, Florida. Shrines and temples dedicated to many of the world’s great spiritual traditions surround the sacred “Ganga” pond at the center of the Kashi grounds. Kashi ashrams are also located in New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta, with several small centers and thousands of associated individuals around the world. Kashi offers intensives, weekly classes in Kali Natha Yoga, meditation & chanting, and other programs through the Kashi Center for Advanced Spiritual Studies. Kashi does service work through all its ashrams, as well as work in Africa and India, coordinated through the River Fund. Kashi is currently in the process of developing its land through the sale of residential lots and the building of an Adult Living Community called By The River.

Frequently Asked Questions about Kashi

What is Kashi?

Kashi Ashram is an interfaith spiritual community founded in 1976 by Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati. Kashi Foundation is a 50l(c)3 nonprofit organization based on service, education and spirituality.

What is the mission of Kashi?

Kashi’s purpose is to awaken a radical awareness about one’s spiritual self and the issues facing the world today. We believe that an awakened soul is a catalyst to change the world. Kashi embraces all people without distinction as to religion, race, color, creed or sexual orientation. Kashi is committed to inter-religious and interfaith dialogue, envisioning a world in which all are treated with kindness, dignity and respect.

What are the basic teachings of Kashi?

The teachings are based on kindness, compassion and service, embracing the sacred practices of many traditions. With roots in Hindu philosophy, the teaching exemplifies the ideal that all paths followed with a pure heart lead to one’s own God within.

Who is Ma Jaya?

Kashi’s founder, Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati, is an internationally renowned spiritual leader and teacher. She is known for her compassionate work with death and dying, her commitment to service, and her advocacy of human rights, religious freedom and interfaith understanding. An accomplished artist and prolific author, Ma Jaya serves as a Trustee of the Parliament of the World’s Religions and a member of the United Religions Initiative.

What is a Guru?

Guru means ‘advanced spiritual teacher,’ similar to a minister, priest or rabbi. The guru serves as guide or mentor, passing on oral traditions and practices to the student. Many students and seekers consider Ma Jaya their Guru.

What is Darshan?

The literal definition is “to see and be seen by the Light.” Darshan is the time when a spiritual teacher shares his or her wisdom. Everyone is welcome to attend Darshan with Ma Jaya, which usually includes an interfaith service and meditation, on Saturday evenings.

What is an Ashram?

An ashram is a hermitage, a holy sanctuary, or the residence and teaching center of a teacher or guru that often includes lodging for students. Kashi is a residential spiritual community and is considered an “intentional community,” of which there are thousands around the globe. This means that people choosing to live together do so around a common purpose. There are five residences on the Kashi grounds; there are also numerous participants who live in the surrounding area. The grounds at Kashi include temples and shrines dedicated to many of the world’s religious and spiritual traditions.

Is Kashi a religion?

Anyone from any religion, or no religion, is welcome to participate and find the depth in his or her individual spiritual path. If anything, the ‘religion’ of Kashi is one of kindness. Kashi is an interfaith community that embraces all paths and traditions, a place where the goodness of all faiths or one’s own expression of God is honored.

Is Kashi a "cult"?

Kashi is an Ashram, an intentional spiritual community that consists of people from many different spiritual paths and backgrounds. All residents are individually responsible for their own financial management and life decisions. Kashi is open to visitors and participants from all walks of life. The one thing that residents have in common is that each person has made a commitment to serve humanity in his or her own way.

Why do Kashi residents have spiritual names?

The names that Ma gives many students represent the higher self within each individual. Similar practices can be found in many of the world’s traditions.

What are some of the spiritual practices of Kashi?

Residents who live at Kashi practice celibacy, vegetarianism, ahimsa (non violence), meditation and yoga. However, students who participate in activities at Kashi are not required to adhere to these spiritual practices.

Is Kashi open to the public?

Kashi offers many programs, including classes in yoga, meditation and chanting. Saturday evening interfaith services and weekend intensives with Ma Jaya are available throughout most of the year. Kashi residents and visiting teachers also offer workshops on a variety of topics. Please call our office or visit our website for the schedule. Visitors can tour the ashram’s sacred grounds and temples by appointment with our office.

Does Kashi have other centers in the U.S.?

Kashi has fully operating centers in New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta, each providing spiritual, educational and service programs to its participants. Other programs and affiliated groups are located in Ann Arbor, the Berkshires, Indianapolis, Santa Fe, Cape Town, Uganda and Montreal. Ma Jaya gives live audio Darshan monthly to many of these areas. Please inquire at the Kashi office or visit our website for information about “Global Live Audio Darshan.”

What is the Kashi Center for Advanced Spiritual Studies?

The Kashi Center is an international retreat and conference center, based in Florida, with five centers in the U.S. The Center’s vision is to provide a sacred gathering ground for all traditions dedicated to the spiritual enrichment of humanity. The Center offers intensives with Ma Jaya, numerous weekly programs of spiritual teaching, yoga and meditation, as well as workshops by world-class teachers and performers.

What is Kali Natha Yoga?

Kali Natha Yoga, developed by Ma Jaya, is known as a “yoga of transformation.” Through this sacred and ancient practice, shakti (divine spiritual energy) can be awakened, and one becomes more aware. This graceful and fluid style reaches back to the most ancient roots of yoga. Ma Jaya has been teaching in the tradition of Kali Yoga for 30 years, yet only recently has Ma brought Kali Natha Yoga into physical form.

What is the River Fund?

The River Fund is an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit charitable organization dedicated to providing services for children, families and communities, especially people affected by HIV/AIDS. The River Fund was established by Ma Jaya at Kashi in Florida and has grown to include programs in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Cape Town and Uganda. It is a model for compassionate care giving; thousands of people are touched daily through its outreach programs.

Are there volunteer opportunities?

Kashi has many opportunities for you to offer your heart, wisdom, caring, time and expertise to ashram life or to help at one of our centers. The River Fund also sponsors many direct service programs, such as visiting people in care centers or feeding the homeless. Through its network of volunteers, the Kashi community now touches the lives of 300,000 people annually.

What are the demographics of residents in the Kashi community?

60% are female; 40% are male
35% are business owners or business professionals
20% work in education
15% work in health care
65% are college graduates; 20% of these hold advanced degrees.

How does Kashi sustain itself?

Kashi receives money from membership dues, private donations, workshops, retreats and fundraising.

What is the meaning of some of the Hindu names or terms we hear at Kashi?

Baba is an affectionate name for Ma Jaya’s guru, Neem Karoli Baba, a Hindu saint who taught his students to “Feed everyone, love everyone and serve everyone.”
Swami Nityananda is Ma Jaya’s teacher and is known for his teachings of the Chidakash, the space of the detached but loving and compassionate heart.
Chela is Sanskrit for a student on a spiritual path.
Kirtan refers to sacred songs or chants, used for meditation or to create a deeper space in which to feel God within.
Chakra is a Sanskrit word, which literally means “wheel.” There are seven principal chakras, or energy centers, which distribute spiritual energy throughout the body.
A Swami is a renunciate who has been initiated into a path of dedicated service to humanity. Swamis are the keepers of the Kashi spiritual lineage.
Yoga means union. It is a term that includes many spiritual disciplines practiced in the East as ways to attain higher consciousness.
Seva is selfless service performed as a spiritual practice.
Ki Jai is a Hindu affirmation meaning “victory.”

What are some of the opportunities to get involved?

Tours can be arranged with advance notice. Call 772-589-1403 x 0.
There are weekly classes in yoga, meditation, chanting and Tae Kwon Do. Click here for schedule.
All are welcome to attend Saturday night Darshan with Ma Jaya ... more
We offer two-week or month-long programs for those who wish to immerse themselves in spiritual life.
Workshops and retreats are offered throughout the year... more
Our Feed Everyone program offers weekly volunteer visits to local care centers. Call 772-589-5076.
Guests to Kashi are encouraged to get involved in seva opportunities on the Ashram, like working in the kitchen and the grounds.

We look forward to answering all your questions and to welcoming you to our home. For more information, please call l-800-226-1008 or kashinfo@kashi.org.