Shantivan (Forest of Peace)
Shantivan (Forest of Peace)
Six kilometres from Abu Road on the road to Mount Abu, on your left you can see a magnificent complex known as Shantivan. Built to accommodate the ever-growing Brahma Kumaris community and its spiritual activities, the complex provides a spacious venue for conferences, spiritual congregations and educational and other retreats.
The main attraction of Shantivan is the massive Diamond Hall, built in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the institution in 1996. The simple yet elegant structure, which notably has no pillars inside, can accommodate about 20,000 people.
Shantivan has another large hall, the Conference Hall, which can seat 1,200 people and has facilities for simultaneous translation in six languages. Besides, there are six smaller halls, each of which can accommodate 350 people for lectures, seminars and workshops. There are also two halls for mediation, and a spiritual museum. The residential buildings in the complex can house about 15,000 people.
The Gyanamrit Bhawan (House of Nectar of Knowledge) houses the printing press where most of the institution’s literature is printed. It is here that two of the periodicals of the institution — Gyanamrit and The World Renewal — are published.
Shantivan has modern means of communication, transport facilities, well laid-out roads, power back-up and solar energy systems for cooking.