By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : Congress president and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi is to lay the foundation stone for the Rs.60 million Santhigiri Research Foundation Friday here.
The research institute is being built by the Santhigiri Ashram, which was founded by Sri Karunakara Guru in the late 1970s.
Guru passed away in 1999, but by then the ashram was recognized by the central government’s Department of Science and Technology as a social and scientific research organization.
“The foundation would be housed in a 10-storey building which would have 50,000 sq ft and would be completed in two years time at a cost of Rs.60 million,” ashram’s director Swami Gururatnam Njanatapsi told reporters here Monday.
The foundation is currently conducting a research focused on the teachings of the late Guru who delved into the science related to the soul and its cosmic relation with human life and experiences.
“We are also conducting research on the influence of spirituality in medicament and help to improvise and standardize the quality of Ayurveda and Siddha medicines. We have two registered patents and several research projects are in the pipeline and at various levels,” added Njanatapsi.