PilgrimstaysSinai Divine Dhyana Ashram is located at Premagiri, a small town with a beautiful landscape, about 8 kms away from Kurnool city, on the Vijayawada highway. Bishop Rayappa of Kurnool diocese donated the original 8.5 acres of land and an additional 3.5 acres of land was acquired to start the Ashram here. In March 1998, Very Rev Fr James Chelapurath, the Assistant Provincial Superior inaugurated Sinai Divine Dhyana Ashram and the Bishop declared it as a new parish. When Sinai Divine Dhyana Ashram was started, there was already a shrine in the property. This has now grown to be a major pilgrim centre with a miraculous Marian grotto. People visit this centre to offer amongst other things, saris in thanksgiving and for the fulfillment of their prayers and requests. In 1997, the pilgrim centre of Premagiri was started. The main entrance gate and the grotto of Our Lady were constructed at the same time. The Bishop invited Brigitine Sisters too to be a part of this parish to assist in parish ministry as well as at the Retreat Centre. In the beginning the fathers stayed in KDSSS (Kurnool Diocesan Social Service Society) and looked after the centre. Slowly a small shed with tin sheets was put up and the retreats were started. During residential retreats, Brigitine sisters provide food and accommodation to the retreatants. Residential block for the retreatants was built in 2005. The main retreat hall was blessed on December 12, 2013 and Adoration chapel was blessed on December 14, 2014. The diocese entrusted the Premagiri parish with two substations namely, Noothanapally and Gargeypuram which were bifurcated from Cathedral parish of Kurnool. In the beginning all the parish activities were conducted in the village chapel at the military colony. A new parish church was built in Premagiri and the solemn blessing of the church and the Pilgrim center took place on 30 th August 2000. In September 2002, Vincentian house cum presbytery was built and blessed.
Bishop Rayappa of Kurnool diocese donated the original 8.5 acres of land and an additional 3.5 acres of land was acquired to start the Ashram here
This has now grown to be a major pilgrim centre with a miraculous Marian grotto
In 1997, the pilgrim centre of Premagiri was started
The main entrance gate and the grotto of Our Lady were constructed at the same time
Residential block for the retreatants was built in 2005
The Sinai Dhyana Ashram's spirituality is framed by the encounter theology of the desert — Moses taking off his sandals before the burning bush, Elijah hearing the still small voice in the cave, Israel receiving the Law in the wilderness. The retreat invites participants to enter their own desert — to leave behind the comforts and distractions of ordinary life and encounter God in the arid simplicity of extended prayer.
The ashram dimension of the centre — simple food, community living, structured daily prayer, the absence of entertainment and distraction — creates the desert conditions in which the Sinai encounter can occur. The simplicity is not punitive but purposive: the stripping away of comfort is designed to create openness.
Rayalaseema is one of the driest regions of south India — characterised by scrubland, rocky hills, and the Tungabhadra River valley. The landscape itself is desert-like in the south Indian sense: dry, open, and under a large sky. It resonates with the Sinai imagery and provides a natural contemplative environment.
The Tungabhadra River — which also flows past Hampi, one of the great medieval Hindu empires, before joining the Krishna — provides the water of life in an otherwise dry region. The river in the desert is itself a biblical image: the stream in the wilderness, the water that flows from the rock.
Telugu praise music and devotional prayer have a distinctive quality — the classical Carnatic musical tradition of Andhra Pradesh, adapted to Catholic devotion, produces some of the richest liturgical music in south India. The Sinai Dhyana Ashram's prayer sessions draw on this tradition.
Moses was tending sheep in the wilderness when he noticed the burning bush. Not seeking a vision. Not fasting. Not praying. Just working. The burning bush came to him. That is the Sinai model: God comes to the person in the wilderness, in the ordinary work of tending what is entrusted. The Sinai Dhyana Ashram creates wilderness conditions. It also knows that God is not obliged to come on any schedule. But the conditions help. Remove the noise. Remove the comfort. Go to the desert. Wait. See what burns without being consumed.
“When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, Moses! Moses! And Moses said, Here I am.”
Read in full on Bible Gateway →Sinai Divine Dhyana Ashram is located at Premagiri, a small town with a beautiful landscape, about 8 km away from Kurnool city, on the Vijayawada highway. Bishop Rayappa of Kurnool diocese donated the original 8.5 acres of land, and an additional 3.5 acres was acquired to start the Ashram here.
In March 1998, Very Rev Fr James Chelapurath, the Assistant Provincial Superior, inaugurated Sinai Divine Dhyana Ashram, and the Bishop declared it a new parish. When the Ashram was started, there was already a shrine in the property. This has now grown to be a major pilgrim centre with a miraculous Marian grotto. People visit this centre to offer, amongst other things, saris in thanksgiving and for the fulfilment of their prayers and requests.
In 1997, the pilgrim centre of Premagiri was started. The main entrance gate and the grotto of Our Lady were constructed at the same time. The Bishop invited Brigittine Sisters to be a part of this parish, to assist in parish ministry as well as at the Retreat Centre. In the beginning, the fathers stayed in KDSSS (Kurnool Diocesan Social Service Society) and looked after the centre. Slowly a small shed with tin sheets was put up and the retreats were started. During residential retreats, the Brigittine sisters provide food and accommodation to the retreatants.
The residential block for the retreatants was built in 2005. The main retreat hall was blessed on 12 December 2013, and the Adoration chapel was blessed on 14 December 2014.
The diocese entrusted the Premagiri parish with two substations, namely Noothanapally and Gargeypuram, which were bifurcated from the Cathedral parish of Kurnool. In the beginning, all the parish activities were conducted in the village chapel at the military colony. A new parish church was built in Premagiri, and the solemn blessing of the church and the pilgrim centre took place on 30 August 2000. In September 2002, a Vincentian house cum presbytery was built and blessed.
