The Community of Camaldolese Nuns of the Order of St. Benedict (OSBcam), Tapovan Ashram, Cheagoandevi, Khandwa Diocese, Madhya Pradesh, India
We are a Community of Contemplative Nuns rooted in the Benedictine Camaldolese tradition, uniquely weaving together the profound solitude of St. Romuald’s hermit life with the warm, shared rhythm of St. Benedict’s community life. While our Congregation’s foundation and historic Mother house remain at Sant’Antonio Abate in Rome, our specific mission is carried out in Tapovan Ashram, Khandwa Diocese, Madhya Pradesh, which is located in the central part of India.
History
Tapovan Ashram was founded by a hermit nun in the year 1984, encompassing approximately four acres, primarily featuring trees alongside a smaller plot utilized for agricultural cultivation. A few small huts with asbestos cement sheets were built as hermitages in the premises of the Ashram, where people often came to stay seeking internal peace and spiritual guidance. In 2004, the hermit Nun who founded Tapovan Ashram joined the Congregation of Benedictine Nuns of Camaldoli and this Ashram has been maintained by our congregation since then, serving the church and the community.
Social and Physical Geography
Our Monastery is surrounded by a diverse, hardworking, and economically disadvantaged local community of Christian and non-Christian neighbors who strive diligently to sustain their daily livelihood. The community is a mix of castes and religions, with Hindus holding political and social dominance and Christians as a minority with little influence. Of the total population, 53% belong to scheduled tribes and 22% belong to scheduled castes. The majority of the people depend on agriculture for their livelihood and the vast majority depend on daily wages for their income. Farmers mostly depend on monsoon and traditional techniques for agriculture, and scant rainfall, nonproductive land, and extreme climatic conditions make life difficult for the people of this area.
Ora et Labora
Grounded in the Benedictine Motto Ora et Labora (Prayer and Work), our Benedictine Camaldolese daily rhythm uniquely blends communal liturgy with eremitical solitude, structuring our day into dedicated Liturgy of Hours - Morning (Lauds), Noon (Midday/Little hours) Evening (Vespers), and Night (Compline), Work and Study. Each dawn, we seek God in the quiet of Lectio Divina and Scripture Meditation. This beautiful rhythm of ‘Work of God’ (Opus Dei) and daily Eucharistic celebration are the true center of our daily monastic life.
Our daily rhythm of work is an extension of our prayer. Our community service includes:
- Domestic care - preparing meals and maintaining the cleanliness of our monastery
- Tending to gardens, trees and plants
- Hand-crafting candles and rosaries
- Taking care of administrative work and ongoing spiritual studies
Our Witness
Our community is a dependent house of Sant’ Antonio Abate in Rome. Currently our community of two reside at Tapovan Ashram. Surrounded by a multi-religious community, our monastery serves as a quiet oasis of peace and interfaith harmony. We strive to bear witness to Christ’s love through silent contemplation, daily prayer, simple vegetarian food, and open dialogue with inter religious people by embracing the local culture while remaining deeply rooted in our Benedictine Camaldolese life. We provide accommodations for individuals and small retreat groups, with personalized spiritual guidance available upon request. We warmly welcome visitors, guests, spiritual seekers and especially the needy by offering gracious hospitality and attending to their needs with care.
Sharing Christmas joy with Neighboring Villages
Regardless of religion and caste, villagers and children from our neighboring villages walk to our monastery on Christmas Day to share the joy in our celebration. They affectionately call it A Big Day of Joy. We are deeply humbled by their love and mutual respect as we gather to share the pure joy of celebrating the Birth of Jesus! It is a special and a cherished tradition for our Monastery and the neighboring villages.
Our Primary Concerns
Our primary concern is to be an Independent community. We pray with trust in the Lord for increased vocations to our monastery. To sustain our monastic life of prayer, work, hospitality and mission, we are seeking support from benefactors and kind-hearted donors to provide
- Mass stipends for our dedicated priests who bless us daily with Holy Mass and spiritual service to our community.
- To upgrade our hermitages and candle making hut.
- To build a small guest house for spiritual seekers and retreatants.
Renovating these spaces, alongside the interior of our chapel, will allow us to better welcome visitors, retreatants, spiritual seekers, sustain our community and generate self- reliant income.