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The Genesis
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 One
of the direct sannyasi disciples of Holy Mother Sarada Devi, Himanshu Maharaj
came to Hazaribagh in 1944 at the behest of his disciple and devotee Surama
Devi who was then staying at Hazaribagh, recovering from illness.
He stayed for an year at Hazaribagh, in the houses of devotees Sri Satish
Mukhopadhyay and thereafter, Sri Pankaj Kumar Mallick, an eminent lawyer
of the town. On hearing of the stay of a direct disciple of the Holy Mother
in Hazaribagh, people
and eminent citizens of the town flocked to attend the religious discourses
and bhajans. Thus began spreading the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda ideology at
Hazaribagh and growing of a community of devotees. Himanshu Maharaj left
Hazaribagh in
the following year for Mymensing, from where he went to Varanasi.
 He
returned to Hazaribagh sometime around April-May in 1947. The community of devotees
which had developed wanted to ensure that Maharaj made Hazaribagh his centre.
Maharaj was also deeply moved by the sanctity and serene atmosphere of the religious
places around - temples of 'Chinnamasta' (a form of Goddess Kali) at Rajarappa,
Narasimha at Narasimha Sthan and Kalyaneshwari at Maithon.
The first Ashram was begun at a spot near the Kalibari in Hazaribagh. In
December 1950, the plot where the present Ashram stands was purchased for
an amount
of Rs.3000/- on Barkagaon Road (now renamed Vivekananda Path). Himanshu
Maharaj began staying from the day of Vijaya Dashami in 1955.
In November, 1963, a four-day Convention was held commemorating the Centenary
of Swami Vivekananda. The main atrraction was an all-India Childrens' Meet
with sports, skits, essay competitions and exhibitions for children. Kali
Puja was
held with other religious discourses. Sri Humayun Kabir, an honourable minister
in the Union Cabinet attended with the Governor and Chief Minister of Bihar.
Eminent authors
participated. The Ashram and its activities shot into prominence after the
successful holding of this Convention.
 In April 1968, the temple of Sri Ramakrishna was opened. A grand ceremony was held to commemorate the occasion. Since then the stream of devotees have been on the increase.
Himanshu Maharaj along with his sannyasi and brahmachari disciples spread
the Ashram's welfare activities. A charitable dispensary was set up long
with a guesthouse and a library for the Ashram's inmates.
In 1969, began publication of the first quarterly journal of the Ashram -
Uttishthata Jagrata - under the able editorship of Swami Nityananda. The
first issue of the present journal - Egiye Chalo - came out on 23rd July,
1975.
Himanshu Maharaj passed away in 1971 while in Samastipur (Bihar).
His task of serving God in man still continues at the Shanti Ashram under the able stewartship of his eminent disciple Swami Muktananda.
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