Swami Ramdas in Bombay believed to have been the first to think of establishing an ashram or spiritual centre called "Anandashram." He had lately returned from Kasaragod in North Kerala, where he had been "kept up in a thatched hut on the Pilikunji Hill," according to his memoirs. Swami Ramdas wrote to Anandrao (his brother in Kasaragod) while in Bombay "stating a desire for an Ashram to be built in that location on the Pilikunji hill It may also be called 'Anandashram,' according to [Swami Ramdas]." On the hill, to the south of which flowed the Payashwini river, a modest Ashram consisting of a little room and an open porch was built. The Anandashram was founded on June 3, 1928. Swami Ramdas recounts the Ashram in a letter dated June 14, 1928: "Ramdas has been residing at the new Ashram, which Sri Ram prepared for His child, for almost a month. It's in the middle of a forest, at the foot of a hill, beside a fast-flowing creek. The atmosphere is serene and pleasant. The beautiful sounds of birds fill the air with ecstatic thrills in the morning and evening. All day and night, hymns are sung and God's names are chanted throughout the Ashram. God's devotees are flocking in droves. Ramdas is submerged in a blissful sea. "Anandashram" is the name of the Ashram." Mother Krishnabai's sadhana and self-realization were to take place at this ashram. The young widow Krishnabai arrived in Kasaragod to be with her sister-in-law on June 7, 1928, just four days after the Ashram at Kasaragod was established. By 1930, she had abandoned her family and was living at the Ashram full-time. Her presence in the Ashram sparked widespread outrage, prompting the Ashram's regular inmates to depart, as well as the number of visitors. Anandashram in 1933 Swami Ramdas and Mataji were compelled to leave the Ashram permanently in 1931, just after Mataji Krishnabai finished her sadhana and obtained the experience of nirvikalpa samadhi, after a violent attack on Mataji Krishnabai by two unknown persons. Swami Ramdas' associates and followers proposed that a new Ashram be established on the Manjapati hill in Kanhangad a few days later while staying in Kanhangad. Swami Ramdas consented, and on May 15, 1931, the new Ashram, also known as 'Anandashram,' was inaugurated. The surrounding area, which was known as Manjapati before to the Ashram's creation, is today known as Ramnagar. The Ashram gradually expanded from its humble beginnings to its current low-rise facility. Many of the Ashram's buildings were donated to the Ashram's employees or handed over to the government for use in different social welfare programmes and schools. All guests are provided with free food and lodging for a limited time at the Ashram. Wandering sadhus and sanyasis have their own buildings. The Ashram publishes The Vision, a periodical, as well as several books by Swami Ramdas (a prolific writer) and others. Mataji Krishnabai led Anandashram from Swami Ramdas' mahasamadhi in 1963 till her death in 1989. Swami Sachidananda, who arrived to the ashram in 1949, took over as its head until his death in 2008. Swami Muktananda is now in charge of the Ashram.