“Athithi Dhevo Bhava” which means the guest is god; is the concept behind the popular Annalakshmi Restaurant in Chennai city. This chain of vegetarian restaurants was first opened in Malaysia in 1984 and now has branches in Australia, Singapore and India.

Annalakshmi, which is named after the Hindu goddess of plenty, is a voluntary organization that follows the philosophy set forth by Swami Shantanand Saraswathi. His basic teaching is “to serve, to love and to give”. This is exactly how Annalakshmi works. Continue reading →