Annalakshmi on the Swan

About

Annalakshmi on the Swan is a non-for-profit institution where guests “Eat To Their Heart’s Content And Pay What Their Heart Feels".

Story

Annalakshmi was founded in Perth in 1991 by His Holiness, Swami Shatanand Saraswathi (Swamiji) based on the concept ‘Athiti Devo Bhava’ – Guest is God,

"Athiti Devo Bhava"
In ancient India, there is a tradition that as a householder before having your meal, you should first entertain an unknown guest that comes to your home. It is believed that God comes in the form of your guest, and that it should be your duty to entertain and feed your guest to the best of your ability to their satisfaction. This concept is called ‘Athiti Devo Bhava’ – Guest is God, and at Annalakshmi we strive to follow this great tradition.

Why “Eat To Your Heart’s Content And Pay What Your Heart Feels”

Food is meant for sustenance of life and nobody should be deprived of it. Annalakshmi is not a soup kitchen, and instead it is a place that supports the act of giving, from the heart. For example, a mother prepares and cooks a meal with love, selflessly for nourishment and well-being of her family. At Annalakshmi the food is cooked with selfless love and positive energy. This food infused when consumed becomes a healing nectar and food for the soul.
When guests dine at Annalakshmi their contribution not only pays for their own meal but also towards other hungry individuals who may not be in a position to pay for their meals.

Why food?
Food nurtures. Food is life sustaining – everyone needs to eat and survive. Food is the only thing in this world where as a consumer one would say ‘no thanks’ due to being fully satisfied. At Annalakshmi, we want to give our guests this satisfaction.

Why feeding is the greatest deed?
In Hinduism, the greatest deed one can do is said to be feeding someone – this is called “Annadhannam”. At Annalakshmi besides feeding all those who dine with us, we also give our guests the opportunity to give and feed others as well.

Why music and dance?
Music and dance is the soul of our lives. Dining at Annalakshmi is a cultural experience and through Saraswati Mahavidhyalaya (our educational organisation) and Lavanya Arts (our handicrafts and visual arts organisation, we wish to share Indian culture and the arts with you and the community.

In 1991, Annalakshmi was founded in Perth by Swami Shantanand to provide his devotees and the people of Perth an avenue to undertake selfless service and to give back to this beautiful land, Australia by feeding its people.

The ideals of which are to have a heart to love, give and serve thereby to have love for God serve Mankind – tributes to His Guru, the Great Spiritual Master Swami Sivananda Saraswathi.

Swami Shantanand (Swamij)i attained Mahasamadhi on 27th July, 2005, at Coimbatore in South India. He guides all the activities, by His eternal presence at the Adhishtanam which is a centre for prayer and meditation today. It is located at 3, New Thillai Nagar, P.N.Pudur, Coimbatore.

In 2004, Annalakshmi moved to its new and current premises, Jetty 4, Barrack Square, Perth WA.

"For 20 years, Annalakshmi on the Swan has been serving countless Western Australians through the concept of Eat as you like and Pay as you feel.With a mission to serve humanity through Food, Arts and Culture, almost 20 to 25 volunteers contribute an enormous amount of time to make this concept viable on a daily basis.Unfortunately, due to the impact of the pandemic and rising overhead costs, we have made the difficult decision to wind down.Whilst this may be painful for many of our supporters to read, to us, this is just the end of one chapter in our story - one that we are hopeful will continue to be written in some shape or form in the future."