The name and reputation of Mayavati have drawn many visitors and guests to the Ashrama from its very beginning. Ananda Mohan Bose, the great Brahmo reformer, Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, the famous scientist, Chittaranjan Das, the great fighter for the cause of India’s political freedom— came and stayed here for a period.
Another eminent person who visited Mayavati was Nandalal Bose, the famous artist of Vishvabharati. He stayed at Mayavati only for a very short time. By nature he was a man of few words. At Mayavati he was found all the more taciturn and contemplative. To the surprise of many people, he did not draw a single picture at Mayavati. When asked the reason for this, he said, ‘I do not feel like making any sketch here. I am trying to absorb the spirit of the environment. That is a great thing. And it may be when I shall go back to my work; the influence of my stay here will be reflected in my works.’
Sister Nivedita also visited Mayavati and on 18 June 1911, she gave a talk on the topic ‘Intellectual Culture Needed Among Our Order’ and held that no distinction need be made between secular and religious culture of knowledge.
At Mrs. Sevier's her invitation Dr. J. C. Bose and Lady Bose, whom she addressed as ‘Shakuntala’, visited Mayavati on several occasions during summer. A solitary path has been named ‘Bose’s Walk’, because he used to walk there, just as the path immediately below the Ashrama has been named ‘Monk’s Walk’ after Swami Vivekananda. During one of his visits, Dr. Bose gave us a talk on his favourite subject, the response of plants to stimuli, demonstrating it, as far as possible in such circumstances with the mimosa (vide Prabuddha Bharata, August 1911, p. 150). Dr. Bose used to say, ‘When I am at Mayavati, ideas rush into my mind, but when I am in Calcutta, everything seems to dry up.’
Miss MacLeod and Sister Christine too came and stayed at Mayavati.
Other notable guests as mentioned in the Mayavati Diary include: Swami Narayan, a disciple of Swami Ram Tirtha in September 1915; Jean Herbert along with Sadhu Soren Sen in November 1949; Swami Pranavananda (of Kailash) in December 1952; Smt. Sarala Ben, a disciple of Gandhiji, in September 1954; Sri Golvalkar, the R.S.S. leader with 9 other companions in April 1964; Prof. Sankari P. Basu, in search of any material which could help him in his research work on Swami Vivekananda, in October 1968 and again in October 1986; A British missionary team in February 1970; Mrs. Boshi Sen and her brother in November 1973; Mrs. Marie Louise Burke in April 1974; Mr. John Manetta (who translated The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna into Greek) of Athens in November 1980 and Mahant Avaidhnath of Gorakhpur with his party in June 1981.
