A day spent in love and joy - ladies day out

A day spent in love and joy

“Be happy and spread happiness” - Br Minalben

To comprehend the veracious ethos of the above statement, 49 ladies of Mumbai under the pious and loving presence of Br Minalben organised a day long outing at a beautiful place called Lonavala in Maharashtra on 18th February 2017.

The outing commenced by Param Pujya Bhaishree’s ashirvachan (blessings). This was followed by Br Minalben’s swadhyay in which she elaborated the importance of absolute faith and surrender to the five most important entities of our life; Bhagwan Mahavir, Param Krupaludev, Pujya Bapuji, Pujya Gurumaa and Pujya Bhaishree. Complete faith and reverence to them would ensure the birth of righteousness in one’s own self; unconditional surrender and the goal of practicing Guru aagna in a dogged manner.

These virtues will further help in eradicating one’s sorrows, imbibing the art of total acceptance of circumstances in an equanimous way and last but not the least, developing the ability to live in the present. She also elucidated that to know is the foremost purpose of the soul, this  happens constantly, all day and every day. It's only due to the divine presence of soul that the physical body can perform. Without the dweller which is the soul, the physical body is nothing but a corpse waiting to be burnt or buried. To reside in the knowledge of this consciousness is the utmost fruition of one's spiritual quest.

After this heart-warming swadhyay, a small yet a brilliant act was presented by the ladies which detailed the importance of satsang, and the way satsang moulds and lends a direction to our life.

Post a short break for lunch, the seekers were enthralled by another swadhyay by Br Minalben.

The second swadhyay was based on Vachnamrutji, which is an abridged form of our scriptures. The swadhyay highlighted the significance of a Sadgurudev as; God is invisible, but He becomes visible through the intelligence and spiritual perception of one who is in constant communion with Him. Guru is the only one who can not only point our shortcomings but also help us in destroying them. A Sadguru directs us to the path of self-realisation through guru aagna and helps us to remain steadfast in it. Sadguru makes sure that all our desires die, so we can achieve the end goal of our lifetime; the state of self realisation/self liberation.

This soul stirring swadhyay was closed with various mumukshus reminiscing their experiences and life changing moments after the advent of Param Pujya Bapuji in their lives. The beautiful day ended with raas garba played by everybody whilst soaking in the euphoria of the interminable presence of their beloved Sadguru in their hearts and minds.

The Flower of Love - Valentines Day Celebration 2017

“If you have a rose, will it ever smell like a jasmine?

Can the flower of a pandanus plant smell like a plumeria?”

Param Pujya Bhaishree starts Valentine's Special swadhyay, in the open terrace of Bhalani Residence, by asking us this question. Each flower has its unique smell and thus no two flowers can smell the same. This shows us that every flower has an integral connection with its smell. A rose will always smell like a rose. Similarly, every flower will spread its unique scent. Our thoughts are just like these flowers and since every flower emits a smell, so do our thoughts. Our behaviour and mood is the direct result of our thoughts. The rule of a flower and its smell is universal. Whatever our thoughts will be so will our actions. If our thoughts are weak, they will make us weak. However if we keep our thoughts strong, we will become strong. The smell of our thought like flower is inescapable. The fruit of our thoughts will be borne by us, no matter what.

If you start your day with an affirmation and telling yourself how it is a wonderful day, you will end it on a positive note too. On the contrary, if you wake up feeling lazy and complaining you will spend the rest of your day complaining about small things and go to bed unhappy. Our thoughts are like pearls that we bead into a thread, every thought we have in the day is added to the thread and at the end of the day we have to wear that necklace around our neck. Thus, every thought will affect us. If we have negative thoughts towards someone else, we will feel the results on ourself too. Bad thoughts not only hurt you but also those around you. The rule of thoughts works both ways, good and bad. If you think good, you will feel good but if you think bad you will feel that too. You reap what you sow.

There was once a saint, every morning he would wake up and tell himself, “God has made today a beautiful day. I must enjoy it.” This simple affirmation makes sets his mind for the day and makes sure he is happy. When we get up feeling lazy and wanting to not get out of bed we place a rock on the road to happiness for the day and walking on rocky roads is never easy. We ourselves hold the power to define our day and make it happy.

Think about how this man started his day that at the end of it he can say, “Dear god, today went by very well. I had a filling meal, good clothing and even finished all my work. But I’m most grateful for the opportunities I got to help others and the peace and contentment that I experienced today. You answered my prayers and guided me throughout the day. Thank you.” To reach this state of satisfaction he might have worked very hard. There are a lot of rich and successful people in this world but they don’t have even half the contentment, happiness, gratitude and peace they should. These feelings are what make a man successful in the true sense.

We do need money for our basic necessities like food, shelter and clothing, we can not survive a day without money so we don’t have to leave it completely. At the same time, we don’t have to concentrate so much on making money that we forget everything else and are blinded. Even money is a flower that has its own scent but in the bouquet of life it is only one flower and not the whole necklace. If you keep smelling only this flower it is possible that our sense of smell and then the smell of money will entice us and we won’t be able to recognise sweeter smelling flowers.

In the south there is man named Datpal. He is educated and from a good family. He had a religious inclination since he was a child. He denied marriage and spent his time contemplating about the Soul and giving lectures. He had become quite famous as he did not believe in giving himself any importance. His outlook on life was very inspiring. He said that money is neither a friend nor a foe but simply a medium to live life. If we accept this concept we can easily let go of our greed for money. Money on its own isn’t the source of any happiness or sadness. It is our desire for money that makes us happy and sad. If we have the same desire for other things, money won’t be as important to us as it is. Running after money and wanting more of it all the time will only leave us poorer. We should think of life a big chest of drawers and reserve only one of them for money, the rest of the drawers are for other things in life.

One man starts emptying his pockets as soon as he gets back home. Even before stepping inside his home his hands are in his pockets. He puts everything on the table outside his door and carries no papers related to work inside. He does this because he doesn’t like to carry the burden of office related work back to his home. He left all his office related thoughts outside his room with those papers and then did his sadhna. He found this difficult in the starting but with practice it got easier. He was suffering from insomnia so he had to make this change. Even at night thoughts of his business and maximising his profits kept him awake. These profits cost him his sleep and health and he decided that it was not worth it. This made him adopt the tiny practice of leaving worldly thoughts outside his room and concentrating on achieving peace at home. Very few people understand the importance of health without one or two such experiences.

“Is the body a beautiful flower or a walking pillar?” Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu would ask his students. One would answer, “Calling the body a tower doesn’t take away its flower-like characteristics. The imminent connection between the soul and God is our body. The body even connects the outside world to our mind.”

Helen Keller was born deafblind. On her visit to India she met Rabindranath Tagore. She asked him if she could touch his eyes. Tagore gently took her hands and placed them on his eyes. She said, “Great are these eyes that saw the beauty in the world and great are your hands that put that beauty into words for blind people to see.” Tagore said that, that day he understood the true importance of his body. What will it take for us to value our body and stop us from taking it for granted?

A plastic surgeon turned psychiatrist stated that humans need to cater more to the mind than to the body. We can easily tell with a stomach ache that our body isn’t fine but it is very difficult to know whether our mind is fine. We do feel stress, restlessness, sleeplessness or depression but we never take it seriously. We don’t actively look for peace, even if we find it we can’t recognise and even if we do recognise it we fail to understand its true power. This is equivalent to not noticing the ganga when it is flowing in our own backyard.

Shraddha [faith] is another immortal flower. When difficulties arise in life it is our shraddha that always comes to our rescue. Faith is the base and foundation of our road to salvation.

God has created thousands of flowers but one man can’t possibly smell all. If we even recognise the important flowers and take in their sweet smell our human birth will be successful.

“गुरु प्यार है, गुरु प्यार है,

 तु ही प्रीत है, तु दुलार है,

 तु ज्ञान है, तु ही ध्यान है,

 गुरु प्यार है, गुरु प्यार है "

One saint was very famous for his amazing oratory skills. While handing over control of the ashram to his disciple he asked, “You have my blessings for everything, but ask for whatever you want and I shall give it to you.” His disciple asked for his oratory skills. The saint replied, “After 25 years you still did not understand that speech is a worldly virtue. Out of everything you wanted this? The greatest thing in the world is love. You should ask for love, kindness, humanity and compassion. A man isn’t great if he can get the stars to the earth with his words, he is great if he can grow flowers of love within the hearts of the people he meets.”

A man who was always happy was asked what was the cause of his never ending happiness. He said, “I realised that I can control all my thoughts. I started concentration on happy thoughts and that has resulted in this. Worldly situations cannot control my line of thought anymore.” If we can learn to do this our hearts too will become gardens full of flowers of love. We all have to spread love in this manner. Spread the love to one and all. God has given us all equal amounts of love but it is our lack of understanding that stops us from spreading it.

The power of love will pass from one person to their family, their neighbours and so on. Everyone in contact with the person will experience happiness and peace. Understanding of true knowledge and the awakening of our soul nurtures this flower of love. Our soul is a desert without this understanding but with it our soul can become a garden. Once this flower of love starts blooming within us, its scent will slowly spread to whoever you meet and eventually in the world. We must all light the candles of love within our hearts to break away from this world of attachments.
 

An expression of Selfless Love

A Poem by Brahmnisht Minalben

A day to shower supreme love on our special one

A time to openly express our feelings and enjoy the eternal fun.

Our divine master who is the ruler of our heart

We seek your blessings as you are the cherry on our tart.

We offer you red balloons representing our naughty mind

We place at your feet our attachments from the entire mankind.

We surrender the riches of our ego and our pride

We have given up all and kept only you by our side.

What a feeling of pure, sacred sense of fulfilment

We can see the pinnacle of peace as we have begun our ascent

Steady and firm is our gaze on your serene eyes

We hold on to you tight, leaving behind all worldly ties.

We can momentarily experience the bliss in which you dwell

Our mind, body and soul is in unison is all we can tell.

We bow with deep veneration and selfless love today

To convey our heartfelt devotion on this Valentine's Day.

We not only just love you, we worship you and adore you

Oh our dear Bhaishri there is none other than you, you and only you.

Kolkata Dharmayatra - Feb 2017

Kolkata - 'The City of Joy'

9 - 13th February 2017

Kolkata is known as "The city of Joy". Devout Mumukshus were overjoyed on seeing the first glimpse of their Sadguru Param Pujya Bhaishree, their eager eyes welcoming him to their city. The car journey from the airport to Rajubhai's home, reaffirmed the ephemeral characteristic of this world we live in, so much has changed so quickly, yet everything can be a source of inspiration. New bridges remind us of our connectivity with Bhaishree. The metro rail alert us to check our speed on this path to moksh. 

Assembled at Rajubhai and Sangeetaben's home all mumkshus seemed so enthused and determined to make the most of Param Satsang, while Bhaishree is in Kolkatta. 

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Friday 10th Feb

Atma Tatva Research Center (Parli Ashram)

After a formal welcome by mumukshus of Atma Tatva Research Center ( Parli Ashram) Bhaishree began his first swadhyay. Upadesh Chhaya no 4 was the subject he thought shall benefit all of us. With smile on his face compassionate Bhaishree said 'It is unconditional devotion "Bhakti" that will help the devotee to free himself from all his faults. It is the shelter of a true Guru, an enlightened sculptor, who will chisel out the unwanted and carve out the divine in us.

1) Bhakti is the path that leads us to true knowledge, inner realisation of the true self. ભક્તિના માર્ગે જ્ઞાનના પ્રદેશ સુધી જીવ પહોચી જાય છે અને તે સાચી ભક્તિ સત્પુરુષના ચરણ સમિપે રહીને જાગે છે. 

2) The nine different types of Bhakti (Shravan, Kirtan, Padsevan... Parabhakti) can only arise when the disciple understands and realises what 'Ashray Bhakti" is. 

3) Bhakti is that sewa which does not expect anything in return. Pure joy that

one experiences is itself the biggest reward. Though surrounded by pain and misery, if he does not ask for any favours in return then surely he shall be able to develope tolerance and with patience be able to endure all with equanimity. 

4) Our love for Him has to be in full. Only and only for Him, should our mind, heart and soul remain in awe. His love shall be our most valued wealth. Our worldly love and desires shall be outshined by this pure divine love. His universal love is our only focus. 

His soft smile and sweet  tone set the mood right for all to take the divine plunge.

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During his trip Bhaishree visits and blesses the homes of many mumukshus. Today he visited the Desai Family residence as well as Jayshreeben and family's home.

Bhaishree also visited Shri Hasmukhbhai Vora - Param Pujya Bapuji's son-in-law and his family who live here in Kolkata. Old memories gripped our hearts. Poonam and Jyoti, Bapuji's both the granddaughter's became piously emotional. Tears of love touched our hearts too. 

Bhaishree's gentle words made us realise how profound healer He is. 

Explaining the essence of Asharan Bhavana he said, "Nothing in this world except for true religion will shield, protect and untimately free us from pain and miseries of reincarnation. Why seek refuge of those who can't give? Why live in false expectations? Let us resolute and be determined to seek refuge of true religion. Contemplating it deep, imbibing it in our life, we are sure to break the shackles of delusion and dwell in truth.

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Swadhyay 2: 10th Feb Afternoon

Param Pujya Bhaishree continued from the morning session with Updesh Chhaya no 4 in the natural picturesque surroundings in Ralaj under a massive Banyan tree close to a pond to a full house at the Shrimad Rajchandra Atmatatva Research Centre.

The audience was comprised of people with different backgrounds, beliefs and practices. Krupaludev was able to assess the minds of his audience at a glance and tailored his sermon accordingly. His sermon considered discrete reasons which hinderd the spiritual progress of those in the audience.

He was asked ' who can be said to have experienced his soul?' He replied that someone who had separated his soul and body like a sword when pulled out of its sheath.

Those who accept and put faith in a Gnani Purush would start seeing their inner faults weakening - awareness is present on occasions of joyous matters and saddening events - to prevent them from losing equanimity. 

Those devoid of passions of attachments or dislikes are the real Gnanis. Those indulging in such passions with flagrant neglect of the direct consequences  (nirdhvans parinam) end up incurring karma that will last for millenniums - anantanu bandhi. Those with such karma still have seven fetters - four kashai and three smyaktva mohinis which are explained in letter 613.

Darshan mohniya karma is the one that reinforces these shackles - Bhaishree recalled the incidence that occurred during Bapuji's youth. Sayla community members as per tradition went for a bath in the pond after attending a cremation service. They would all bathe and wash their loin cloth. Bapuji being a young courteous gentleman offered to wash Kalidasbapa loin cloth. Kalidasbapa responded saying ' dear Ladakhchand that cannot be, but think about:

“કર્મ અનંત પ્રકારનાં, તેમાં મુખ્યે આઠ;
તેમાં મુખ્યે મોહનીય, હણાય તે કહું પાઠ. ”

— Shrimad Rajchandra, Atmasiddhi shatsra verse 102

from Atma Siddhi and hitting his cloth on a stone. In that divine moment - there was a sudden light in Bapuji's mind and he saw at once the true path  as being removal of darshan mohiniya karma - the root cause of all bondages. 

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Sthapna Vidhi

Param Pujya Bhaishree installed the representations of Sat Dev, Sat Guru and Sat Dharma at the home of Manishbhai and Binaben Shah's home, son and daughter in Law of Kishorebhai Shah. Following the sthapna ceremony of Bhagwan Mahavir and Guruvariyos, Bhaishree gave a short ashirvachan:

'O lord Mahavir, your idol is so divine, I can't stop looking at you. You are embodiment of peace and equanimity. I am confident that in your presence I shall be able to control my passions and ultimately overcome them. The poison of delusion shall have no effect on me as I will keep drinking the nectar of your immortality.

You energize me and make me positively empowered. Just taking your name makes my soul pious. I feel immensely graced as you are now seated in the temple of my heart. Today I celebrate your divine presence in my life. I sing your glory and worship your virtues.'

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Swadhyay 3: Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Kolkata

The last public swadhyay of Param Pujya Bhaishree in Kolkata was held at the new center which was established by Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Dharampur. Almost 100 mumukshus warmly welcomed Bhaishree.

Bhaishree praised the centre, saying "I am most happy to visit this center and I congratulate all of you who have put efforts in establishing it. This center shall facilitate many souls who want to sincerely follow the path."

Begining his swadhyay Bhaishree described the many difficulties a new seeker faced. In present times a seeker is faced with different ways and explanations of the path and so can get confused in choosing the right path for him or her. However we are extremely fortunate, for we have found Param Krupaludev Shrimadji, who through his letters and poems has clearly defined the true path. Patra 609 from Vachanamrut is a clear roadmap to Moksh.

Physical objects draw our attention and we get captivated by them. Ups and downs of life keep happening and shackled by delusion we remain occupied in mundane activities.

1. Liberation is nothing but living effortlessly in our own true self. Dwelling in that choiceless awareness is true freedom.
2. We cannot be away from our own true self. Its just that the awareness has to be kindled in us.
3. We are as empowered as a Shri Tirthankar Bhagwan soul is. Our power lies latent within us. We need to awaken it.
4. It is just that many associative factors prevent us realising our true self. Relinquish the delusion towards all that constrains the soul and the awareness shall kindle. While in this state of embodied existence it is 'myness' towards the body and its associations that keeps the soul away from itself.
5. The religion of the soul is defined in various scriptures. Rituals that have been suggested in the scriptures, are only for one prime objective which is to remain detached from all that is non self.
6. Giving up from within, not getting allured toward anything is most difficult. It is possible only if we seek the empowering shelter of a true self realised Guru. With his support and grace, the most difficult becomes simple. Unfortunately very few souls understand the importance of having a true Guru.

Bhaishree words strongly reaffirmed many truths that we all knew. He motivated us all to be steadfasted in our conviction and vigorously continue pursuing the path to liberation.

Br Vikrambhai gave a vote of thanks on behalf of Shree Raj Saubhag.

He also expressed pleasure at seeing the establishment of such a beautiful centre in Eastern India. He was confident that the centre would become a focal point for the community particularly the younger generation to become aware of Param Krupaludev and his writing. 

He referred to the most amicable relationship between different ashrams of Shrimad and their respective heads. He drew a vivid image of the visit last week by Param Pujya Bapaji and his 912 disciples. He recalled the warm welcome by Bhaishree and the grand manner in which they were looked after.

He then wanted to applaud the play 'Yug Purush' which he described as a master stroke by the the great artist Bapaji. This play with presentations in different languages would revolutionise the awareness of Krupaludev through the medium of Mahatma Gandhi.

He then reminisced about the celebration of Shrimad Dehvilay Vilay Centennial celebrations when Bhaishree had commissioned a two hour film in Gujarati and also English on life of Param Krupaludev. The film was supported by a series of some 90 paintings depicting incidences from his life.

He said the technology was not as advanced as today to propagate the promotion of the film but it's international showing in several countries did certainly widened the awareness of Krupaludev and at the same time bring to the fore his mentoring of young Mahatma Gandhi with the principles of Ahimsa and to always abide with the Truth.

Vikrambhai concluded by thanking the SRDM Trustees and Mumukshus and extending an invitation to all to visit Sayla.

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Bhakti Evening: Atma Tatva Research Centre, Kolkata

The beautiful soulful singing of 'Sparsh' the Bhakti group, disciples of Param Pujya Premacharyaji (Atma Tatva Research Centre, Parli Ashram), gave a beautiful devotional rendition of some of Krupaludev's poems.

Soulful bhakti is what touches our soul. Love gratitude and surrender is what Bhakti is. Divine music born of deep devotion creates magic and transports the listener to a different world. Forgetting all our fears and worries, we were in a state of trance and never wanted to return from such a soulful experience.

Our desires and worldly cravings were put on hold as our mind had dissolved in divinity.

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Param Pujya Rakeshbhai and Dharampur Sangh visit Sayla Ashram

Param Pujya Bapaji Rakeshbhai and Dharampur Mumukshus visit Shree Raj Saubhag Ashram Sayla

8th Feb 2017

When River Ganga and River Yamuna meet, the flow of this supernatural confluence turns into River Saraswati. In this celebratory year of Param Krupaludev's 150th Birth Anniversary it was with great pleasure that Param Pujya Bhaishree welcomed Param Pujya Bapaji Rakeshbhai and 912 Dharampur Mumukshus to Shree Raj Saubhag Ashram in Sayla.

The coming together of these two Sants filled the air with piety, devotion, enthusiasm and above all, love.

Param Pujya Bhaishree welcomed Param Pujya Bapaji with open arms at the gates after which they then did darshan at the Jinalay followed by darshan of Param Krupaludev's chitrapat and murti in Kalyan Hall.

After dinner an evening function was organised in the Ashram grounds. Both the Sants ascended a decorated chariot which took them to the grand shamiana on the Ashram grounds, surrounded by dancing devotees.

The celebrations began even before the Sants entered the shamiana and graced the stage. As Valentines Day was just round the corner, both the Sants released red balloons in the air, where each balloon represented one of the innumerable and countless virtues of Param Krupalu Dev with the wish emblazoned on everyone's hearts that they, too, acquire them soon. They also released lanterns in the air representing everyone's obeisance to Param Krupalu Dev. The air was filled with the love and devotion flowing from every being present there.

Once the Sants took their seats on the stage, the atmosphere resonated with spiritual vibrations. After the evening Dev Vandan, a warm welcome was extended to Param Pujya Bapaji and his disciples. As a part of the 150th Celebration of Param Krupaludev's Birth Anniversary, Br. Vikrambhai and Br. Minalben showcased our offerings in the ongoing celebrations: The Inner Transformation, the True Celebration. They also briefed Param Pujya Rakeshbhai about the Ashrams's two other projects "Twelve Bhavanas" and "Maitri Moves".

As Param Pujya Rakeshbhai gave swadhyay, the gathering became still in serene silence, eagerly absorbing the profound wisdom pouring from his mouth. He elaborated on Shrimad Rajchandra Vachanamrut Letter No. 459 and in particular that which distracts us, vikshep.

When Param Pujya Bhaishree began his swadhyay, the gathering immersed in the quiet, deep, compassionate nectar that flowed from his pious lips. Bhaishree assured everyone that by developing true bhakti through these celebrations one is bound to progress to the next level in the practice of spirituality. He expressed his belief that all those who adher to the teachings of Param Krupaludev are sure to turn to the path of salvation. He quoted from Letters 132, 133, 165, 187 and 201 to elaborate on the route to this path.

After the invigorating and inspirational words from both the Sants, the crowd was invited to dance to the tune of the melodies that echoed the love and devotion felt by the mumukshus. The raas-garba played by the mumukshus filled the shamiana with such euphoria, one had to see and experience it to believe. The Sants themselves swayed to the resounding beats of the Bhakti, and the devotees were brimming with love. It was indeed the night that truly celebrated the 150th Birth Anniversary of Param Krupalu Dev, who is a "Yugpurush" in every sense of the word. This mortal world may not see the birth of a person as great as Param Krupalu Dev, let alone know him.

May Param Krupalu Dev inspire one and all to embark on their true journey which liberates them forever from the vicious cycle of Life and Death.

Acknowledgments to the Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Dharampur yuva group for some of the above photographs.

Prem ni Parab - Annual Celebration 2017

Prem ni Parab Annual Celebration

31st July 2017

Prem ni Parab is the educational initiative that Shree Raj Saubhag Ashram runs to inspire the potential in all the students and teachers in the 132 schools of Sayla District.

Every year all schools take part in an annual festival that includes sport, drama, art, elocution, creative writing, dance, music and much more. A healthy and friendly sense of competition between schools is held in January and culminates in the Annual celebration where under the grace and blessings of Param Pujya Bhaishree and invited saints, guests and educationalists, the students perform in their final competitions and are given their awards.

This year marked the 13th year of the Prem ni Parab project. In the annual celebration at the Ashram: 1373 students and 430 teachers participated, 113 schools were represented and 50 invited educationalists graced the event.  

The event started with torches being lit in Param Pujya Bapuji's Kutir. These were carried in procession to the main event hall within the Ashram grounds and used to light the witness flame that sits at the front of the stage.

Blessings were given by the invited guests after which the students displayed their skills and talents to the awe of the audience.

Every year a 'Best School Award', 'Best Teacher Award' and 'Best Male and Best Female Student Award' is handed out in an Awards Ceremony.

The key invited guest was Swami Nikhileswaranandaji Maharaj, the head of the Vadodara centre of Ramakrishna Mission, an organisation started by Swami Vivekananda over a hundred years ago. A graduate Chemical and Industrial Engineer, Swamiji renounced the world and joined the Ramakrishna order in 1976. Since he has written many books, traveled much of the world and in many languages taught and inspired the universal message of Vedanta to many a seeker. We were very fortunate to be in his graceful presence during this event. Param Pujya Bhaishree and Swamiji were in harmony, so much warmth and friendship was seen in their interaction.

To watch the children, laugh, clap, run and get up to mischief was fun to watch. To see their immense potential displayed on stage was amazing and just shows what a conducive educational environment with love and prem at its heart can do to inspire young minds. On everyone's lips was nothing but praise and Shree Chandrakantbhai Vyas the programme director is very worthy of all the accolades he was given. With such humility and love he has cultivated, managed and inspired the schools, the teachers, the parents and most of all the students. Like a grandfather he pats them lovingly on the head and gives them each a few words of wisdom. It is rare to see all teachers and students and workers all in harmony, working with energy, enthusiasm and love in a meticulously planned and well structured celebration and project where the students are the heart of everything that is done. Maximum efforts were made to be as inclusive of as many students and teachers as possible. This celebration was their celebration, and you could see how much they were enjoying it.

These past 13 years have been transformative for the primary and secondary education in Sayla District. Long may it continue and may its ripples uplift society in this area for many generations.

IVY Swadhyay - January 2017

IVY – joins the Real New Year Celebration!

'We vow to become Divine from within'

The year 2016-2017 marks the 150th birth anniversary of Param Krupalu Dev.  In this year, the vibrant youth joined the ‘inner transformation’ journey. Compassionate Sadguru has unconditionally loved us. How do we repay his incessant love? – By ‘being the change we want to see’.

First swadhyay of New Year started with a narrative about the compassionate Abraham Lincoln whose unconventional reply gave a new perspective to ‘being grateful’. Once, he was going for a conference and en route he saw a pig stuck in mud and struggling to save himself.  Full of pity for the poor animal Abraham Lincoln saved the pig. When asked how does it feel to save a life? He replied, ‘’Grateful! The painful sight of a life struggling was burning my heart. The opportunity to save that life has helped me placate my own plight. So in this, have I done that pig a favor or I have been selfish to take care of my own heart?”

The purpose of Ivy swadhyay is ‘to learn to be happy in all times’ and in order to fulfill our purpose, we are going to be optimistic, humble, grateful, disciplined, ethical, follow fundamental truths and be friendly to all.

And TODAY is that invigorating start!

T- Today is an

O- Opportunity to

D- Do better

Than

Y- yesterday/last year;

It takes 21 days to form habit and 90 days to build lifestyle. So, from the month of January to March, we pledged observe these goals and follow the teachings of our Sadguru.

• Being Ethical: No matter what the consequences, I am not going to cheat, lie, manipulate, overdo, unreasonably imitate others, or bend my morals for anybody, in any situation or for any material gain irrespective of anybody watching or not watching me. As my guru has taught, I am going monitor on my ‘negative emotions’ and learn to control them. I am going to evaluate my needs and wants, and be rational and rightful in my conduct. I am going to reason before I act.
• Follow Daily discipline: Be it any day of the week, I am going to be disciplined. I am going to punctually wake up and sleep at the determined time. I am going to have meals as decided. I am going to fix time to do my aagnas and sincerely and consistently follow the rituals. I am going to read good books, exercise daily and meditate for healthy mind, body and soul. And I am going to do this because I want to and not because I am told to.
• Observe Fundamental truths: The happiness of eating our favorite meal, watching our favorite cartoon/movie, vacation to a beautiful place, outing with friends has given us happiness. Has that happiness continued in the absence of these situations/people or object? “No”.  However, by observing the ‘Anitya Bhavna’ we remind ourselves that we are not the body; we are the soul that resides in this body. Whatever we see with our eyes is temporary and therefore incapable of giving us permanent happiness. Our inner transformation is capable of making us realize what real happiness is and how it is independent of outer circumstances.
• Be friendly: I am going to be friendly to one and all. I am going to develop the virtue of ‘ahimsa, selflessness and compassion’. In everything I do, speak, walk, sit, stand, eat or drink, I am not going to cause any harm to any soul. I am going to conserve water and electricity. I am going to protect as many lives as I can in my daily routine.

How am I going to make sure that I follow these goals meticulously and am going in the right direction? I am going to do that by observing and learning about the life of Param Krupalu Dev, Pujya Bapuji, Pujya Gurumaa and Pujya Bhaishree.

Pujya Bhaishree is the epitome of being organized, being punctual, being ethical, being compassionate and many more virtues. Insights to Param Krupalu Dev’s life will be provided to us through the book ‘Pinnacle of spirituality’. Learning from these enlightened souls, I am going to bring inner transformations and celebrate true happiness.

Nutshell:

1. I am going to be the change I want to see.
2. I am not born to be sad. I am created to be happy. I am going to be happy and spread happiness.
3. Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep my balance, I need to keep pedaling which means keep moving.
4. When I am helping someone else, I am going to say thank you for the opportunity they have provided me to serve them. I am helping myself by helping others.
5. Contemplate to realize - I am not the body, I am the soul within the body – this one thought must remain with us all the time.
6. I am going to build a healthy lifestyle – by practicing daily discipline, by being ethical, contented and selfless.

Women's blood donation camp organised by the students of LMV Girls High School and College

Women's blood donation drive

On 26th January, Republic Day, LMV Girls HIgh School and College hosted a flag hoisting ceremony. Along with this, the girls organised a women's blood donation camp, a first for Sayla.

People living in Indian townships like Sayla often have outdated mindsets - one among them is that women should not donate blood, as it might make them either weak or expose them to the risk of infectious disease. A women's-only blood donation drive was organised to overcome such old fashioned views and educate the local society in its importance and value. 

In the run up to the camp, student volunteers from the school and college went door-to-door to every house in Sayla for over a week, educating and encouraging the women to come and donate blood.

As a result, over 151 women registered their names. After going through medical screening a total of 33 women and girls and 5 men donated their blood. This was sent to C. U. Shah Medical College, Surendranagar for medical use.  Retired teacher Harshadbhai Shukla sponsored breakfast to the donors, and also gifted each lady a copy of the Bhagvad Gita and a travel bag as a token of appreciation.

Directors of the LMV school and college hope to organise such blood donation camps as often as possible and continue to play their role in society to help educate and raise awareness around public health issues.

Viklang Sadhan Vitran Camp - Dec 2016

Viklang Sadhan Vitran Camp

23rd Dec 2016

An aids and appliances support camp was sponsored by Dubai based mumukshus - Vipulbhai and Deepaliben Kothari on the occasion of their 25th wedding anniversary.  They dedicated the handicapped support camp to their parents - (Late) Ramnikbhai and Taruben Kothari.  Taruben was present at the event. Here below they share their experience:

We ended a divine tirth yatra day with great memories of Param Pujya Bhaishree’s sanidhya and vibrations. By evening I was feeling little sad that dharma yatra had come to an end but little did I realize that the next day at Viklang Sadhan Sahay Camp (support camp for the handicapped) would be the biggest of dharma-yatra of my life.

The morning began with blessings from Pujya Bhaishree and privilege of chaitya vandan and puja at great Jhagadia Jain Tirth with Pujya Gurudev. After a satvik breakfast, the entire Sayla parivar left for village Asa, a small village of probably less than few thousand population, approximately an hour’s drive from Jhagadia. Due to bad road condition, we got little delayed but could feel samtabhav (equanimity) of Pujya Bhaishree, who is usually very particular about punctuality.

On reaching the campsite at Nirlobhi Ashram site, we were overwhelmed by the cordial welcome given to us by the entire community including the volunteers. The event opened with a beautiful recitation of a stuti (prayer).

The entire team of volunteers of Ashirvad Trust for the Disabled, Sayla, under the leadership of Rambhai Jadav had worked tirelessly for over 2 months, coordinating and facilitating this mammoth event.

Warmly welcoming Pujya Bhaishree and mumukshus of Raj Saubhag Ashram, Sayla, Jadavbhai applauded the role of Late Shri Arunbhai in initiating such support camps for the disabled and ensuring its continued success.

Pujya Bhaishree blessed all the souls present, especially the “divyang’s” (differently-abled divine souls) who would be beneficiaries of the sadhan vitran camp and wished them improvement in their and their families’ lives and urged them to use the equipment for upliftment of their physical, emotional and social well-being.

Pujya Vikrambhai very aptly said that “divyang’s” should not worry or be withdrawn about their physical limitations since it is not physical challenges that hold back a person from reaching his potential but the mental blocks which is the real cause of concern.

The efforts of the Ashram’s team of volunteers over a 2-month period involved the survey of almost 150 villages around Bharuch, and identifying 700 potential needy persons from which final 475 were shortlisted to be the beneficiaries of the handicapped aid camp.  The poor people would receive equipment like wheel chairs, hand cycle, crutches, hearing aid, prosthetic limb etc depending on their specific need.

So elaborate and meticulous were the efforts and planning that every part of the camp and distribution was very precisely executed. The beneficiaries and their families were also so disciplined that despite large number of beneficiaries and their accompanying family members, the distribution of aid and equipment in respective tents went off in perfectly planned manner. All the visitors, beneficiaries with their accompanying family members were then treated with a delicious lunch organized at the camp venue.

We were so overcome with joy due to the love and affection of all and of-course a very well planned / executed and disciplined approach of everyone including volunteers and beneficiaries, that words fail me. It wasextreme satisfaction and gratitude that me and my family experienced when we saw a sparkle in eyes of the beneficiaries a they received the equipment and their happiness that now their lives would now be much better.

We truly were fortunate to have been able to witness and participate in this noble activity that the Ashram carries on without discrimination of any caste / creed / religion / beliefs of the beneficiaries, with one simple motto of helping someone in need. I am sure “prabhu krupa” and “sadguru krupa” was bestowed on us to enable us to be a part, albeit a very small, of this vitran camp. This camp opened our eyes to the hardships and difficulties that many have to go through and sometimes for very small matters or lack of support; and how fortunate we have been probably due to our past karmas.

Our hearts go out to all those who suffer due to their physical or mental shortcomings or lack of resources and deeply feel that we should continue on this journey further to assist in whatever small way that we can to lend a helping hand to others to overcome their sufferings.

We bow down to Pujya Bhaishree, Pujya Vikrambhai and also entire team of Sayla ashram to make us realize that “manav seva” is the best form of “Prabhu seva” and in that sense this was probably the biggest of “dharma yatra” that we have ever been to.

Vipul Kothari, Chartered Accountant, Dubai