Wednesday, December 24, 2008

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM BABA

We are, once again, at the brink of completing one more year of our journey of life on this most blessed planet Mother Earth. We all are passing through a transition time in the human history. On the one side we see millions all over the world meditating, praying and worshiping the Divine from diverse paths only for individual and World Peace. On the other side we see thousands of people who are trained in acts of barbaric terrorism which are unleashed on the most innocent and loving souls.

It is also the irony of fate that at the same time, the overwhelming greed in the minds of people and the financial institutions in advanced countries are leading us into a global economic crisis of unprecedented dimensions. The gloom seems to be deepening every day.

But we humans are blessed with the infinite power of our Spirit and Mind. This is not the time when we can allow ourselves to be overpowered by the reality of the crisis. We need to always remind ourselves of the reality of the Higher World, the Power of Positive Mind. If individually and collectively we evoke our Positive emotions of prayerfulness and meditation, if we usher in the New Year with our heart and soul surrendered at the Altar of the Divine, who is Infinite Compassion, then we all can be instruments of divine transformation.

By denying the lower forces we can allow space for the Higher forces to work in our individual lives and also in the collective life of humanity. Yes, we all want nothing in this world today and in the New Year but Peace, abiding peace for all beings on earth. Yes, it is possible provided you and I join hands together in Spirit, and walk the path of positive light and grace and spread ions of peaceful coexistence and spiritual oneness.

May Christ Consciousness, which is divine consciousness, touch our souls and uplift us to welcome the New Year with open hearts and open minds of optimism, peace and happiness.

Love prevails in our hearts in union with the Divine,
Baba

Sunday, November 16, 2008

LITTLE HANDS IN MOTION AT LDLM STREET SCHOOL PAINTING CONTEST


Teachers from Lokenath Divine Life Mission street schools celebrated children's day on November 14. All the children were overjoyed when they heard there would be a painting competition. They were given paper, pencils and colored crayons to draw their imagination on paper. Little hands were put in motion. Slowly, slowly their canvases came alive with their scribbles. After coloring their drawings they proudly came up to the teacher to show their drawings. Their eyes and face were gleaming with the joy of creation and excitement that Baba will see their drawings. Baba will award prizes to the winners soon!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Tiny Girl's Burns Helped By Mobile Health Clinic



This little 3 year old child named Radhika Paswan is a regular patient to the Lokenath Divine Life Mission Mobile Medical Clinic. When she was one year old she was badly burned in a cooking accident in her home. She suffered from multiple burn injuries. 


LDLM's mobile medical van came to her rescue as there is no nearby hospital and her parents cannot afford the costly medical treatment. She was treated for burn injuries through Homeopathy. She was thoroughly cured over time. Now she suffers from allergic cough and is undergoing treatment from mission’s doctors. 


LDLM's mobile medical van serves so many poor families like Radhika who live in the slums of Kolkata. It is the lifeline of the slums, giving medical advice, medicines, and treatments to the poor and downtrodden. The slum dwellers thank Lokenath Divine Life Mission for carrying on the mobile medical service for over 16 years.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

School Children's Faces Light Up With Gift Of Clothes From Baba




In October Baba made a visit to Swinhoe Street School. The students were full of joy to see Baba come to their school. The children presented yoga, dance and recitations to Baba and a huge gathering of the people from the community. It was so lovely to hear poems from their soft voices. Baba praised each and every one of them and encouraged them with applause and cheers.




It was a true celebration to see the kids faces lighting up as Baba pulled out the most beautiful outfits and handed them over to the little children. It was indeed a true celebration to see the children in such joy going back home with their prize possession.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Garcha Street School Sponsored

Garcha Street school was established by Baba Shuddhaanandaa in the year 1995. The people of Garcha are mainly migrant labourers from neigbouring states doing menial jobs in kolkata and are from lower starta of the society. The mission wants to pull them out of social deprivations. The children are offered training on the practice of hatha yoga, meditation, creative art, dancing apart from literacy.The initial batches of students from this school were groomed enough to join better schools run by government and private houses. Our task was to create interest in their hearts through fun, playful education and love.Our experience says what they needed most is for somebody to say they are wonderful children of god and deserve to become worthy citizens of mother India. Love has the power to transform and raise the spirits of each soul to its highest sense of Freedom.We on behalf of Lokenath divine Life Mission in Calcutta do express our sense of gratitude and thankfulness to Connie Weaver for her generosity and love for these destitute yet smiling children of God.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Young, Inspiring Trailblazers for the Street Schools and Active Compassion

Carleen Sinton and Jamey Rossano, two 12 year old friends who live in Boston, have been collecting and sending money for the street schools for over a year now. Last Fall, after Carleen's grandma told them about the street schools, Carleen and Jamey got very excited. They wanted to adopt a school. They wanted to do something for these children who had so much less than they did! They quickly got to work raising money to help support the schools. During the school year, they created a program they called "Save The Change" and got their families to save all their coins. Their efforts generated two separate $100 contributions for the schools . Carleen's grandparents were so inspired by Carleen and Jamey's efforts that they sent $400 for the street schools. Then this past summer Carleen started making bracelets to sell in order to raise more money. She makes bracelets and sells them for $1 each; so far, she has raised $23. Jamey has also started making bracelets now; he plans to sell them in his Mother's store. Carleen and Jamey have also sent letters, artwork and photos over to the street schools, so that the children in the schools can learn something about other people in the world, and will know that others in the world love them and think about them. One of Carleen and Jamey's goals is to get some bit of communication going with the children and themselves. (If anyone would be interested in periodically translating a few letters into Bengali from English, and from English to Bengali for that purpose, please email raehack@comcast.net to volunteer). We all have a lot to learn from Carleen and Jamey, their open hearted vision and concentrated effort to reach out and serve others in need.

Baba Meets Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Dr. Md. Yunus


Baba recently met with Nobel Peace Prize recipient Dr. Md. Yunus , pioneer in the field of Micro Credit as a tool for eradication of poverty. Baba had a long meeting with him in Calcutta on the 17th of August from 5-10 pm, discussing the different aspects of Baba's Micro Credit Program. Baba’s program is being implemented in its purest form in India, vis a vis the model that Prof. Yunus developed in Bangladesh through the Bangladesh Grameen Bank. It was a very fruitful discussion about the possibilities and limitations of the implementation of the model in India. The Nobel Laureate promised Baba all help and cooperation. He highly praised the work that Baba has been doing to empower women in the villages of India, particularly in Sunderbans in West Bengal since the early 90'.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Meditation Group Sponsors Swinhoe Street School


Baba Shuddhaanandaa started Swinhoe Street School to try to give the slum children the feeling that they are important in this world, and that there are people from their own country and other countries of the world who love them and adore their capabilities and creativity.

The children who come to Swinhoe Street School are from nearby slums in Calcutta. Their parents earn through doing menial work such as cleaning people’s homes, carriers of luggage and goods on their heads in the nearby railway station. The Swinhoe slum is situated beside the railway tracks in South of Calcutta. The road to the slum is a dark narrow lane with small shacks on the both sides. The shacks are so small that it is difficult to believe that any human being can fit into it let alone live in it.
The parents are so poor that they are unable to send their children to school. Even some of the parents force their children to go and do odd jobs to earn money for the family thereby robbing the right of the child to go to school and have a natural childhood. These children are abused daily at home. Some of the children roam the streets the whole day doing all kinds of mischievous activities. Our mission’s main role is to make them feel that they are loved.
One of the major focuses of the street schools is to fight the curse of child labor. The Mission continually educates the parents on the need for education for the children and encourages them to not just think of earning some money out of their child's labor.
The major challenge for the Mission is to first bring the children to the school and then hold their attention. To facilitate that major focus is given to the Play Way Method of education. Along with literacy they are continually encouraged to explore their innate creativity and playfulness.
The children are offered training on the practice of Hatha yoga, Meditation, Creative art, Dancing apart from literacy. The initial batches of students from this school were groomed enough to join better schools run by government and private houses. Our task was to create interest in their hearts through fun, playful education and love. Our experience says what they needed most is for somebody to say they are wonderful children of God and deserve to become worthy citizens of mother India.
The Naperville, Il Meditation Group has recently agreed to sponsor this school. Their contributions will cover a honorarium for teachers, school supplies, daily snacks for the children, and an outfit of clothing during the holiday season.
We on behalf of Lokenath Divine Life Mission in Calcutta do express our sense of gratitude and thankfulness to the Naperville Meditation Group for their generosity and love for these destitute yet smiling children of God.

Copyright © 2008 Lokenath Divine Life Fellowship