BABA VISITS STREET SCHOOL CHILDREN

This is a sweet little angel from the Garcha Street school beaming with joy to receive new clothes and sweets from Baba on the eve of the festival of Durga Puja. Every year on the eve of this festive occasion, the Mission distributes new clothes to all the children of the Mission run street schools around the city of Calcutta.

Another girl from Garcha street school and she has grown up with the Mission, for when she first joined the mission run school she was a small girl of 5 years. Baba gives her the gift of news clothes to her.
Namaskar with gratitude from a young student of Garcha school

This is a very joyful girl from Kalighat Street school. The Kalighat street school draws its students from the families who live on the road side pavements and huts. They are very poor. Yet, look at the face of this girl performing a dance right on the road where the school sits with such joy and positive light on her face. The other children look on.

Isn’t she so cute! They are deprived of most things that go to make one happy in life, yet they are the children who teach us one and all, that happiness is an attitude and it is the positive light of the Soul.

Subhash is physically and mentally challenged. He joined Kalighat street school when he was a small boy, he has been with this school for last 14 years. He loves Baba and always wants to be comforted by his touch and hug. When he joined the school he could not talk nor could he walk properly, but the love and attention of the teachers and volunteers of the Mission and the Grace of Baba Lokenath (whose ardent devotee he is) transformed him and he started to talk and walk. Now he sings when the music class is on. Dance when the dancing class is on session. Paints when the drawing teacher comes to teach them creative paintings.

Baba with Subhash and the street side where the Kalighat street school is located. The children look on compassion in action.

The children of SwinHoe Street school perform “We shall overcome” the dance that steals the show. They were participating in Dance Competition hosted by another NGO in Calcutta.

Breathe for Bengal Fund Raiser a Big Success

On July 18, 2009 the Circle of Compassion Meditation Group of Naperville, Illinois, USA hosted a fund raiser for Lokenath Divine Live Fellowship. The event raised over $1,000 for Baba's Mission's work.

Members of the Circle of Compassion Meditation Group prepare for the benefit the night before.

Here one of the participants gets ready to purchase a copy of Baba's book Making Your Mind Your Best Friend.

One of the members of the Circle of Compassion Meditation Group demonstrates the breathing and relaxation exercises that Baba taught to the group when he visited last May.

Another member of the Meditation Group led all the participants through several yoga poses based on Savroopa Yoga.

The evening ended with a wonderful Gong Bath where 30 bowls and a gong was played while the participants joined together in Meditaton.

Baba says:
"It is lighter music, deeper contemplation and united prayer that would create the ripples both inner and outer which would individually and collectively helpful." During this beautiful evening there was plenty of this, and all were blessed, both the receivers and the donators.

“What ever you give to the poor and needy, the Divine receives it.”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABA FROM YOUR CHILDREN

Dear Baba, All the street school children of LDLM Wishes You A Very Happy Birthday!! Today I made a visit to Kalighat where all the street children came up dressed for the occasion Wishing their Baba A Very Happy Birthday! Food packets were distributed to the street children from the Mission. From there I went to our Garcha center where they made an elaborate arrangement to Celebrate Baba's Birthday. They had purchased a Birthday Cake for Baba with candles. We all sung Happy Birthday To You ! Happy Birthday Baba! They all offered the cake to Baba ... One child offered me a piece of cake with her own hands which I readily had. I also went to Swinhoe slums. There children came with Roses that they offered to their Dearest Baba and prayed to him. It was all joy and fun ! We all celebrated your Birthday knowing that your Blessings are always with us. We all love you. That's what the children had to convey to Baba. They have a complain why their Baba didn't come to visit them.. I told them he is with you all the time! From Babai in Kolkata

Baba's visit to Hingalganj on February 6, 2009

Baba, along with the Mission's guest Ann Shannon, made his annual visit to Hingalganj for the festival celebrating LDLM and its work. The villagers were overjoyed to see their Baba. The Self Help Group (SHG) women met Baba and escorted him to Baba Lokenath's Temple, which they e constructed with the Mission's help. Baba served 4,500 people food prepared by SHG women
with grains provided by the grain bank of Dulduli.



In the afternoon all SHG women came to meet Baba to discuss their achievements and the problems they are facing with their groups. The bank managers always give them trouble when withdrawing money from bank or a loan disbursement. Baba and LDLM Rural Program Director, Amalendu Haldar, presented details of a plan to Cluster SHGs in groups of 20. The bank manager will then have to deal with one very skilled committee that represents all SHG transactions and accounts. The committee will submit complaints to Bank officials if the bank managers obstruct the loan or banking process in any way.



Baba reminded the SHG women that the main target of the Mission is to make them economically independent and to believe in their own abilities. He assured them that Baba Lokenath's blessings are always with them in their endeavors to become self reliant, and that
the network of support that they provide to each other is an irreplaceable, precious safety net.



The villagers and SHG members then felicitated Baba and Ann and other guests with flowers. Then the children from the families of SHG members presented songs, poems, dance-drama and highly advanced yoga and gymnastics program that thrilled the crowd. Baba addressed the villagers and stressed the importance of this human body, how we are blessed as human beings to have organs like eyes, nose, ears, brain and heart, which gives us so many different types of senses. "Express your gratitude to the Lord for all these blessings and create awareness through the gift of your Body," Baba said. The villagers treasured every word Baba spoke.

Flexible to the Core, Yoga Students from Villages Perform at Annual Celebration

Baba's visit to Hingalganj on 6th Feb,'2009 -- Baba, along with the Mission's guest Ann Shannon, made a visit to Hingalganj for the festival they put on celebrating LDLM and its work for Baba's annual visit.

Flexible to the Core - Our yoga teacher Nimai Biswas showed us what we can do with our body through yoga. His students gave a spectacular show of yoga and gymnastics, including human pyramids, high wire feats with fire, and having 3 fully grown, strong men get inside a single, 1/3 meter steel circle . Ann just could not believe her eyes what she witnessed. She was busy snapping away with her camera. Everybody praised our yoga teacher for his work he is doing for the villagers through Lokenath Divine Life Mission.

A talented young painter and former LDLM preprimary studentand encouraged to continue developing his artistic skills.

Asgar Ali, a talented young painter and former LDLM preprimary student, had an exhibit of his work at the festival. Asgar had drawn a sketch of Baba which he showed and later presented to Baba. Baba was deeply touched by how Asgar had captured Baba's energy, and encouraged Asgar to continue developing his artistic skills.

Baba's Visit to Gosaba, Bijaynagar on 1st of February, 2009

Baba and our guest, Ann Shannon, were greeted in the Bali village by the Mission's project supervisors and Self Help Group women, as Baba landed from the boat to visit the Bengal Tiger Conservation Project compound. A huge crowd formed to welcome and escort Baba to the Mission's compound at Bijaynagar. The villagers celebrated every moment Baba was with them with broad, beaming smiles.

The SHG women prepared the food to be served to 8,000 villagers from the grains collected from their own, hard earned effort. This day is special, as all the nearby villages and villagers come to participate in what has become the favorite annual local festival. They are all served a meal. Baba served food with his own hands to the children and elderly.

In the evening, all the school children and students presented a wonderful, culturally rich program of poem recitals, elegant traditional dances, music, playful nature skits, and advanced yoga. Ann Shannon, the guest of LDLM, was overwhelmed by the extraordinary program, all of the effort and planning it obviously required, and the immense talent of the performers.

She was especially pleased to hear women's personal stories of the SHGs. The people of Gosaba were delighted to see their Baba and hear Baba's inspiring words, which they will carry to their heart for the next year. Baba spoke of the importance of lending a helping hand to one another other in leading a happy and prosperous life.