Category: Seva
selfless service, sadhana, and its joy
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Vision Camp at UttarKashi
Cataract removal and Lens implant Camp Amma had instructed that we should have medical camps in our new Uttarkashi camp. As per these instructions we had a camp earlier where a group of doctors and para-medics visited many villages holding camps there and ultimately conducted a general medical camp in our ashram. In collaboration with the Society for Prevention of Blindness, we planned to conduct cataract removal operations, the screening for the same being done in our Uttarkashi ashram. It was a first time for us. A group of 12 volunteers from Delhi set out with whatever we could carry.…
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Comparing God to the Mahatma- Sabarimala
I just got back from an ecstatic trip to Sabarimala. As you know, under Amma’s instructions most of the ashramites, several hundreds of students, overall around 4000 volunteers have spent the last 3 days in cleaning up Sabarimala- one of India’s most sacred and most visited pilgrimage spots. As usual, whenever I undertake anything that Amma says, there is a a beauty and wisdom hidden waiting for me to see and experience. This trip was again a great example. This was my first trip to Sabarimala. I have heard of Sabarimala right from childhood of course – my best friend’s…
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When 3 in Glee
26 Sep 2011, Amritapuri It’s hard to find people who think and feel for their fellow beings. Their sense of pride limits themselves in many ways. For instance, no one would care to direct people to dustbins as they feel that it’s a shame for them and it’s not their responsibility. I was astonished to see a westerner who was standing next to a dustbin and directing people as per their needs; either to the dustbin or to the food stalls. He ensured that they got all the help that they needed. I was curious to know about him.…
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When the earth was pitching up and down
7 April 2011 It was the night of the seventh of April, and I had just fallen asleep in our tent. We were camping along with hundreds of other volunteers on the lawn of a local university, which had been transformed into the headquarters for the relief efforts in Ishinomaki. Half an hour before midnight, an earthquake of magnitude 6.0 suddenly hit. It felt as if the earth was pushing me straight up. It seemed like it lasted forever. I’ve experienced earthquakes before, but they have always been sort of a rolling sensation. This time, the earth was pitching…
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By putting myself in their shoes, I shared my heart
6 April 2011 On the third day, we were asked to aid Otschi-Cho, in the prefecture of Iwate. An IVUSA staff member who is very experienced in disaster relief joined me and two other students. Just like Minami-Sanriku, Otsuchi-Cho seemed to have vanished. When we arrived at Otsuchi-Cho Town Assembly Hall, there were many volunteers gathered there. After getting in touch with our local contact, we were taken to our assigned house. The work was similar to that in Kawakita—sweeping dirt from house and removing furniture. The flooring also had to be ripped out, and the sludge gathered underneath the…
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A heartwarming impression
5 April, 2011 On the second day, the IVUSA representative, a staff member, two students and I paid a visit to a town called Minami-Sanriku. There, we picked up various required supplies, like soap, shampoo and toothbrushes. We also took 20 cases of vegetable juice and cough drops, as many of the volunteers had developed sore throats due to sleeping in the chill coastal air. When we left, our car was fully loaded. Every single house on the coast in Minami-Sanriku had been washed away. In fact, it was hard to believe that a village had once been there. It…
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Put yourself aside and think about others
On the fourth of April, we had returned to Ishinomaki. There were 51 volunteers this time—28 IVUSA (International Volunteer Student Association) members and 20 students from Kokushikan University Sports Medicine Department. After we arrived, we set up a large tent to use as our head office and one for cooking. Next to them, we set up about nine more tents to sleep in. If we really pack ourselves in—like sardines in a can—we we able to fit five or six of us in a tent. But there was no room to even roll over! The first thing we did was…