News
from Abroad
Nairobi
The Deputy Commissioner and his representative from Kenya
Scout Association visited the Sri Aurobindo Bhavan on 6 November
2007 and received twenty-four thousand mini booklets from
the Nairobi Centre.
Kenya prison Authority was presented a set of mini-booklets
together with an introductory letter and other reference letter
of acknowledgement from other Institutions with the view to
present booklets to the Prison Inmates. They reported that
they would contact the Nairobi Centre at the beginning of
the next year after the Christmas holidays and election. Similarly
a set of booklets together with an introductory letter would
be sent to the Kenyatta University.
On 1 December 2007 seven visitors from the USA including
Mr. Shane Jett, State Legislator from the House of Representative,
Oklahoma, visited Sri Aurobindo Bhavan and paid their homage
to Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. They were briefed about the
teachings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and the aim of their
Yoga. Booklets and other informative materials were presented
to them. One of the officials was a member of the House of
Representative representing Oklahoma.
A.P.
Annual State Conference - December 2007
Lighting of the Lamp by Dr. Manmohan Reddy
and Shri B. Venkatramaiah.
Also seen are Chief Guest Shri Rama Krishna, D.S.P. and Shri
V. Subba Rao
The 13th Annual State Conference of Andhra Pradesh was held
on 8 and 9 of December 2007 at Khammam. Inaugural session commenced
with the Mother's flag hoisting by Dr. Manmohan Reddy. Shri
K. Venkatewswara Rao, Secretary of the Khammam Centre, welcomed
the gathering. The inaugural address was given by Shri B. Venkatramaiah,
Chairman, A.P. State Committee, and the Secretary's report was
submitted by Shri V. Subba Rao. The Chief Guest was Shri Rama
Krishna, D.S.P., Khammam, who addressed the gathering briefly
and felt happy that the conference is being held in Khammam.
A view of the audience
In the afternoon session Guruprasad Memorial lecture was delivered
by Shri R.L. Kashyap, Director, Sri Aurobindo Kapali Sastry
Institute of Vedic Culture, Bangalore who spoke on the Secret
of the Veda of Sri Aurobindo and explained the symbolism in
the Vedas.
In the evening of the 1st day there was an interaction with
all the centres and branches of the Society. All chairmen and
secretaries of the Centres present attended.
Flower offering by devotees
The venue was decorated with beautiful flowers and the display
of messages, photographs exhibition etc. Society booklets and
magazines were exhibited, and the visitors were given information
about the Society.
Noida
(U.P.) - December 2007 Programmes
Spiritual Discourses:
1 - 3 December 2007: Three days' Programme on Meditation: A
Talk-cum-guidance on Meditation by Shri Vishwa Mohan Tiwari,
Air Vice Marshal (Retd.), was organised at the Sri Aurobindo
Bhavan. About 20 participants attended the programme.
4 December 2007: A talk on 'Rebirth - Its Mystery' by Mrs.
Deepshikha Reddy from Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Puducherry, was
organised at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan. The Talk was preceded by
Invocation and Bhajans by her. About fifty persons participated
in the programme.
5, 9 December 2007: A special collective meditation was held
on the above dates on the occasion of Sri Aurobindo's Mahasamadhi
Divas and the day His body was laid in Samadhi.
29 December 2007: A programme of Devotional Songs & Bhajans
on Sri Aurobindo and the Mother by Mrs. Kuntala Dasgupta was
held at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan.
11 December 2007: On the occasion of 3rd Anniversary of Dedication
of Sri Aurobindo Bhavan, the Holy Shrine was beautifully decorated
and was visited by the devotees and their families. In the evening,
they took part in the special collective meditation.
Education:
25 December '07: The Children of Sri Aurobindo Shiksha Niketan
celebrated Chirstmas festival. Woollen clothes, gifts and sweets
were distributed to the children. These children were told about
Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, and then they paid tributes at
the Holy Shrine.
Health:
10 - 14 December '07: The second Acupressure Therapy Training
Programme was organized. The Acupressure Training was imparted
by Mrs. Sudha Kesharwani, Acupressure Therapist, in association
with 'Acupressure Shodh, Prashikshan Evam Upachar Sansthan,
Allahabad'. Ten participants were benefited by the Programme.
Besides the above, Acupressure Treatment for two hours daily
from Monday to Friday by Mrs. Sudha Kesharwani at Sri Aurobindo
Bhavan is going on well. While giving treatment, she also uses
relevant quotations of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, and the
persons coming for acupressure treatment are evincing keen interest
in them.
Women Development:
Sewing & Tailoring Classes: Sewing & Tailoring Classes
are being conducted at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan by Smt Jaya Nigam
and about twenty ladies / girls are learning the same.
Other Activities:
Besides above, regular activities of Meditation with the Mother's
music daily in the morning and evening, library, Playing of
spiritual audio-video CDs etc. are being held regularly.
Seminar
on Integrated Approach to Health & Disease - October 2007
Dr. Yuvraj Kapadia and Neeta Kapadia from the International
Academy of Life, Mumbai, conducted a Seminar on 'Integrated
approach to health & disease' in the conference room of
Sri Aurobindo Society, Beach Office, Puducherry, from 30 October
to 3 November 2007. About 30 persons participated. The subjects
covered under the seminar were : Body Energy, Theory of the
Mind, Radical Healing, Healing Meditations, Procedure for Self
Hypnosis, Emotional Empowerment Technique, Erase etc.
Digboi
(Assam) - Golden Jubilee Celebrations, November 2007
The Digboi branch celebrated its Golden Jubilee on the 3rd
November 2007. The celebrations started with the hoisting of
the Mother's flag, followed by a collective meditation in the
morning. In the evening there was a public function which was
presided over by Shri Gopal Bhattacharjee. After the welcome
address by Dr. N.K. Bhattacharjee, Chairman of the Branch, a
selected portion of Sri Aurobindo's book 'The Mother' was read
out. This was followed by a chanting of a couple of slokas from
Srimad Bhagavad Gita. As a part of the celebrations and in order
to create an awareness of Sri Aurobindo's and the Mother's teachings
among the school children, competitions like recitation, declamation
etc. were held in which students of different schools of Digboi
participated. The first prize winner of the recitation competition
chanted a few lines from "Savitri" and for the declamation
competition, the winner gave a short speech on Sri Aurobindo.
After the Secretary's report on the activities of the Branch
Dr. S.K. Chakravorti delivered a speech. Shri Gopal Bhattacharjee
delivered a talk on the life of Sri Aurobindo with special reference
to the system of education of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.
Shri Bhattacharjee distributed prizes to the winners of various
competitions. The function concluded with invocation and distribution
of Prasad.
Raipur
(Chhattisgarh)
The Raipur Centre organised a lecture on 17 November 2007 on
"The Importance of Yoga in Modern Day Life" by Padmashri
Prof. Ramesh Chandra Shah. About 60 persons attended the Talk.
Chennai
(Tamil Nadu) - November 2007 programmes
The Chennai Branch arranged the following talks during the
month of November 2007:
Date Speaker
Topic
01.11.2007 Shri
M.K. Ramaswamy "Tests
in the Spiritual Field"
04.11.2007 Pulavar
Anu Vennila "Experiences
with the Mother"
11.11.2007 Prof.
Insuvai "The
Mother and the World"
18.11.2007 Shri
M.K. Ramaswamy "Recollecting
17th November 1973"
25.11.2007 Smt.
Kamala Rangachari "What
did the Mother say?"
Bhopal
(Madhya Pradesh)
On the occasion of anniversary of installation of Holy Relics
at Bhopal, Bhopal Branch organised the Sri Aurobindo Lecture
series-2007 on 16 December 2007. The topic was "Bhartiya
Samaj Me Adhyatmikta (Sprituality in Indian Society)".
Dr P.N. Chaturvedi, well known Educationist, was the main speaker.
Shri Ramesh Ranjan Tripathi presided over the function. Shri
Umesh Trivedi and Shri Manoj Sharma, Vice Chairman, also spoke
on this occasion.
In the morning meditation and Bhajan program was held at the
Auro mandir.
On the occasion of Geeta Jayanti, the Bhopal Branch organised
a talk on 20 December 2007. Shri Om Prakash Mishra was the main
speaker. Dr D.N. Joshi spoke on "Sri Aurobindo and Sri
Krishna".
Ratlam
(Madhya Pradesh)
A sadhana shivir on "Nayee Chetna (New Consciousness)"
was held at Ratlam from 5 to 9 December 2007. Dr. Alok Pandey
was the resource person. On the last day Shri Manoj Sharma from
Bhopal spoke on 'Destiny of India'. About 60 persons attended.
Ujjain
(Madhya Pradesh)
The Ujjain Centre organized a talk by Dr. Alok Pandey on 4
December 2007. The subject of the talk was "Sadhana in
Everyday life". About 60 people attended.
Lucknow
(U.P.) - Seminar on Integral Education, 9 December 2007
A seminar on Integral Education was organised by Dr. Meeta
Bisen at the National College auditorium, Lucknow, on 9 December
2007. The Chief Guest was Prof. R.J. Singh, Ex-Vice Chancellor
of Kashi Vidyapeeth, Varanasi. Dr. S.C. Tyagi and Dr. J.P. Singh
presided over the two different sessions of the seminar. The
other speakers were Dr. Subodh Kumar of Lucknow University,
Shri P.M. Saxena, Dr. N.B. Singh and Dr. D. Tewari. Dr. Brij
Bala from Varanasi conducted the proceedings. About 100 persons
attended the seminar. A few booklets published by the Society
were distributed to the participants.
Ballia
(U.P.) - Siddhi Day Celebrations, 24 November 2007
The Ballia Centre celebrated the Siddhi Day on 24 November
2007. The celebrations started with meditation with the Mother's
music, followed by a talk by Shri Jagannath Prasad, Treasurer,
on the significance and importance of the day and about the
Overmind Consciousness. Shri Ram Tiwari, Chairman of the Centre,
narrated the gradations of the consciousness.
