Lotuses in the Mud: The Slum Children of Vivek Vani

Vivek Vani Shiksha Kendra is a little educational centre with a difference. Acharya Gour Ganguly once said that man-making - the all round development of the human - was the main aim of education, and not simply preparing professional careerists. For five years now, Vivek Vani has been offering educational support to slum children in South Calcutta neighborhoods like Dhakuria and Barisha. But the deprived environment in which the children grow up means that a lot of emotional and spiritual nourishment will have to accompany the educational help that the slum youth receive in order to ensure that they develop adequate life skills. Hence the unique functioning style of Vivek Vani Shiksha Kendra.

And Vivek Vani's mentor teachers (or 'mothers' as they are called by the students) such as Gopa-Ma (Gopa Deb) and Maitreyi-Ma (Maitreyi Chakrabarty), committed volunteer teachers such as Subhasree Ghosh, and large-hearted people like the wonderful Canadian family of Irene Booth, Bob Booth and Sally Booth, Anand Deb, Dr. Rajyasree Ghosh, Sudeshna DattaGupta, Dr. Rita Ganguly, Mou Banerjee, Arati Banerjee, and Cdr. Ranjit Deb have given a lot of their time, energy and resources over the years to helping the children who come to Vivek Vani blossom to their fullest potential - the lotuses that grow from the deprivation of Calcutta's slums.

The Vivek Vani Shiksha Kendra school is the pride of these children. It is their place, where they can get some peace when life gets violent or saddening in their homes. The little ashram on the roof of our Calcutta Centre is a place where they often come, even when there are no classes, to get some serenity and quiet. I find it inspiring to see the young slum youth of various religions come to meditate or read in the evenings at our Vivek Vani ashram when others of their age in the slums are going astray into bad habits such as smoking, drinking, or veering towards fundamentalism, party-sponsored violence, or other activities.

Here they learn not just things like spoken and written English, but also leadership skills and life skills. Gopa-ma has taken special care to provide vocational training to the students of Vivek Vani, so that they can earn a little pocket money to supplement their poor families' meagre incomes and get a sense of self-worth. She has organised mushroom cultivation training - every winter, the students now grow and sell oyster mushrooms on their own. We hope to connect the students to other such training programmes in future too.

Children from all religious backgrounds take the initiative in organising various festivals where they showcase their hand-made greeting cards and their art and craft skills, and also share stories from their diverse cultural backgrounds. There are cultural activities where the students dance, learn singing, even a bit of theatre, public speaking, thus developing their personalities and gaining confidence. You'd be surprised to hear the young people speak at the prarthana sabhas of Bibek Anander Satsang - they speak with such insight and confidence, one would think they are seasoned public orators! They have developed depth of thinking about social issues and about life and work, exactly as Acharya-ji wanted it: "The poorest and meanest of men should get the chance to develop to their fullest potential."

It's not just about vocational training or personality development. Slowly, the students are developing a deeper knowledge of yoga and meditation, and adapting it to their specific cultural/religious backgrounds, accruing an open mind and a strong spiritual foundation that will sustain them and give them inner strength throughout life. They have realised that most difficult of things - they have to gain such power of truth and non-violence that they can become sources of light for others. All power to these young people, and their teachers and well-wishers past and present at Vivek Vani. Jai ho!

Where the Mind is Without Fear, and the Head is Held High

This is the story of how a non-violent satyagraha movement for stopping atrocities on women grew from strength to strength to develop a radical and holistic vision of a decentralized and borderless world.

In the 1970s, a little-known but significant movement for protecting women’s security and well-being happened in the tiny tribal-dominated state of Tripura. The state had been the place where many refugee populations had sought shelter in the wake of increasing communal violence and political instability in bordering Bangladesh. However, the rampant poverty in the refugee communities meant that women were being sexually exploited for even getting things like citizenship certificates or ration cards. So-called respected public employees, such as schoolteachers, were even selling girls across the border. Political leaders were silent on the women’s issue, as were state instruments like the police.

When trans-border trafficking in women and girls, and the problems of sexual harassment, eve-teasing and domestic violence in the socially unstable state remained largely neglected by both state and non-state organizations, including religious organizations, a group of women and men, of various economic and cultural backgrounds, gathered around the leadership of Acharya Gour Ganguly, and began, through regular prarthana (prayer) meetings, brainstorming to think of the ways in which they could draw the attention of the state to the problems of women, or solve them on their own. In the repressive years of the Emergency, when no substantial state or institutional support was forthcoming, a nonviolent grassroots campaign began under the name Matri Shakti Vahini.

The empowerment movement, based on nonviolent strategies using unconventional strategies such as spiritual practices, the cultivation of fearlessness and collective ethical transformation through mass meetings, and village-to-village walks for gathering the little resources of the common man, developed in its later states into a radical call for a no-tax campaign and boycott of all party politics because of the apathy of politicians and police alike in solving the problems of women, and the poor. This resulted in the surveillance of Gour Ganguly’s activities by the government during and after the Emergency years, the worst years of state coercion in post-independence Indian history.

Along with the vision of decentralization were calls by his organisation, Bibek Anander Satsang, for the re-consideration of India’s indiscriminate move towards Western-style development, and the idea of a pyramidal economy where power and decision-making would flow from the base upwards to the top. Acharya Ganguly envisioned a peaceful satyagraha to make village after village self-ruled with a strong ethical base. For this, a drive to encourage self-employment was initiated among poor urban, refugee and village communities in Agartala and its surrounding districts, because the Matri Shakti Vahini led by Acharya Ganguly realized that poverty alleviation would be a major step in reducing the social behavior that threatened women’s lives, security and self-respect. The proposed peaceful methods such as no-tax campaigns, and direct elections of deserving candidates in neighborhoods and villages on a nonparty basis were a radical rejection of the way in which the contemporary state functions. Today the places in Agartala where street harassment of women was so rampant that women felt unsafe, are a totally safe space for them.

But the larger questions that the movement raised remain. What happens when common men in villages and poorer communities, that do not find their needs satisfied by a centralized and insensitive state, initiate a move towards radical decentralization, through nonviolent methods? A confidential Emergency-era dossier on Gour Ganguly revealed that he was ‘dangerous because he seeks to make the general populace fearless.’ If political parties and the state cannot solve the problems of the common man, then the creation of fearlessness can be the first catalyst for local and global change…”

Stories of Extraordinary Courage

Acharya Sri Sri Gour Ganguly Maharaj was the epitome of fearlessness. His inspiration as a child and as a young man was Swami Vivekananda, the man who himself as a child had shown no fear, either of natural or of supernatural things.I remember when he told us how at the tender age of ten he drove his father’s Morris car around the city. At an even younger age (in primary school), he had led a band of children to throw stones at the British jailors under whom the revolutionary leader Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had been imprisoned. He was so small then that the jail superintendent had to pick him up and carry him to hand over to Bipin Behari Ganguly!

He had no fear as a child – he would often sit alone in the terrible deathly silence of the cremation ground at Keoratala to think about life, death and the human condition. Later in life, when he penned his immortal tract ‘Jeevan Sameeksha,’ he said that the moment the individual became free of fear and unfulfilled desires, he realized that there was no such thing as death, and thus became truly free.

The time of the Indian freedom struggle saw the new trend of Indians, for the first time, engaging in physical culture, building up their bodies to be strong and battle-ready for revolution. Every neighbourhood had a place where young men, inspired by the ideal of Swami Vivekananda, practiced laatthi-khela (fighting with sticks), wrestling, and other martial arts. As a young man, Acharyadev shone even in this martial culture. After his return from Oxford and Sandhurst, he would demonstrate his skills in stick-fighting to inspire other young men. The whole street would be filled with a hundred skilled stick fighters, and he would fight his way from one end of the street to the other.

The stories of Acharyadev’s fearlessness are thrilling to hear. Once, when he was a high-security political prisoner of the British Raj, he received the news that his mother had passed away. As the eldest son, he had to perform the last rites. But the British allowed him to go to the cremation ground only under heavy police escort. Near the ghat, the Adi Ganga still flowed at that time. He performed his mother’s last rites, and then had a quiet word with his brother Nripen, about his future plan. Then, as if he was going to take a dip in the holy Ganges, he stepped into the water. Before the British police escorts knew it, he was gone, swimming underwater. He had the ability to hold his breath for phenomenally long periods because of his pracctice of pranayama, and he surfaced far away from the ghat, having stunned the British police once again.

When Rashbehari Bose was in Burma consolidating the INA ( the revolutionary Indian National Army) along with Netaji, he had sent out a call to all able-bodied men to join the armed struggle. Acharyadev was in Calcutta at that time, on the run from the British. He could not go to Burma by ship or by the known land routes as he was wanted by the police, and would be caught if identified. So he decided to attempt the impossible – to walk from Calcutta to Mandalay in Burma. Without any luggage or even weapons for self-defence, he entered into the dangerous jungles of Burma. He had no food supplies with him. During the day, as he moved south-east, he would watch which fruits the birds ate. This meant that these were not poisonous, and he ate them, and drank the water of forest streams. At night, he would climb a tree and tie himself to the branch with his gamchha (handspun towel) so that he was relatively safe from wild animals as he rested. Thus, after a long and dangerous trek, he reached Mandalay and went to meet Rashbehari Bose. Such was his desire to join Netaji’s INA that not even the deadliest of jungles could curb his enthusiasm.

Often Acharyaji would narrate the stories of his courage laughingly, as if they were part of a game. Yet, the events indicate a courage beyond the ordinary. For example, once, he told us the story of 'bhalluker jor’ or ‘bear’s fever.’ Apparently, according to folklore, a bear often gets a sudden fever suddenly, and a hair plucked from a bear while it has fever is a cure for human fever. After mentioning this folklore, Gour Baba went on to narrate how a huge bear had once chased him. Using his presence of mind, he began to run around a tree. The bear too began chasing him round and round the tree. After a long time, the bear became dizzy and fell down. It was shivering with fever. Acharyaji noticed this and stopped running but unlike ordinary people, did not use the chance to run away. Instead, he remembered what the locals had told him about the medicinal value of the hair of a feverish bear. He walked up to the bear, bent down, and plucked two or three hairs from it before walking away.

In another episode, in the jungles near Ranchi, he was cycling down a forest path when he found a leopard sitting in the middle of the road. Instead of trying to flee, which would have been futile given the speed of the leopard, he cycled straight at the leopard. Caught off-guard at being charged at, the surprised leopard ran away. Thus, rather than becoming afraid, he made fear itself run away!

According to Gour Baba, one needs to be fearless and greedless in order to be fit to do social service or janaseva. Fearless, because one should have to stand up for what one believes is right in the face of resistance or threat from others. Greedless, because one has to carry the trust of many people when one is engaged in public service, and one cannot abuse the power that one has. Many times in his life, when he tried to reform the social situation in different parts of India, including Tripura, people threatened to kill him. But he carried on. His fearlessness in turn inspired many others.In Tripura he inspired ordinary women to fight against eve-teasing and atrocities on women, a movement that is unique in the history of the region.But that is a story for another blog post.

Today, we need the same indomitable courage to set things right in our lives and our surroundings. As Swamiji and Gour Baba have demonstrated, weakness is death, strength is life. Let us choose life, not the in-between existence of weaklings.

Mass Prayer

Why does Bibek Anander Satsang place so much emphasis on mass prayer? The spiritual force that individual prayer generates is multiplied many times when prayer is done collectively. The force generated by prayer radiates the whole area where the mass prayer is being held. The power generated by the mass prayer (ganaprarthana) is so immense that it can be harnessed for healing, for removing social injustices, and for spiritual upliftment and peace at individual, familial, national and global levels. Positive changes come about in the minds and hearts of people in the radius of the prayer meeting, as far as the vibrations of the prayer meeting travel. If done properly, mass prayer can remove much of the prarabdha karma that is the cause of our bondage. Gour Baba would say that those who attended prayers regularly would find that many potential disasters in their lives were passing them by, or causing a minimal discomfort.

Many devotees find that they become spiritually uplifted when they attend the prayer meeting. The kundalini shakti rises, and this charging of one's 'spiritual battery' lasts till the next prayer meeting, if accompanied by a little daily practice of contemplation. When Acharya Sri Gour Ganguly would fall ill because of the accumulation of the sufferings he had absorbed from others, he would tell his devotees to organise a prayer meeting, saying,"Prathana sabha korle-i aami bhalo hoye jaabo" (I will become well if there is a prayer meeting). Many like me who have attended prayer meetings regularly over many years find they can sense the times when a spiritual current flows through the gathering, marking the presence of spiritual masters like Sri Ramakrishna, Ma Sarada, Swami Vivekananda and Gour Baba. When I was a student, I would attend prayer meetings even if they were on the eve of major exams. I never regretted it, and today, many of my Vivek Vani Shiksha Kendra students also attend prayer meetings no matter what, and find that their lives are gently aided and guided by divine blessings.

Mass prayer does not necessarily mean that thousands of people have to be present. Even of a few truly spiritual persons are present, and are praying in a focused way, the prayer meeting can be just as effective. However, some things must be kept in mind to ensure the efficacy of the prayer. The people at the prayer meeting must leave all disputes and differences behind when when they sit for the prayer, otherwise the negative vibrations are clearly felt, and disturb the tranquility of the mass prayer and meditation. Just as there must be a few minutes of complete silence (inner and outer) before the prayer meeting, there must not be useless chattering immediately after the prayer. Feel and enjoy the power absorbed from the gana prarthana - by talking unnecessarily and socialising after prayer, one is frittering away the good vibes that must be held on to and cultivated.

After every prayer meeting, Gour Baba would ask us what we thought the impact of the prayer meeting was. In this he was teaching us something. Quality assessment. Every prayer meeting must strive to be of the highest standard in terms of choice of songs, readings, discussions - there can be no slackness - so that each time equally high levels of spiritual power are generated. We should tune in to the reactions and feedback of the people who attended the prayer meeting and strive to improve on the previous prayer. In emphasizing the need to assess the impact of each prayer meeting, he was teaching us to be aware that it is through the prayer meeting that we generate our inner power. The mass prayer is the dynamo of Bibek Anander Satsang.

Vivek Vani

OM

Vivek Vani is the journal of Bibek Ananader Satsang. This year, it completes 10 years - cause for celebration! It was originally conceived to be a combination of the spirit of Netaji Subhas Bose's Forward and Mahatma Gandhi's Harijan periodicals. It is published in four languages - English, Bengali, Hindi and Kakbarak, which is the main Indigenous language of Tripura.It follows in the footsteps of Anandadhara, another publication of Bibek Anander Satsang that was brought out by devotees in Tripura for a few years. Vivek Vani is a blend of articles on the ideas of Acharya Gour Ganguly, Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda, apart from writings on practical spirituality, botany and natural healing, yoga, science, and poetry. We will be archiving some of the best of Vivek Vani down the years on this blog.

Easter Sunday 2009: A Day for New Beginnings

OM

I hope that we can develop this blog to share meaningful insights on Yoga, philosophy, spiritual and social service. Maybe even try to read contemporary local and global events in the light of the teachings of the Indian spiritual masters down the ages.

A little about the organisation which lends its name to this blog. Bibek Anander Satsang is an organisation dedicated to implementing the vision of a world where science and spirituality collaborate for the harmonious all-round development of the individual and the community: "We visualize the dawn of a new civilization where all cultures will blend harmoniously, giving scope to all and destroying none." The organisation was founded by Acharya Sri Sri Gour Ganguly (1920-2003) in Agartala, Tripura, (India) as a mass movement or satyagraha to stop atrocities on women, and to create an alternative paradigm of a decentralised, ethical and sustainable society where even the poorest of people would get the scope to realise their fullest potential.

The blog will, over time, present various facets of Acharya Gour Ganguly's thought, and will enable people to post questions/discussions about spirituality, the Satsang's work and philosophy, and about the life and vision of Acharya Gour Ganguly.

The quarterly journal of the organisation, Vivek Vani, will also be discussed this site, and people can write responses to the articles in Vivek Vani at this site.