Swami's clear focus in this satsang was his hope and vision for building community and carrying out particularly needed lines of endeavour in India.

Swami opening with prayer

He began by saying how happy he was to return home following his vacation in Goa after completing his latest book, The Revelations of Christ" . He'd been pleased to find that the cottages where he and several Ananda leaders from Italy and the USA were staying (the Taj Exotica) were designed just as he'd hoped for Ananda Village in California when it was first built: independent yet connected living units with a similar "look and feel". The fledgling community preferred a more individualized style at that time, so he yielded, preferring to insist on more spiritually important matters. But, he said, it is his hope that the style of the vacation cottages might serve as a prototype when Ananda communities are built in India. Here are pictures of these cottages.

After speaking further about some of his main proposals for the community in India, Swami turned over the remainder of the satsang to Sangha members invited to describe projects on which they'd been working on with his blessing and encouragement.

First came Amol Parkhi, who recently returned to India from England with his family and now works on the solar energy team. He made the apt observation that as Swami encourages development of both inner light and outer light, the solar project helps accomplish the latter! Amol and Kent White then demonstrated several team accomplishments to date. They switched on solar-powered light in not only a lamp but also other light sources such as a torch (flashlight). The team even plans to use solar power in mobile phone chargers. While others have already succeeded in harnessing solar power, the team wants to make it available at very low cost, which would be especially good news for rural India. Dharana Brown explained some of the technology behind the project and said the team hopes to have a prototype ready within a few months. He asked for prayers to support the project.

Kent, Amol, and Dharana bringing light to their subject

Vijay Girard then talked about the Material Success programme. It has been well received in the corporate world, including some of India's leading companies. Indian management is quite aware of both the need and the difficulty to live by traditional dharmic and yogic principles in today's corporate world. Vijay and his expanding team have traveled to many locations in India doing corporate presentations. This format has attracted greater interest so far than the study group format with which the Material Success course began in the West.

Vijay

Material Success has its own Web site for further information about presentations and classes, as well as a periodic newsletter.

 

A trio of energy: Stuti, Cecilia, and Priti

Stuti Mody, a business and finance consultant, described her work with Elizabeth Palmer in developing the Harmony at Work enterprise, using the principles of Material Success to make the workplace environment more harmonious. She explained that training is about to start for Sangha members interested in taking various aspects of the message of harmony out to the work world.

Cecilia Patitucci, who came in the early days of Ananda India from the Assisi (Italy) branch, spoke about her Anjali Khadi Clothing Company and how it promotes the use of khadi, one of Mahatma Gandhi's cherished goals. The Anjali fashion line is doing well in Europe and America. The company's success is a financial benefit for not only Ananda but also many poor women in villages who spin the cloth used in the clothing line. Cecilia movingly described her travels across India to many of the villages to personally meet these women.

Last to speak was Priti Issar, whose real estate background has often helped Ananda Sangha settle into the local area. She described a joint project that she and Ananda will begin on property she has owned for some time but never developed. A nursery school will operate in the mornings. In the afternoons, teacher training will be offered in the "education for life" principles on which Ananda's schools have been based.

After such exciting examples of what has already been accomplished in Ananda Sangha's three years in India, Swami closed with another open invitation to join hands in building community.

Satsang attendees considering Swami's invitation

That invitation was a high note on which to end the satsang just a month before the celebration of the Mahasamadhi of our Guru, who over half a century ago urged going "north, south, east and west to cover the earth with little colonies, demonstrating that simplicity of living plus high thinking lead to the greatest happiness!"