Meet Sanjay...

When Sanjay’s father was in second grade, his teacher slapped him on the hand with a ruler one day for misbehaving. He never went back to school. “Because I was afraid of being hit again, I missed out on an education. I want Sanjay to realize I am doing majoori (labor) work because I am uneducated”

Sanjay and his family live in Ram Rahim no Tekro, a slum area in Old Ahmedabadfamous for the communities of Hindus and Muslims that live side-by-side. Both his parents do majoori, and are desperate for their children to find a way out of their difficult and unstable lifestyle.

A few years ago, Sanjay began ragpicking to earn some extra income for his family, who were in danger of losing their home. He would go through mountains of rubbish in the slums around his home and collect enough scraps of paper to earn about 30 rupees per day.

“My neighbor’s son was ragpicking near the river once, and he got swept away,” Sanjay explained. “I was afraid something like that would happen to me, or that I would get kidnapped.”

The conditions were unimaginable and dangerous, especially for a 10-year old boy, but Sanjay continued ragpicking for several months to help his family.

“As a laborer, you can’t always expect the work to be pleasant.”

Sanjay’s parents hope that EKATVA will equip their son with the tools to build a lifestyle that is not based on hard labor. But it was not clear from the beginning whether Sanjay would be a good fit for this journey. Unlike the other children who were selected based on their potential as performers, strong academics and attitude, Sanjay does not particularly excel in any of these criteria.

He does not show natural talent as a dancer, and his schoolwork is poor. His mother describes him as absentminded, “When I send him to the market to buy five things, he will only come back with one,” she explained.

            “It’s like things fly out of my mind when I need to remember them,” he says. This forgetfulness, in addition to his tendency toward mischief, made him an unlikely candidate for this demanding journey.

            But although Sanjay’s qualifications seemed lacking on paper, he has demonstrated an impressive commitment to EKATVA. Everyday for over three months, he made the 40-minute bus trip across the Sabarmati River that divides Ahmedabad, to reach EKATVA practice after school.

            “In the beginning, I was afraid that I would get on the wrong bus and end up in God-knows-where,” Sanjay said.

            He has earned the trust of his parents, who do not hesitate to send him unaccompanied, and his teachers at Manav Sadhna, who have witnessed his street smarts and dependability.

            Although the responsibility of travelling alone has not always been easy, Sanjay doesn’t mind putting in the extra effort.

“Bad things take no time at all to finish,” Sanjay says. “It’s the good things that take a long time and hard work. For good things, you have to sweat.”

Seva Cafe: Giving is Living

Seva Café is an experiment in the shared joy that comes from humble giving and selfless service. As we serve, we internalize the mantra of "Atithi Devo Bhava" which translates to "The Guest is God," a deep and ancient Indian view that honors each guest with reverence.

This was the experiment we wanted the kids to experience yesterday and today. Yesterday we took the Jamaalpur, Shankarbhuvan and Rama Pir No Tekra kids (9) and today we took the Ashramshalla kids (7). The kids truly enjoyed themselves in selfless service: washing dishes, cleaning tables, serving water, and welcoming guests.

After the kids were done volunteering, then we all sat down for a beautiful meal. This was the kids' first time ever eating at a 'resataurant' and so certain things needed to be explained, like what a fork is, and how you have to use a napkin to keep your mouth and hands clean. The beautiful thing was though it was all we could eat, there was no food wasted at all.

Sanjay ordered pasta thinking it was a grilled cheese sandwich. After a while, he asked me, 'do i have to eat this, i thought this pasta was supposed to be a sandwich". My response was simple, "Yes, please finish what you ordered. And next time ask. Make a habit of asking. Never assume, especially with stuff like this that you have never seen or had before." I kinda felt bad, but he understood and he needs to get in a habit of asking more, so this was a good chance for painless lesson.

Overall, the kids loved it! And want to know when they can come back to serve at Seva Café!

The joy of giving…

Love.

Here’s more background on Seva Café:

When you dine at Seva Café, you are not viewed as a customer, but instead as a treasured guest, as part of the Seva Café family.

Seva means service. When immersed in the heart of Seva, one finds a pathway to the Divine, and its this connectedness to which we ultimately aspire. Volunteering at Seva Café is a conscious exercise in staying tuned to that deep and true space of genuine service.

Our wholesome vegetarian meals are cooked and served with love by volunteers and by a small, modestly paid staff - mostly graduates from Manav Sadhna's Earn N' Learn program. Our menu changes daily and we offer a delicious variety of options, both Indian and continental.

When you dine at Seva Café, your meal is offered to you as a genuine gift, already paid for in full by previous guests. You become part of a Circle of Giving, which is modeled more closely to that of a family. Here, there are no bills. We leave it to you to pay it forward with your heart.

We hope everyone - volunteers, staff, and guests alike - all leave this space feeling more nourished - body, mind, and spirit - and that together we can help set in motion a more abundant, more generous mode of interacting that leaves everyone feeling happier and more closely connected. The inequities of our world derive from our own internal walls of separation from one another. As we grow in Seva, we leave these walls behind.

All of our costs and income are made clearly transparent, and 100% of any profits we take in are used to support social service projects. Please join us in participating in this genuine experiment in selfless service.

May we all grow together in love.

Circle of Sharing: Ravana and Lanka

After practice today, we entered our prayer and circle of sharing. Its nice to see how a consistent forum and safe environment for children can lead them to opening up and sharing very beautiful, random things. Sanjay, raised his hand today during our circle of sharing. He said: “Did you know that Ravan, in the Ramayan, didn’t always own Lanka. It was gifted to him by Lord Shiva.” I was surprised to hear that. I never quite studied our Indian Mythology, but this fact did come as a surprise to me. So I did my research. And there was definitely some validity to his sharing:

Following his conquest of Lanka, Ravana encountered Shiva at his abode in Kailash. Ravana at first went to meet Shiva. Nandi the vehicle of Shiva, refused to let Ravana in. He got annoyed and started teasing Nandi. Nandi in turn got annoyed and cursed Ravana that LANKA would be destroyed by a monkey. To show NANDI his love for Shiva, Ravana attempted to uproot and move the mountain on a whim. Shiva, annoyed by Ravana's arrogance, pressed his littlest Toe on Kailash, pinning him firmly and painfully under it. His ganas informed Ravana of whom he had crossed, upon which Ravana became penitent. He composed and sang songs praising Shiva, and is said to have done so for years until Shiva released him from his bondage.

So according to this, maybe Lanka was not necessarily gifted to Ravana by Lord Shiva, but I can see how Sanjay may have heard this or interpreted this from the above facts. Either way, its exciting to have a forum where our kids can share random tidbits of information whenever they'd like.