Connecting with Animals

The other day, baby Gaffar Khan interrupted our practice. His sister Satya was not around, but we all truly enjoy having Mallika Didi’s dogs in the Darpana grounds. Nature and animals are the same as God. And we are lucky when we get the chance to connect with them. 

Conversation: EKATVA Into Our Daily Lives

Today, Rakeshbhai, from Travel Center, a local travel agency came by to visit us after dance practice. He manages the acquisition of clients’ passports and we were kindly connected to him through Darpana. I called him over because the actual passport process is very intricate and becomes much more complex when the people we are seeking passports for are children that don’t have typical addresses, proofs of residence, birth certificates, etc.

Here is a typical home address of one of our kids:

“Hanuman Na Mandhir Same, Nadi Kinare, Ram-Rehim Nagar Tekra, Beherampura, Jamalpur, Ahmedabad”

“In front of the Hanuman Temple, by the River, in the Ram-Rehim slum area, Jamalpur town, Ahmedabad”.

With the amount of challenges we may go through along this journey, we gathered the kids around so that the kids can understand the challenges of this entire experiment just a tad bit more. The amount of energy, sacrifice and love that so many people are putting into this experiment of ‘love and potential’ is enormous. The conversation led to a variety of topics, but most importantly the meaning of EKATVA moving forward.

So far this EKATVA journey has been one of us experimenting with truth and love as a group within the context of when we get together. What we pushed further on in this conversation with the kids, was that if this experiment was going to continue moving forward, we all need to grasp the meaning of EKATVA not only in this project, but push it strongly into all aspects of our personal lives. Then and only then will this project’s meaning start taking shape. If not, its not worth the trouble.

This conversation was important because I really want the kids to start examining and experimenting with the values and ideas that they are learning through Ekatva, into their personal lives: at home, at school, with their friends and family, etc.

Keeping the world clean, doesn’t only mean doing so when we are in a group and we are doing daily cleaning activities. No. It means, understanding the good behind why we want to keep the world clean and doing so at home, in our neighborhood, wherever  we may be walking, whenever people may not be looking.

Being kind or doing acts of kindness, doesn’t only mean doing so when we are in a group and we are doing kindness activities. No. It means understanding the feeling and the reason why we should be kind and serving others outside of our project, because our heart says it’s the right thing to do.

This conversation to me is a big step with the kids. Because I want this to be a primary focus moving forward: bringing EKATVA into our personal lives, outside of our project.

It’s tough to expect this out of children of this age. But I wouldn’t doubt their abilities either. The kids are brilliant and resilient and have ripe seeds inside of them. We just need to keep walking on the path and let nature take its course. The conversation we had today was extremely important, but was just a tiny dot on the journey.

Love.

Finding Nature in the City

EKATVA means the spirit of oneness within. The spirit of oneness with each other. The spirit of oneness with nature. The latter, is sometimes hard to find in the middle of the city. Luckily we were blessed with the opportunity to meet with loving friends of Jayeshbhai and Anardidi. They are true nature devotees. Winner of the best Garden in Gujarat award many years over, when asked, they were more than ready to share their garden with our children.

Their gardeners, all 6 of them, take approximately 3 hours each day (18 man hours daily) to water the entire garden everyday. So we asked if we could bring the eighteen of us over to give the gardeners a break and allow us an opportunity to serve the earth, the trees, the grass and the flowers. Tina Didi and Beharam Bhai were more than willing and so warm about their invitation.

We had the children close their eyes and walk into the garden without taking a peak.

Then only after prayer and meditation, we had the kids open their eyes. They were in true joy as their eyes opened.

We continued to ‘treat the flowers, trees and grass as if they were our own kids’, with love and compassion.

It was a beautiful experience and served as a genuine reminder for the necessity to constantly stay connected to nature.

After we were done watering the plants, we had a chance to go to Tina Didi’s nearby farm and enjoy the vegetables, water buffalo and scarecrow.

Nature is truly man’s medicine for all the mental suffering we create in our minds. The true definition of peace. Nature brings an effortless spirit of oneness into our beings.

Love and Deep Gratitude.

Oneness with Animals

Getting to a space of oneness is a challenging, lifelong process. One small step towards that spirit is connecting with and valuing animals and nature in the same intensity that we do mankind. One small step towards that space is valuing the life and death of animals. One small practice that we have taken habit to with our kids is the practice of prayer and a loving burial ceremony for dead animals that we may find along our path. Yesterday, after dance practice, while we were cleaning a nearby park, one of the kids found a dead pigeon. We dug a hole in the garden and gave its body a peaceful resting space. We shared some time in silence and in individual prayer. This type of practice is healing to our spirit, because it helps us realize the equal importance of everything.

Life. Death. Love.

Love through Cards

The other day, we received news that Anandi-ba had been taken to the hospital for treatment after a car accident. She remained there for a few days. With Jagatbhai's help and love, we decided to create a card for her to share our spirit of love, prayers, and hope for her early recovery. We also wanted to convey to her our gratitude, that through her blessings and seeds, we are all here on the path that we are. Thank you and glad you are feeling better Anandi Ba.

-Your children

During this same time, there was one other person very close to our hearts that we also wanted to send a card to. Someone that none of us know, but we know she is a very loving human being going through difficult times, and we wanted to share our love and the spirit of the kids with her and her son.

Here is a snippet of an email from her:

“When I gave birth to my son in September, he was born with congenital heart defects. He has already had one heart surgery and will need several more…

 As you could understand, my priorities need to shift at this time, so I will be unable to keep shipping the [smile] cards, as there will be times when we are having long stays in hospital, and I wont be close by to my computer or the supplies.”

With deep love, hope, prayers and faith to you and your son Traci.

-The world's loving children

EKATVA in Egypt

When other parts of the world are going through turmoil, strife, and difficulty; we must try to be in the spirit of hope, prayer and faith.

Dedicated to our Peaceful Truth Seekers in Egypt. We can only wish, pray and hope the truth of love and peace prevail.

Love, children from the slums of Ahmedabad. A group of kids dedicated to nurturing a movement of oneness. Love.

Arising and Passing...

Today we did prayer at practice and then flowed into meditation. We’re at a good space now where if I don’t say anything then the kids know to just focus on breath in and out of the naustrils. For some reason today felt right to take the next step. As we were meditating I told the kids to now not only focus on their breath, but also be conscious of not moving any part of their body for the next few minutes – meaning no moving their legs up and down, no moving their hands, fingers, head, etc. I did let them know if they felt a dying urge to move something then they can go ahead and do so.

After meditation was done they shared their thoughts. Vicky shared his experience, saying that he was doing good, but then some type of itch came on his face. After trying to not move for over a minute, he finally had to give in because the itch felt too strong and he moved his hand up and scratched his face.

This led me to an example that Goenka Ji always gives during Vipassanna. That if there is an itch or sensation on our body, it will not remain with us for the rest of our lives or even for the rest of the day, if we don’t attend to it. So I was telling Vicky and the kids that next time an itch comes, to really try hard to fight it and don’t pay attention to it. Let it arise and pass. Just watch it. This is the journey of life and all that exists. Arising and passing. Impermanence. If we are able to watch it come and go, we can really take away most of the suffering we are all going through.

We then continued on a conversation of Buddha and his primary teachings of impermanence and equanimity and how important it is to understand this concept. I do hope to dig further into this topic through time with the kids, but for today we had a great introduction.

After this discussion, Bharat raised his hand and shared a story where he was once being bit by an ant. Instead of flicking it off and itching the bite, he just observed it and right at that instant, for some reason or another, the ant stopped biting. Also, he didn’t rub it or itch it, so the bite didn’t actually become worst. It was nice to see his connection with our discussion.  

I’m excited to see how and when we can extend this conversation on impermanence and balance in the future for the kids to digest.

Continue walking.

Love.

1st Vali (Parents) Meeting

How can one explain the feeling felt when a deep longing joy within a child is shared with their parents. Well, that and much more, happened today, all within the span of 2 hours.

Over three months ago Bharat and I met with all the kids’ parents at each and everyone of their slum houses. This is when we had 26 kids selected and we were looking to narrow down to 18. Some kids lived very far and most others were within 2-8 kilometers proximity. Going to each home has gave us an opportunity to learn more about our kids, their families, their family and home environments, economic conditions, etc.  Each of those meetings were primarily to begin the process of developing a relationship, gain an understanding and verbal commitment from the parents that they were willing to support us and their kids through this project. Their support really means, supporting their children emotionally and mentally. Making sure the kids are studying at home and be willing to have their kids come to practice daily and come back home late.

Three months later, we had our first Vali Meeting (parents meeting)here at Manav Sadhna, Gandhi Ashram. It was truly powerful!

We had been telling the kids all week to tell both of their parents to arrive at 4pm on Friday, January 9^th, 2011. I even pseudo-threatened the kids that if both parents don’t come out, then we’ll assume that they are not supporting you in this project and we may have to take you out. In these types of meetings, it is usually always the case that the fathers do not come. Mainly because they are either working (many labor workers) who cannot take time off their job due to obvious financial reasons, or they are drinkers, which makes it difficult for them to come. For example, yesterday, I went to the Shankarbhuvan Slum area to talk to the kids’ parents, because Vicky, Vishal and Dharmaji all said that their fathers would not make it. As I met with their fathers I found out, Vicky’s father was half drunk, Vishal’s father was sick and Dharmaji’s father said he has to work tomorrow. Through some good conversation, I was able to convince Vicky’s father not to drink tomorrow and come and Dharmaji’s father to skip work for 2 hours to join. Wow, I thought, that wasn’t too hard….Come today, the fathers did not show up. All the mom’s showed up, and about half the fathers showed up, which I hear is still a really good turnout.

So the parents show up. We have them sit outside and fill out a form with all their information and confirmation that they support our kids for the project and even if we have to take the kids out of the city, state or country. Our eventual objective with the actual production of the show is to tour, so everyone should be prepared well in advance to support the idea of their kids going to other parts of the country or world if that ends up being the case. The parents tend to be very supportive, they almost see us as their kids’ second parents. The only thing they are truly concerned about is their childrens’ safety.

Once we reached around 430pm, Jayeshbhai and Virenbhai (our founders and soul and spirit of Manav Sadhna) came inside, as well as our kids. We gave our kids one white rose each and 2 beautiful hand-crafted puffy heart pins. They made two lines facing each other at the entrance of the door and then Jagatbhai started playing the dholak live. The parents were invited into the Manav Sadhna home and we welcomed them with love. Bharat and I were at the front door. The parents would walk by us first so we would bow down and touch their feet with love and respect. Many of these parents are actually younger than me, but to know they are the parents of these children, I treat them like my parents. Then as they walk by the row of our children, each of our kids bowed down and touch the feet of another kids’ parents and then pinned the heart onto their chest and handed them a white rose with lots of love.

This is a small seed planting activity for our kids in Oneness, but very important – that each kid bows down to the feet of another kids’ parents and gives a rose to another kids’ parent. All while Jagat bhai is continually playing the dholak live. The kids were so excited to welcome their parents and you can feel the love the parents felt in entering in the MS home. A beautiful and powerful interaction. Love and bonds are built in these ways – you can see it happening.

As the welcome was complete, all 45 of us, sat in prayer and then in silence. Even Dipmala's 3 year old sister, Surya, closed her eyes and prayed with us.

The words “Jai Jagat” (“Hail to the whole world”) awakened the silence and then we proceeded to introduce all the kids and parents to each other. One of our kids would raise their hand, then the respective parents would raise their hands. It was a family getting to know each other.

I then talked for a little while in my limited Gujarati, thanking the parents for coming. Explaining what this project means to all of us, where we all come from-the roots of EKATVA and Manav Sadhna –Ishwar Dada, Jayeshbhai, Virenbhai, Anar Didi. And really sharing the energy and commitment that we all have towards these kids.

Jayeshbhai then spoke very powerfully, bringing truth, light, love and strength to the parent’s hearts and eyes.

Bharat continued thereafter sharing his thoughts on how we all need to work together, parents included, to pull off this type of project. He compared this process to the likes of building a house. The engineer, carpenter, architect, laborers, etc. all have to work in unison for this to bloom like rose.

And lastly Virenbhai shared his powerful love and wisdom towards the parents, once again deepening their trust and connection to the EKATVA experiment.

Then the parents shared their loving thoughts and growth that they have seen in their children since they have been involved with the EKATVA project. They also voiced a few concerns, mainly to do with timing and transportation for the kids.

Lastly, we had a surprise act: the kids performing for the parents, what they have learned to date at Darpana Academy. Prior to performing, each kid got on the mic and expressed what this EKATVA journey has meant to them. That was truly beautiful and powerful, to see the confidence with which they expressed themselves and the gratitude they shared.

The kids performance was beautiful! Beautiful because they were as excited as if they were performing a real show. They did a good job for their first performance, everyone loved it!

Kamaraben made some beautiful mint chai for all the family members.

We all loudly and in unison chanted “Hum Sub EK He!!!”, three times (“We are all ONE”!). And then in beautiful prayer and silence we finally ended our meeting.

The children, for the first time, departed back home from the Ashram not by themselves, but with their parents in hand.

EKATVA. The journey begins, continues and is ongoing.

Love.

EKATVA FINAL KIDS SELECTION

Final selection of the Kids took place today. A long journey it has been. From January 2010 to December 2010. From 250 of our slum children to 16. The kids range from a distinct set of slum areas, Rama Pir Nor Tekra, Shankarbhuvan Slum, Jamaalpur Slum, and few others.

We have finally  made final selections and are ready to embark upon yet another phase.

The objective categories we used to select our kids, aside from our intuition and time spent with all of them over the past year, are listed below in order of importance:

Their Team Player Attitude and nature

Their Studies and commitment to Schooling

Their overall attitude towards the entire EKATVA process and project so far

Extra Support they may need due to difficulties/obstacles they may have in their personal family life

Dancing Ability

Their Learning Aptitude

Expression/Acting Ability

Their family support

As one may notice, Dancing ability and acting ability were low on the list of importance as we got down to the final selection of kids. Though we really look forward to the theatrical production and the entire creative journey, its really the internal transformation of the team and in the individuals within that we hope to at least spark. Thus teamwork, studies and attitude are of extreme importance in the process.

Another important factor was looking at kids that have the potential, but have a tougher, more obstacle-filled family and financial status. Imagine that, how do you get to a tougher financial status or situation then the average slum income of two to three dollars a day. For example when Bharat and I went to go visit Dharmesh’s family, he led us to the side of a dirt road where is Mom and Dad were sitting on worn- out plastic bags, in the middle of a polluted and dusty road environment. Dharmesh, doesn’t have it easy, but he works hard. He was not a great fit in the beginning for us. He didn’t go to school, couldn’t even speak Gujarati clearly, didn’t have a great set of manners, etc. But slowly he’s developed some discipline, is getting more focused, attending school more regularly and we know if we just support his journey we can help him get to a better place.

This is the ultimate goal. Help the journey, enable positive transformation and empowerment. Plant seeds and nurture them. Let God bear the fruits.

Love.

OUR FINAL KIDS LIST

Dipmala                Bhavnik

Priyanka               Gaurang

Chandini              Devram

Nikita                    Dharmaji

Bharti                    Vicky

Krishna                 Vishal

Payal                     Nitesh

Asha                      Sanjay