Seva Bharathi, Tamilnadu requests the public to donate for Flood Relief Fund
Seva Bharathi Tamilnadu is co ordinating Relief operations in many parts of rain flooded Chennai with volunteers working on the ground.
Thursday, 10 December 2015
Appeal from General Secretary Rashtriya Sewa Bharati
For assistance to flood affected people of Tamilnadu (Chennai) & Andhra Pradesh
The destructive flood in some parts of Tamilnadu (Chennai) & Andhra Pradesh which has gripped these two states in a wave of distress and mourning. All are shocked and saddened by the disaster of the nature. The heavy loss of life and property in these two states is unimaginable. Hundreds have died and are injured and thousands have been rendered homeless. News reports are coming about extensive loss of life. In such difficult situations, it is the natural duty of all Bhartiya citizens to come forward for the assistance to our suffering fellow citizens.
It is a matter of satisfaction that Central Government as well as State government have responded within hours of this disaster. Central Government & State Government are making all efforts to send possible help to flood victims.
Sunday, 15 November 2015
The results of collective thinking
- written by Sundarlakshman
For some time, some people who originally belong
to
a village but have now settled in cities due to
jobs
or business, have started taking up some
activities
for the development of their respective villages.
While going to Mumbai by train
recently I came across a person
returning from Tirupati (Andhra
Pradesh) with his family after having
darshan of Balaji. He lives in Mumbai
but does not own a house. The reason
is low income, as he works as a taxi
driver. He resides in a rented house
at Mulund. Apart from maintaining
the family, he has to educate his two
kids also. Due to limited income and
growing expenses following price rise
he was planning to shift to Dombivali
so that he could save some money by
paying low house rent. Once a year, he
goes to his village in Tamil Nadu.
When I asked him why he came to
Mumbai, he narrated a long story. He
said till there was plenty of water in
his village there was prosperity in the
family.
But since the water availability
has come down the agriculture
production declined
Shakha is a POWERHOUSE
by Sundar Lakshman
At the time when many of the village girls were not getting
married due to the bad practice of unbearable dowry even at the
age of 28 to 30 years, a swayamsevak, Rajlinga Raja, married a
girl without dowry. This single incident changed the mindset of
all villagers. Now every boy or girl of the village is get married at
the proper age. There is no question of asking or giving dowry.
Not only this, Rajlinga Raja also sheltered some Harijan children
at his home and made all arrangements for their education.
Some of them have now completed graduation, while some are
drawing on handsome salaries from reputed institutions.
We have to weed out evil practices
“Everybody has to work in the society.
But those who had to discharge the responsibility
of sweeping were made untouchables.
The mother in the family
cleans the excreta and vomiting of a sick
child, but all are equal there. Then how
could the people doing the work of
sweeping, be untouchable in the society?
The Harijan society has given the saints
like Ravidas and Valmiki to the nation,
but the devotees of the god are deprived
of entering the temples. If somebody of
them becomes Christian, we start respecting
him, but we do not embrace our
own Madhav. These tendencies have to
be changed. We have committed many
mistakes, which have to be purified.”
—P.P. Prof. Rajendra Singh
(Fourth Sarsanghachalak of RSS)
Silent revolution among fisher folk
CHINNA Aravadi is a village under the Karsari taluka of
Ramanathpuram district. Our service activities began here in
1992. It has today become an effective centre of social
transformation. A woman worker through daily coaching,
Samskar Kendra, monthly deeppooja, matri mandali, youth
centre, etc., started the project. In the beginning main
concentration was laid on education, as nobody in the village
was educated more than eighth standard and not only the
gents but women also were in the grip of alcoholism. There
was no unity among villagers. The village temple was closed
for years. But the villagers did not forget to visit the local
dargah on every Thursday.
The Hindu fishermen ruined their
own boats
Self-Help Groups in Tamil Nadu - An experiment with economic empowerment
Self-Help Group (SHG) is a
programme implemented in Tamil
Nadu about 12 years back by Sewa Bharati. After a decade it has
become a silent revolution of economic
empowerment and socio-political system
of the state. Since 1999, Sewa
Bharati has been working in this micro
credit delivery system, which has attracted
the attention of the entire nation.
To start with the scheme has been
implemented for women and now it is
getting popularity among men too. Sewa
Bharati alone is guiding more than 4000
women SHGs throughout the state and
above 400 men SHGs.
The scheme SHG is nothing but a small cooperative unit comprising of 20 or lesser number of people. They are organised in a group with a name and three office bearers who manage the group
The scheme SHG is nothing but a small cooperative unit comprising of 20 or lesser number of people. They are organised in a group with a name and three office bearers who manage the group
your duty at present is to go from one part of the country to another
your duty at present is to go from one part of the country
to another, from village to village and make the people
understand that mere sitting about idly won’t do any more.
Make them understand their real condition and say, ‘O ye
brothers all arise, awake. How much longer would you
remain asleep.’ Go and advise them how to improve their
condition, and make them comprehend the sublime truths
of the shastras by presenting them in a lucid and popular
way. Also instruct them in simple words about the
necessities of life and in trade commerce, agriculture, etc.”
— Swami Vivekananda
Villagers should stand on their own legs
“WHEN I learnt that the villagers have joined together and with their own efforts
and a true feeling of emotional unity have laid this road, then itself I had told that
I would necessarily come to this village. Your village has progressed by one step.
Our country has spread from Rameshwaram to Badri-Kedar, and from Somnath to
Puri, and we Hindus are the masters of this land. The foreigners tried to divide us.
Those people sowed
the
Help from outside will do no good
“To try to help villagers from outside
could do no good. How to kindle a
spark of life in them that was my
problem. It was so difficult to help them
because the people had so little respect
for themselves. ‘We are cursed’, they
would say, ‘only the whip can keep us
straight’.”
— Shri Ravindra Nath Tagore
The sense of self-respect has to be instilled
“Our approach to rural development
should not aim at only materialistic
development. This type of approach
on the part of government agencies
and various social organisations has
made even the deprived people
paravalambi (dependant on others) by
concentrating only at their materialistic
development. They failed to involve
them in their activities resulting
in these people not realising the need
to achieve self-reliance. Therefore,
the feeling of self-respect that we can
solve our problems ourselves and will
not unfold our hands before others
has to be infused into them. The work
of rural development has one more
dimension. All their hidden talents,
qualities and habit of hard work will
resurface only when they are motivated
as per the traditional Hindu
values of life.”
— Ma H.V. Seshadri
Sewa is our way of life
by Sundar Lakshman
Kalimalai of Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu,
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