Sahaj Sandesh No.: 2007.11 - Sunday, 4th February 2007

Dear Sister / Brother: 

Rev. Master’s visit to Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, India  
Report contributed by Brs. A. P. Durai, S. Prakash & S.S. Ramakrishnan

Revered Master was in Tiruppur from January 19 to February 3, and stayed at the ashram which is beautifully ensconced in a grove of tall coconut trees.  At least twice a day, He would sit outside in the open and talk to abhyasis. Arrangements were made in such a way that the large crowd of abhyasis had a great feeling of closeness and intimacy to the Master, without disturbing His freedom of movement and comfort.

He made frequent visits to the Diamond Jubilee Park, approximately 7 km from the ashram, which will be the venue for His 80th Birth Anniversary celebrations to be held in July.  Almost every evening, Master drove to the Diamond Jubilee Park, inspected the work that had begun then sat down among abhyasis and enjoyed talking to them. As the red and orange globe of the sun went down the horizon, He answered questions of abhyasis. He said that it was for abhyasis to make use of Him. Service was the opportunity offered to them to achieve spiritual progress.

On the 21st of January, 2007, He lovingly agreed to lay the foundation stone for the Master’s Cottage at the Diamond Jubilee Park, following a satsangh at 7:30 am where abhyasis from several nearby centres were present.  On subsequent days Master also visited nearby centers like Salem and Erode, where He spent time with abhyasis and initiated plans to cater to the needs of future generations of abhyasis.

On 2nd February, a large gathering of nearly 4,000 abhyasis had come for the one day celebration of Rev. Lalaji Maharaj's 134th Birth Anniversary. The celebration was held at the Diamond Jubilee Park.  The morning Satsangh was conducted by Rev. Master, and was followed by the solemnisation of 14 weddings. Rev. Master gave a speech in which He emphasised the following points:

• The need to speak less and listen more.
• The relevance & importance of Sahaj Marg weddings and why Rev. Lalaji Maharaj had ordained that more and more marriages amongst abhyasis should take place.
• The importance of silently serving without any expectation of reward or recognition.
• After conducting the evening satsangh, Rev. Master watched a dance drama staged by the local children before returning to the ashram.

As observed by an abhyasi during this trip, Love for us all seems to be driving Rev. Master despite His physical constraints. Making of prefects, meeting with abhyasis, attending to His emails and sending prompt replies, telephone calls, issue of administrative orders and visits to Mission centres pack His day.  The promptness and dispatch in all that He has to do for our welfare is amazing.

Rev. Master returned to Chennai on the 3rd of February via a flight from Coimbatore.

Guidelines For Abhyasis Visiting Manapakkam Ashram 
Report by Brs. N. Sreenivasan & S. Prakash, Manapakkam Ashram Management

1. To ensure better service both on the material and on the spiritual levels, it is necessary that abhyasis who visit the Manapakkam Ashram should come prepared spiritually, after receiving as many sittings as are necessary from their preceptor.
2. Accommodation in the ashram is available only for abhyasis and their children under 16 years of age. Others traveling along with them have to find accommodation outside the ashram.
3. Periods of stay & other formalities:

a. Abhyasis from centres in India - One Week, maximum.

b. Abhyasis from outside India - Two weeks (extendable by one more week on request), maximum. Overseas abhyasis must  bring a photocopy of the first page of the passport and the visa page and hand these over to the Registration desk at the ashram upon arrival.

c. All visiting abhyasis are requested to get the permission letter from the Centre In charge or Preceptor from whom they are taking regular sittings. In case the abhyasis do not have any preceptors in their centre they should mention this in their permission letter.

d. Abhyasis are requested to bring the print out of confirmation letter or email copy and show it at the registration desk at the ashram upon arrival.

e. Abhyasis must bring their ID card or if they don't have their ID card they must get a letter to that effect from the centre in charge or preceptor they take sittings from.

f. Under normal conditions all abhyasis are to stay in the Dormitories. Accommodation in other parts of the ashram is available only in cases where special needs are established and space is available.  In these cases, abhyasis are advised that they may be requested to move to any other available area / dormitory during their stay.

Abhyasis visiting Manapakkam Ashram are requested to strictly adhere to the above guidelines at all times.

Ashram Manager,
Babuji Memorial Ashram,
Shri Ram Chandra Mission,
World Headquarters, Manapakkam, Chennai - 600 116.
Ph: +91 44 4217 1111
Email: nsreenivasan@srcm.org