Vivekananda Kendra-nardep Newsletter August 2013

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Echoes of EcoSolidarity of all Life

In this issue:

Solidarity of all Life

Rameshwaram Project

Azolla goes to Ranchi

The Happenings-II

The Happenings-II

From our Publications

Visions of Wisdom:Ecology, Education Economy

When I said: I take refuge in thprana, prana meant everything

exists here-in that I take refug

When I said: I take refuge in Bhwhat I really said was: I take ref

in the earth, the atmosphere anthe stars.

Then I said: I take refuge in

Bhuvah, what I said was: I takrefuge in fire, the air and the su

-Chandogya Upanishad

Taking Refuge in Natu

August, 2013 Vivekananda Kendra- nardep Newsletter Vol:5 No:6

Service to humanity is the highest form of worship Swami Vivekananda

Everyone is but a manifestation ofthat Impersonal, the basis of allbeing, and misery consists inthinking of ourselves as different

from this Infinite, Impersonal Being;and liberation consists in knowingour unity with this wonderfulImpersonality.It is only through theidea of the Impersonal God that youcan have any system of ethics. Inevery nation the truth has beenpreached from the most ancienttimes love your fellow-beings asyourselves I mean, love humanbeings as yourselves. In India it hasbeen preached, "Love all beingsas yourselves"; we make no

distinction between men andanimals. But no reason wasforthcoming. No one knew why itwould be good to love other beingsas ourselves. And the reason, why,is there in the idea of the ImpersonalGod; you understand it when youlearn that the whole world is one the oneness of the universe thesolidarity of all life - that inhurting anyone I am hurting myself,in loving any one I am loving myself.

Hence we understand why it is that weought not to hurt others. The reasonfor ethics, therefore, can only be hadfrom this ideal of the Impersonal God.

What a mine of strength is in thisImpersonal God, when allsuperstitions have been thrownoverboard, and man stands on his feetwith the knowledge I am theImpersonal Being of the world! Whatcan make me afraid?... This teachesus not to think ourselves as weak, butas strong, omnipotent and omniscient.No matter that I have not expressed ityet, it is in me. All knowledge is in me,all power, all purity, and all freedom.Why cannot I express this knowledge?

Because I do not believe in it. Let mebelieve in it, and it must and will comeout. This is what the idea of theImpersonal teaches. this idea of thesoul is the life-giving thought, the mostwonderful. There and there alone isthe great thought that is going torevolutionize the world and reconcilethe knowledge of the material worldwith religion.

[An excerpt from SwamiVivekanandas Jaffna lecture

Vedantism]


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Wealth and all activities of man should be aimed at not only for promoting the interest ofhimself, the society and the nation to which he belongs, but also for the successive growth andwelfare of not only humans but also all living beings.

-Sri Narayana Guru

Echoes of Eco - Newsletter, Vivekananda Kendra nardep, August 2013 Vol. 5 No: 6

To know more about Rameshwaram Teertham Project: Contact Secrerary, VK-nardep at [email protected]

Through the renovation of the Teerthams the green awareness is slowly but steadily spreading to the people of th

Rameshwaram: particularly to the younger generation and also the communities around.

As part of the 150th

birth anniversary

celebrations of Swami Vivekananda, VK-nardephas taken up the renovation of the 16 sacredwater teerthams of Rameshwaram. This is thecontinuation of the report series of the progressof the project.

The repeated depressing scenarios of thornybushes, stagnant polluted water, broken bottlesof liquor along with loads of pollutants in theputrefied mud, broken uncared walls almostcollapsing - all these are giving way tosparkling water, clean surroundings, wallsneatly and traditionally painted along withneeded protection.

Participation of students and community: VK-nardep sethe cleansing and renovation of the Teerthams not isolation but as a part of a larger and holistic movementorganize the people into making Rameshwaram a greclean pilgrimage center. So, even as the teerthams

getting cleansed, a mass contact programme has abeen launched particularly aiming the school children acollege students. The results have been encouraging. Twork is enjoying the support of the people of RameshwaraThere have been scores of veritable voluntary workers frevery section of the society who are giving their time alabor to this work joining Kendra workers in cleaning Teerthams. Totally abandoned by the community theTeerthams are now sparking with fresh water and a sereatmosphere. On 25

thof last month 25 students fr

Jayendra Saraswathi College Rameshwaram and 2 smembers came to offer voluntary physical labor. On 28

th

staff members 4 students from Vivekananda Vidyalaoffered physical labor in cleaning the Teerthams.

Dedicated cleaning of the polluted watersby VK-nardep workers at NakulaTeertham.[above] Nakula Teertham [now]:Renovated and made serene once again

after decades of neglect and ruin.

Community Participation: Mangala TeerthamVoluntary stakeholders in conserving water an

heritage.


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Echoes of Eco - Newsletter, Vivekananda Kendra nardep, August 2013, Vol. 5 No: 6

To be truly united in knowledge, love, and service with all beings, and thus to realize one's self inthe all-pervading God is the essence of goodness, and this is the keynote of the teachings of theUpanishads: Life is immense!

- Rabindranath Tagore

Both Mangala Teertham and RunaVimochana Teertham have beencleansed of the impurities. It has beenas ever a colossal task. Today both theteerthams at the entrance of the sacredisland call the pilgrims attention toconservation.

The dedication and sacrifice of ourworkers have to be remembered withgratitude in this sacred endeavor. Eachtime you see a renovated Teertham atRameshwaram remember that theyentered the muddied waters so that youcan experience the spiritual happiness ofa clean watered Teertham.

For these pilgrims of Seva theprogress continues

The team was taking a small teabreak while working at the MangalaTeertham. The small tea vendor witha big heart started on his own

taking care of the plants plantednear the Teertham.

The team which made what looked

almost impossible the possible.

Sustainable Agricultu

means

Increasing the food basIncreasing the scope cultivable edible biomass

Hanuman Teerthagets beautified w

name board and

green pilgrim oat

To know more about Rameshwaram Teertham Project: Contact Secretary, VK-

nardep at [email protected]

Mangala Teertham: Now it isbefitting the name: lookingaus icious

Runa Vimochana Teertham[above]:with clean water there is healthyfish flourishing forming their own

circular living spaces.[below]

Name board with mythol[above] and Green pilgrim oin Tamil, English and H

[below].


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Echoes of Eco - Newsletter, Vivekananda Kendra nardep, July 2013, Vol. 5 No: 5

VK-nardep activities done with DST

core support

Education to be complete must have five principal aspects corresponding to the five principalactivities of the human being; the physical, the vital, the mental, the psychic and the spiritual.Usually, these phases of education follow chronologically the growth of the individual; this,however, does not mean that one of them should replace another, but that all must continue,completing one another until the end of his life. Pondicherry Mother

International conference on Conservingbio-diversity for SustainableDevelopment was held at NationalInstitute of Technology, Rourkela, Odishafrom 16

thto 18

thAugust. 300 participants

attended and Dr.P.Kamalasanan Pillaipresented a paper on Bio input basedfarming for biodiversity conservation andsustainable farm production; a fieldsuccess story

One day workshop on Azolla backyardtechnology was conducted at TRC,Kalluvilai on 24

hof August. 3 persons

attended the workshop. The ResourcePerson was Sis.Premlatha.

Farming Practices workshop was held forthe students of St.Xaviers College,Palayamkottai, Tirunelveli Dist. at theLebo Auditorium of the College, on 31

stof

this month as part of the STAND Project.800 students and SHG membersattended the workshop. The resourceperson was Smt.S.Premalatha

Happenings this month:SUSTAINABLE

AGRICULTURE

Happenings this month:Water Management and

conservation technologies

Tested water from 14 wells inKanyakumari Dist. as part of theprogramme of Central Ground WaterBoard, Chennai.

A Workshop on Recharging of Wellsand Ponds was held at Govt.Polytechnic College, Konnam,Nagercoil at its Extension Centre@Eraniyal on 22

ndof this month

and 64 students attended it. Theresource Person wasShri.V.Ramakrishnan

Grey water Treatment throughselected plant species:

Developing a model

Happenings this mont

NET-WORKING & Med

Green Health Home ofVK-nardep functioned for6 days and treated 111

atients.

Sis.V.Saraswathi gave a lecturethe life and message of SwVivekananda at Talent Ex2013Tamilnadu Newsprint aPapers Limited, KagithapuraKarur held at TNPL Auditoriufrom 3

rdto 4

thof this month with

audience of 500 persons.

One day training programme IFAD SHGs Members sponsoby Collectorate, NagercKanyakumari Dist.was held TRC, Kalluvilai, on 5

thand 7

th

which totally 71 participalearned new technologies. Tresource persons wShri.V.Ramakrishnan aSis.V.Saraswathi.

As part of the Technology Trans(Project work), three students frSt.Antonys Higher SecondSchool, Kanyakumlearned green technologies on 2and exhibited charts and modelstate level science exhibition

At TRC of VK-nardep Dr.Pillaiprovides a hands on demonstration

of preparing Fish-Amino convertingthe organic waste into an organicinput for sustainable agriculture.Fish Amino is a home-made growthpromoter for both agricultural and

horticultural crops.

Awareness to greetechnologies for women SHGis an assured way to empowthem. Shakthi-Surabhi Bi

methanation plant generatesgood enthusiasm.


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When Ahimsa is said to be the supreme moral law, it is not merely negative abstention frominjury to living beings, but positive love for them all. Sympathy and compassion are itsexpressions.

Dr.S.Radhakrishnan

Echoes of Eco - Newsletter, Vivekananda Kendra nardep, July 2013, Vol. 5 No: 5

Happenings this month:HOLISTIC & INDIGENOUS

MEDICINE

A workshop on the Documentation onethnic medicine for community wasorganized by the VK-nardep at TRCKalluvillai on 27

thand 28

thof this month.

Dr.V.Ganapathy was the resourceperson. 54 persons attended theworkshop.

A mass Varma workshop and demo was

held on 20

th

of this month at Madurai forVaidyas and scientific researchers of thesystem. A complete comprehensivelecture on the system on Varmaanatomy, Varma points and theirtherapeutic applications were discussed.

Happenings this month:BIO_METHANATION PLANT &

RENWABLE ENERGY

Training programme on Bio-methanationtechnology organized by Hand in HandIndia as part of SWM Project at MudichurVillage, Kancheepuram Dist, was held on2

ndof this month with 50 participants. The

resource person was Shri.V.Ramakrishnan

Training programme on Bio-methanation- A substitute for LPG was held at TRC,Kalluvilai on 24

thof this month under DST

core support programme withShri.V.Ramakrishnan as resourceperson.3 persons benefitted from training.

Workshop on Farming Practices Use ofCattle dung and farm waste by way of Bio-methanation was held for the students ofSt.Xaviers College, Palayamkottai,Tirunelveli Dist. at the Lebo Auditorium ofthe College, on 31

stof this month as part

of the STAND Project. 800 students andstaff attended the workshop. The resourceperson was Shri.V.Ramakrishnan

Happenings this montBIO_METHANATION

PLANT & RENWABL

ENERGY

A workshop demonstration of theEthnic Medicine practices inapplication.

Reaching out to 800 participants with green technologies

Practical application of VarmaFundamentals: The completelecture of Dr.Ganapathi wasreleased on 20-Aug-2013 in CD

form at Madurai.

Bio-Methanation PlantsInstallation this month:

1 cum [1 No]

1 cum [fixed] [2 No]

0.25 cum [1 No]

Bio-Methanation planIntroducing the technologto the women.


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Echoes of Eco - Newsletter, Vivekananda Kendra nardep, August 2013 Vol. 5 No: 6

From our

Publications

In this excerpt from Akshaya Vikas we see how the traditional wisdencapsulates in it solutions to the modern ecological and social problems we hain the modern civilization. The western industrial model of development sufffrom in this innate deficiency in that it lacks the spiritual core which the traditioknowledge systems contain. Gandhi was aware of this. Here we present spiritual path to development.

It is this wider view of our spiritual potentialities from which we begin, but we add anotherstress which brings in a completer significance. We regard the spirit in man not as solely anindividual being travelling to a transcendent unity with the Divine, but as a universal beingcapable of oneness with the Divine in all souls and all Nature and we give this extended view itsentire practical consequence. Sri Aurobindo


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Earth is known to all civilizations andcultures as the great Mother Goddess.Predating the Vedas are the figures ofMother Earth Goddess in the form ofring stones. The Vedas dedicate many

hymns to Prithvi, the Bhumisukthabeing one of the greatest hymns. Sheis the creator, the sustainer. In theAtharva Veda there is a prayer whichdraws attention once again toecological balance and how the earth,like Varuna, is the upholder of themoral order.

Like the river goddess, she representsfecundity. Truth and moral ordersustain her. She is the mistress of pastand future, giver of the wide andwildlife world of human life. She hashigh heights, stretches on levelground, reaches to the sea, bearsherbs of manifold potency, on whomfood and crops grow and animals roamwhom Indra from the sky fertilizes, andthat earth is invoked as Mother. Mansays "I am the son of the earth, therains are my father, let him, the Lord ofthe rain, fill the Earth for us. O Earth,protect us, purify us. Let people milkher with amity. O Earth, give us sweetwords. The snowy mountain heightsand thy forests, O Earth, shall be kind

to us and we to them." What could bea more lucid ecological statement ofthe intrinsic relationship of water,earth, air, sky and sun, and Man.

We then come to the question ofutilisation of Natural Resourcesthe case of the use of thresources, again, as we mtowards service economy f

parasitic economy the measureviolence will steadily decrease. Tis how non-violence could promoted. The whole econocan now be gauged according topossibilities of violence or nviolence that may be introducedresorting to Reservoir or CurEconomy in our activities. Wgoods are in short supply competition for its possession lead to violence. Hence if economic organisation is such

more reliance is placed resources of reservoir econothere will be more violence.In Inthe cow has been consideredsacred animal, because it is centre of our economy. Traploughing is reservoir economy. made of iron and steel and petrocrude oil is needed to ply it. instrument we use in produgoods will ultimately lead to violeor non-violence according to extent to which we utilize reseror current economy.A mud with thatches for the roof belongcurrent economy. Buildings cement and concrete belong to reservoir economy.

Natural EducationCultural Ecology Current Economy

apila Vatsyayanapila Vatsyayanapila Vatsyayanapila VatsyayanIndologist

Every child is an inquirer, an investigator,analyser, a merciless anatomist. Appealto those qualities in him and let himacquire without knowing it the righttemper and the necessary fundamental

knowledge of the scientist. Every childhas an insatiable intellectual curiosity andturn for metaphysical enquiry. Use it todraw him on slowly to an understandingof the world and himself. Every child hasthe gift of imitation and a touch ofimaginative power. Use it to give him thegroundwork of the faculty of the artist. Itis by allowing Nature to work that we getthe benefit of the gifts she has bestowedon us. Humanity in its education ofchildren has chosen to thwart andhamper her processes and, by so doing,

has done much to thwart and hamper therapidity of its onward march. Happily,saner ideas are now beginning to prevail.But the way has not yet been found. Thepast hangs about our necks with all itsprejudices and errors and will not leaveus; it enters into our most radicalattempts to return to the guidance of theall-wise Mother. We must have thecourage to take up clearer knowledgeand apply it fearlessly in the interests ofposterity.Teaching by snippets must berelegated to the lumber-room of dead

sorrows. The first work is to interest thechild in life, work and knowledge, todevelop his instruments of knowledgewith the utmost thoroughness, to givehim mastery of the medium he must use.

J.C.KumarapJ.C.KumarapJ.C.KumarapJ.C.KumarapGandhian Econom

----Sri AurobindoSri AurobindoSri AurobindoSri AurobindoSeer-mystic

The key to knowledge is within, for it is the awakened soul within that observes, records,sorts out, omits, unites, transmutes, and turns facts and information into knowledge,knowledge into wisdom, and wisdom into the dynamo of right aspiration and action. Thespark is indeed within, albeit often obscured by the thick fog of the egoistic prison-house.

-Dr.K.R.Srinivasa Iyengar

Vivekananda Kendra nardep, Kanyakumari-629702 Phone:91-4652-246296www.vknardep.org

Documents

Vivekananda Kendra-nardep Newsletter August 2013