Self Help Groups

The previous post on Arunachala Grace referred to Shantimalai Trust’s founder Hugo Maier. In the hope of supplying information about this remarkable Trust’s involvement in the upliftment of many in the Tiruvannamalai area, I post below a narrative on Self Help Groups.

The story of Kasa, also below, is just one of the very many success stories that the Trust has been involved in. The photographs are of local women engaged in construction and road building in Tiruvannamalai; the type of work Kasa, of the story, would have been involved.

Self Help Groups

The women's wing of Shanthimalai Research & Development Trust [SRDT] with a vision to uplift households towards self sustenance through women self-help-groups (SHGs), now comprises 64 Panchayats covering 151 villages. About 825 groups, with a representation of 14,775 women have been supported in their attempts towards self sufficiency. In addition the ambit of SRDT through other service units, covers more than 300,000 people. Below the story of Kasa, one of the many inspirational examples of attaining self-sufficiency through the support of SRDT.



Story of Kasa

"Kasa" belongs to Valar Madhar Sangham. Kasa never had proper schooling and after an early marriage and children, the means of how to sustain and improve her life and that of her growing family, was unknown to her. At this time the thought of two meals a day was just a dream.

"As a couple we used to take road contract jobs and run to different States and used to stay for months together away from home. My children were cared and reared by mother-in-law. But as a mother I had sleepless nights due to separation from children. One night I brought up my idea of starting something of our own at home town to my husband. I convinced my husband to lead better life in home town as a native than as a migrant. We came back to village and took up some petty jobs. I joined the SHG. Learnt to put my signature and felt the change in me. Through self help groups, took a loan and brought a change in my social and economic status.

Three fruitful years rolled on and enabled us to mature economically. I availed loans for milch animal; to dig well for agriculture; and to construct a small house of our own. Having fulfilled my earlier dreams of erasing poverty I started to dream for my children's future. Today, I borrowed from groups for my children’s education. Migration and poverty is no more in my life. Contributing for overall development of my village is my next idea."

Previously the demands of local people were personalized. And their expectation was marginal subsistence in a life full of drudgery. The inception of groups and membership has slowly enabled participants not only to focus on their individual and familial goals but also to remain compassionate towards others and their community. "Women during interviews often say, 'we now should do something for our Panchayat (village community)'."


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"The poor do not need charity: they need inspiration. Charity only sends them a loaf of bread to keep them alive in their wretchedness, or gives them an entertainment to make them forget for an hour or two.

What tends to do away with poverty is not the getting of pictures of poverty into your mind, but getting pictures of wealth, abundance, and possibility into the minds of the poor.

Poverty can be done away with, not be increasing the number of the rich who think about poverty, but by increasing the number of poor people who purpose with faith to get rich."

[Wallace D. Wattles]

Sharon Muench's Arunachala Memories

"I first came to Ramanashram in December 1973. In essence little has changed since then. On the surface, much has changed for better and for worse! The Hill, back then, was bare with no trees. It was covered, for most of the year, in feathery green lemon grass, as tall as a small child. Women and children would swarm over the lower hills, cut down the grass, bring it down in bundles on their heads, bigger than themselves. Even the smallest child who could walk carried a bundle. After the harvest they set fire to the Hill. It burned for a while, then turned black till the new grass grew. Now the Hill is tree-covered, delightfully green.

The Ashram has expanded. The dining-room has been extended, the office relocated to the forecourt. More traffic. More noise. More people. That winter season, there was only a handful of foreign visitors staying at the Ashram. They had all been coming for years, knew each other well. Ramana Maharshi back then, was the world’s best kept spiritual secret. Everyone stayed for months at the Ashram, but I was given only a few days. I was devastated. I’d come all the way from Guyana, South America, overland; this was my home, and I planned to stay forever. I couldn’t believe they’d throw me out that quickly; for what? Bhagavan was my Guru!

One of the Westerners stood out from all the others. He was tall, well-built, in his forties and carried himself with easy authority, and radiated a natural joy. I was shy and insecure; to me, he seemed a spiritual giant. I heard he was known as Doctor Hugo, and had lived many years at the Ashram. One morning, sitting on a large stone half-way up to Skandashram, I saw Hugo and four or five other foreign devotees walking slowly up towards me. Hugo was talking to Phillip, an Englishman with whom I’d spoken a few times. I had the uncanny feeling they were speaking of me. Indeed – when he reached me, Hugo stopped. “I hear you’re looking for a place to stay,” he said, “try so-and-so.” He mentioned a name and went on his way.

Sharon at Ramana Ashram in June 2010

A few days later I moved into Brunton’s Cottage in Palakottu. Back then there were three simple huts in Palakottu, grouped around the water tank. There was direct access to the Ashram through the back wall. None of the huts had plumbing. And we fetched water from the street taps and walked out to the Hill for our toilet.

Soon after that I joined this little group. Every morning we trooped up to Skandashram, sat beneath the Mango Tree at the top, and Hugo would talk. He was a brilliant speaker. Every word came from his heart. He spoke of the Path and the urgency of it. The pitfalls of meditation, the tricks of the ego, the beauty of God, and His Grace. He told stories. Hugo had been the personal doctor of Papa Ramdas for many years, and had many an anecdote. Often he laughed, a deep, rolling, infectious laugh that had us all laughing too. But most of all he infected us all with his deep, abiding devotion to Bhagavan.

In April 1975 I left India for Germany. I settled here, and embarked on a life in the West with all the ups and downs. That year, Hugo, with an Indian friend, bought a large plot of land on the giripradakshina roadway. It was scrubland, bare, uninviting, filled with stones and thorny bushes. A few years later it would be a paradise. They built two simple huts on it, and moved in. That was the start of what was to become The Shantimalai Trust, the most comprehensive charitable trust in the District.

It began with the early morning queues. Long before dawn they would form. By 6 a.m. there would be snakes of poor Indians squatting on the road outside, waiting for medical treatment. Hugo and his friend Kurt had been Homeopathetic Practitioners in Germany, and it was their seva now to treat the Indians. From those beginnings, big things grew: A full-blown Medical Centre offering free treatment. An English medium school offering a first-class primary and secondary education An orphanage. A child sponsorship programme. A farm. Cows were donated, sewing machines were donated, wells were dug. Women were trained in handicrafts. Young men found industrial training and jobs. Villages were restored.

Friends of Hugo, Westerners, donated whatever they could, money and time and expertise. They came in the winter, joined this project or that, helped in whichever way they could. Those were glorious days indeed. In recent years Shantimalai has scaled back its activities, passed on its projects to other sponsors.

Some of us have moved on; our lives have taken new turns. In my case, it’s been a bumpy road, with ups and downs. I’ve written novels, seen them published through Harper Collins. In recent years, my husband has become crippled by disease. As parkinsonism takes its toll, I look to the future. He now needs 24/7 care, and we’ve reached the point where it is physically impossible for me to continue. The idea of putting him in a home is unbearable, he is only 66 years old! – and more and more my thoughts turn to Arunachala.

Why not create my own facility? Not only for him but for others – Indian and Western devotees alike. A retirement home consisting of 8-10 double cottages set in a beautiful garden with day and night Indian carers. A haven and a home."

For more information about this developing project, please contact Sharon at:
sw.maas@gmail.com

[Narrative by Sharon Muench]

First Visit to Tiruvannamalai

"The below is a narrative written by Joyce Meyers detailing some of her experiences during her first visit to Tiruvannamalai this November, 2008. Joyce travelled with a group of seven ladies with Virginia Lee facilitating their programme. Virginia's report of the Retreat will be featured in the upcoming Arunachala Grace Newsletter. (Check left column newsletter free subscribe facility to receive a copy of the monthly Newsletter).

Joyce is a licensed psychotherapist, certified Ericksonian hypnotherapist, NLP practitioner, art therapist, and board certified past life regressionist. She uses a transformational therapy developed from traditional, spiritual and experiential approaches to healing."

Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, South India. November 2008.

“Although I have been home in New York City for two weeks, my heart is still very much in Tiruvannamalai. It was an important experience for me, and not one I had in the least anticipated. Ten months prior I had spent two weeks in Haridwar and Rishikesh. The entire time I felt cradled in the arms of the Divine Mother, who healed my shredded heart from a severed relationship. I was expecting to be provided with a similar embrace, only to find that Tiruvannamalai, the home of Arunachala and Ramana Maharshi, was preparing me for a different kind of ride. It was softly inviting me to look within and examine buried pockets of grief and negativity and I was given ample opportunity to do so, both internally and externally. This was not exactly what I had in mind, but it was what I was needing. So I decided to want what I needed. As I reluctantly released resistance to what was being presented, it soon led, thankfully, to other adventures of the uplifting kind.

I began experiencing heightened feelings of unconditional love with the locals, from the sales clerk, to the coconut lady, to the teachers, to the people who work at Sri Nannagaru ashram where I stayed, to sadhus, and the poor with outstretched arms. These feelings extended to the dogs and cows and bulls that lined the streets. In Rishikesh and Haridwar, I received all embracing spiritual love. In Tiruvannamalai, I received and gave human love.

In preparation for this trip, I immersed myself in learning about Ramana Maharshi and was taken with his teachings. Tiruvannamalai, which seems to be the hub where seekers, sages, sadhus, teachers and gurus gather, provided many opportunities to receive darshan with spiritual leaders and sit in satsang with advaita teachers where I could ask questions and apply what I was learning. I had no idea these Ramana teachings would lead me in a new direction. Since being home, I have joined advaita groups, signed up for an Enlightenment Intensive that Taj, from our group, directed me towards, and went back to reading Eckhart Tolle. On another occasion I went to hear Sri Vast, a guru, speak. I was waiting to be bored, only to finding myself moved by his every word. What I found spiritually in India filled and fulfilled me.

Gwen and Maryjo from our group, and I, went to Pondicherry, less than three hours away. We visited Auroville, Sri Aurobindo and The Mother Ashram; and Sri Vast Ashram, as well as my having a dental appointment for a hurting tooth with a most skillful, caring dentist using highly sophisticated Japanese equipment, all for 75% less than I would have paid in the states. Visiting Sri Vast Ashram, for me, was the highlight of this excursion. Far more important than the beauty of the land and the graceful architecture of the building structures, were the values Sri Vast upholds. His vision, and what he has put into practice, represents the greatest breadth and depth of vision of any intentional living community I have ever come upon.

left to right -- Ganesh, Dinesh, Radesh, Priya

Last but definitely not least is the ability to make a difference in the lives of several children. Priya, Dinesh and Radesh, the children of Jayanti (who works as a servant at Nannagaru Ashram), as well as Dinesh’s best friend Ganesh, are now enrolled in a year of English tutoring classes. With this, they can have the possibility of acceptance to a good school and open to choices in their life. The tutoring arrangement was accomplished with the very kind and generous help of Mr. Ravichandran, director of Shantimalai Trust, one of the top schools in the area.

Aswini

With Priya, I have already made a commitment to sponsor her through all her years of schooling. The other three, all of whom are very intelligent, aware, and adorable, will need sponsors as well if they pass their English exams or will require other kinds of support to learn a trade. Gwen, another fellow traveler on the journey, and I, now share a godchild, Aswini, who we are sponsoring through all her years of schooling. She was introduced to us by Mr. Ravichandran. Aswini was going to have to leave school because her mother couldn’t continue to pay, due to circumstances at home. How do you say no when you look into the eyes of a small child before you and know what a difference you can make in their life?

Thank you, Meenakshi Ammal, of Arunachala Grace Network, for leading me to Shantimalai and for helping the group as an expert travel guide consultant.

In order to travel to the tutor, each child, except Radesh, needed a bicycle. Gwen, Mary Jo and I chipped in and now Dinesh and Priya have their bicycles, with Ganesh’s on the way. It was joyous for me and Gwen to sit in the downtown bicycle shop with Dinesh, Priya and their mom, Jayanti, while the bicycles were being assembled, bells, whistles and all; to watch the happiness light up their faces, and then to watch all three ride home together. And none of this cost very much: $80 a bicycle, $200 a year to tutor four children, $25 a month to sponsor a child through Shantimalai Trust. I couldn’t do this kind of thing in the U.S.A., but in India, a dollar goes very, very far.

India feels like home. It is that spiritual dimension that deeply nourishes. It is the naturalness, openheartedness and lack of pretense of the people, with everything exposed and out in the open. There it is in your face, life taking place in the streets - death, excrement, bare feet, cow dung, dirt, eating with your fingers, deep-eye contact and soul connections with ‘strangers’, the friendliness of the people and their excitement at your taking their picture, sadhus sleeping or resting on the earth, fresh laundry laid out to dry on the ground, garbage, poverty, sorrow, seeking, awareness, and joy. Oh, joy!

Whatever it is that took place in Tiruvannamalai, It has brought me to a new level of awareness, of understanding, and of being. Thank you, India. And thank you, Virginia Lee, our travel leader, for creating the opportunity to participate in this wonderful journey.”

Joyce Z. Meyers
http://www.heartandsoultherapy.com/

Cane Furniture

Through the good offices of Shantimalai Trust, Arumungam, our Cane and Bamboo Furniture Master was able to set up his own furniture business at Tiruvannamalai some years back. And now many people in the Ramana Nagar area have at least one piece of cane or bamboo furniture made at his workshop.

His current workshop is located in a busy residential area popular with Westerners during the busy season. But its not just the homes of Westerners that display his furniture, as the economical and aesthetic furniture is evident in homes and stores throughout the area.

The current rented premises used to be a primary school until the school became popular and over subscribed and eventually had to move to a larger facility. Eventually this quaint little house will be torn down and a hotel or boarding house put up in its place as this area is one of the most expensive spots in Tiruvannamalai.

In the next photo some nice hanging chairs waiting to be completed. Fortunately the prices of bamboo and cane furniture remains very reasonable and a hanging chair as below, when completed and lacquered, will cost around Rs.700/- (i.e. U.S.$18)

Arumungam has a variety of books of cane and bamboo furniture from all over the world. You pick the picture, agree the price and he can make you anything you wish for and some of his work is really wonderful.

He has both men and women working at his small shop and showroom, most of whom were trained by Arumungam.

As well as furniture, baskets, bowls and bric-a-brac, all sorts of household items are available for purchase at his showroom.

Recently Arumungam started a sideline of restoring and selling antique furniture bought in villages around the Tiruvannamalai District. Its a particularly advantageous business because much of the wood used in old furniture is now protected and cannot be used any longer. I got myself a beautiful antique Burma Teak wardrobe for just Rs.6,000 a purchase I was very satisfied with. Rather like the table and chairset in the below photograph . . . I wonder?

In the last photograph is Arumungam's wife who knows absolutely nothing about furniture making and enjoys staying in their home (attached to the showroom) looking after the needs of her husband and two young daughters.

Well at least Arumungam doesn't have much in the way of competition, his is the only cane and bamboo showroom in Tiruvannamalai!