COMMUNITY


Help abandoned girl children, poor women: Swami Pragyanandji

By J.V. Lakshmana Rao

Chicago: Protect abandoned girl children, provide them food, clothing, shelter and education. Help hapless young women get married and settled in their lives. Helping girl children and women pleases god. Sanatana Dharma lays highest respect and importance to girls and women. Donating a few dollars can make a big difference in the lives of poor girls and impoverish women.
These have been the message and appeal of Mahamandaleswar Swami Pragyanandji Maharaj of Jabalpur, India. Swamiji has established an ashram — Swami Pragyanand Kanya Gurukul — especially for the abandoned girl children. The ashram is run by Pragya Mahila Mission.
Swamiji, who has been on a tour of the US since July 22, visited the India Tribune office on August 18. Speaking to India Tribune, he says that one can adopt a girl child for Rs. 12,000 a year. With that donation, a girl child will be provided food, clothing, shelter and education. Similarly one can perform the wedding of a poor girl for Rs. 21,000 towards kanyadaan. Besides performing the wedding of the girl with a boy, they both will be provided household equipment, including kitchen utensils. The cost of each wedding is very minimal because Swamiji performs mass weddings at one time. This year the mass weddings will be performed at Pragya Dham in Katangi, Jabalpur, on November 9. The day is also known as Tulsi Vivah day. It falls 11 days after Dasara. Since the whole day is auspicious, no muhurth (sacred moment) needs to be set for any wedding. The wedding can be performed at anytime on that day. Swamiji says that at least 108 weddings of poor girls will be performed on that day. So it is an opportunity for a donor to donate money and help perform the wedding.
Swamiji visited Edison, New Jersey, on an invitation by Dr. Sashi Agarwal. Later he visited Jamaica, Okeechobee in FL, Biloxi in Mississippi, App, Andalusia and Mobil in Alabama. Swamiji says that in Biloxi, an anonymous devotee donated $30,000 towards the cost of a mercury Shivling which will be installed in the Shiv temple being build in Pragya Dham. The temple named as the Narmada Temple will be ready and consecrated in 2009.
On an invitation from Virat Mehata, Swamiji says that he visited Shiv Shakti Mandir in Houston, TX, and delivered a discourse on the Shiv Puran. He also delivered discourses in Shirdi Sai and Jalaram temples in Hill Craft. He was invited by Lakshmiben. In Lexington, Rameshbhai, who had dreamed of Swamji, had donated money and sponsored 11 girl children. In Nashville, TN, another anonymous devotee sponsored 10 girl children.
Swamiji came to Chicago on August 16. He performed a yagya sponsored by Nattu Desai in Elgin.
He says that the Pragya Mahila Mission runs Pragyanand Kanya Gurukul, a Vanita Sadan, which is a shelter for destitute women, a dispensary, two ambulances, a mobile hospital and a cow-shelter. A 100-bed hospital named as Swami Pragyanand Hospital, to provide free medical care to poor people is being constructed.
Swamiji was born on September 3, 1945 on the banks of the holy Narmada River in Katangi, Jabalpur. He belongs to “Avahan Akhada,” one of the oldest Akhadas of the country.
Swamiji says that he has been elected as the president of Foundation of Religious Harmony and Universal Peace. The foundation was formed by Swami Nityananda. Swami Pragyanandji has donated five acres of land in Pragya Dham for the World Religious Parliament.
He says that he will be performing a nine-day Raj Suya Maha Yagya in Katangi from November 9 to November 17 seeking world peace and harmony. During these nine days there will be Bhagwat Katha, religious discourses, Ras Leela and many other spiritual and cultural events. Thousands of scholars and saints have been invited to attend the Raj Suya Maha Yagya. During the yagya, all the devotees, estimated to be more than 1,000,000, will be provided free food and accommodation.
He says the aims and objectives of Pragya Mahila Mission are:
— To motivate people towards natural lifestyle and health practices that include healing by natural resources such as mud, water, sunlight, fresh air, and utilizing ayurvedic healing systems and yoga, which form the core of the Indian system of healing;
— To organize workshops to develop the qualities of good citizenship, morality, humanity, good character, courtesy, magnanimity, warmth, cooperation and hard work amongst people;
— To construct pyramids as per the science of pyramids and utilize them to bring about physical, mental and spiritual health amongst individuals;
— To each people to give up an artificial way of life and to adopt the natural way for better health;
— To make and implement special programs for the enlightenment of women.
— To make resources available for the well being of homeless, disabled and destitute women; and
— To make Gurukul and hostel available to helpless and poor girls to encourage them to become independent and to make all facilities available for achieving these goals.
Swamiji says that under the Pragya Mahila Mission, many social welfare public interest projects are underway, which include the services given to tribals, poor, helpless and disabled people. They are Swami Pragyanand Kanya Gurukul for abandoned girl children, Pragya Vanita Sadan for destitute women, Swami Pragyanand Ambulance, Nayanesh Eye Mobile Hos-pital, Pragya Mata Anchal for new born orphaned children, Swami Pragyanand Computer Center, Swami Pragyanand Model Marriage Society, and several publications.
He is the founder and patron of several socio-religious, socio-cultural and educational organizations. He is honorary member and advisor to many spiritual, cultural and educational organizations. He has motivated thousands of people to give up non-vegetarian food, liquor and smoking. He is a widely traveled monk, who has established centers in many countries covering all the continents.
Swamiji, who will be returning to India on August 29, says for more details about Pragya Mahila Mission, for sponsoring a girl child or for donating money for the wedding of a poor woman, Bhailal Patel may be contacted at (847) 677-9276 or send him an e-mail at bhailal@aol.com