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Saturday, September 15, 2001 |
A candle in the dark
The much revered Dada J P Vaswani, is more than a
spiritual leader; he’s a social worker with a
healing touch, an educationist, a thinker and an
animal rights activist, writes Lata Ramaswamy
The booklet describes him as a “Servant of suffering humanity and a brother of all life.” He is also the spiritual head of the Sadhu Vaswani Mission, a revered and well-loved figure within the Sindhi community and outside. Dressed in white, he speaks softly but with great meaning.
In the short while I spent talking to him, Dada J P Vaswani came across as a spiritual guide appropriate for our times.
Dadaji carries the spiritual heritage of Sadhu Vaswani, who first launched his work in Hyderabad of Sind in 1931 under the name “Sakhi Satsang.” Post Partition, Sadhu Vaswani settled in India, choosing Pune as his headquarters and re-naming the organisation as the Brotherhood Association, which came to be called the Sadhu Vaswani Mission after he passed away in 1966. Dadaji took up the mantle then and continued the humanitarian work of the founder, Sadhu Vaswani. Branches and centres of the Mission have been set up in various important Indian cities as well as in many countries abroad.
The Mission works primarily in the fields of health, education and social service with an underlying emphasis on spiritual growth. It has set up the Sadhu Vaswani Medical Complex which comprises of the Inlaks and Budhrani Hospital, the Morbai Naraindas Budhrani Cancer Institute and Research Centre, a Healer’s Home which accommodates 64 single doctors and nurses and eight family quarters, the Shanti Clinic Diagnostic Centre and the Sadhu Hiranand Free Homeopathic Dispensary.
On the educational side, there is the Mira Movement which has to its credit seven institutions imparting education from the primary level right up to post-graduation.
The social service programmes include feeding the poor twice daily as well as assistance to poor families in a variety of ways, from monthly rations to repair of leaking roofs and sanitation. Vocational centres impart skills to the underprivileged to help them earn a dignified living, while village upliftment programmes work at improving life in the backward areas of Kutch, Saurashtra, Bhor and Lonavla.
Impressive as all this is, there is more. In keeping with Sadhu Vaswani’s deep feeling for all life forms, there is a free veterinary clinic being run by the Mission at Lovley Taluka, Mulshi, near Pune. At the Mission itself, hundreds of birds are fed twice daily. The birthday of Sadhu Vaswani, November 25, is observed as Meatless Day and Animal Rights Day.
Running all these activities successfully must require the management skills of a CEO, but Dada J P Vaswani has none of the air and manner of one of that cadre. Instead, he approaches you with folded palms and a bright smile, which puts you instantly at ease.
What does he feel is the most important issue at the present moment? “It is the selfishness we see all around us,” he said. The idea of doing something with someone else’s benefit in mind does not feature, due to an excess of individualism. The answer, he feels, lies is correcting the system of education. What we have now develops the brain, but leaves the heart uncultivated. True education should illuminate the heart. In the schools run by the Mission, before lessons begin, the students give out breakfast to the disabled and needy who assemble there.
This routine is aimed at developing their altruism, which essentially is a matter of empathy and emotion.
Dadaji is enthusiastic about the Mission’s medical programme, which also reaches out to the poor. His ideal is a system where allopathy is integrated with homeopathy, naturopathy, Ayurveda and yoga. Allopathy has made amazing advances, he says, especially in the field of surgery. He speaks from experience, having gone through two major surgeries himself. But for a host of other problems, we need to look at alternative systems.
Dadaji’s vision of modern history is tinged with his concern for the welfare of all. The eighteenth century gave rights to man, he says, and the nineteenth century gave rights to slaves. In the twentieth century, we have seen women getting their rights to some extent -- and perhaps the twenty-first century will see animals getting their rights. And their very first right is the right to live, instead of ending up on someone’s dinner table.
Considering the response the Mission gets to the observance of the Meatless Day on November 25th, he feels the Time - Spirit is in favour of the spread of vegetarianism.
Dadaji belongs to the generation that has seen and lived in both British India and independent India, so I could not resist quizzing him on his views regarding the two phases. His answer brought a spiritual perspective to the worldly matters of politics and economics. While British rule gave more to the urbanites in terms of better discipline, security and less corruption, the villages suffered, he said, and India lives in her villages.
Besides, whatever may be the other factors, in the end there is nothing better than freedom -- so it had to come, and along with it came this transition period we are living through, where things seem to be going from bad to worse. But ultimately, things will begin to get better, and the country will recover from this dark phase, he asserts, because we have had so many saints of different faiths living in India that the country has a wealth of spiritual strength which will resurface.
In the meantime, I asked, what can the individual do to help this happen? Dadaji stressed that it is important to contribute through action, because one ounce of right action is worth volumes of reading and thinking. No individual can find the complete solution, but each person can try to bring some altruism into his or her life, and work towards reducing personal ego so that the nobler self can grow. Quoting a Chinese proverb, he said, that each person can be a little candle, shedding some light in the darkness.
