Deepavali at Sandipani – A graceful shower of kindness and compassion

On the festival of Deepavali, on 26th October 2011,a programme of distributing clothes and sweets to the less fortunate children of Porbandar and the surrounding villages was organised under the presence of Pujya Bhaishri and under the joint auspices of Sandipani Vidyaniketan and the Leo Club of Porbandar. This programme is held every year during Deepavali thereby following Pujya Bhaishri’s philosophy of integrating the message of social compassion with devotion as described in the Shrimad Bhagavat. Swami Shri Shastri Hariprakashdasji of Swaminarayan Gurukul, the President of Chhaya Municipal corporation, Shri Sureshbhai Thanki, Ex-Irrigation Minister of Gujarat, Shri Babubhai Bokhiria, a leading member of the District Chamber of Commerce, Shri Padubhai Raichura and the President of Porbandar Chamber of Commerce, Shri Nalinbhai Kalani, were present on this occasion as special guests.

The highlight of this event was that the donations of clothes and food by the fortunate devotees, under the guidance of Pujya Bhaishri, showed a successful effort in bringing a mile and joy on the faces of the less fortunate children and their mothers. Shri Jerambhai Haribhai Kansodaria and his brother Shri Vallabhbhai Kansodaria distributed 500 sarees and 500 dresses while Shrimati Zaverben Patel of UK distributed 500 pairs of clothes. The women’s wing of Sanskruti Parivar of Porbandar handed out 100 notebooks and 100 pens to the children. All families present on the occasion were also presented a box of sweets to mark the spirit of joy and merriment of Diwali.

Pujya Bhaishri addressed the audience on this occasion and said that it is tradition in our society to clean our houses and courtyards during the festival of Deepavali. However, it would be wrong and appalling if we maintained cleanliness only to mark Diwali while leaving our houses dirty for the rest of the year. Such attitude will only lead to piling up of dirt in our own courtyards. Pujya Bhaishri said, “My message for diwali is, let us keep our towns and cities clean. In addition, along with our houses, let us also keep our hearts clean. We will experience Deepavali all year round if we light the lamp of love in our hearts.”

Further in his speech, Pujya Bhaishri advised that we should learn to share whatever God has provided us. Wealth is meant to be used for the benefit of people, and not merely to be saved in safe deposits. Just as stored grains decay if not utilised for a long time, similarly money stored in vaults or banks will also decay if not used for charity.

Thereafter in his speech, Pujya Bhaishri proudly said,” I am rich. Everyone else may have only one type of wealth, but I have four types of wealth. My first wealth is Shri Hari’s blessings, which is the most valuable to me. My second wealth is the scriptures: Shrimad Bhagavat, Shrimad Bhagavad Gita and Shri Ram Charit Manas; the more I use this wealth, the more it increases. My third wealth that I am proud of are the rishikumars, trustees and co-workers of Sandipani. Finally, my fourth wealth are the devotees linked with Sandipani.”

Pujya Bhaishri continued to advise that no one should consider the assembled children and women poor. The whole society is one family. From this perspective, these children and women are also part of our family. However, because they are economically weak we distribute these gifts of prasad every year to enable them to celebrate Diwali with a spirit of joy and happiness. Pujya Bhaishri concluded his speech by saying that he was greatly pleased that this endeavour had received whole hearted support from Shri Jerambhai Kansodaria and Shri Vallabhbhai Kansodaria of Surat, Shrimati Zaverben Patel of UK, women members of the Sanskruti Parivar of Porbandar and Leo Club of Porbandar.

Shri Ghanshyambhai Mehta, the editor of Sandipani’s magazine – Tatva Darshan – also addressed the assembled audience. He called upon people to fulfil Lord Buddha’s message: ‘aatma deepo bhava‘, meaning, you become the light of your soul, on this occasion of Deepavali. He said that in Pujya Bhaishri we find the accomplishment of the three noble truths propagated by Lord Buddha, which are: Friendship, compassion and joy. He added that not just Pujya Bhaishri, but all saints can be described as incarnations of compassion, because such benevolent events cannot be organised if there was no compassion.

Shri Ghanshyambhai Mehta, in his speech, also recalled the first annakut programme held in 2006 in Shri Hari Mandir, whereby the less fortunate children of Porbandar were invited by Pujya Bhaishri for a hearty meal. This event brought a radical change in the society in which Pujya Bhaishri lit a lamp of kindness that now continues to get brighter every year. Finally, Shri Ghanshyambhai Mehta thanked all those who had donated during this auspicious festival this year.

Shastri Swami Hariprasaddasji of Swaminarayan Gurukul also summoned the audience where he conveyed his greetings for Deepavali and elaborated the meaning of the words friendship, compassion and joy. Thereafter, the chief guest, Babubhai Bokhiriya, complimented the slogan on the invitation card which read: a hand raised for donation is better than two hands raised in prayer and expressed his gratitude towards Pujya Bhaishri on his great service to the society. Other special guests also conveyed their warm deepavali greetings to everyone present.