Indicorps Workshop with Anna Hazare at Ralegan Siddhi: “Mandir without Murti”

(Article submitted to Vidya Poshak Volunteer Newsletter)
Our latest Indicorps Workshop was held at Ralegan Siddhi, the Maharashtrian model village that is home to social worker Anna Hazare. Only a 7^th standard pass, Anna Hazare's current 'life' is his rebirth after a near death military experience. This bachelor has dedicated his entire life, for the past 35 years to social service, focusing on the village communities. After a 12 year period in the Indian Army, where Annaji was posted in the dangerous India-Pakistan war, he narrowly escaped a bomb attack where all of his fellow soldiers were killed. Annaji felt that life was meaningless, to the point where he no longer wished to live. "If I'm coming with nothing and leaving with nothing" Annaji said, "what's the point in living?" It was at that juncture that he conveniently came across a Swami Vivekananda Book at Delhi Railway Station. This proved to be a transformational turning point for him. Annaji explained that it was the wise words of the Swami that enlightened him to the true duty of man: 'manav seva' (service to mankind).

Annaji gave the example of a Mandir to relate to our lives. We can build a beautiful temple with stunning carvings and marble work – however, who will go if there is no Murti (God) inside? Similarly, we build up our lives with so much external beauty, material objects such as houses and cars, and yet there is a lack of contentment. Seva is what brings the inner contentment to our lives just as the Murti makes the temple complete. This was the message from the many Swami Vivekananda's books he began to study. People are always chasing anand (happiness), but they do not realise that anand is not outside for chasing – rather one should look within. In fact, Seva is a guaranteed way to experience anand.

He quoted a saintly saying: 'if you want joy, give others joy'. Annaji demonstrated how this was true for his life – he was happy, at the age of 72 with no BP, or injections / tablets or serious diseases. His philosophy was 'Janata sarveshar hai', that is 'people are the universal god' – we should be doing pooja for our people.

Jowar (sorghum) grows in a bundle and that bundle is harvested and consumed within a short lifespan. Most people are like this – they grow and are used up. However, to give rise to more Jowar, a single dana (seed) has to go deep into the ground where it is dark and cold. It is only then that the latent power within to produce multiple times more Jowar is released. Annaji saw himself as this Jowar, enabling others to realise themselves as a result of his efforts. He also points out that although he has dedicated his whole life, it is not necessary to follow his bachelor path. One should earn good money to support his family (he stayed in the Army for 12 years to complete his pension requirements). Annaji also recommended getting married too – as it is difficult to do this type of work alone!

There are five tenets for social work according to Annaji: Sudhachar (good character), Shudhvichar (good thoughts), Nishkalank (spotlessness), Tyag (sacrifice) and finally, the ability to swallow insults / criticism.

There is another Marathi saying: 'When floods come, the biggest trees are the first to be swept away' (those that typically 'stand their ground'). But the lowly grass totally bends down, returning back to normal once waters have passed. The grass exhibits the quality of Namrata (Humility) and Leentra (Egoless). In social work, there is a tendency for ego to arise... me karnaro, I did this, me, my, etc. You are actually not doing this for the community or samaj, but rather you are doing this for yourself was Annaji's message. As your life's duty or simply the joy you receive during service to others. He referred to the words of Lord Krishna from the Bhagavad Gita: "Karmanye Vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana, Ma Karma Phala Hetur Bhurmatey Sangostva Akarmani", translated as "You have a right to perform your prescribed action, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results your activities, and never be associated to not doing your duty"

Decide clearly what your life goal is, and be fixed in this and nothing will stop you. Money is simply a vehicle; although you need it, you take it with you and therefore it cannot be your goal. Annaji also said that "gyan ka janam kitab se nahi, anabhav se hai" – knowledge is born of experience not of books. So that our work itself teaches us the lessons of life.

In summary, just as a mandir without a murti is meaningless, our lives may look great outside, but without seva, they will seem empty and meaningless. Our work at Vidya Poshak is a great service to the community and is the source of genuine happiness for many volunteers, demonstrated by our exponential growth. We should, however, remember why we do what we do and maintain a sense of humility and duty throughout.


Fellows with Anna Hazare at our Workshop:

Anna Hazare Website: http://www.annahazare.org/ (Very good and comprehensive)
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Hazare