The school has been open for about 8 weeks.  We have 14 children registered but attendance varies between 6 and 10.  The age range is 3 to 7 years old.  We may not have many English scholars but things are definitely changing in what I see as significant ways.  They chant "Aum" very sweetly whereas most children I have seen seem to think the louder they shout the more impressive they are.  They love singing and chant a decent Hare Krishna and sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with all the actions.  "Old McBabu has a Farm” is pretty wild too.  

We watched the film Charlotte's Web - about a pig being saved by a spider; no, - really!  Lots of subliminal messages - keeping your promise, tolerance of differences, caring for others etc.  We watched it over about 7 days - and the kids loved it. They really can concentrate for more than 2 minutes when you have the right material.  It also opened up the opportunity for teaching the names of different animals - though quite how useful spider, pig, rat, geese will be in everyday English conversation I'm not sure. Another plus - they now answer "How are you?" with "Iyamfine" instead of parroting back "How are you?" But what impresses me the most is how they now politely pass round the packet of biscuits and only take one instead of all grabbing whatever they can.  It's a big behaviour change.

Another big plus is that punching and pinching is substantially reduced - by the children that is!  Physical abuse of children is endemic in Indian society and widespread in schools. The essential piece of teaching kit in many classrooms is the "danda" - the stick - and it is freely used on the pupils.  Not surprising then, that children think that punching and hitting each other is a reasonable way of communicating.

Now that people have seen we are serious about what we are doing, we have been offered free of charge several parcels of land to build more ashram schools - centres for yoga, meditation, education, healing and spiritual retreat. Most are in Uttarkhand, but one is in Uttar Pradesh, an adjacent state.  I do not know how we can pay for building nor how we can staff additional centres, but I am sure that the answers will unfold in due course.  It's an exciting prospect.In the meantime, back on the farm (Mahavir's not McBabu's) Mukesh is teaching while I am away for 3 months. 

In rural India it is quite common for people to refer to each other as brother, sister, uncle, aunty, outside the parameters of blood relationship. Mahavir's wife, Hemanti, calls me "bhaje" (bad - jay) or big brother; I address her as "bhuli" (boo-lee) or little sister.   In the same way St Francis referred, not only to people, but also to objects, as brother or sister - brother sun, sister moon, brother fire etc.  I very much like this verbal acknowledgement of our connectedness - in fact the connectedness of all things.  And lest the sceptics scoff, let us remember that scientists have postulated, for more than 60 years, that all that exists is nothing but "mind stuff".  For we are made of vibrational energy, as scientists suggest with the superstring theory of matter. Quantum physics indicates that if we look at the deeper structure of the atom there is, in fact, nothing there - nothing but consciousness. It is not Wall Street nor the White House, not BP nor Microsoft, which will bring peace to the world. Of course they are very powerful agents of change.  But it is only a change in world consciousness which will propel us forwards to a more enlightened era –of peace and love.  Or not!!  As Yogananda said, "Love all men as your brothers,love all women as your sisters, and all older people as your parents. Love all human beings as your friends." - Man's Eternal Quest

It is up to each one of us to change ourselves and to encourage others; to stop punching and pinching and to cooperate with each other and with other nations; to share our biscuits and to celebrate our differences. Take a look at Charlotte’s Web.

With Love

Your brother, Stan