Satsang Seva Journal

Team SSM Mumbai celebrated Republic Day on 26th January 2023 with the local community of slum dwellers living near the Sai Baba Temple, Chembur. In an event organized for the children, the national flag was hoisted amidst resounding chants of 'Vande Mataram' and 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai.' The children then sang patriotic songs depicting the spirit of brotherhood and harmony. The team members concluded the event by offering samosas and jalebis to the children.  To join hands with Team SSM Mumbai and support this vibrant local community, please write to us at connect@satsang-foundation.org .

The young girls at the Angel's Nest Orphanage, Marol were delighted to welcome members from Team SSM Mumbai for a series of activities through the month of January 2023. During the first visit on 15th January, the team members facilitated a follow-up of group and individual counseling sessions for the youngsters.  They also offered groceries comprising lentils, spices, paneer , Kerala parotas , biscuits, health drink mix, and ice cream.  During the next visit on 21st January 2023, academic support classes in Maths and Accounts were held for 10 school students from Grade 8 to 12 and first year BSc students.  The following day, 22nd January 2023, the team members resumed the counseling sessions for a few youngsters and organized a craft session for a group of 15 youngsters. They also organized a creative activity of making costumes from newspapers. A discussion on career options concluded this visit. To support the endeavors of Team SSM Mumbai, please write to us at connect...

Joyous moments marked Sri M's visit on 17th January 2023 to ANIKET Sevabhavi Sanstha as he interacted with the differently-abled children sheltered at this safe home. A fun-filled yoga session facilitated by a member of Team SSM Pune delighted the children as they performed asanas such as Marjasana, Sinhasana, and Bhujangasana , imitating the postures of animals and their sounds. The children then welcomed Sri M with applause and chanted the Gayatri Mantra , Guru Stuti , and Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra . A personal interaction and breakfast followed. Sri M blessed the children and encouraged the founder, Mrs. Varpe, to continue her selfless seva . To join hands with Team SSM Pune and support ANIKET Sevabhavi Sanstha, please write to connect@satsang-foundation.org .

Team SSM Bengaluru celebrated the joyous harvest festival of Makar Sankranti on 15th January 2023 by continuing to offer the weekly annadaanam seva at Vallabh Niketan Ashram and Lakshmipura. As the team members lovingly served the Sunday special breakfast of set dosas, vegetable kurma, vadas, sambar, and sapotas , the youngsters at the Ashram gathered together with great enthusiasm and interacted with them. During lunch, a group of team members offered a filling meal of rice, sambar, vegetable pulao, kesari bhath, and payasam to 200 people from the community of daily wagers and pavement dwellers living in Lakshmipura, Gavipuram. Festive greetings accompanied the meals as everyone expressed gratitude for the abundant blessings of Mother Nature. To support the endeavors of Team SSM Bengaluru and experience the joy of giving and sharing, please write to us at connect@satsang-foundation.org .

By serving somebody, you are actually doing nothing. The person whom you are serving is actually giving you an opportunity to evolve.   --- Sri M Sri M's message of selfless service was exemplified by Team SSM Mumbai as the team members welcomed the dawn of a new year by offering bedsheets and blankets at two different locations in Mumbai. A team member visited the 25 senior citizens residing at Happy Flock Old Age Home in Karjat, situated about 60 kilometers from Mumbai on 31st December 2022 and offered bedsheets, pillow covers, and a little bag of goodies to them. Sweet smiles of gratitude and informal conversations marked this seva on the eve of the New Year. On the 3rd of January, 2023 a group of team members offered blankets to 125 construction workers at a construction site in Navi Mumbai . As the workers gathered together during a break in their schedule, the team members reached out to each one and gave them their blankets with much reverence and gratitude. To partic...

The New Year was ushered in with great happiness and cheer for both the children of Mathru Abhaya Foundation and the members of Team SSM Hyderabad. The dawn of the New Year, 1st January 2023, was celebrated with a special annadaanam seva offered to the 75 children and staff of this orphanage with which the team members have been associated for the past one year. The children were seated in small groups on large mats in an open ground in the vicinity of the home for boys as a sumptuous lunch of puris, chole, vegetable pulao, vegetable manchurian, raita, and gulab jamuns was served lovingly to the children by the team members.   With great discipline, they waited patiently for their caregiver to arrive and then began the meal with the chanting of the Shanti Mantra ' Om Sahana Vavatu…' invoking peace on all and blessing their anna daata . Watch the video here. The excited and overjoyed children expressed their appreciation of the dishes that they liked the most and completely r...

Team SSM Mumbai ushered in the joyous occasion of Christmas with a medley of sevas filled with great joy and enthusiasm. On Sunday, 25th December 2022, a few team members offered a freshly prepared lunch of vegetable pulao, gulab jamun, and pickle packed in 100 meal trays to the community of slum dwellers living near the Sai Baba Temple, Chembur .  Soon after lunch, 100 blankets were offered to the senior citizens and the most needy families of the community. A few other team members organized a fun-filled Sports Day for 155 children of the migrant workers and slum dwellers living in the Labour Camp, near the Hiranandani Estate in Thane .  Watch the video here. The Hiranandani Park was abuzz with excitement as the children aged between 7 and 14 years participated in the Sack Race and the Skipping Race as they raced animatedly towards the finish line. Exhilarating Kho-Kho and Kabbadi matches and a thrilling Tug of War demonstrated the strength, stamina, and skill of these won...

Team SSM Bengaluru celebrated Christmas, 25th December 2022, by continuing to offer weekly annadaanam seva at different locations in Bengaluru.     Two young team members served the Sunday special breakfast of dosas, vadas, vegetable kurma, chutney, sweet kesari, and biscuits to the children and senior citizens of Vallabh Niketan Ashram.      The team members joined the children as they chanted a Shanti mantra before relishing their meal together.     At Lakshmipura in Gavipuram, a few team members lovingly offered a filling meal of vegetable pulao, rice, sambar, buttermilk, kesari bhath, and bananas to 75 people from the community of slum dwellers who live nearby.     Team SSM Bengaluru are extremely grateful for the relentless support of the volunteers and donors who continue to sustain this weekly annadaanam seva .   To participate in the initiatives of Team SSM Bengaluru, please write to us at connect@satsang-foundation.org .

Team SSM Delhi-NCR members assembled outside Delhi Gate Metro Station on Thursday, 22nd December, 2022 at 11 p.m. and scouted the areas of Delhi Gate, ISBT, Yamuna Pushta and Asif Ali Road to distribute blankets to the pavement dwellers and the homeless.  As hundreds of homeless people slept on footpaths, under the bridges and on the bare ground under the flyover our secret Santas silently spotted those without adequate warmth and covered them with blankets.  This activity was done with the guidance of Shri Indu Prakash ji, who has been working for the homeless for years. The team members took about two and a half hours to distribute 200 blankets.  Wishing everyone the warmest season's greetings from all of us at The Satsang Foundation! Join us for more such random acts of kindness at connect@satsang-foundation.org.

Team SSM Kolkata collaborated with the Pratibodhayan Charitable Trust situated in the village of Moutor in Purulia District to offer 170 blankets to the residents of the rural communities living in this village and 15 neighboring villages between the 3rd and 7th of December 2022.     As groups of senior citizens gathered at the premises of the Trust to receive the blankets to protect them from the bitter cold of winter, the team members interacted with them and expressed their heartfelt gratitude for having had the opportunity to serve them.     To support Team SSM Kolkata in its initiatives, please write to us at connect@satsang-foundation.org .

Team SSM Mumbai set off on 3rd December 2022 to the Ganeshpuri Ashram Shelter which is situated in Ganeshpuri, about 60 kms from Mumbai, to meet the inmates most of whom are aged or ailing and have been abandoned by their family members. About 30 members of this marginalized community have been supported with a daily meal since August 2022. Their shelter is cleaned once a week and the inmates are sensitized to take care of their personal hygiene. However, with the onset of winter and the lack of access to hygiene essentials, the team members decided to offer 50 blankets and hygiene kits comprising toothpaste, toothbrushes, soaps, shampoo sachets, and detergent bars to the inmates, the less privileged and a few children who live in the padas or local colonies near the shelter. The team members were filled with immense gratitude and humility as the inmates showered them with joyous smiles and loving blessings.   To join hands with Team SSM Mumbai in the rehabilitation of this commun...

Team SSM Hyderabad celebrated Founder's Day (6th November) with the provision of the monthly dry rations and toiletries for the young residents of the Mathru Abhaya Foundation in Medipally, North Hyderabad on 27th November 2022. The youngsters at the home for girls were thrilled to meet the team members on a relaxed Sunday morning. They chatted with them about their upcoming semester-end exams and spoke proudly of some of the other children who were participating in a Bhagvad Gita recitation competition.  They eagerly sorted out the grocery items that comprised oil, lentils, semolina, salt, sugar, spices; and the toiletries consisting of soaps, shampoos, and hair oil. Sweet words of 'thank you' were conveyed with loving smiles as they received a little treat of chocolate eclairs and requested the team members to bring them their favorite fruits during the next visit. To support Team SSM Hyderabad in its initiatives and experience the joy of giving, please write to us at con...

As the sun streamed through on a cool, winter morning at the Government Secondary School in Ramgarh, Chandigarh on 24th November 2022, Team SSM Chandigarh celebrated Founder's Day (6th November) with a tree plantation drive on the premises of the school. The initiatives of MyTree and Satsang Jal Seva Sangatan (SJSS) were woven together to sensitize the students about the spirit of maitri or loving friendship with trees and the importance of water conservation.  The students, teachers, principal, and SSM team members joined hands to plant 50 saplings of herbs such as tulsi, choti elaichi, ajwain, aloe vera, and lemon grass; and 10 saplings of fruit-bearing trees such as mango, guava, sapota, and jamun . The students then took a pledge to preserve water; use every single drop with mindfulness; and become Jal Sevaks , in service of Mother Earth's most precious resource. This inspiring session not only helped the students become more aware of their own responsibilities but also to...

Team SSM Chennai has been associated with the Love Care Centre in Pallikaranai, Chennai which provides food, accommodation, and health care to differently abled children and adults. During the Seva Utsav held in commemoration of Sri M's birthday (6th November), the team members had offered an annadaanam seva to the residents of this safe home. In continuance of this commemoration, the team offered dry rations at the centre on 22nd November 2022.   A month's supply of dry rations such as rice, lentils, semolina, cooking oil, sugar, and condiments ensured that the basic nutritional requirements of the residents were supported. To join hands with Team SSM Chennai in its initiatives, please write to us at connect@satsang-foundation.org ,

During the Seva Utsav Week held to commemorate Sri M's birthday, blankets were offered to senior citizens at the Karunaradham Old Age Home in Chengicherla, East Hyderabad and to pavement dwellers in Gachibowli, West Hyderabad and West Marredpally, Secunderabad between the 12th and 16th of November 2022.   Karunaradham provides shelter to elders who have been abandoned by their families or are homeless. Fifty-five blankets were lovingly offered to the 52 residents and 3 care personnel at this home. Smiles of gratitude lit up their faces as they received their bundles of warmth.   A second group of SSM team members reached out to the pavement dwellers living in make-shift huts near the GPRA Complex, in Indira Nagar, Gachibowli. Lacking basic amenities, the residents of this community resort to menial jobs to survive. As they gathered up the 25 blankets offered to them within seconds, their pitiable situation was truly heartrending.      While in Secunderabad, youn...

Team SSM Hyderabad has been associated with the Government High School in Balamrai, Secunderabad since 2018. Presently, the school provides education to 300 students and is steadily expanding its capacity to take in more students. The Head Mistress recently reached out to the team members requesting help with the servicing of the existing water purifier and the possibility of installing a new one to cater to the increasing need of the students and teaching staff for safe drinking water.     On the 18th of November 2022, as part of the Seva Utsav Week commemorating Founder's Day (6th November), an Aquaguard water purifier was installed and the existing purifier was serviced much to the delight of the children and the management. The ecstatic children posed proudly with the young volunteers in front of the water purifier and expressed their gratitude with loud shouts of 'thank you!' To support Team SSM Hyderabad in its initiatives and experience the joy of giving and sharing,...

The daily annadaanam seva at the Ganeshpuri Ashram Shelter for the homeless and senior citizens who have been abandoned by their families continued through the Seva Utsav Week from 6th to 12th November 2022. A team member based in Mumbai provides for the monthly dry rations required for this daily meal through a local grocery vendor who also serves the cooked meal every noon to the impoverished residents of this spartan shelter. Watch the video here. The residents offer prayers of thanksgiving to Swami Nityananda and to their anna daata before partaking of their only meal of the day. Most of them are unable to fend for themselves while others suffer from terminal ailments such as cancer.  Given their dire situation, the team's endeavor is to provide them with their immediate needs such as medical help; better living quarters; warm clothes; blankets and bedding; and hygiene kits. At a later stage, the team would like to empower them to earn their livelihood as a self-help group. T...

Team MyTree Mumbai organized a plantation drive on 12th November 2022 in commemoration of Sri M's birthday and the ongoing Seva Utsav Week.     The team members offered 108 Moringa (Drum stick) saplings at the Mukund Permaculture Farm located in Wada, Palghar, 100 kms from Mumbai.   Sri Ravi Kulkarni, the farm proprietor, uses the permaculture method on his farm to grow plants with organic fertilizers in different zones: spice plants, medicinal plants, fruit trees, and the butterfly garden. His intention is to grow chemical-free food and teach such techniques to school children from the surrounding villages.     The team members planted 9 saplings and since most of the other saplings are still tender, they will be grown in nursery bags and transplanted into the soil by the farm personnel.      This farm turned out to be a delightful location as it has secure land with sufficient watering facilities. The team members were thrilled that the saplings...