A Progress Report on Manav Kendra

Readers of ‘Sat Sandesh’ will recall that in the April 1970 issue appeared a description of the proposed Manav Kendra, which will further and expand the work of Ruhani Satsang by building a foundation where True Living will be demonstrated through man-making, man-service and land service. To implement that purpose, it is proposed that the Manav Kendra – man centre – will include:

• Universal structures of worship, with facilities for parallel study of religions;

• Father Homes for the aged, both men and women;

• Health centres and hospitals, utilising all schools of medicine – allopathy, homoeopathy, etc.;

• Agricultural activities;

• Language schools.

Since that time, a great deal has happened in connection with this important new phase of the Master’s mission, and we are grateful to our Indian staff for the report and pictures which follow.

Progress at the place where the new man centre will take shape is going ahead with leaps and bounds. A few weeks ago, it was just a huge area of land with varying levels, sparsely sprinkled with a few old trees. If you were to visit the site now you would find yourself swept into a scurry of activity.

As the word travelled around that the Master was starting the work, Satsangis from near and far began to arrive by the dozens: from Delhi, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Bombay, and other places, including from Dehra Dun itself. One disciple brought three tractors with him, from his farm three hundred miles away. The Master lost no time in setting the willing hands to work. To say they are willing is really a gross understatement. They are overjoyed to be apart of this wonderful project, and consider they have been given a rare privilege.

The immediate tasks to be tackled are:

1. Site levelling wherever necessary;

2. Laying of principal roads through site;

3. Erection of temporary sheds to accommodate the Satsangi workers;

4. Planting of trees and fencing around orchards;

5. Construction of large overhead water tower and laying of pipes for tree watering;

6. Construction of culverts in two places.

From this sizeable program, item four is complete and one large shed has been erected. All other work continues in course of progress. Items one and two are immense tasks, spread over different parts of the twenty-five acres which form the first tract of land purchased so far. There was an old adobe type house already existing on the edge of a small clump of trees: a really shady spot. This has been hastily improved and cleaned up for the Master to use during His long days at the site directing operations.

The location itself has been very carefully chosen; no question. It is most pleasantly environed in the Dun Valley, which is a capacious depression bordered on three sides by the Himalayan foothills. The distance across the valley east to west is enough to hinder a clear view of the hills in these directions on a hazy day. However, to the north where the hills are in close proximity, they make a really grand sweep across the vale, and are visible in almost any weather from Manav Kendra. The remaining fourth or southern side of the valley does boast a low range of hills, beyond which lie the plains of Northern India, which include the capital city of Delhi. When travelling from Delhi by road, one arrives at Manav Kendra – located on the right of the main road – immediately after going over the low range via the Mohand Pass. Then if one continues on for about seven miles, one enters the pleasantly provincial town of Dehra Dun.

During the Master’s recent and frequent trips to Dehra Dun, He has given to Manav Kendra what can only be humanly described as His undivided attention. He usually arrives at the site at 9 a.m. each morning and does not leave until past 8 p.m., having ensured that all workers have been fed – frequently by His own hands. A casual visit will at any time find the Master pacing through the wet mud to each part of the site in turn, carefully inspecting, advising and encouraging.

Among the Satsangis working there are rich and poor alike, from all walks of life: businessmen, labourers, office workers, tradesmen, professional men, housewives, tackling with a will the numerous tasks of digging, carrying of earth, bricks and rocks, etc., and other heavy work. The long monsoon season is at its height just now, and the rainfall is regular and plentiful. This means that the work must be done in the rain, or else suffer the loss of time and labour. The ground is muddy and difficult under foot; the people are working in sodden clothes with little chance of drying them in the constantly damp atmosphere, but jolliness is the order of the day and no complaints are heard. Each disciple will tell you how lucky he is to be able to work near the Master and see Him so often – truly a labour of Love.

The Master Himself scorns the rain and mud to keep a constant watchful eye on the work and the workers, solving many a problem or difficulty, be it large or small. Late in the evening the Master arrives at His Rajpur bungalow wearing wet clothes and shoes covered with mud. In view of all the loving care and attention He is directing towards the launching of the Manav Kendra, there is no doubt that something magnificent will be born out of this newest phase of the Master’s mission.

Pictural Report

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Note: See also the link ‘Manav Kendra gets a Home (A Pictorial Report),’ in the Sat Sandesh issue May 1970.