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16th April 2020 |
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Harih Om Tat Sat. It is 8.15 after dusk. At 5:00 pm came Satheep Joseph, our Paralam Panchayat President. He gave me a list of newly found people, who, he says, have rice with them, but no grocery to cook a proper meal. Somehow, the range of emergency schemes and last-mile initiatives of the Government just falls short of these forlorn sufferers. He appealed whether the Ashram could do something for them, just so they can have a proper meal during the extended period of lockdown. As he took leave came the Panchayat Presidents and their teams from Avinissery and Chazhoor. They also had their lists of deserving individuals, who desperately needed materials to cook their food. We thus have another 1354 beneficiaries from Trichur in this second phase of lockdown denials. By the time the modalities of packing and distribution were discussed and minuted, it was past 7:00 pm. Pranati, as before, had already ordered the materials from a grocer in Kattoor. Taking delivery of the materials and packing them are a delicate and laborious job. Chazhoor Panchayat, along with their Health Inspector, took up the responsibility of receiving the supplies, verifying and packing them with the help of their volunteer groups. We are yet to arrange 10,000 bags for packing the grocery items. The materials would reach the Chazhoor Panchayat Community Hall by 11:00 am tomorrow. As and when there are enough packets to distribute in one Panchayat, they will be loaded into the truck and moved to the distribution centres. By 3:00 pm, the nearly 10,000 packets will have been handed over, and the last distribution in Chazhoor will be on. The materials would reach the Chazhoor Panchayat Community Meanwhile, the supply of bun, jam and biscuits to the remote tribal villages in the forests of Jharkhand has also been started, as the attached pictures depict. What shall I say? My throat is choked and eyes are moist. Seventy years have passed after we became free from the imperial clutches of the British. The land, wealth, outer and inner resources alike, all are under our management and discretion. What excuse do we have in allowing such stark privation, wherever it is within our Nation? Inaccessibility can be no plea at all in the matter. Nor even the lack of resources. Either we should optionally share our fortune with others, or the ruling government must make legitimate extractions from the people and reach them effectively to the starving. We are not worthy of our salt if we cannot ensure ample food for all in the country. Well, nothing in the governance can be an excuse for the resourceful not to do their might heartily in the matter. Many a drop makes an ocean. All I can say is let there be enough drops. Any offering made by any one is, in reality, more a spiritual austerity and contribution than a mere monetary sharing. This austerity, on becoming collective and widespread, can change the mind-set of even a huge society or nation. I am looking at your thoughts, feelings and sharing in such a spiritual light.
Love and ashirvaad. Swami Nirviseshananda Tirtha and Ma Gurupriya send loving good wishes. Antaraatma Narayanashrama Tapovanam Venginissery, P.O. Paralam, Trichur, Kerala - 680 563 Telephone : +91-(487)-2277963 / 2278302 E-Mail : |
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