Physically, Gandhi was a small man but he was a real giant in terms of his influence on India and on the rest of the world.  Our first visit after we landed at Ahmedabad was to Gandhi’s Ashram.  When we arrived in the early morning we had a quiet time browsing the images and texts in the museum and library.  Gandhi said “The law of love could be best understood and learned through little children” – an admonition that resonated strongly with me. 

 

Then Madhu Agrawal and his colleague joined us and the fifteen of us formed a circle as we sat barefoot in silent meditation under a tree high on the bank of the River Sabarmati.  We introduced ourselves by each explaining what made us smile – a good way to start.  Gandhi’s home was as he left it – simple, clean and austere.  The only ornamentation on Gandhi’s desk was a small statue of the three wise monkeys “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”.  The Asian quotation is centuries old and it embodies much of Gandhi’s approach to life.  In executing their mission, Manav Sadhna is guided by Gandhi’s unshakable beliefs in peace, truth, non-violence and compassion.

 

 

Manav Sadhna is a big, multi-faceted NGO based in the Gandhi Ashram and dedicated to up-lifting the underprivileged through love.  They are the living embodiment of Gandhi’s principles with projects in many sectors including education, kindergarten, health and hygiene, sanitation, empowerment of women, the arts and care for the elderly.  In all, Manav Sadhna serves more than 8,000 women and children through 35 different projects.  I was most impressed with their work related to Gandhi’s practical commitment to cleanliness and hygiene.  As a consequence of the caste system (under which the Untouchables were responsible for disposing of human waste), many Indians feel that the higher castes have no responsibility for waste disposal.  This is one reason for the low level of public hygiene and cleanliness that is evident to visitors to India. 

 

Next door to the Ashram is the sanitation institute and Gandhi’s words at the gate advise us to “Be the change you wish to see in the world” – worthy advice for social entrepreneurs.  We had lunch in the beautiful offices of Manav Sadhna’s Environment Sanitation Institute where we sat in the open enjoying the Indian cuisine.  I took a photograph of the women sitting on the kitchen floor cooking chapattis for us on a portable stove.  In line with Gandhi’s principles we served ourselves and we each washed up our own dishes after our meal. 

 

 

After lunch we met with Jayesh Patel and his team who spoke about their work and its roots in Gandhi’s philosophy.  A volunteer named Chris also joined us and spoke of his former life in California and his current work with leper children in Ahmedabad.  The ensuing Q&A session turned into a fascinating debate with many contributions on the relationship between the spirituality that is the foundation on which Manav Sadhna is built and the practical issues of addressing deprivation and disadvantage in the most needy communities.  After more than an hour of inspirational debate we bid farewell to our new friends but not before taking advantage of another great photo opportunity.  The pre-school teachers in their traditional Indian dress were on a break from their course and the Journeys for Change women joined them for a happy team picture on the grass lawn of the Institute.

 

 

We were returning to the Gandhi Ashram where the children of Vinay Mandir (part of organization Manav Sadhna) were about to perform. Their Co-ordinator, Nimesh Patel, explained that the children gave public performances in the past and may, indeed, do so again in the future.  However, what is really important is the performance itself regardless of the presence of an audience as the children learn from the performing arts and really enjoy the creative elements of singing, dancing and acting.  We were privileged to see their “Bird Dance” which I videoed and which you can view on my YouTube channel at bit.ly/vb7spN.  On the wall of the hall was written a 16^th century Shakespearean quotation – “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none” from “All’s Well that Ends Well” – a fitting inspiration for the children.

 

We were tired by the end of the day but it was more than a physical tiredness.  Our day at the Gandhi Ashram and Manav Sadhna was deeply moving, emotionally demanding and truly inspirational.  We were left in awe at the depth of the compassion and the effectiveness of the services that we witnessed and I hope that this blog goes some way to give readers a feel for the outstanding work that Manav Sadhna are doing with women and children in Ahmedabad.