Rashtriya Sewa Bharati’s three-day Sewa Sangam in Haridwar
Help ameliorate sufferings of deprived people
—Swami Satyamitranand Giri
By Ravindra Saini
“Service to deprived people is truly service to God. It is the embodiment of yajna, charity and sacrifice. Every person should attain punya by rendering service to the needy. The path of selfless service is very difficult because one has to give up one’s own interests while rendering service,” said noted saint and founder of Bharatmata Mandir Haridwar Swami Satyamitranand Giri while speaking at the concluding ceremony of three-day Sewa Sangam organised in Haridwar from October 1 to 3. About 900 delegates from 65 districts of Uttarakhand and Western Uttar Pradesh presented details about their service activities at the Sangam. A total of 72 service organisations represented at the Sewa Sangam.
During the Sewa Sangam, several persons who are rendering exemplary service in various fields were felicitated. Those who were honoured included Dr Harpal from Chamoli, Shri Vachan Singh from Tehari Garhwal, Smt Kalawati from Chamoli, Shri Bachan Singh Khatri from Dasjulakandai, Shri Mahak Singh from Bulandshahar, Shri Vedprakash from Muzaffarnagar, Shri Lokesh from Hathras and Shri Alok from Aligarh.
Shankaracharya Swami Vasudevananda Saraswati, former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand and Rajya Sabha MP from Uttarakhand Shri Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, Kshetra Sanghachalak Shri Darshan Lal Arora, senior Pracharak Shri Ashok Beri and Kshetra Pracharak of RSS Shri Shivprakash were also present on the occasion.
The Sewa Sangam is a unique experiment conducted by Rashtriya Sewa Bharati to bring the like-minded service organisations on one platform. It is because of such Sangams being organised in different states of the country that more than 500 voluntary organisations dedicated to service activities have already joined the Rashtriya Sewa Bharati and have expressed the resolve to work together.
During the three-day Sangam the volunteers shared their experiences and problems they come across while working in the field. The exercise will help the workers in preparing a plan for the betterment of the needy people.
Swami Satyamitranand Giri called upon the people dedicated to the cause of service to root out the sufferings and pain of the deprived people of the society.
Shankaracharya Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati said service and sacrifice are the born ideals of Bharat. Service to the deprived section of the society has been an integral part of our culture. We should carry on this task to make the whole Hindu society literate, healthy, safe and prosper. He said the concept of ‘service to man service to God’ is being materialised successfully by the Sewa Bharati all over the country. But at the same time he warned that the Christian missionaries are conspiring against Hindusim through selfish service and they are trying to weaken the integrity of the nation. “They are trying to separate the weaker section of the Hindu society from the mainstream of Hindusim. We need to be aware of their conspiracy. We can safeguard the Hindu culture only through social service,” he added.
Senior Sangh Pracharak Shri Madhubhai Kulkarni said the whole atmosphere of Haridwar is full of the feelings of selfless service and is an inspiration for sacrifice and selfless service. “Devotion to God inspires men to serve the helpless and the deprived people. Enlightenment is essential for selfless service and we need to improve our manners and behaviour while serving people. Every able Hindu must take care of very Hindu who is deprived of basic amenities,” he said.
Akhil Bharatiya Sewa Pramukh Shri Sitaram Kedilaya said our society is our idol, which we worship by conducting social service. “Social service for us is a sacred vow. We have to take Bharat to prosperity and pristine glory through social service. All of us are off-springs of Bharat Mata. The chasms of differences and discrimination are caused on account of ignorance, false notions and sheer vested interests. It is our solemn duty to cement such gaps through fulfillment of our sacred vow of social service. We owe to our society the most precious and sacred treasure our sanskriti we inherit. So too, we owe to our society the wealth, strength and knowledge we have received from our society. Hence, it is our duty to repay all such debts (with interest) by freely disbursing all that we have been privileged to receive from our society. Let everyone get equal opportunity. Social service to attain this must be conducted with humility,” he said.
Earlier, inaugurating an exhibition organised at the Sewa Sangam editor of Panchjanya Shri Baldevbhai Sharma said some anti-national forces are active in the country and in the name of service they are misguiding the deprived people of the Hindu society. He hoped that the whole picture of the country would change due to the activities of Sewa Bharati.
Swami Kailashanand Brahamchari, Dakshin Kali Pithadhishwar, said there is no big dharma than the service. He said the dedicated workers of Sewa Bharati are doing exemplary service. Former national president of Rashtriya Sewa Bharati Shri Surya Prakash Tonk, Shri Ashish Gautam of Divya Prem Sewa Mission and Kshetra Sewa Pramukh Shri Gangaram also spoke on the occasion.
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