News 2013

“Of one thing you can be sure – your future is in your hands. You will become the man you want to be and the higher your ideal and your aspiration, the higher will be your realisation, but you must keep a firm resolution and never forget your true aim in life.”
The Mother

12 Nov: Nairobi Centre of SAS 4000 booklets in 10 different titles to the Public Relations Officer and to the Board Executive Member of The Kenya Girl Guides Association, at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan, Nairobi. The booklets will be distributed in the counties of the organization and few will be kept in their main library.

19 Sept: Nairobi Centre of SAS presented four thousand booklets in ten different titles and two hundred booklets of ‘Ideal Child’ in Kiswahili to the National General Secretary and Coordinator of Young Women’s Christian Association of Kenya at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan. The booklets will be distributed at the various branches of YWCA all over Kenya. The National General Secretary expressed her gratitude to Sri Aurobindo Society for the booklets and said that the booklets will inspire the women and girls and help them in achieving the right goals in their lives.

13 Sept: Nairobi Centre of SAS presented 440 booklets of Ideal Child, Ideal Parent, Ideal Teacher, 100 booklets on ‘Right Upbringing of Children’ and 100 booklets on ‘Aim of Life’ to Rudan Junior Academy which has two branches in Nairobi. The booklets will be distributed among the students, parents, teachers and the staff of the school.

10 Sept: Nairobi Centre of SAS presented six thousand booklets in ten different titles to Kenya Young Men’s Christian Association at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan. Mr. Omondi, the National Program Coordinator received the booklets on behalf of the organization which has more than twenty-six branches within Kenya. The booklets will be distributed in all the branches. He expressed his gratitude to Sri Aurobindo Society for the booklets and said that the teachings in these booklets are invaluable to enrich the four dimensional development for the youth of the country.

5 Sept: Nairobi Centre of SAS presented fifty booklets of Ideal Child, Ideal Parent, Ideal Teacher and fifty booklets of Ideal Child in Kiswahili to Sister D’Souza who is the project administrator of Edelvale Homes where the orphan girls are given shelter, education and guidance. The booklets will be given to senior girls and the caretakers and will be read out on daily basis.

25 Aug: Nairobi Centre of SAS held the seminar on ‘Suffering: its cause and cure’ at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan. The seminar was attended by twenty four people. It began with fifteen minutes meditation at 1030 am followed by the reading of The Mother’s Prayer of 18th June 1913. The chairperson of the centre welcomed the participants and gave a brief introduction on the subject. Thereafter the convener spoke a few words on collective and individual sufferings and invited the participants to speak on the subject. The participants mostly spoke about their personal sufferings which they have gone through and how they tried to overcome them with the faith in the Divine and will power. The topic on global sufferings was also extensively discussed. Everyone agreed on pain as a teacher and that practicing yoga, trying to follow the teachings of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo, surrendering to the Divine helps in overcoming various suffering and pain on physical and emotional levels. The seminar was concluded by a brief summary on the topic and The Mother’s observations on the suffering and its solution taken from Collected Works of The Mother, Book 2, and pp.19-20. This was followed by silent meditation and lunch.

20 Aug: Nairobi Centre of SAS presented fifty copies of eleven different types of booklets which includes ‘True Role of Woman’ to the Women Enterprise Fund organization which organizes funds for women to set up small-scale businesses in Nairobi and other rural areas in Kenya. Their motto being – You empower a Woman, you empower a Family and a whole Nation. The booklets will be kept in their reception area of Nairobi office and some will be distributed in the offices of rural areas.

15 Aug: 141st Birth Anniversary of Sri Aurobindo – Darshan Day. The devotees gathered in the evening at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan. The Mother’s prayer of 29th March 1914 was read out, then Darshan Message from the Ashram was read out, followed by half an hour meditation Copies of Darshan Message from the Ashram were given out to all present.

13 July: Tenth Anniversary of the Enshrinement of the Relics of Sri Aurobindo at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan, Nairobi Centre. This significant day was celebrated by the devotees of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan, Nairobi Centre of Sri Aurobindo Society. The devotees gathered in the Relics House at ten a.m. where The Mother's Prayer of 30th March 1914 was read out followed by collective chanting of Sri Aurobindo's Gayatri Mantra. Then collective recitation of Sri Aurobindo's epic poem 'Savitri' commenced till seven p.m. in the evening followed by prasad.

26 June: The Deputy Matron of Gertrude's Children's Hospital visited Sri Aurobindo Bhavan and she was presented with two thousand booklets in ten different titles for the hospital and its satellite clinics. The booklets will be kept in all the reception areas and in the wards for the patients and the staff of the hospital.

25 June: Nairobi Centre presented one thousand booklets in ten different titles to the Chief Librararian and other officials of Kenya Institute of Professional Studies, at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan. The Principal of the institute has expressed his gratitude for the booklets which will be kept in their main library for the students, staff and other library users. Here the students are being trained among other subjects on counselling and on social work and community development.

4 June: Nairobi Centre presented one thousand booklets in ten different titles at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan, to Kenya Institute of Social Work and Community Development. The booklets will be kept in their library and will be given out to community developers who in turn will distribute them in their offices in the Nairobi slums.

28 May: Nairobi Centre of SAS presented 1000 booklets in ten different titles to the United Disabled Persons of Kenya which is the umbrella organisation of Person with Disabilities in Kenya. The booklets were received by the officials of the organisation and they will be distributed to the members of UDPK which currently has membership of about 200 disabled persons. The booklets will be also used by the counselors of their Support Group..

3 May: Nairobi Centre of SAS presented three thousand booklets in ten different titles to the Public Relations Officer of Youth Enterprise Fund Development. Its mother body is the Ministry of Youth Affairs which is specifically mandated to represent and address youth concerns in Kenya. The booklets will be of great help in character building of the youth. The booklets will be kept in the reception areas of the offices and also some of them will be sent to different constituencies all over Kenya.

24 April: Darshan Day Nairobi Centre of Sri Aurobindo Society celebrated this significant day at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan. The Mother's Prayer was read out followed by collective recitation of Sri Aurobindo's Gayatri Mantra. The Darshan message received from Sri Aurobindo Ashram was read out. There was meditation for half an hour accompanied by Sunilda's music. Copies of Darshan message and prasad were distributed.

14 April: Seminar on FEAR Nairobi Centre of Sri Aurobindo Society held a seminar on 'FEAR' at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan.Twenty five members participated in the seminar which began at 11 am with The Mother's Prayer. After the collective recitation of Sri Aurobindo's Gayatri Mantra, the chairman gave a brief welcome and introduction on the subject of the seminar emphasising on development of the inner being to overcome fears and some of the methods suggested by The Mother to overcome fear. The participants then gave their views on their personal fears and how they try to overcome them. The seminar was concluded with the brief readings of The Mother's Words on why humanity generally fears and how the sadhaks of Integral Yoga should face fear. This was followed by collective recital of 'Om' twelve times and silent meditation. Photographs of the seminar were taken. Lunch was served to all who were present at the Bhavan.

12 April: Nairobi Centre presented four thousand booklets in ten different titles to the Commanding Officer of General Service Unit at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan. The officer was accompanied by his family and he extended his gratitude to Sri Aurobindo Society for the booklets which are every year distributed to the officials and the staff of the GSU Service. He finds them useful for their spiritual development and character building.

15 Mar: Nairobi Centre of SAS presented photograph of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo, two thousand booklets in ten different titles and fifty booklets of 'Ideal Child' in Kiswahili to the official bearer of Kenya Prison Service, Nairobi at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan. The booklets will be kept in the library of the Prisons Headquarters for the inmates and the staff. Some of the booklets will be distributed among the prisoners of Langata Prisons and some will be taken to the coastal region of Kenya to be distributed among the staff and inmates of the Prison Headquarters there. These prisons are mostly for the women offenders and their children and the booklets will be of great help in their rehabilitation process.

21 Feb: The Mother's 135th Birth Anniversary - Darshan Day Nairobi Centre of SAS celebrated The Mother's Birth Anniversary at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan. The Mother's flag was hoisted in the morning. At 6.30p.m. The Mother's Prayer was read out, followed by collective recitation of Sri Aurobindo's Gayatri Mantra and invocation to the Divine Mother from Sri Aurobindo's Savitri. The Darshan Message of the day was also read out. Then there was meditation of half an hour accompanied by New Year Music of 1975. Copies of Darshan Message and prasad were distributed to all. There were twenty three devotees present.

15 Feb: Nairobi Centre of SAS presented three thousand booklets in ten different titles to the Administration Police Department of Kenya. The booklets were received by the officials of the department who acknowledged that the officers and other workers of the department find the booklets greatly beneficial in their character building and correct way of dealing in their work. They also visited the Relics House and prayed for the coming elections of the country and for peace and harmony. The booklets will be kept in their library and will be sent to different provinces of Kenya.

25 Jan: Nairobi Centre of SAS presented two thousand booklets in ten different titles to the Public Relations Manager of the Lions Sightfirst Eye Hospital at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan. They have patients coming from all parts of the country for the eye operations which are done on subsidised rates and the hospital in managed by Lions Clubs International. The booklets will be distributed among the patients and the staff.

18 Jan: Nairobi Centre of SAS presented one thousand booklets in ten different titles at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan to the Communications and Support Manager of Faraja Cancer Support Centre. He appreciated these booklets and said that the writings of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo will certainly help the patients to overcome their fears and sufferings.These booklets will be distributed among the patients and the carers of the centre and will be also kept in the reception area of the centre.
The Programme Secretary of Kenya Alliance for Advancement of Children was presented 300 copies of Ideal Child, Ideal Parent, Ideal Teacher and 50 copies of Right Upbringing of Children. These booklets will be distributed in various branches of the organisation to the teachers, counsellors

17 Jan: Nairobi Centre of SAS presented 2000 booklets in ten different titles to SOS Children's Village, Nairobi. The Village Director of Nairobi branch, Mr. Nasongo received the booklets on behalf of the Village, the booklets will also be distributed in Mombasa centre of the Village. He has also requested for an interactive talk on holistic upbringing of the children with the teachers of the SOS Children's Village, Nairobi at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan. Photographs were taken.