Forty years ago, a German lady came to Radhakund. She saw couple of injured calves on the road, took them home and nursed them back to health.
This is the humble start of a Gaushala in Radhakund run by this compassionate German lady who goes by the name of Sudevi Dasi. She has dedicated her life to providing shelter, comfort and love to cows.
Normally, according to Hindu tradition, a gaushala is a shelter for cows that are aged and passed the milk giving stage. But this shelter called Surabhi Gauseva Niketan, houses not only these elderly cows (and bulls) but also cows that were blind, cows that have been injured, are sick, have been abused (some with acid!!), hit on the roads or simply abandoned, and yes, saved from the slaughter house. .
At the time we visited this shelter, the number of cows being housed was 1800! It was a heart rending sight to see these suffering cows, standing or sitting patiently. I looked into their uncomplaining eyes. What was going on in their heads, I wondered? Were they in acceptance of all that had happened to them and all that they were going through? My heart went out to them and I did mental Ho’oponopono as I blessed them with Reiki.
I came away extremely sad. For the thousandth time I asked myself why we, the so called humans, have so little compassion for animals … why, when we have so much else to eat, do we kill and eat animals ….
After giving Reiki to the cows, we made monetary donations of Gur (jaggery, which the cows love) and Sarson (mustard leaves, also a favourite with the cows).
Our Second Reiki Training Seva Camp was held on 16th February 2019 for 53 widows aged 52 – 102 years and 15 staff of Maitri Ghar Radhakund.
Once again, all went well, with Anuradha Nath taking the stage, imparting the knowledge in Bengali since the majority of widows were once again Bengali. She was assisted by Monica Gokladas and myself.
The ladies learned well, and soon became good healers!
We finished by 2 pm. We then got ready for our next Reiki Seva: A visit to a Gaushala (Cow Shelter) and healing the cows there …..
My gratitude to Maitri Ghar’s Founders General Bhupendra Singh and Winnie Singh who welcomed us and our healing program. Thanks also go to Manisha Dalabehera through whom we did the planning from beginning to end and who helped us throughout the time we were in Vrindavan and Radhakund. Many thanks too, to the staff of the Ashrams for making us welcome and helping us in the delivery of the program.
We made a donation of sarees, blouses and petticoats to some of the members of this ashram and for 50 widows for another ashram that was in the process of completion nearby.
Please do watch videos below which says it all so effectively.
The seed of doing Reiki healing seva for widows in India was planted in my mind in June last year after I happen to watch a video of Oprah Winfrey visiting the widows in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India. The plight of these widows touched my heart in a very very deep way. With tears in my eyes, I made a silent pledge to myself that I would ease their suffering in whichever way possible.
For those of us who are not knowledgeable about these widows, let me explain a little. In many parts of India, a widow is considered a curse, is mistreated, and sometimes thrown out of the family house. These poor unwanted ladies find their way to Vrindavan, it being their belief and hope that to die in Krishna’s city means going straight to Krishna. (equivvalent to salvation). Here they beg, roaming the streets, singing bhajans (holy songs) to earn a few rupees, sleep outside temples ……. Fortunately, since the last 15 years or so, a few NGOs and private foundations have set up a few Ashrams (Homes) which do take care of some of the widows, but more and more keep coming …
Fast forward to January 2019, and here I was all booked to fly in February to Vrindavan. I had decided to be with these forgotten members of our Indian Soceity. I wanted to celebrate my 70 years of existence on this beautiful planet Earth by sharing my love and light with them, to give them Reiki healing.
Soon I was joined by LHSG members Monica Gokaldas and Anuradha Nath. Now since we were three of us, we decided that instead of giving them Reiki sessions, we would train the widows in Reiki, so they could heal themselves every day.
What followed next was nothing short of magic. Funds started pouring in from our families, friends, neighbours, and other well-wishers, and in no time we had around US 4000 to donate to our causes!
And so it was, that in February 2019, we conducted Reiki training camps for widows in 2 Ashrams (Homes), healing Cows in a Gaushala (Cow Shelter), a Reiki healing day and training in a third Ashram all these in Uttar Pradesh, training for widows and Street boys in Mumbai, and a Reiki Healing Day for the elderly in Mumbai
These programs simply unfolded one by one, testimony to the power of creating unselfishly ……
So here then is our first Reiki Seva in Maitri Ghar, Vrindavan on 15th February 2019. 69 widows aged between 53 and 95 years were initiated into Reiki Level 1. Most of them were of Bengali origin, but that was no problem. Our dear Anuradha being Bengali herself, conducted the camp effortlessly!
The widows were happy to learn. Healing self was done well, but partner healing did not go well, as they were tired. So we learned that we could only have their attention for a maximum of 2 – 3 hours.
My gratitude to Maitri Ghar’s Founders General Bhupendra Singh and Winnie Singh who welcomed us and our healing program. Thanks also go to Manisha Dalabehera through whom we did the planning from beginning to end and who helped us throughout the time we were in Vrindavan. Many thanks too, to the staff of the Ashram for making us welcome and helping us in the delivery of the program.
Since the water in Vrindavan is unfit for human consumption, we paid for a water treatment plant for this ashram, the inauguration of which was done by us.
Please do watch the slide shows and videos below, which describe everything in pictures much better than I can do in words.
