LATEST NEWS FROM ANANDA NAGAR
Cakradhuri Campus (aerial view pictured above left) – Report by Mahesh Kumar
The reception center (above right) is now almost complete and ready for occupation and use. The seminar hall shall be used for workshops, meetings and seminars. It can conveniently hold a hundred persons. The granite flooring is being laid and finishing work is in process. The water storage tank in the center of this building can hold 40,000 liters of water. The solar panels are also being installed to tap solar energy. The next step is to finish the kulapati residence building and to begin the completion of the main building with 19,000 square feet on each floor.
The entire campus is expected to be blooming with flowers in the beginning of coming year. The two fields are being used for agriculture—paddy, mustard, lentils, potato, broccoli, tomatoes (almost 25 kgs/day were harvested in season), Chinese cabbage, string beans, cucumbers, drumsticks, and numerous other vegetables and fruits. Mangoes, jamuns, papayas. (100 trees), jackfruits, chiikus, pineapples (50), litchis, sweet lemons, lemons, water-melons and other seasonal fruits have been planted and harvested. The neem seeds have been collected and will soon be used for producing neem oil for medicinal purposes. The herbal garden is full of rare medicinal plants. Black turmeric was also harvested.
The water pond has some fishes in it now and the waterlilies are blooming. The beehives gave 60 kgs of medicinal honey and some of it was sold. The desi-cow is giving 7 litres per day for local consumption. There are two calves and another pregnant desi sindhi cow. The cow dung is being used for producing manure and upgrading the soil of the campus.
International yoga day at Ananda Nagar was organized by Shrii Mahesh Kumar and Mrs. Radha Gusain
Fine Arts College
Divyendu Anand, artist from Noida, visited Anandanagar in November, 2022, and explored opportunities to revive the Fine Arts College founded by Shrii P.R. Sarkar in 1990. He has ambitious plans to prepare sculptures for Anandanagar to immortalise the great personalities in whose names the roads have been named. He also would like to establish artists cooperatives and nurture the artist talent of the area.
Sadhana Intensive Month
Dada Gunamuktananda led the Sadhana Intensive month at Anandanagar and attracted spiritual aspirants from India and abroad. The participants visited the sacred sites of Anandanagar called tantra-piithas, and visited Gurukula campuses also. In collaboration with Dada Dharmavedananda, Dr. Steve Landau, and Niranjan of the Naturopathy Center, a one-month workshop was also held on “Sentient Lifestyle”. Anandanagar offers great potential to help us rejuvenate our lives and replace negativity with positivity. A yearlong round-the-clock kiirtan was hosted by Dada Savitananda and provides a spiritual atmosphere for all permanent residents and visitors.
Agricultural and Veterinary Colleges/University Campus
A ten-acre plot of prime land in Guridih was reclaimed by Ananda Marga Gurukula and steps are being taken to utilize it fully now. This is the site for Gurukula Agricultural/University Campus. A well was already made by Gurukula long ago on the property. On 19th October, Ananda Marga Gurukul Veterinary Institution organized a Veterinary Camp at Guridih Village. Ninety-five domestic animals were treated free of charge.
Gurukula Chitmu School
The enrollment of the school has swung back to 100. Computer classes for young adults were added. The smart classroom has the use of a wall projector donated by Yolande Koning from the Netherlands. Cartoons are being created and used to aid the learning process. The children take special interest in art and drawing, crafts, music, dance, meditation, and spiritual education. The recitation of slokas and sutras continue as before. The children are learning to say numerals in Chinese, samskrta and other languages. They can say ‘thank you’ in thirty languages and have learned about anatomy and human physiology. More school uniforms were distributed to new children who have joined the school. The contribution for uniforms came from Anup Anandji of Mumbai. Video clips have been prepared to document children displaying their memory skills related to spiritual philosophy (yama-niyama, ten vital airs, bath mantra, names of cakras, eight siddhis, names of kosas, dhvaja-vandana mantra, astapashas and satripus etc.). Periodic meals are being provided by contributions from Dr. H. J. Lee and Ghanendra Prabhakar. The outdoor learning Journey trips continue also from time to time.
