Singapore’s readiness…..
Why did I say “yes” to visit “Singapore”? The question is still in my mind. Though the days at Singapore are almost over, I have not yet received a clear answer to this question. Here, I have experienced a little of what in Sri Aurobindo’s words, “the readiness in the matter, life energy and of mind in the western world”. The spirits touch is awaiting, the time will arrive soon.
And the nature’s play on earth is same everywhere on earth….
Sulochana
The people who received us…….
….. about all the sight seeing and interaction sessions which were organized for us. Everything was an eye-opener for me…The selection of places to visit was so much relevant to the whole group and each one of us found something that we enjoyed. One thing I would like to mention here is the way the sessions went. The people were so much respectful, sincere in receiving us, really spent time with us.
Baren
Some notes on what caught my attention…..
No honking on the roads – vehicles are moving at high speed at ease as roads do not have many arteries to them. There was less noise pollution. Road users score high on sensitivity, few pedestrians more vehicles; streets are not so crowded except in Little India where we saw many people in the market place. Singapore scores high on aesthetic sense – everything is neat and clean, designed, maintained and preserved well. No agricultural land, cultivation is rare as land is small so things are mostly imported. Corporal punishment is practiced. Houses are kept well as seen in the few we visited. I wonder how people staying in the multi-storied buildings manage without being close to the earth for many days. Singapore looks like a young nation trying hard to achieve its goal collectively. People do have a say as noted from the newspaper’s readers’ column where they are voicing their concerns on reports published. Existence of multi-cultural and multi-racial harmony. This is something many countries can learn from Singapore.
I have heard about this centre since Dr Nadkarniji’s time and wondered how it would be like. After almost 25 years since I first heard about this centre, I got a chance to see it. I enjoyed the question and answer sessions, discussions with the members and the ambience of the centre. It holds the spirit of peace, harmony, beauty and a strong vibration.
Srila
Impressions.…..
As a place: Singapore is a beautiful country, a combination of natural and artificial beauty. One could find a balance between the two. One would be surprised to see the rain forest as well as a lot of greenery in the middle of the city. Everything is well organized and properly maintained and it is a very clean city. Technologically, the country is very advanced. People are very hard-working and disciplined. A lot of energy and thought must have been spent in proper planning and executing, though resources are minimal. Spiritually speaking, “Each atom of matter contains something of Thy energy” – this has been expressed there. Orchid –‘attachment to the Divine’ being the national flower, certainly in the physical level the place has reached its goal and so, beauty is expressed everywhere.
Education: Singapore’s schools impressed me very much. In all the schools as well as at National Institute of Education, I felt that the ambience was well maintained. Teachers were very receptive and hard working. They showed their eagerness to know about mirambika. The most attractive place was their library. Everything was controlled and maintained so smoothly. They manage their time very efficiently. I felt a lot of dynamism in their work process. People appear to excel in the mental level. A bridge now needs to be done, perhaps, to cover the gap between matter and spirit.
Culture: In Singapore, one can find a mixed culture – culture of China, Malaysia and India. Each race celebrates its own festivals and in the schools children were exposed to all the culture, which was a nice thing. The vibration of Indian culture is very much felt here. The great thing is people are able to find their time for it. When we visited the Mariamman temple in the morning, the music was excellent. It was so piercing that one forgot to listen to all other noises of the outside world. It was like a symbol that ‘prepares your self to receive the God’. It was nice to see the faces of all the Gods and Goddesses early in the morning.
Sri Aurobindo and the Mother’s work: In the centre I saw many aspiring souls ready to do the work of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo. When I thought about this, I felt ‘who am I to think about this?’ It is the Lord himself who does everything and He will choose the instruments and do his work in time.
Me and my being: This was a trip where I was very joyful throughout and I was able to maintain that balance somehow. I was able to walk harmoniously with all others and I was able to remember the words of Sri Aurobindo throughout.
Rasmita
Activities and adventures…..
We started early for the centre. A few children were already there. After a brief introduction from Jayanthy didi we started the game with both parents and the children. I took the initiative to make them play. We had not planned this before hand; on the spot the way the ideas came, we went on playing, with a purpose to play together and to play for fun, trying as far as possible to keep the sensitivity alive. We played for more than an hour, then the parents went for the Q&A session with our senior didis and we sat with the children to make science toys. There were about 15 children, they were all eager to learn everything. So here also our earlier planning, to work in sub groups did not work and the learning took place exactly in a mirambika way. I started cutting the paper strips, Rasmita helped some of the older children to make the fan and they were asked to help the younger ones. Then they also learned how to make the catapult and the pen-knife. In between I found a very young girl who was not able to get involved in the activities with the rest and so I started spending some time with her. At one time while collecting the flowers with her in the courtyard, when I looked at the group, I found all of them were much involved in their learning process. It became a difficult job for us to stop the process as it was time to go back home. So only with a few children we were able to do some reflective activity. Again I found the children very much receptive and they were able to relate with the questions. A few of them gave some in-depth replies; even the little girl expressed herself with a confident look on her face.
On Monday, 25th May, with our packed picnic lunch, we started our journey to ‘Pulau Ubin’ in a boat. It was a pleasant ride, so many surprises were waiting for us there - the mangrove plants, the big monitor lizard, the mud-lobster’s mud-house, the jungle trekking, finding a Britisher’s house in the midst of the jungle and the sound of the crickets. It was a new and interesting experience for me. Here we came across the natural wealth of Singapore which was also well preserved by the people. While on our ramble, we saw fruit trees like ‘rambutan’ and ‘durian’. The next day on 26th, we went for trekking inside the rain forest (seemingly untouched!). It was beyond my expectation. There was a big reservoir. Enjoying the beauty of both the sides I was moving ahead at my own pace. I was not interested in knowing the names, but I liked listening to the little stories about some trees. I saw a few tall and old ‘Shorea’ trees, standing like ‘Witnesses’ and seeing to all the progress happening around them. We went forward to feel one. On our return path, I was collecting some flowers and leaves, mostly as a habit. Suddenly we saw a big lizard appear very close by us, along the foot path. As it was a sudden appearance, the flowers and leaf they were on fell down from my hand, but were picked up again and rearranged on the leaf. It was a baby lizard, with relaxed and graceful movement it was searching for its prey. We stood still for many minutes watching it. It was quite a treat for us, and made our day. Jayanthy didi and I offered the flowers to this lovely creature and its lovely Creator.
Minati
No comments:
Post a Comment