Guiding Light of The Month

O Lord, how ardently do I call and implore Thy love! Grant that my aspiration may be intense enough to awaken the same aspiration everywhere: oh, may good- ness, justice and peace reign as supreme masters, may ignorant egoism be overcome, darkness be suddenly illu- minated by Thy pure Light; may the blind see, the deaf hear, may Thy law be proclaimed in every place and, in a constantly progressive union, in an ever more perfect harmony, may all, like one single being, stretch out their arms towards Thee to identify themselves with Thee and manifest Thee upon earth. - The Mother

Along the Way……Reflections on the July 2013 Morning Walk


It was a nice, bright Sunday morning, and another occasion to gather for our monthly Sunday Walk. This time, we had something really special to look forward to, as the venue for the Walk was a new place. It was to happen at the Punggol Promenade Riverside Walk. Since Punggol is on the East, and since there aren’t too many high-rises around the River, it tends to get extremely bright and sunny, hence, our thoughtful host, Sanjay, had advised us to come prepared with our hats/sunglasses. Most of us were first-timers at the place and were trying to soak in the complete experience of our first glimpse of the Riverside. The Promenade was alongside the river Sungei Serangoon. At the backdrop of the river is this huge patch of greenery with a lot of nice big green trees. The entry point was Picture Perfect. We decided to capitalize on the backdrop and took a couple of pictures, after which we started the Walk.

This riverside promenade has a separate track for cyclists and joggers. On one side of the tracks, you have the river flowing by peacefully, and on the other side, you have a lot of beautiful flowering plants, with flowers of different colors, dotting the place. As we walked, at our own paces, we caught up with different people. There were many Lookout Points along the track which enabled us to have a closer look at the river. Each of these Lookout Points also had something educative—a map with the names of all the reservoirs in Singapore, a write-up about the ecosystem at the Reservoir and a note about Reducing, Reusing and Recycling. The information was tastefully displayed. There were many steel installations on the way, which were artistic as well as utilitarian, as they typically had chairs beneath them, providing shade as well as a spot to sit and relax for anyone who chose to. All in all, the place had something new and fresh about it, which made us all feel good and rejuvenated. Once done with the walk, we proceeded to our hosts’ (Sanjay, Ami and Akash) place in Tampines. We started off with the Opening Meditation. After reading out the Significance of Birthdays (according to The Mother), and the names of people who were to celebrate their birthdays/anniversaries in July, we had a cake cutting session for our dear Akash, followed by a delicious, healthy brunch cooked lovingly by Ami. I am already looking forward to the next month’s Walk.

-          Preethi Saroja

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