Centres in Australia | Centres In NewZealand
SAHAJ MARG IN AUSTRALIA
From the time that the Shri Ram Chandra Mission was registered as an Incorporated Association in New South Wales, in November 1990, we have enjoyed very simple and straightforward relationships with the government departments and wider community in our country.
The Mission is registered as a non-profit organisation, with spiritual objectives. The main objective is to provide training in spirituality to people of all walks of life, irrespective of religion, education, social standing, wealth and culture. The training is given free of charge and all work in the Mission is voluntary. The only motivation for both teacher and pupil is willingness to grow and to develop their potential as perfectly balanced human beings. This is upheld in all our Mission centres throughout the world.
The first step in spirituality is to become truly human - to shed our prejudices, our fears, our desires, our selfishness and greed, our habits: all the things that limit us. This gradually brings us back to a natural simplicity, in which we are able to manage our lives more effectively and regulate our minds. By learning to regulate the mind through meditation, we are better able to manage the stresses of everyday life, and are also able to face any problems with courage, clarity and focus of concentration. No beliefs or dogma are required for the training in our Mission. Instead we follow a simple practice that requires the aspirant to experience for himself the fruits of meditation and prayer.
We are encouraged to live in society as householders with the joys and sorrows of family life. We are encouraged to love our children, nurture them and care for them. We are encouraged to look after our elderly family members, and respect them for their age and wisdom. Even further, we are encouraged to extend this basic humanity to others outside our families as well: to see all children as worthy of our love, all elderly people as worthy of our care and respect. Eventually we hope to see an Australian society where people treat each other with this basic humanity, where people of all backgrounds can live in harmony, as one heart of humanity.
We are also encouraged to contribute to our society through work and duty. Our members come from all walks of life. There are mothers and housewives, teachers, engineers, doctors, lawyers, computer analysts, factory workers, architects, government employees, secretaries, accountants, university students, gardeners, printers, builders etc.
We are encouraged to eat simple food and to use resources wisely and with efficiency. Our meetings are quiet, and our social activities suitable for families. Everyone, from the youngest child to the oldest person, is welcome at our gatherings. Adults (over 18 years of age) participate in the meditation activities, as long as they are of sound mind. Children do not meditate, as it is considered best that they choose to participate for themselves, when old enough to decide, rather than doing so just because their parents are meditating, or because of parental persuasion. They instead are welcome to participate in social activities, craft, sports, and other family-based activities within the Mission.
Every year we hold an Annual General Meeting, at which our financial statement is presented to all members. This statement is audited externally by a fully-qualified accountant. The use of funds is transparent and appropriate to a non-profit organisation. We have tax-exempt status with the Australian Taxation Office, as well as other exemptions.
All our funds come from donations from members and from the sale of books, audio cassettes, video cassettes and photographs. Donations are only accepted if given willingly from the heart, and never at the expense of family needs. These funds are all channelled straight back into Mission activities. Some of these monies go towards general running costs. We currently have a Building Fund in which we are saving for our own centre for large group seminars and activities. We also have a Travel and Seminar Fund in which we save money to enable teachers within our Mission to travel to parts of Australia with small centres, or to establish new centres.
It is now 10 years that we have been established as a bona fide non-profit organisation in Australian society. We are also accepted as an organisation with charitable objectives, and as such have been granted permission to fundraise in the wider community by the New South Wales government.
In the last year, in Western Australia, our Mission has participated in a project coordinated by the Ishar Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health. This project has brought together people from a number of different spiritual and cultural groups, to bring about mutual understanding, tolerance and thus harmony. The groups include:
One project carried out by Ishar was to produce a tapestry quilt, with visual symbols of each group represented. The finished quilt was first presented to each participating group, and is currently being borrowed by numerous other community organisations. The tapestry quilt will finally hung in a Museum in Perth as a symbol and reminder of the importance of tolerance, harmony and acceptance of differences. One of the aims of this project is to see Australia initiating global citizenship in the 21st century and being an ambassador for peace and harmony.
The Shri Ram Chandra Mission was also invited to take part in a special project set up by the National Council of Jewish Women of Australia, supported financially by the "Living in Harmony" Initiative of the Commonwealth Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, and consisted of a series of workshops and round tables. The object was to bring together various communities and ethnic groups to "Bridge Diversity, Build Inter-Racial, Multicultural and Interfaith Harmony" with topics such as " The Status of Women in Different Culture and Religions" " The Role of Art and Craft in your Culture and Community", "Food, Your Culture and Your Community" 'Immigration-Your Family and Your Community" " The Music and Dance of Your Community". Within the framework of this long-lasting programme we were also invited to share the various Jewsih Festivals, such as Succot ( Festival of Tabernacles), Cahnukah (Festival of Lights), and Pesach ( Festival Passover).
Following on from these projects, our Mission received a government grant of $2,200 Australian, from the Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Interests, and hosted a public seminar in Perth on the 2nd October, 2000. This seminar was entitled "One Heart of Humanity". This seminar consisted of two parts:
This public seminar was held at the Old Government House, Perth. As a gesture from the government, they gave us this venue free of charge for the day.
The Shri Ram Chandra Mission also has a global committee called the Sahaj Marg Research and Training Institute, that coordinates publications, training programmes and other research and educational activities throughout the world. This committee is also active in Australia, and we hope to expand our training programmes in the future to also provide seminars and workshops for non-members as well as the current activities for members. The topics would include: "Bringing values back into education"; "Balancing the material and the spiritual aspects of life"; "Allowing tolerance, equality and fraternity for all".
Those of us who belong to the Shri Ram Chandra Mission have found spiritual teachers in our organisation who are truly concerned for the welfare and upliftment of all humanity. We look forward to a time when all human beings exist in societies based on love, understanding, efficiency, discipline, tolerance, fraternity and equality.