Initiatives of Change - SIIB’s Journey through MRA & Their Discovery of the Magic of Silence

April 2 to 5, 2008.

Their journey began with exploring the energies within themselves with the virtues of quiet-times that was taught to them. They were made aware for the first time that the chatter box is not the inner voice and how important it was to listen to the Inner Voice and trust it.

After a year of hard work in the mad rushed world, this was hardly the kind of experience these students were looking for, but over three days through personal sharing of stories by many individuals - about their listening to the inner voice and following its calling, how it helped mend broken relations and pacify the seething pain - most of the students left Asia Plateau with a new perspective on issues of money, comfort and material goods.

Working at various levels was never so much fun, especially working for others. Dish washing was not something to avoid, but something they looked forward to. It was an event that almost changed the way few of them thought. One of the students admitted that he thought too high about himself and had never thought he would wash his plates, let alone those of the other students. He felt proud and promised to show his parents their transformed son.

At the programme, the sessions didn’t only touch on concerns about their lives and relations but also about the country. In the session ‘India, I Care!’, participants decided to be responsible citizens and make contributions at a personal level to keep the integrity and beauty of India.

A three and a half day trip became a journey that defined new destinations in their lives. One of the students said that he had joined the course in International Business with a vision to make at least one village self-sustainable but in the past one year seeing others he had fallen prey to the rat race. Now, he has re-gained his vision and will work with all his efforts to attain it.

by Avni Rao