An educational trip was organized at Muni Seva Ashram, Goraj – Vadodara on March 3rd, 2020 by the Faculty of Journalism and Communication was truly very special in terms of knowledge and experience.
The Muni Seva Ashram operates programs focused on agriculture, education and medicine – a nationally renowned cancer hospital, a senior citizen home, several schools from kindergarten to 12 grade, agricultural programs to free farmers from market forces, a school for the mentally challenged and a cow-shed.
Ashram is a very spiritual and peaceful place for peace of mind and health. Muni Seva Ashram was established by Anuben Thakkar in 1980, without any prior mission but only sought to serve the needy and deprived people. At present the main vision of ashram is “To serve, strengthen and sustain the wellbeing of the less fortunate without any discrimination and build organisational resilience through agriculture, health, education, welfare program and alternative energy by deploying most appropriate technologies in total harmony with nature, culture and human values”.
First we visited Vanprasth Mandir (senior citizens home)
There were four buildings named as Mathura, Goverdhan, Vrindavan and Gokul. Age above 55 for women and 60 above for men. The Apartment homes with all the modern amenities like laundry, housekeeping, common library, prayer and meditation rooms, beautiful open courtyards, paved and sheltered walkways and drive ways, fitness tracks for walks and jogs, healthy and nutritious food from the central kitchen. The ashram took 3000/- rupees per month as staying charges which included breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Ashram runs a network of 15 day care centres providing basic health and hygiene facilities, nutritive food and education that can achieve development of child’s body, mind, heart and soul. This service is for those children whose parents go out for work and are unable to give time to their children’s. Programs like art and craft, painting, storytelling and singing are being carried out. The services provided here are free, which includes milk and nutritious meal, medical care and vaccination programs.
Girls showcasing their talent
Parivar Mandir is one such place where such abandoned children are not only given shelter but provided with loving and caring family and all the opportunities of growth. Right now they are nurturing 23 such girls who are no more abandoned. These girls are given compulsory education from 1st to 12th standard, which is totally free of cost. When we went their they showed us their dance performance which was choreographed by them.
It is ranked as one of India’s leading cancer hospitals, based on the number of patients diagnosed and treated annually. Every month 200-300 patients are diagnosed with cancer. Patients from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh come for the check up. Hospital has it’s own blood bank, pathology lab, 10 operation theaters and pharmacy department. New services like Diagnostic imaging, Radiology, CT scan, X-ray departments, Bone marrow transplant unit and Neutropenia care area. They buy medicines in bulk from the company so they charge patients 50-60% less than the market price. The hospital is centrally AC, 400 tons electricity is used where 100 tons are used with solar panels. The money that is saved from the solar is used in the hospital for needy people.
Women with mental disabilities are especially the most victimized. To help such women, who either do not find the love from society or if their families can no longer support them, they have established a sanctuary that provides care, comfort, love and treatment to them. Bhagini Mandir has 20 rooms, each spacious enough to accommodate 5 women. Today this facility is a shelter for almost 100 women with age group of 18 to 40 years (they can also stay after 40 years, if their families don’t accept them). The schedule is designed in such a way that can encourage them to become as independent as possible. They are even trained to cook and to do some kind of handicraft work. Currently the expansion of Bhagini Mandir is going on to include 100 more such women.
Muni Seva Ashram is an active agent in the drive for sustainable development, with large-scale interests in organic farming, agro forestry, horticulture, animal husbandry, solar energy, and biogas. They have very well organized solar technology for operating Air conditioning in the Cancer Hospital and cooking applications. At the ashram, they make use of everything from the cow dung to leaves on the trees to wasted water.
Anuben’s divine foresight was swiftly taking shape and the small set-up the middle of undeveloped Goraj, is reborn as Muni Seva Ashram, a place where human lives found care and comfort, regardless of their origin.
That aesthetic element is strikingly evident throughout the ashram. With palm trees, nicely cut grass everywhere, beautifully architected buildings, elegant decorations, anyone feels good just by being there. At the Muni Seva Ashram, you can find humanity, technology, and spirituality. But there’s one more unique element that is immediately evident as you enter the premises: beauty. The whole premises of the ashram and hospital was very clean and it was giving an homely atmosphere. At the ashram we observed that everything was very well managed with lots of responsibilities.
Within seconds of entering such a mammoth institution with larger-than-life decorations, all very elegantly placed, you wonder if you’ve entered a corporation or an ashram. Within seconds of leaving the humble ashram, you wonder if perhaps all corporations can be ashrams like this.
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