Veerayatan Newsletter,
August 2022, Edition-36

Our children excel in Sanskrit

It is our great pleasure to announce that four children from Tirthankar Mahavir Vidya Mandir (TMVM) have excelled in a Sanskrit competition which took place in Palitana. All the schools and colleges in and around Palitana took part in this competition in which the students contested in various categories. Five children from TMVM were chosen to take part and 4 of them were awarded prizes. Darshan Parmar aged 13 came first in transcribing what was being said; Vinshi Awadi, aged 13 came first in reading; Dhruvi Vagela aged 15 came first in composition; and, Pragati Parma aged 15 came second in the drawing competition where children had to draw something related to Sanskrit. Pujya Tai Ma congratulated all the children and presented each with a gift.

Celebrating Raksha Bandhan

At Tirthankar Mahavir Vidya Mandir, all 350 students celebrated Raksha Bandhan with such excitement and zeal. All beautifully dressed and with huge smiles, the girls tied a rakhee to the boys and the boys gave the girls a chocolate. Pujya Tai Ma told the children that tying the rakhee is not just an external action but there is deeper meaning behind this. She went on to say that it is not just about protecting, respecting and loving each other but it is also about spreading these feelings to the whole world. And the smart children with confidence mentioned everyone and everything they would like to protect. In the presence of Pujya Tai Ma, they took the following resolve - That they will always look after each other, their parents and the whole family, the cows and other animals, nature including trees, other plants, birds, air and water and the whole country and the world!

What a wonderful way to celebrate Raksha Bandha with so much positive energies spread everywhere!

Shri Adinath Netralay

Shri Adinath Netralay, the ultra-modern eye hospital, an initiative of Veerayatan Palitana, is doing excellent work. On a recent visit we were stunned by their systems of work; the seamless treatment of patients from when they are first seen in the outpatient clinic to having treatment and the post care was overwhelmingly impressive. The space, the cleanliness and the welcome given by all the staff is notable.

It was great to hear that all staff members are trained either in-house or at L V Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad so that high quality care is given to all patients. Patients receive subsidised treatments include either medical or surgical treatments or obtaining spectacles. Even specialised retina treatments are available in this rural hospital.

What is most admirable is that the hospital is paperless! And the information recorded for audit trail by the computer system is incredible such that it records everything from when the patient first came to the hospital, how long they had to wait before been seen by the doctors, to receiving the treatment itself and the post care received. The video of the doctors performing the surgical intervention is also stored for clinical audit purposes.

With the vision and blessings of Pujya Tai Ma and the hard work of Sadhvi Sanghamitraji and Sadhvi Chetnaji, the people of Palitana and the surrounding areas are receiving excellent eye care treatments

Free Eye Check-up Camp

Shri Adinath Netralay, organised a free eye check-up camp in Palitana town centre in association with Sir Mansighji Government Hospital who gave the premises to Veerayatan to conduct the camp. In total 111 patients were seen who were diagnosed with various eye problems including cataract, glaucoma, eye infections etc. Medicines, if required, were given free of any cost. Twenty-three patients have been identified for further evaluation for surgical interventions which will be conducted at Shri Adinath Netralay. Further management of these patients will also be free of any cost.

Well done to the whole team! The plan is to organise such eye camps regularly, so as to make the services accessible to as many patients as possible.

Shri Gautam Adani visits Veerayatan Kutch campus

The well-known industrialist, Shri Gautam Adaniji, with his 5 brothers and 22 members of his family visited Veerayatan Kutch to pay respect to Pujya Tai Ma and seek blessings on the occasion of Shri Gautambhai’s 60th birthday. They were delighted to see the newly built Adani Auditorium and the beautiful campus of Veerayatan Kutch. He was overwhelmed to see the magnificent facilities and good work of Veerayatan Kutch and expressed that he would have regretted if he missed an opportunity to visit such a lively, beautiful and clean campus.

With the blessings and benevolent presence of Pujya Tai Ma and the revered Sadhvijis and in the presence of the Veerayatan committee, a plaque was also unveiled for the magnanimous contribution made by Shri Abhay Firodia, Veerayatan President, to Veerayatan Kutch. A 16-seater mini traveller was donated by him in the memory of his father, Shri Navalmalji Firodia.

Annual Samayik Event

Shri Chandana Vidyapeeth Jain School (SCVP) was started in 1995 for children and adults with the blessing and guidance of Pujya Tai Ma and with tireless efforts by Sadhvi Shri Shilapiji. We inculcate values as expounded by Tirthankar Mahavir, teach children prayers, the life stories of various Tirthankars and the Jain philosophy. To show and experience the importance of Samayik, each year SCVP organises a Samayik event where both children and adults do Samayik together. This year was no exception. This year’s theme was Parshvanath Bhagwan and we all learnt about the value of forgiveness and equanimity exemplified by Parshvanath Bhagwan through the stories recited by and acted by the children of SCVP. The children also recited and explained to everyone the meaning of each of the prayers and sutras. It was a very beautiful and peaceful experience for all 120 or so participants and the children’s enthusiasm and hard work was evident in all that they recited and performed.

A Bake Sale organized by SCVP Children

A bake sale was held one Saturday morning by the 11year old childrens’ class to raise funds for Kenya Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a choice made by children themselves as they put their learning into practice. It was heartwarming to see the parents and children working together and bringing so many delicious cakes and other sweets to sell. Well done to all the children for making a difference!