Pujya Tai Ma awarded ‘Padma Shri’

Pujya Tai Ma’s message on her Birthday and receiving the Padma Shri Award

Pujya Tai Ma spoke about Bhagwan Mahavir’s message of there being only one human race and how she has taken this divine message and applied this in all the work which is being undertaken by Veerayatan. She continued, ‘Without seeing any differences in caste, creed, religion and sect, we should do as much as we can to be each other’s allies. We are alive with the cooperation of nature, with the cooperation of others in this world. We don't grow food, we don't work in the fields, we don't make clothes, we don't build houses, but someone does all this for us and we just utilise it all. So, when we are alive due to the labour of others, then it is imperative that we should also try and become helpful to others.’

Pujya Tai Ma said that getting the Padma Shri was an honour, an honour for all those who have contributed to the work of Veerayatan, the Sadhvi Sangha, the Veerayatan committee and all the wonderful volunteers. She had one message for all of us, ‘Whenever you get any opportunity to do a small good deed, then do not let that opportunity pass by, do that good deed.’

Pujya Tai Ma also gave us this precious message, ‘A new idea that Dharma (religion) and Karma (actions) are not separate, they are both part of life. Just as a bird has two wings, Dharma and Karma are also part of human life, with both bringing perfection to life. Karma is incomplete without Dharma and similarly Dharma is incomplete without Karma. With these two, ascension in the flight of life can be achieved.’

Messages from SCVP Children, UK

Children of SCVP Jain school UK, produced some amazing, creative cards with beautiful messages, appreciating the qualities of Pujya Tai Ma and thanking her for her vision in opening the Jain school in the UK. One of the children from SCVP Jain School wrote the following for Pujya Tai Ma:

You are the light
That helps people without might
Your compassion is incomparable
Your life as great as a fable.

Love for everyone,
In equality and equanimity
You treat all with respect
With no animosity

Kindness and humanity,
Touching many lives,
A deeply caring soul,
Your love filling a dark hole.

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts,
For helping us and sharing love with us all,
Happy Birthday Tai Ma!

- by Aarav Shah, 12 years old

Pujya Tai Ma’s vision and work in the area of Education

This newsletter is dedicated to highlighting the noble work of Veerayatan in the field of education.

Providing education, without regard to caste, creed or religion, has been paramount as Pujya Tai Ma feels that this is the only way to break the cycle of generational poverty and dreadful lives that are hindered by disease, unhealthy living and outdated attitudes. When Pujya Tai Ma first set foot in Bihar, one of the very first activities she started was educating the local children, teaching them values and the importance of cleanliness and good hygiene.

Pujya Tai Ma’s motto is:

‘Where there is a temple, there must be a school!’

her aim being to create good quality schools at every Jain pilgrimage site!

In the last twenty years, seven educational centres have been established in Bihar (Pawapuri, Harikeshiya and Lachhuar), Gujarat (Kutch and Palitana) and, Rajasthan (Osian and Sanchore). To date 200,000 children and youth from impoverished rural areas have been educated in Veerayatan educational institutions whether these are primary schools, secondary schools or undergraduate degree colleges. The work of education in Nepal (Kathmandu) following the 2015 earthquake is also continuing.

Holistic approach

Pujya Tai Ma’s approach to education and learning is holistic. She understands that imparting education does not just mean building a physical structure. The achievement of all the Veerayatan primary and secondary schools is in:

• Creating value-based, high quality academic educational centres as the basis for the development of an entire village.
• Children are being taken off the streets and away from a life of begging and crime. Slowly but surely, generations of uneducated, poverty-stricken families are breaking free from this cycle.
• Educating girls is a priority and Veerayatan schools make every effort to motivate parents to send girls to school, thus dramatically reducing incidences of child marriages.
• The schools have school buses which can safely transport children from the villages daily, thereby increasing accessibility.
• Emphasis is put on children and adults having an awareness about the protection of natural resources, cleanliness and good hygiene, and living a non-violent and addiction-free life.

Veerayatan Bihar

Bihar

The outstanding state-of-the-art schools, known as Tirthankar Mahavir Vidya Mandir, were established in the birthplace of Bhagwan Mahavir – Lachhuar - and in the nirvana place of Bhagwan Mahavir - Pawapuri. These well-equipped, CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) accredited schools have been a source of inspiration to many, inculcating high moral values along with formal academic education, thereby resulting in a reduction in crime rates, especially in Lachhuar. In Pawapuri, Tirthankar Mahavir Vidya Mandir has drawn hundreds of children off the streets where life revolved around begging and is educating them for a productive life ahead.

Pujya Tai Ma, determined to break the cycle of discrimination which is rife for children from the lowest of the low castes, Musahar caste, established Harikeshiya School in Pawapuri in 2017. These children, living in an appalling state and who have nothing, not even a pair of clothes and hardly any food to eat, are now given this amazing opportunity to change the course of their wretched lives!

Watch video on Harikeshiya school: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0DgOh-7dEk

For more information on the schools in Bihar, Click Here

Veerayatan Kutch

Kutch

Education in Kutch started from the day Pujya Tai Ma, along with her devoted Sadhvijis reached Kutch following the terrible earthquake in 2001. Initially working from make-shift tents, Veerayatan has now established amazing modern permanent centres of learning. Using a professional approach, Veerayatan has indeed created a revolution in the educational field in rural Kutch.

Veerayatan has primary and secondary schools in Jakhania for the rural children. Currently around 750 children are studying at the school with many children from single parent backgrounds being sponsored. A beautiful primary school in Rudrani village has allowed children of nomadic families to gain access to formal education for the first time in generations, free of any cost. The school has been pivotal in ensuring that girls are educated thus breaking the shackles of child marriages. At present around 400 children are studying in this school and and nutritious meal is provided to all children daily.

Modern hostel facilities are provided to those who would otherwise have no access to education near home, thus giving opportunities to the disadvantaged to escape the poverty trap.

For more information on the schools in Kutch, Click Here

Veerayatan Palitana

Palitana

Tirthankar Mahavir Vidya Mandir (TMVM) opened in 2017 for children from Palitana and the neighbouring villages with most of the children coming from the socially deprived Doliwalla and Bhilwas communities. Many of the children of the Doliwalla community, instead of going to school and being educated, were working to take the pilgrims to the temples on top of Shatrunjay hill. TMVM school is pivotal in breaking the cycle of extreme poverty and giving the opportunity for brighter futures! Further, particular emphasis has been placed to uplift and educate girls.

Education is not only about gaining academic knowledge, but the ethos of the school is to ensure that creativity is also developed in children. Activities which students get involved with include:

• Prayers, yoga and meditation
• Sports and playing using the Jungle Gym
• Learning to play music
• Learning through arts and crafts, creating models, working with clay
• Learning to look after the environment and planting hundreds of trees
• Participating in various festivals throughout the year.

For more information on the school in Palitana, Click Here

Higher Education in Rural India

Due to the lack of access to higher education in rural India, Veerayatan is committed in bringing professional education to rural areas to educate and train young people to become part of the professional workforce. This noteworthy initiative of Veerayatan is providing a boost to employment prospects for the youth in Bihar, Kutch and in Gujarat overall.

In Bihar, recruiting well-trained, knowledgeable and qualified teachers has been extremely difficult. Veerayatan, therefore, established in 2007 a B Ed College with the aim of training teachers not only to teach modern subjects but also to teach timeless values so that children become good citizens of the world and an asset to society.

Veerayatan has established excellent eco-friendly higher education institutions in Kutch offering undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD programmes. Special scholarship schemes are offered to disadvantaged students in the college. These colleges include:
The Institute of Pharmacy, The Institute of Management and Computer applications and The Veerayatan Institute of Engineering, Research and Technology.

For more information on the colleges in Kutch, Click Here