North (East) and Central Asia

Taiwan

Download Rasa Vanii, the newsletter of Ananda Marga Taiwan


In January a Kiirtan Parikrama (continuous kiirtan) was held throughout different cities and towns in Taiwan, creating a great opportunity to vibrate the entire island with kiirtan through a series of three-hour Akhanda Kiirtans in each town. A CD was made out of the highlights.





Dada Shambhushivananda was invited from Sweden to conduct four lectures in the main cities of Taiwan: Taichung, the National Tainan University, the CPC auditorium in Taipei (300 people including the policy advisor to the president of Taiwan, who spoke at the opening ceremony, attended) and Kaohsiung's Normal University.

After the typhoon in southern Taiwan, an AMURT/EL team of 30 volunteers went to the affected area and assisted with the cleanup operation of shops and offices, etc. About 50 relief packages were donated and food was distributed to hundreds of victims. Trauma counseling was also give to local children.

After the New Year's holidays, service to the typhoon-affected children was resumed in a public school in Jiasian, south Taiwan, on request of the principal and teachers of the school. The Red Cross in Taiwan came forward to sponsor this project entirely, extending their support and appreciation.

Service activities in Taipei are proceeding on a regular basis, with visits to the Sing-Long Senior Citizen Center, the Ai Ai Elder's Care Center and the School for Mentally Challenged Children in Lin-Kou. Hundreds of people are benefitted by the sharing of stretching exercises, asanas, singing of devotional songs, kiirtan and meditation. We have received appreciation letters and inspiring comments from all institutions. Lunch boxes are distributed to more than 200 homeless in Taipei. Service work is also happening at every city in Taiwan.

Other activities in Taipei: 37 weekly asanas classes, several weekly meditation classes, 2 weekly philosophy classes, and 4 weekly group meditations. Classes are also given to blind people and to youth in the jail. NHE/Gurukul Study Circle is running consistently twice a month, and there are also regular farmer’s club and music club meetings.

In July, 200 people attended a Prout lecture at the College of Social Sciences, NTU, which included a video conference with Dr. Ravi Batra.

More recently a public speech given on Rajadhiraja Yoga was attended by 150 people.

Hong Kong Sectorial Spring Conference 2010

Held in April at beautiful Ananda Suruci, Taiwan, the latest retreat was an inspiring gathering of around 250. The Taichung margiis worked hard to make this conference a success: from the classes, RAWA evening and kiirtan all the way to the delicious food!



The beautiful surroundings were the ideal setting for this spiritual event, and every year it gets better with improved facilities and landscaping. Special guest, Dada Nigamananda, gave some inspiring classes and devotional talks, and all enjoyed the unusually cool weather for the season, a very welcome help for meditation.

South Korea

Inspired by the Taiwan kiirtan parikrama, a 9-day kiirtan parikrama tour was held throughout South Korea from 19-27 June. 

Russia

In Siberia, Dada Sudakhar and Didi Sarvajina held a series of public programs over the winter. Many people learnt meditation, asanas and kiirtan.




Mongolia

AMURT is actively serving poor people, distributing food, clothes and blankets to poor families. In September AMURT organised a medical camp and treated families in a poor area of Ulaanbaatar.

A guesthouse for tourists with 24 beds was opened in Ulaanbaatar. It will operate as an income-generation project for the Lotus children's home, which currently cares for over 120 children, and will train teenage girls from the children's home.

Lotus Children's Center

Didi Ananda Kalika has been running the Lotus children's home and school for almost 15 years now. She was recently honored for this work by receiving the Order of Australia. The Governor General of Australia presented it to Didi, and she was also interviewed by ABC Television in Australia. The Ching Hai organisation also gave an award to Didi along with a $10,000 prize for the home.

Korea

Ananda Marga has organized several RAWA concerts in Korea. Dada Shubhacintananda performed Prabhat Samgiita at a Ching Hai conference, which was translated into 15 languages and broadcast on Suprememater.tv. Dada Bhavottarananda taught Prabhat Samgiita, kiirtan, meditation and yoga to 15,000 children in a summer holiday camp. Didi Ananda Arpana gave public lectures in three cities. Dada Cittarainjanananda organized several children camps and fasting camps at the master unit.

Japan

With the help of Didi Sarvajina and Dada Vijiitatmananda, meditation and yoga seminars were held in Tokyo, Kyoto and Fukuoka.

Hong Kong and Macau

Dada Gunamuktananda has been giving regular classes on meditation at the University of Hong Kong and yoga studios around town. A number of public talks were also given in Macau during the last six months: at the House of Portugal, yoga studios, a drug rehabilitation center, and at the University of Macau Department of Psychology. In fact, Dada's first talk at the university aroused so much interest that he was invited back to give another lecture, the second one about whether meditation is psychology or religion or both.