Commemorating Mahatma Gandhi: Grama Seva at Chikkanahalli Village

02 October 2023

It is a well-acknowledged fact that the "true India lives in its villages." The Sanskrit word grama once resounded in every corner of the country, for it certainly was the hub of Indian culture and tradition, but unfortunately, due to rapid commercialization and various other factors, the villages are going unnoticed under the influence of the giant cities, and the culture is slowly diminishing.

While looking at the deteriorating condition of the village, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba gave a clarion call by urging everyone to do Grama seva, while comparing it to be Rama seva.

Following His Master, Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai has been laying out many different programs related to rural development. One of which is students of SSSLSG and the university students, engaging in service activities in the rural areas that are surrounding the campus premises.

This activity was initiated in the Girls' university campus earlier this week on the day of Gandhi Jayanthi. Mahatma Gandhi was a true visionary, who had a great understanding of the value of villages. In fact, he said, "the future of India lies in villages." This was definitely a great day to start the program with.

The girls travelled to the nearby village called Chikkanahalli and began their seva by cleaning the temple premises and conducting bhajans at the temple. Later, they had a wonderful conversation with the children of the village, who very innocently responded to everything. Some of the girls had an interaction with the village heads too. They treated them with a lot of love and kindness. The girls spoke about Sadguru's mission in brief and also spoke about the Hospital at Muddenahalli. To their utter surprise, most of them had already visited the hospital.

Overall, they had a very heartwarming day at the village. Many understood the depth of culture that is lying in the hearts of villagers. They did understand as to why Sadguru always gives importance to rural upliftment. Villages definitely have the treasure of culture, but not many take up the responsibility of uplifting them, unlike our Sadguru. Our heart gratitude to Sadguru for giving us this opportunity.