The Selfless Service Foundation of Serve, Love & Give which is the Satyananda Yoga mantra. Experience Satyananda Yoga at the school beyond your mat, in service with love and giving as part of the community project with Childline on a voluntary basis for the less fortunate.

The South African spirit of Ubuntu (which is service, love and giving) in our country the rainbow nation in uniting all under one umbrella of understanding that we are all one big family and then feeling it in our hearts and expressing it through our hands in giving to each other.

seva@yogasa.co.za

Dear Kamala,

On behalf of everyone at Childline Gauteng, we would like to thank you for the support that you have shown our children, and are hopeful that our relationship can only grow with the coming years.

Our esteemed Patron, Archbishop Desmond Tutu was kind enough to devote some of his time to us and in our expression of gratitude to you, we wanted to share his message. Please follow this link to view the video and to see his message.

To quote the Archbishop's message to the Born Free Rainbow Nation's Children: "We are so proud of you all. Your generation has embraced the spirit of peace and love and let go of racial, gender, sexual orientation and class issues that divided us in the past. You have grasped the essential spiritual element of Ubuntu and 'as above, so below' we are all born equal!"

May you have a very happy festive season and always be at peace;

Childline Gauteng



infogauteng@childline.org.za

Seva (selfless service) is the heart and foundation of the South African School of Yoga. The Satyananda /Bihar Yoga tradition encourages serving the under-privileged, enabling the students to experience the liberating effects of service.

Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati serving the underprivelegd in South Africa on his 2008 trip. For the first time ever that one of the masters from the lineage of Satyananda / Bihar tradition has visited our country - what an honour and a privilege!

Selfless Service at the South African Satyananda / Bihar School of Yoga

                              by Swami Kamalavidya Saraswati

“Serving others selflessly, doing good works for others without any ulterior motive is going to become the social philosophy of the 21^st century. This century will be an age in which each individual will have a thought for others.”  ~ teaching from Swami Satyananda Saraswati (Founder of the Satyananda Bihar Yoga tradition in India)

Situated in an extremely quiet, unpolluted rural village in the state of Jharkhand, north east of India is an ashram known as Rikhia Peet. The ashram sprawls out mushrooming daily at an exceptional rate where the ‘ashramites’ work 16 hours of 24 hours daily performing karma yoga in serving, loving and giving as their spiritual mantra. This is an ideal environment which also requires discipline to gain access to the inner world where it is clearly understood. The ashram’s extraordinary capacity to serve mankind captured my mind, emotions and actions in service during my travels and stay there during the past 12 years. Engaging in karma yoga (yoga of action) I learned so much about utilizing every opportunity that presented itself for my own personal spiritual growth. Through this divine interaction of transformation made possible through my beloved gurus Swami Satyananda Saraswati and Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati I felt compelled to express the qualities of the ashram and spread the teachings in my own capacity no matter how small in my school. Encouraging and inspiring my family, friends and students to get involved in community selfless service (known as Seva) and go beyond our yoga mats and making it a practice (sadhana) in purifying ourselves of our karma in the process.

Swami Satyananda says: “Selfless service acts as a detergent and washes away the dirt of karma in order to experience spiritual life while living in the world. We should enlarge the scope of our practices (sadhana) from asanas (yoga postures), pranayama (breath control), Japa (chanting) and meditation to include serving those who are in need. Caring for the unfortunates should become a part of our sadhana (yoga practices).”

The South African School of Yoga has been involved in an upliftment programme for our brave youth and their caregivers of “Childline Gauteng”. Lynne Cawood, director of Childline herself is a practicing yogini for many years and understands the benefits and power of an integral approach through the science of yoga. Committed teachers and caregivers monitor the experiences and progress of each child who has faced abuse, neglect or abandonment and many of whom are either orphaned or vulnerable as a result of poverty or HIV/Aids.

The yoga program is conducted at the Baragwanath Childline office in Soweto and at the South African School of Yoga in Hyde Park. The youth are taught and provided with the necessary techniques in management skills in order to cope and handle stress. They learn self love and respect through their own personal experiences and reclaim their power through the practices e.g. Hatha Yoga’s Shatkarmas such as Jala Neti (water nostril cleansing) which they have mastered effortlessly and have remarked at the difference it has made to their breathing! They are reaching a point in mastering the postures in Surya Namaskar (greeting the sun) which they are encouraged to practice daily in their foster homes and introducing it to their foster mothers and siblings. The ancient Vedic tradition of Havan (fire ceremony) which the youth conduct themselves give them the opportunity to perform a sacred purifying ritual using the offerings of ghee, rice, camphor, natural herbs and roots to the fire to help “burn” and “purge” negative thoughts, concerns, worries, burdens and stresses, while chanting the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra (healing mantra) 108 times to pray for their welfare and enlightenment. They know this mantra off by heart! They have expressed that they have found the Havan to be enjoyably uplifting which results in fostering a feeling of being connected and having group unity.

Unlimited generosity flows through to the youth who are served nutritious home cooked meals provided by the women students of the school who have formed a roster to rotate their services on a weekly basis making sure that the youth are heartily fed after their yoga program.

I encourage you to experience selfless service no matter how small in your own personal way to sample how blissfully joyful and liberating it feels to give with love with no expectations.

Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati says: “When there is total participation - one pointedness comes. When you are striving for perfection, trying to do the best you can and improving every time, new expressions of creativity are seen. The head, heart and hands become aligned – they are balanced. It is this balanced expression that is known as Seva. The ashram environment provides ample encouragement for one to move into the component of Seva.”

What is Constitutional Hill? It is the new home of the Constitutional Court the protector of children's basic rights and freedom. Constitution Hill is also the site of Johannesburg's notorious Old Fort Prison Complex situated on a hill overlooking the bustling Johannesburg innercity to the south and the forested suburbs to the north, the site provides a unique perspective on the City of Gold and it dramatic history.

We went on a tour of enlightenment and healing which brings me to Childline offices that are situated at the foot of the hill where the Johannesburg Children's Hospital used to be.

The Childline Gauteng under the directorship of Lynne Cawood has generously opened their doors to the South African School of Yoga who has become their friends. The "Childline" children have unfortunately experienced abuse, neglect, abandonment, orphaned and are vulnerable as a result of poverty and HIV/AIDS. The South African School of Yoga feels honoured to be a part of the upliftment of these wonderful caregivers, foster parents and children. Three Fridays a month Swami Kamalavidya teaches yoga to the director and caregivers of Childline for the purpose of destressing and learning the art of relaxation. They so richly deserve to replenish their energy which they so unconditionally give.

One of the Childline foster mothers Mama Lizzie at the foster home for Childline in Soweto which the South African School of Yoga supports.

International Charities - Rikhia - India 

Our School has been touched and encouraged by the universal generosity of the Sivananda Math. The Sivananda Math is a social & charitable organization which aims to facilitate the growth of the weaker and underprivileged sections of society, especially rural communities. Its activities include distribution of free scholarships, clothing, farm animals and food, the digging of tube-wells and construction of houses for the needy, assistance to farmers in ploughing and watering their fields. A medical clinic has been established for the provision of clinical treatment, advice and education. Veterinary services are also provided. All services are provided free and universally to everyone.

Swami Kamalavidya has been visiting the ashram for the past 12 years in the remotest and obscure village in Rikhia, northeast of India for the Sita Kalyanam Festival where she donates  funds raised from the South African School of Yoga students and teachers, which go towards the Sivananda Math. The founder was Swami Satyananda Saraswati at Munger in 1984, in memory of his guru, Swami Sivananda Saraswati of Rishikesh. The establishment of Sivananda Math in Rikhia is the creation of Swami Satyasanganada Saraswati who guides all the activities for the underpriveleged.The Head Office is situated in Rikhia in Deoghar district, Jharkhand. Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati is the Chief Patron. For more information visit www.biharyoga.net

Parcels ready for distribution for the underprivileged sections of society especially rural communities in Rikhia, India through the establishment of Sivananda Math, Rikhia.