The One World One Family Mission, which is providing free healthcare and education services in 100 countries across the world, is now set to expand its service activities in Tamil Nadu. A 60-bed free hospital will be established in Mayiladuthurai, a free Gurukulam will be started in Tenkasi, and there are plans to upgrade the Sri Sathya Sai Meenakshi Niketan Gurukulam in Dindigul to university level, said Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai, Founder of the One World One Family Mission.
Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai was responding to questions from renowned industrialist Hari Thyagarajan at the “Heart to Heart Dialogue” programme held in the city on October 3.
The One World One Family Mission, headquartered at Sathya Sai Grama in Muddenahalli, Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka, will establish a 60-bed free hospital in Mayiladuthurai in collaboration with the Adheenam, Sadguru said. He observed that it was a positive development for spiritual institutions to focus on education and healthcare.
“Education is the right of every individual. Serving children is serving society. It is the responsibility of society to provide free education to children,” he said.
Referring to the free healthcare services being provided in Sri Lanka, Madhusudan Sai said that around 30,000 women had been widowed in some areas, including Jaffna, as a result of the war. Poverty continues to affect these communities, while children lacked access to proper education and healthcare. “When such people need service, what is wrong in extending our support to them?” he asked. He added that the Mission is also carrying out service activities in Fiji, Africa and the United States.
Explaining the responsibility of the affluent towards society, he said that even when wealthy people earn large amounts of money, all of it does not belong to them.
“Entrepreneurs are like the stomach in the human body. The stomach digests the food we consume, but it does not retain everything for itself. In the same way, entrepreneurs should give back to society. We should follow the Indian tradition of generosity and not adopt a foreign culture of accumulation,” he said.
He stressed the need to introduce spiritual education based on traditional Indian wisdom, including the Upanishads, into the Indian education system.
“Spirituality is the answer to many of the problems we face today. Spirituality should become part of the curriculum. If the values of spirituality take root in the minds of children, they will not go astray. However, such education should not create darkness or intolerance towards religion; rather, it should shed light on the deeper meaning of religion. One should neither abandon religion nor make a show of it. Religion should be studied deeply and without attachment,” he said.
He said negativity is a natural part of the world and advised people not to be overly disturbed by it, but instead make an effort to seek the Divine.
Sharing her story of transformation, Sanghavi, a student of Sri Sathya Sai Meenakshi Niketan in Dindigul, said: “My parents, who were living in extreme poverty, admitted me here. After that, I entered a new world. I was once confined to the boundaries of a village, but today I feel like a member of the world. I have learnt that serving society is the purpose of human life.”
Dharmapuram Adheenam Sivagurunatha Thambiran, Madras High Court Justice Karthik K., and several other dignitaries participated in the programme.
Dr. S. Gokul Priya, Registrar (Evaluation), Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence, compered the programme.