Samani Sambodh Pragya
After taking blessings from His Holiness Acharya Mahaprajnaji, Samani Prasanna Pragya (l) and Sambodh Pragya (r) had reached London on 11th August 2006, where they had spent one week with Samani Pratibha Pragya and Punya Pragya. On 19th August, they left to celebrate Paryushan in Birmingham.
Paryushan started on 21st August, and so did all the well-arranged programmes. During the evening programme on the first day of Paryushan, Samani Prasanna Pragya explained the meaning and importance of Paryushan in English to the children, then she carried on by giving discourses on ‘Fate superior or effort'. Samani Sambodh Pragya continued by singing songs in Gujarati.
During the eight days of Paryushan, Samanijis had organised 3 daily programmes. They started in the afternoon from 1:00 to 3:00 pm with workshops dealing with stress management, health management and other related issues. Furthermore, there were programmes held from 4:00 to 5:30 pm. This programme was aimed at the youth. Subjects like anger management, art of eating, reasons to do Pratikraman and other related issues were discussed. We were very impressed by the youngsters as they were enthusiastically putting questions, and they got all the answers to their questions. The evening programme was held from 7:30 to 9:30 pm, discourses were given during this time, and songs were also sung.
On Saturday, 26th August, there was a programme held in the Jain Ashram in Birmingham between 1:00 and 4:00 pm. during this time workshops were held on subjects like Diabetes and High Blood Pressure, there was a Bhavana programme as well. On Monday, 28th August, Samaniji held a class from 2:00 to 4:00 pm where they taught people how to do Pratikraman in English and the meaning of it. 15 people had come to this class and did the Pratikraman practically in English. On 31st, a contest was held between doctors, Samanijis and the audience in the Jain Ashram. The Audience asked many questions about health issues. Firstly, the doctors solved the issues, and then according to Preksha Therapy, the Samanijis solved the problems in their own way. It was a big success.
Besides the Jain Community, other programmes were also held during this time. There were 2 programmes of Science of Living held in Sparkhill, it was organised by the RSS Organisation. In Laxmi Narayan Temple, which is the Hindi Community Centre there, a programme was held between the Senior Citizens on the subject of Time Management, during the last part of the event, Yoga exercises were done. The programme was highly appreciated.
During Paryushan in Birmingham, Samanijis also visited many families in their houses. They spent time with them and also taught them a lot of things. After completing the programme of Paryushan in Birmingham, Samanijis returned to London on 1st September.
The people of Birmingham were very thankful to H.H. Acharya Mahaprajnaji for sending Samanijis to Birmingham.