BANSURI
OUR JOURNEY
In 1992, an incredible human being, Lalitha Krishnan, connected with a group in Pune, India to share her experiences of a deeper understanding of the scriptures and a spiritual way of life. Her philosophy centred around the idea of universal prayer and inclusiveness of different faiths and spiritual masters. With a common goal to seek the truth, this group began to meet every week, focusing on the formless aspect of the divine and meditating on LIGHT. The Sarva Dharma (unity of faiths) symbol was also used and encouraged people of different faiths to come together.
The group wished to share the meditation with people around the world and in 2004 recorded the first CD, Prayer and Light Meditation for World Peace. In the years that followed, a very special person, Margaret Laulor joined the group in Pune. She inspired a member of the group to set up a foundation to engage in activities to empower women and gave the name ‘Bansuri’ or flute to be reminded always to be mere instruments in the hands of the Divine, doing the Divine Will.
In 2007 this group came to be known as Sanctuary. A humble prayer and meditation space was created as an experiment for the transformation of the hearts and minds of the group and a space where all faiths were respected and honoured. Inspired by the ideal of Auroville, set forth by The Mother of the Aurobindo Ashram, the group created a guideline that manifested as Vision for Sanctuary.
Two years later, in 2009, Peace Seeds – a collection of prayers for peace from each of the world’s major faith traditions – were introduced into Sanctuary. Peace Seeds were first prayed at a convocation of religious leaders in 1986, called by Pope John Paul II at Assisi, Italy and brought to the USA by Lewis Randa founder of the Peace Abbey. A Peace Conference on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr., initiated by the Peace Abbey, was attended by some Sanctuary members and a new bond and relationship between the two centres was born.
The years 2007 to 2010 were a period of weekly prayer meetings for world peace, along with inspiring and spiritually enriching experiences – celebrations to revive the true spirit of festivals, silent retreats, Narayan Seva (sharing of food and clothing), reflection on days marked by the United Nations to promote awareness of and action upon important social, cultural, humanitarian & human rights issues. The writings of Eknath Easwaran, Paramahansa Yogananda and Thich Naht Hanh were reflected upon by the group.
The study and practice of the 26 Divine qualities from the Bhagavad Geeta and the 36 Blessings from Buddhism became the foundation of the journey at Sanctuary ‘to know oneself’. There was a dialogue with women practicing various faiths helped in understanding the true message of the Sarva Dharma (unity of faiths) symbol.
There were periods of deeper study on many inspiring lives- the message of Gandhiji, lives of saints from across the world, the life of disciples of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and also Sister Nivedita (disciple of Swami Vivekananda) and Pandita Ramabai (a pioneer in the education and emancipation of women in India).
From 2010 onwards, we were inspired by a custom in Japan, to honour their outstanding citizens from different fields. At a simple ceremony of lighting a candle, each one was offered a Khadi shawl hand woven on the Charkha at Gandhiji’s Samadhi at Rajghat, New Delhi. Over the years more than 50 sincere and dedicated citizens working at the grass-root level have been honoured across India and the United States – musicians, artists, doctors, pacifists, activists, teachers & social workers. It helped the group to reflect more deeply on their own commitment to peace, non-violence, and seeking the ‘inner light’.
The year 2011 was dedicated to silence and individual sadhana (spiritual practice). The group was inspired by the thought that sanctuaries can be created all over the world to serve the people in their own areas. Each home in the community could become a sanctuary. Soon this idea was adopted by a few women from a low income community in Pune, they named it Sai Shraddha.
The group engaged with followers of Islamic and Buddhist traditions for a deeper understanding of their practice. The group also participated in the Global Forgiveness Movement initiated by spiritual teacher Dada Vaswani in August 2012.
A new approach took form at Sanctuary based on the realisation that humanity had come to be more centred on their individual lives and the idea of community does not take priority. 2014 was a turning point as a decision was taken to close the physical space and take the idea of Sanctuary into our hearts, homes and the community. The group was inspired to go deeper inward and at the same time reach out to others in the community. Devotional music gatherings were an uplifting experience contributing to peace in oneself and in our world.
In the same year, a fateful meeting with Bishop Dabre of Pune planted the seed for the weekly prayer and meditation for world peace at the VIDYANKUR meditation hall, where a small group of people from different faiths participated.
The Peace Seeds were a central part of the meditation space and Light was the only symbol used. This also created a platform for encouraging inter-religious dialogue.
In 2015, the question ‘where is your mind when you light a diya, lamp or candle’ led the group to reflect on the words –
We are all a ray of light, we are in the light, the light is in us and we are the light.
This focus on inner light, led to the incorporation of VISHWAJYOTI for VISHWASHANTI : Universal Light for Universal Peace. Along with this, a text titled, True Flowers of Worship, which emphasized the qualities of the individual as an offering rather than just ritual, inspired the group.
To bring more inclusiveness in our communities, during the auspicious period of Ramadan, the group joined their Muslim brothers & sisters all over the world in prayer (prayers are done five times – 4.45 am, 12.45 pm, 5 pm, 7 pm and at 9 pm.). The group decided to join in this prayer and awaken the light in the hearts of each person and the world, towards creating love, peace, harmony all around.
The following year, the lives of two inspiring people was studied, taking the group to focus on two key thoughts:
‘Immense batteries may be made by numbers of people unifying together to think a given thought.[…] If the whole of India could agree to give, say 10 minutes every evening, at the oncoming of darkness, to thinking, “We are one”, “We are one”- nothing can prevail against us to make us think we are divided – the power that would be generated can hardly be measured.’
– Sister Nivedita
‘Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake’
– Rabindranath Tagore
A few members continued the weekly meetings, going deeper within and introspecting. The focus was to nurture one’s human qualities, to meditate on the Light for World Peace and to contribute to humanity in the best possible way.
In 2020, the group rededicates itself to the message of Universal Light for Universal Peace, that the Divine Light is within each individual and all creation, and that each one give more thought to raising their consciousness and thus uplifting their world. To serve people, to be good citizens and to live a life guided by strong human values, where each one is attempting to be like a flute – making a sincere individual effort to spread the light.
VASUDHAIVA KUTUMBAKAM
– a Sanskrit phrase which means
“the world is one family””