News of Indo-Pak: People to People Dialogue for Peace and Prosperity, Beyond Indian Shores..., Stan Barnes passes away..., School Workshop in Delhi, Counselling Workshop at A.P., The Change Imperative, Programme for Saklecha Gyanmandir, Programme for Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM) and International Association of MRA

Indo-Pak : People to People Dialogue for Peace and Prosperity
(August 8 to 11)

When I dream alone, it is just a dream. When we dream together, it is the begining of reality. - a Brazilian proverb

This Conference was an illustration of how a few committed people, listening to Inner Guidance, and acting on this can begin to make a difference.

When the idea of the Conference was mooted in May 2001, many people asked the following question: Why do we need to have a people to people dialogue, when heads of Government and other officials from Pakistan and India are meeting to find solutions to Indo-Pak conflict?

While agreements between India and Pakistan, like the Indus Water Treaty have many positive effects, many other past meetings like Tashkent, Shimla, Lahore and others, have not been able to remove the seeds of deep hatred and suspicion between the two countries for over 50 years.

The conflicts have cost more than a million lives and billions of rupees on both sides. This scarce resource could have been used for food, shelter, water and education for impoverished people, constituting the majority in both the countries.

The Conference aimed at bringing together seriously committed people, in a very inspiring setting. The participants sought the guidance of the universe in silence to help them heal the divide between our nations.

The people to people dialogue created an inspired and practical atmosphere, in which creative alternatives were developed from a deeper space, for the collective good without worrying about political posturing. Participants felt that politicians hands can be strengthened if trust and a shared vision are created, where people can see the benefit of give and take. This might enable politicians to reach a resolution. A set of suggestions and recommendations arising out of the Conference was sent to Prime Minister Vajpayee and General Musharaff.

An Idea is Born

The origins of the Conference began in Dharmasala. Around 65 people from all over the world had collected from April 28 to May 1, 2001 to explore the meaning of True Wealth. That Conference was organized by the Foundation for Human and Economic Development (FHED). It was there that Dinesh Chandra, Braham Aggarwal, Dr. Gopal Basisht and Arun Wakhlu (Managing Director, Pragati Learning Systems) met the Dalai Lama alomg with many other participants. They were inspired by what His Holiness shared. The called to expand Inner Wealth, and to never be contented with one's contribution in this area touched all hearts. Subsequently, Dinesh came to Pune and stayed with Arun at his residence. In a morning conversation over a cup of tea siting on the edge of the garden, the idea of an Indo-Pak Conference was born.

A Beginning of Reality

Arun organized a meeting with Bhanu Kale of MRA and dates were fixed. Subsequently, Ranjan Nehru, Bhanu Kale and Arun met General Moti Dar in his office and the first contours of the Conference began to shape up. The momentum gathered as more people like Vivek and Nivedita Sharma in Delhi, Mrs. Khem Lata Wakhlu and Dr. Omkar N. Wakhlu in Srinagar, Rajendra Gandhi, Kekoo and Khorshed Gandhy, Leslie, Zainab and the young people of Association of Youth for a Better India, Mumbai, and Col. Ramesh Pathak, Ajish, Sachin, Devashree, Lalita and the rest of the Pragati team swung into action. An enormous network of connections and friends made the preparations particularly joyful. One is always amaged at the way in which help comes from all quaters once the objective is clear.

The experience of the period before the Conference was one of a flurry of emails, phone calls, faxes and a feeling of being swept forward by a force greater than ourselves.

Many people who came did so by sheer coincidence. There were 20 people from Pakistan including Ahmed Faraz, one of Pakistan's Leading Poets, General Nasir Akhtar (retd.) and Dr. Maqbool Bhatty.

People from various walks of life, holding strong but diverse opinions, met for a heart to heart "People to People Dialouge for peace and prosperity" at Asia Plateau. The participants, including 20 from Pakistan, 20 from Jammu and Kashmir, 40 from the rest of India and 10 of Indian and Pakistan origin from USA, listened to each other intently, in a conductive and friendly atmosphere. Retired Lt. General Nasir Akhtar and Dr. Maqbool Bhatty, a retired diplomat from Pakistan, ex-militants who have given up the path of violence, teachers, students, industrialists, management consultants, religious and spiritual leaders, poets, artists and others, respected each others' opinion and took the first step of trust building on an arduous journey towards lasting peace.

The deliberations in an 'Open Space Event' resulted in a unanimous Panchgani Declaration calling all parties to rein in arms and engage in a meaningful dialogue to search for a breakthrough in the fifty three year problem. This process is expected to continue.

One interesting part if this unique conference was the human factor. The entire issue was looked, at not just from the head but from the heart. All differences were forgotten and everyone, irrespective of age and status, joined in the celebrations of music, dance, shayari and skits. Most delegates commented that the spirit of Asia Plateau, the venue, permeated throughout the dialogue which made all the difference.

Panchgani Declarations

1. We urge upon all combatants in the state of Jammu and Kashmir to abjure violence.

2. In this context we call upon both the Governments of India and Pakistan to rein in the guns and provide an atmosphere in the state, in which the value of human life and dignity are upheld.

3. We feel that all peoples of undivided state of Jammu and Kashmir should engage in a dialogue at a conference preferebly held in Jammu and Kashmir, to be facilitated by the Governments of India and Pakistan.

4. We feel that the deliberations and recommendations of such a conference can be the basis for lasting peace in the subcontinent.

Beyond Indian Shores...

Two of us, accompanied by Mr. Bhanu Kale started our trip to Europe with a lot of goodwill and support from our friends. On July 26 we arrived at Mountain House, the MRA international centre at Caux, Switzerland. The majesty and splendor of Mountain House took us by awe.

Life soon got busy as we embarked on the training to take on leadership of the service teams for Agenda for Reconciliation I. Afr was a week-long Conference based on peace-building initiatives. Around 460 participants from 64 countries attended. The main plenary sessions every morning addressed issues like better ways than violence to achieve justice, to shift entrenched attitudes, transforming relationships within and between nations, dealing with the 'difficult other' and healing the past. It was an unique experience for us to observe the work of Moral Re-Armament towards initiatives of peace at a global level. We heard that the representatives of the War-torn areas of Africa and Middle-East share incidents of loss of their loved ones and how they were able to find forgiveness and restitution in the hope of a better future. These sessions and discussions over meal helped us enhance our perspective on forgiveness as well. As rightly addressed by Dr. Donald Shriver, in the inaugural speech, forgiveness should not be equated with forgetting but with acknowledging the past hurts and building bridges to help one move ahead in life.

Besides the plenary and panel discussions the participants chose to be in one of the six community groups, a little like the family groups we have at Asia Plateau. The communities were formed to facilitate practical work, in terms of meal services, cooking, housekeeping and for informal discussion everyday. These community discussions were a good way of learning and sharing about the life experiences of people from different races, communities, regions and nations like Sudan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Rwanda, China, Japan etc. They all shared their convictions about the future of their countries. It was our priviledge to work as facilitators for discussions in our respective communities.

Apart from the discussions in communities the practical work to run the Conference was also a great joy. The difficult task of meeting the high Swiss standards for meal services was made easy by the enthusiastic and willing support from the community members. Language barriers called forth our expertise in explaining various instructions to our team members by way of gestures!

We had workshops in the afternoon on topics like listening skills etc. The evenings enriched our cultural experiences by way of plays, concerts, Swiss national day celebrations and a cultural evening on the last day. To add a flavour of India at the cultural evening on the last day we presented a Hindi song - Aa chal ke tujhe, mein le ke chaloon...

Apart from attending the conference, Agenda for Reconciliation I, in full we also attended the first three days of the next conference, From Fear to Love- a journey of Faith. Dr. John Lester, former Secretary of The Oxford Group, who spent several years in India, spoke movingly about how faith can be a bridge to take us from the house of fear to the house of fear to the house of love. Our visit gave us a chance to get to know worldwide fellowship of MRA.

We returned to India (after spending a week in UK) in the wee hours of August 18. Our experience beyond Asia Plateau and India with the world MRA team ascertains our belief that MRA shall continue to provide hope to resolve individual and global issues. We are filled with greater enthusiasm to continue with our work at Asia Plateau and shall always recall fond memories of these three weeks with gratitude!
Nabnita and Tania

Stan Barnes passes away...

Stanley F. Barnes passed away in Australia on Saturday, August 4, at the age of 92. He had been declining physically for a while, but kept wonderfully alert in mind and spirit, spurred on partly by his determination to complete another book.

Born in 1908, he studied agriculture and dairying at the University College of Wales. After seven years in the dairy industry in England he went to Malta in 1935. After the Second World War, Mr. Barnes went to Australia to establish a dairy. In 1957 he was appointed as Dairy Development Advisor to the government of Pakistan. In 1963 he was appointed Project Manager for the Australian Dairy Produce Board in South-East Asia. During this period he was responsible for establishing dairies in Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.

Mr. Barnes was appointed a member of the Order of the British Empire in 1970 for services to the dairy industry and international relations. In the same year, he received the Gold Medal of the Australian Society of Dairy Technology for services to the dairy industry.

Mr. Barnes came to India early in 1973 at the invitation of Rajmohan Gandhi to work with MRA in Asia for an indefinite period because, as he wrote, "MRA is leading men to accept the change in human nature without which we are unlikely to put the needs of people before our own selfish desires. The grinding poverty and hopelessness in developing countries will only be overcome by a new spirit of care."

Mr. Barnes spent nearly ten years in India, mainly at Asia Plateau. Apart from looking after the dairy and the farm there he also assisted with programmes. He became a personal friend of Dr. Vergese Kurien, widely regarded as the father of India's White Revolution. Many of us will remember him for his unassuming (though an internationally renowned dairy expert he had no qualms about caring for a handful of cows in our shed) ways, his hard work (he was in the farm at 7 am on most mornings) and his vision for feeding the developing World. May the departed soul rest in peace.

School Workshop in Delhi
(June 29 and 30)

I consider myself fortunate to be invited to assist with a workshop for the primary teachers of Balbharati Public School, Delhi, on June 29 and 30. This programme evolved as a result of Kiran Gandhi (Vice-President in JK industries, New Delhi meeting with the Principal of Balbharati Public School, Mr. S.C. Baweja.

Mr. R.D. Mathur gave an inspiring key-note address. He lauded the teachers for their contribution to society and urged us all to look beyond to building of character and forging a new India and a new world. Mr. Kiran Gandhi introduced teachers to the ABC of MRA. Mr. Kartik Dore shared his experience of living by conviction of his profession. I was able to share my experiences as a teacher as well as address the issue of teamwork in an educational institute. Neeru, Varsha, Anadi Gandhi and Poornima Dore provided songs which were extremely popular.

In the concluding session teachers worked in groups to produce action plans for implementation in the school. Mr. Baweja requested us to return to the school for follow-up. He gave a cheque of 10,000 to MRA, which we all felt could be used for future school programmes in Delhi.
Zarin Virji

Counselling Workshop at A.P.
(August 27 to 31)

An in-house training programme on counselling was held from August 27 to 31 for the Asia Plateau resident team. Father Caridad Drago, a trainer in counselling, from Gnandeep Vidyapeeth, Pune, took the team through the basic skills in counselling by way of listening, modelling, examples, incidents etc. The workshop was organized by Luis Gomes at Goa and was helpful in facilitating greater communication and dialogue amongst the team members through exercises and open discussions. This programme was greatly appreciated by the team as it would be of help while organising and facilitating the conferences held at Asia Plateau.
Nabnita

The Change Imperative
(June 21 to 24)

The workshop was coordinated by Upasana Saraf, in-charge, Department of Research and HRD, Bombay Cambridge Gurukul, Vijayam Kartha, Director, Kerala Public School, Jamshedpur and Tania Chatterjee, Coordinate Education, MRA. 42 educationists participated.

The inaugural session had Ms. Helen Dhanraj, Principal, Sanjeevani Residential School, Panchgani, as the Chief Guest. Mr. Surinder Gupta, Resident Director of MRA introduced the Programme. MRS. Vijayam Kartha in her welcome speech said, "As educators we must be open to change in education. And change in school begins with change in each of us."

She also stressed that love was essential. If you did not love - your work, the people you impact - then you would not achive success. If a teacher keeps hiding his/her emotions, the child, knowing that something is wrong, begins to think that it is wrong to show his feelings. The way the teacher handles her feelings shows the child how to handle his feelings.

Ms. Upasana Saraf pointed out that often in schools, the principals take all the responsibility. A good leader creates leaders. If a leader takes on all the tasks, how will leaders be created? She said that a leader must be willing to learn and admit, "I need help"; a leader must have the ability to admit "I do not know".
Upasana Saraf

Programme for Saklecha Gyanmandir
(September 11 to 14)

One of the persons who visited Asia Plateau during the last education programme in June was Shared Saklecha, a businessman from Bombay, who is also the Chairmanof the Trust which runs a school in Bhanpura, Madhya Pradesh.

Mr. Saklecha had attended a session where the issue of individual responsibility in decision-making was taken up. He agreed that the decision to choose between the right and wrong was a person's own responsibility. Convinced by this idea, he went back with a resolve to pass it on to his students and teachers. Having heard of the needs of the Centre, upon his return to Mumbai, he also gave 2700 meters of export quality fabric for use at AP.

40 students and 19 teachers from his school attended a special programme conducted by the Mumbai teachers team of Zarin Virji, Dilip Mirchandani, Umesh Shah, Upasana Saraf, Achama Mathews and Sharbani Bhattacharya. Mr. Saklecha said that these few day days students and teachers were able to live together were helpful in creating a bond of friendship. He wishes to organise another programme for his school next August.
Nabnita

Programme for Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM)
(July 3 to 7)

The Maori welcome song was the best welcome. We found this very innovative - something that came up as the trademark of Asia Plateau. Already we had been awed by the beauty of the place, the cleanliness and the excellent accommodation. A unique feature was the wash-up! All of us wore aprons and got down to the task of washing. We sang songs and enjoyed a seemingly mundance job thoroughly. It went a long way to teaching us community living and team-work. Our day started with Pranayam which helped us feel peaceful and would change us for the day ahead.

On the last day we had a multi-faith prayer meeting. Different ones of us chanted shlokas from the Gita, read psalms from the Bible, read from Quran, Zendavesta etc. This was again an example of innovation and uniqueness of this programme.

We had interesting and interactive sessions with Deepak Mallick, Hemen Verma, S.N. Singh and Bhanu and Varsha Kale. One thing that needs special mention is the meaningful songs.

The last day was rather emotional. Tears flowed freely as all of us were left with a profound impact. The trip was an amazing experience that initiated a process of introspection to find a meaning to our lives, to help us live better and effectively.
Amit Gupta

We are pleased to inform you that the renovation work at Asia Plateau has started from the first week of August. Mr. Asif Parpia of Protech Consultants, Pune, was entrusted with the job of making contour plan of the estate the overall drawing of all the construction. As a first step, we are making changes in the toilet area of sixteen rooms in Valley View such that each will have its own independent toilet unit.

As Disha goes to the press, the participants of Action for Life Programme have arrived at AP. Mike Brown (Australia), Ren Jou Liu (Taiwan), Peter and Glenys Wood (New Zealand), Brian Lightowler (Australia), Gwen Maclean (Canada), Julie Tan (Malaysia), Erik Andren (UK) and Suresh and Leena Khatri (Fiji) are amongst the care-givers who have also arrived.
Surinder Gupta
Resident Director, Asia Platteau

International Association of MRA

The annual meeting of the legal bodies of MRA, operating in different countries, took place on Caux on August 5. There was a clear support for proceeding with the setting up of an international Association of MRA. Based at Caux it will be incorporated under the Swiss laws in Geneva.

The purposes of setting up of this association are: a) To provide an umbrella body which will help our global recognition at the UN and other international organizations; b) To affirm the universality and interfaith character of MRA; c) To set standards of integrity for existing and new bodies now and for the future; d) Occasionally to provide an umbrella body for some to work in countries where, as yet, there are no national societies.

All national bodies will remain autonomous and will take there own independent decisions whether to become a full or associate member. The structure has been deliberately designed to be low profile and to give a key role to the International Council which is the leadership body selected by our world teams.

In case our readers have any thoughts in this regard they may in touch with any of the Trustees.