Guru Purnima
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Guru Purnima is celebrated on the full moon day in the Hindu month of Asar (July-August). It is a day sacred to the memory of the great sage Vyas. Vyas edited the four Vedas, wrote the eighteen Purans, the Mahabharata and the Srimad Bhagavata. Vyas even taught Dattatreya, who is regarded as the Guru of Gurus.
On this day, all spiritual aspirants and devotees worship Vyas in honor of his divine personage and all disciples perform a puja of their respective spiritual preceptor or Gurudevs.
At the same time, this day has great significance to the farmers as well for it heralds the setting in of the much-needed rains, as the advent of cool showers usher in fresh life in the fields. It is supposed to be a good time to begin spiritual lessons. Traditionally, spiritual seekers commence to intensify their spiritual sadhana from this day.
The period (Chaturmas four months) begins from this day. In the past, wandering spiritual masters and their disciples used to settle down at a place to study and discourse on the Brahma Sutras composed by Vyas, and engage themselves in Vedantic discussions.
Across Nepal, some academic institutions declare holidays on this day while at others they hold cultural programs. Students bring in sweets and sometimes fruits for their teachers.
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Maiti Nepal
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Maiti Nepal (माइती नेपाल) is a non-profit organization in Nepal dedicated to helping victims of sex trafficking. Currently, it operates a rehabilitation home in Kathmandu, as well as transit homes at the Indo-Nepal border towns, preventive homes in the countryside and an academy in Kathmandu.
Maiti Nepal (“maiti” meaning “mother’s home” in Nepali) was established in 1993 by a group of socially committed professionals to fight against the social evils inflicted upon Nepalese females, such as domestic violence, trafficking for flesh trade, child prostitution, child labor and various other forms of exploitation and torture.
As the founder and director of Maiti Nepal, Anuradha Koirala won the CNN Hero of the Year award in 2010. She had previously received the Courage of Conscience Award from The Peace Abbey in Sherborn, Massachusetts on August 25, 2006.
The United States government has given a two-year grant of $500,000 to Maiti Nepal in April 2010.
Learn more about Maiti Nepal.
Room to Read
Room to Read seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in developing countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Working in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations and governments, we develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and support girls to complete secondary school with the relevant life skills to succeed in school and beyond.
John Wood, founder and executive chairman, launched Room to Read after a trek through Nepal where he visited several local schools. He was amazed by the warmth and enthusiasm of the students and teachers, but also saddened by the shocking lack of resources. Driven to help, John quit his senior executive position with Microsoft and built a global team to work with rural villages to build sustainable solutions to their educational challenges.
Find out more about the mission, history and their projects on their website.
Nepal Unites
Nepal Unites is an informal group of civilian-activists that believe in democracy and citizen supremacy. The goal is to raise the common Nepali citizen’s voice against the indifference shown by the political establishment. The demand is for accountability, particularly of senior politicians who have time and again proven their incompetence and dishonesty. It is as well an attempt to mobilize and motivate every Nepali to speak up and contribute to building a prosperous and responsible Nepal.
Here’s a very inspiring video:
More about their mission, campaigns, partnerships, etc. on their website.
