From 25th February to 5th March, Yoga Publications Trust set up a bookstall for the first time at the New Delhi World Book Fair organized in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, as part of Yoga Outreach. Many yoga aspirants and enthusiasts flocked to the stall to see the depth and breadth of yogic knowledge available in the Bihar Yoga tradition. Sannyasi Dharmajyoti organized the bookstall together with a group of dedicated sevaks.
I would like to express my gratitude to Swamiji for making us an instrument of service for Yoga Outreach through books of our tradition. It was a completely new and enriching experience for me. I felt the guidance from Swamiji at every juncture whether about stocking books or making a roster for sevaks or checking stocks at the stall. The Book Fair itself was a very vibrant place where people of all age groups were pouring in. Once the fair was on I felt the heft of the publication industry, we had a stall among the top commercial publishing giants of the world. It was Sri Swamijis blessing all through that we were able to match the commercial world and were able to sell more than half of our stock. It was heartening to find in this age of social media, books could still pull such high footfalls at the fair. More than 700 of our magazines were distributed as prasad to all shopkeepers and visitors as part of the outreach of our presence in the arena.
At our stall, we felt as if we were doing seva at the ashram. The roster of 5 to 6 sevaks at a time at the stall was made on the basis of their convenience and availability. The timings were from 10.30 am to 8 pm.
On 5th March, the Guru Bhakti day, we celebrated the culmination of ten days seva at the World Book Fair with havan and kirtan dedicated to our gurus. Vishwapremji graced the occasion and shared with everyone stories of her journey with Paramahamsaji. It felt like Paramahamsaji sent his blessings to us through her.
—Sannyasi Dharmajyoti
I had never done any such seva before, but it went so smoothly I had no idea how time flew. I kept on sitting for close to 6 and half hours and I never realized that I was sitting for so long so it is all together an experience of going beyond time and space. I always felt the divine presence of Sri Swamiji at the stall; he may not be present in the physical form but he was present amongst us in the form of books.
During the seva I felt deeply connected with the Guru’s mission and the other feelings I had was of oneness and togetherness with the fellow sevaks, especially when we were sitting together for lunch, sharing the food we had brought; eating together was a divine feeling it was like having prasad in the ashram.
I have no idea, how the ten days passed! It was like being in Rikhia or Munger. I had the same experience that I used to have while doing seva at the ashram.
—Sannyasi Shivchittam
I was excited to offer my services at the Book Fair and accordingly went well prepared with enthusiasm and gusto and silent prayers of gratitude in my heart for being a part of the seva. The team of volunteers were also excited like me and soon we all became a family as if we had known each other for years. I volunteered to showcase the books from the ashram and distribute yoga magazine as prasad at most of the stalls in Hall no. 2 and also preparing the inventory of books and copies sold on different days. It was a great learning experience for me and I felt proud that people showed interest and confidence in the well-researched books authored by our respected gurus and sannyasis.
—Meenu Dhingra
On 8th and 9th August, Sanrakshika (CISF Wives Welfare Association) in collaboration with Bihar School of Yoga organized a unique event ‘Bihar Yoga Publication Yoga Outreach 2023’ at Meraki Lawns of CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) Headquarters, CGO Complex, New Delhi. Bihar School of Yoga provided 30,000 books of the tradition, which were to be given out as Prasad to the citizens of Delhi as part of the birth centenary celebration of its founder Paramahamsa Swami Satyananda Saraswati.
Under its 4th objective, Sanrakshika aspires to make an outreach to society. This event was organized to disseminate the knowledge of yoga for health, happiness and harmony for all. 3,300 people from different walks of life in a very systematic, smooth and peaceful manner took the prasad in these two days. A total of 10,000 magazines and 28,160 books were given as prasad. CISF personnel organized this event with the spirit of seva for the benefit of fellow citizens. The sincerity and joy with which it was conducted is to be seen to be believed. Registration queues were long. People could not believe that one of the best books on yoga and spirituality were being given free. With so many titles available, it was difficult to make a choice to take the best ten books.
This event has made a successful outreach as the majority of the people were new to the tradition. With participation from 52 offices and organizations, this unique event symbolized a harmonious convergence of wellbeing and community outreach which will certainly be remembered by all visitors. On behalf of CISF, I express deep gratitude to Swamiji and Bihar School of Yoga for giving this unique experience to CISF. ‘Jnana Daan’ is said to be the biggest daan. CISF and Sanrakshika are honoured to be a part of an auspicious event, thus becoming an instrument of service to society. We are looking towards many more opportunities for collaboration for the good of everyone. May this association of two organizations continue to make a difference in the lives of many in the times to come.
—Sannyasi Dharmajyoti, (Aparna Singh)