Balaji the God 

Lord Balaji symbolizes goodness. He is believed to be a very merciful form of the Hindu God Vishnu, being the fulfiller of every wish made to him by the devotees. With his conch he creates the cosmic sound that destroys ignorance and with his disc he destroys evil.  

Center of knowledge 

Balaji has become the name of a ‘Center of Knowledge’ arising along the Ganges, enclosed between the old city of Benares and the village of Domari. Construction work for some offices, a boundary and soon also a school are going on. So much has been happening the last couple of months, in Benares. In the same simple brick building where I am following Indian philosophy lessons, I have also been teaching English to children from the villages. Every afternoon they would come, about twelve ‘vidyarti’ (students) walking together, with their torn clothes, scruffy hair, smiles on their faces. They could also choose to play or do so many other things, but instead they would spend their free hours - every day! - on classes Sanskrit, English and mathematics. They had something naughty about them but were at the same time very respectful and polite. They were singing and learning together, afterwards playing a match of cricket. I never imagined teaching to be so much fun. It is very fulfilling to share knowledge. And to see a smile on a face of a child who has so little – is something indescribable.

Creating a new world…

From the simple brick building where we were teaching and getting taught, plans for the future started arise. To create a place where knowledge is shared. A place from where further social and economical development is stimulated. First by building a ‘real’ school where children that have the potential but not the opportunity to study, can be provided with high quality education. Children that live on the streets and are often forced to work by their parents. Or children living in the villages, not having the opportunity for good education. Our plan is inspired by the educational system used in vedic times (1500 bc) , when it was normal that teachers and students were living together so that the students could follow the living example of the teacher, and classes were provided free of costs. We combine this ancient knowledge with new experiences on the field of education and using contemporary technology. The idea is to start small and good, first of all admitting 10 students to the 4-year program but reaching many more by also continuing to provide classes to the children of the nearby villages and initiating projects involving many more people. The students living in the ashram will be following a very busy busy schedule filling all seven days of the week, following not only ‘high’ subjects like Sanskrit and science, but also gaining experience in more practical fields like gardening, driving and the digital world. We will also initiate projects to raise social awareness, like cleaning certain areas of town and planting trees together and remembering people of Indias beauty reflected in the cultural heritage by maintaining the neglected buildings of Benares, revealing their hidden beauty. There will be attention for culture and art by organizing monthly concerts (Benares is known for it’s musicians), exhibitions and lectures are to be held and artists and historicans can give guestclasses.  This and many more ideas will be brought into practice from the beginning of 2008. To finance the educational project, for the first five years Balaji will depend mainly on funds and sponsors. We will develop commercial activities that should eventually finance the center, like organizing weekends with speeches on the art of living and concerts and 10 day courses Indian Philosophy,  given by my colleague, a philosopher. We have even found a publisher who will press and translate his books.  Basically Balji will be a place where the best of the modern cities and village life come together, where the ancient eastern culture and philosophy and interesting ideas from the west are combined. A world where the best of all times and places is brought together thus transcending all cultures and religions.  

Thanks to some people in Mumbai that have warm feelings for the idea, we could start realizing the plan very quickly. We did so by planting 200 trees some weeks ago, shortly after construction work for the school started and the plan is to open the center by the beginning of 2008.

Writing at the Ganges 

Since the brick building where we were teaching is now being transformed into something quite different, I have stopped teaching and am writing a business plan containing all our ideas and ways to realize them. I am happy to have found the help of a businessman doing so. At the same time I decided to move out of my very conveniently located but terrible hotel, and moved to a homely place where there is some feeling (for aesthetics) inside. The hotel has a great balcony looking over the Ganges where I can sit and work on the laptop. And am surrounded by the most amazing books, all with an autograph and sometimes a story from the author inside. The hotel is quite deserted at the moment (it is 45 degrees in Benares), but apparently normally interesting guests stay here. It feels good to stay here, a special place, in every way. They gave me the room with hanging above my bed….. a painting of Balaji.