June 3-- Rishikesh: 

Param Pujya Swamiji's birthday. This day began with all the young orphanage/Veda vidyalaya students cleaning the banks of Mother Ganga in honor of Pujya Swamiji's birthday. They walked all the way past Ram Jhula, through the market places, and all along Ma Ganga's banks, collecting trash and any other debris. All in all, they collected 20 large sacks full.

				Cleaning the marketplace		Task accomplished!

We instituted a "Clean, Green and Serene" program here one year ago (due to the generosity of Smt. Bina Stevenson of Australia). That program has greatly improved the sublime cleanliness of the area. However now that it is summer and high season, the flow of people is so high that the banks and roads needed a good, special clean up.

Later in the day, Dr. L.M. Singhviji and H.H. Acharya Dharmendraji came and they and Pujya Swamiji went to H.H. Swami Dayanandaji's ashram to discuss the United Nations World Peace Summit. The discussion was very fruitful and addressed numerous aspects of the Indian Delegation of Spiritual and Religious Leaders.

At evening aarti, Dr. Singhviji delivered a beautiful speech in honor of Pujya Swamiji's birthday. He praised Pujya Swamiji effusively for His divine vision, His infinite dedication and His unparalleled ability to make noble plans become realities.

Evening Aarti, with the divine glow Pujya Swamiji brings to our lives		Dr. L.M. Singhviji garlands Pujya Swamiji on His birthday.

Additionally, all of the orphanage/Veda Vidyalaya boys made a huge banner for Pujya Swamiji (each having painted one section).

June 4 -- Rishikesh : In a continuation of the birthday festivities from the day before, June 4th began with a special tree plantation ceremony in honor of Pujya Swamiji.
Veda Vidyalaya/orphanage children plant Tulsi and other holy trees in the garden in honor of Pujya Swamiji's birthday

H.H. Acharya Dharmendraji, Dr. L.M. Singhviji, and Mrs. Kamla Singhviji plant holy trees with Pujya Swamiji in honor of His birthday
June 6 -- Rishikesh: Opening of new school in Rishikesh. This school was supposed to open on June 4, but due to heavy rains, we had to postpone it by 2 days. With 300 girls already enrolled on opening day, the Y.E.S. Project opened a new women's vocational training center. Additionally, on the premises, we are also offering music classes, dance classes and adult education.

June 11 -- Rishikesh :
Ganga Dusshera - the birthday of Mother Ganga - was celebrated in a beautiful, divine way. H.H. M.M. Pujya Swami Gurusharananandji Maharaj and H.H. Pujya Sant Shri Rameshbhai Oza travelled to Rishikesh for the occasion.

As the sun just began its ascent over the Himalayas, at the special, auspicious time of 5:02 am, His Holiness Mahamandaleshwar Pujya Swami Gurusharananandji Maharaj and His Holiness Pujya Swami Chidanandji Maharaj (Muniji) initiated Phoebe Garfield (now known as Sadhvi Bhagwati) with Brahmachari diksha. H.H. Pujya Sant Shri Rameshbhai Oza was also there to bless the occasion.

H.H. Pujya Maharajji bestows his blessings first on H.H. Pujya Swami Chidanandji (Muniji), the Guru and then on Sadhvi Bhagwati, the disciple
In the evening, there was a special ceremony, on the banks of Mother Ganga. H.H. M.M. Pujya Swami Gurusharananandji Maharaj, H.H. Pujya Swami Chidanandji Maharaj (Muniji), H.H. Pujya Sant Shri Rameshbhai Oza, H.H. Pujya Acharya Kishore Vyasji, Pujya Mamaji and so many other revered saints came to perform special Ganga puja and to offer their blessings.

	At the end of the ceremony, Sadhvi Bhagwati delivered a tear filled address and thank you.		(left to right): H.H. Pujya Swami Pragyananandji, H.H. Pujya Mamaji, H.H. Pujya Swami Chidanandji (Muniji), H.H. M.M. Pujya Swami Gurusharananandji Maharaj, H.H. Pujya Sant Shri Rameshbhai Oza, H.H. Acharya Kishore Vyasji

June 11 -- Rishikesh :

On this auspicious day, a new book was released as well: Bharatiya aur Paryavaran (India and the Environment). Written by Dr. Shiv Balak Misra, this beautiful text melds science with spirituality. It details - with specific scriptural reference - the ancient relationship between Indian culture and the environment. He takes the reader through a scientific and spiritual journey into the interconnectedness between man and Mother Nature.

June 12-16 -- Rishikesh :
Soma Yagna. For the first time in 5000 years, this special yagna was performed. For five straight days, several yagna fires burn continuously.

Specially trained brahmin priests chant sacred Vedic mantras and tend to the yagna fires continuously for five days -- in night, in day, in extreme heat, in pouring rain.		Pujya Swamiji joins H.H. Selukarji Maharaj for the purnahuti of the yagna, in the main havan kund, one which was not covered by tent and -- by God's grace -- withstood thundering rain storms over the course of the 5 day period.

Pujya Swamiji with H.H. Selukarji Maharaj

June 12-16 -- Rishikesh: Youth Camp

Close to 40 orphaned girls, being cared for by the Divya Chaya Trust of Delhi came to the holy banks of Mother Ganga for ten days of divine activity. During the course of the 10 days these girls journey on field trips to Neelkanth, they had daily music/sangeetha classes, they participated in numerous ashram activities and they engaged themselves in divine seva here. So proud of their new, divine knowledge, they sang a beautiful bhajan at the evening aarti - flawless after only 2 days of instruction. When Pujya Swamiji asked whether they liked it better here or in Delhi, they unanimously cried, "hum kabhi bhi nahiy vapas jana chahatein hein. [we never want to go back to Delhi]."

The girls first sing sing bhajans for Pujya Swamiji and then on the banks of Mother Ganga.

The tearful girls do pranam to Pujya Swamiji on the morning of their departure. There was not one dry eye (including ours!)
Now, these orphans will come not once a year, but at least two or three times a year. This camp has laid the divine foundation for numerous such youth camps for orphaned and other impoverished youth to come and imbibe the divine nectar of Mother Ganga and to immerse themselves in India's ancient tradition.

		As already mentioned in the previous section, a new women's vocational training center opened on Dehradun Road, Rishikesh, on June 6, with a total of 300 ladies. Additionally, the center includes music and dance classes as well as adult education. Yoga and karate classes will also be started shortly. The official "inauguration" of the school will be in Autumn. This new women's vocational training center is on the premises of a children's primary and middle school which we recently adopted as well. The school has 225 children.
The women on the day of inauguration of the new Vocational Training Center
Village people come together to help build their new junior/high school in an impoverished, rural area outside of Lucknow		Additionally, in July, a new junior school/high school will open in the rural, isolated villages outside of Lucknow, UP. Due to the great dedication of Shri Shiv Balak Misra and Smt. Nirmala Misra, this will be the only junior school/ high school for a 25 km radius. A primary school already exists on the premises; however, in order to give the graduating children a place to go for further education, a junior/high school needed to be built. Smt. Bina Stevenson of Australia graciously came forward immediately and said she would finance the new building in memory of her divine, beloved father, Shri Chhotubhai Doshi. . Thus, building has already begun and the school will open in July with an additional 350 children. There were already approximately 175 primary school pupils and now the school will total close to 400 students.

Gurgaon: Where previously there had been 11 schools in this slum outside of Delhi, we now have 13.

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