All World
Gayatri Pariwar

1.Chairperson of the Party for Peace and Unity, Russia,  Sazhi  Umalatova initiated into Gayatri Deeksha
Ms Sazhi Umalatova, Chairperson of the Party for Peace and Unity, Russia and a former parliamentarian was initiated into Gayatri Deeksha at Shantikunj. She also offered oblations in yagya, tarpan and pindadan for the peace of late President Boris Yeltsin. This news was quickly picked up by BBC Hindi.Com and was published in the first page of March 22, 2010 issue.

In fact Ms Sazhi Umalatova came to Shantikunj to participate in the International Festival of Yoga, Culture and Spirituality (see details in item 3). She was deeply impressed by the scientific way of spirituality and Vedic traditions being propagated by Shantikunj. She made up her mind to seek Deeksha for soul upliftment and chose Yugrishi Pt Shriram Sharma Acharya and Vandaniya Mataji Bhagwati Devi Sharma as her spiritual teachers. As a Gurudakshina, she resolved to work incessantly for the upliftment of Russian society.

When asked why she performed rites of shradha-tarpan for late president Yeltsin, she said – “Yeltsin appears in my dreams very often and discusses political issues. Sometimes he feels guilty of his thoughts and actions during his regime. He has also apologized to me in the dream for his abuses. It appears to me that his soul is restless and dissatisfied. That is why I decided to offer prayers and perform rites for his peace.” She also offered shraddha-tarpan to her parents and her two brothers who were killed in Afghanistan. After performing the rites she said, “Now I am feeling very light. It seems there was some debt on me that has been paid.”

2.Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh and his colleagues visit Shantikunj
The chief minister of Chhattisgarh, Dr Raman Singh along with several of ministers and MLAs visited Shantikunj on March 27, 2010. In spite of luxurious facilities offered by the Govt. of Uttarakhand, they preferred to stay in the divine ambience of Shantikunj for about 24 hrs. During this period they also visited Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya, Kumbha Mela and took a holy dip in Ganga. Sri Madan Kaushik, a minister in Uttarakhand Govt, and incharge of Kumbha Mela welcomed the distinguished visitors.

While at Shantikunj, Dr Raman Singh said, “Today I am delighted to be present at Shantikunj. At this moment, I wish to share with all of you that during my first sojourn at Shantikunj with my parents, I was initiated into Deeksha of Poojya Gurudev and Vandaniya Mataji. It is with their blessings that I am moving forward in my political career for last 10 years. I am fortunate that most of my colleagues, who are responsible for the progress of Chhattisgarh and the nation, at large, are with me at Shantikunj. I believe, the blessings of this Teerth will help us in making Chhattisgarh a Gayatri land.

3.International Festival of ‘Yoga, Culture and Spirituality’
Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalya (DSVV) and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Govt. of Uttarakhand, jointly organized an International Festival of ‘Yoga, Culture and Spirituality’ from 8-13th March, 2010 at DSVV premises. The fest was inaugurated by Swami Dayanand Saraswati, founder of ‘Arsh Vidya Gurukulam, Coimbatore’ and Dr Pranav Pandya, Chancellor of DSVV, by lighting the lamp. On this occasion, Swamiji said, “There is need of several types of cultural movements in India. Amongst these Gayatri Pariwar is one; it is in itself an intense movement. That is why it is expanding globally.” About 450 participants were benefitted by the experience and blessings of prominent saints like Mahayogi Pilot Baba, Swami Satyamitranand, Muni Chidanand, Yogaguru Baba Ramdev, Swami Awadhanand Giri, etc.