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Various
activities of the Organisation.
In
1980, the mission was registered as a charitable organization.
The same year, a souvenir comprising many articles on the
Guru was published in association with the 'Chathayam' celebration
and then was continued yearly. Realising that if the ideals
of the Guru were to be spread in this country, the medium
of the universities was indispensable, the mission established
contact with London and Manchester Universities. The then
Head of Comparative religious Studies of Manchester University,
professor Ling spoke at length on the subject "Sree Narayana
Guru and Buddhism" on Chathayam day in 1980. Reverend
Dr George Karakunnel who has come from Kerala, wrote thesis
on Sree Narayana Guru entitled "Vendanti and Social Reformer"
with assistance from the mission for which University Conferred
upon him a degree of Master of theology. A copy of this thesis
was given to the mission. Numerous books on the Guru were
collected, and a library established. In 1980, it was decided
to establish a Federation FONG-with the purpose of co-ordinating
various organisation working world-wide, in the name of Guru.
In 1981 greeting cards with the Guru's portrait were printed
and distributed. The same year, Christmas was celebrated by
the mission and this has been continued up to the present
day.
In
1981, the then Indian High Commissioner in the UK Dr V A Sayed
Muhammed, became the patron of the Sree Narayana Guru Mission.
The same year Guru Nithya Chaithanya Yati visited London and
spoke on various occasions. The year 1981 was a turning point
in the history of the mission. The members realised that,
it would be good if people could meet once a month with the
idea of conducting prayers, listening to talks about Guru,
and teaching the young generation about his teachings and
also a means of social contact. With this idea in mind, on
Sunday the sixth of March 1983, a prayer meeting was held
between 3 and 6 PM and this trend has been continued without
a break, on the first Sunday of every month. Each family takes
turns to undertake the financial responsibility of conducting
such a meeting.
In
1983, it was also decided to establish a foundation fund,
to meet the expense of conducting charitable activities in
the name of the Guru. The mission was also affiliated to such
organizations as the Newham Voluntary Agencies Council, the
Newham Council for Racial Equality etc.
From
1985 onwards, the death anniversary of the Guru, was also
observed yearly. Guru Nithya Chaythanya Yathi, Muni Narayana
Prasad and Swami Saswathikananda from Sivagiri visited London
on various occasions over the year and gave talks.
As
per the price of the property was going up day by day, it
was decided that something would have to be done quickly.
So the Newham council was contacted and informed of the fact
that numerous Malayalees were residing there and also of the
activities of the mission. By this time, the dream of having
a building had become more of a reality and fund collection
had commenced. By March 1981 the total amount pledged was
£12000. Collecting fund was no east task and by the
end of March 1983, in spite of the untiring effort of the
members, only £9171 was collected. It was at this function
that it was heard through Newham Council that there was a
building for sale in Howard Road Plaistow. As it was an old
building, the price was only £7250. An emergency General
Body Meeting convened and it was decided to obtain the building,
taking in to account the daily increasing prices and also
with idea that it could later on be sold, if it was not found
suitable. This decision was later on to result in a lot of
hardship and sorrow but of course no one could foresee it
at that time. Thus on the 10th Januray 1983, the building
in 30 Howards Road becomes the property of the Mission.
The
fact that such a long time was needed to establish a centre
was due, not to the lethargy of members, but to financial
problems. Even after six years, only £18,990.48 was
collected. On the 4th of May 1987, at 2:30 PM there was a
Annual General Body Meeting of the mission in the new building.
That was an unforgettable moment which gave immense satisfaction
and happiness to all those who had worked relentlessly towards
this end.
But sad to say, this happiness was not long-lived. On 12th
May 1987, about midnight the building was on fire. The trials
and tribulations of eight and a half years had been reduced
to ashes, within moments. The only consolidation was that
the building had been insured.
Without
losing any time we obtained permission from the insurance
company to commence repair work, but the repair had to be
stopped, due to repeated vandalism. A detailed report, showing
all the acts of vandalism committed against the building was
prepared and copies sent to many councillors. As a result,
Councillor Ray Massey convened a meeting of the Mission, the
Grant unit and the Race Equality unit to discuss possible
solution. The Grant Unit informed us that the Government policy
was that, if we sold the building, we have to return the grant
of £36000 and then re-apply for a grant on buying a
new building But, taking the special situation into account,
they said that we could appeal for an amendment of that policy.
But months passed and no results were forthcoming. Finally
with the help of council leader Cllr.Fred Jones permission
was obtained to sell the building without returning the grant.
And then on the 4th October 1988, we heard the heart warming
news that the Newham council would grant us £150,000
to buy another building, with the stipulation that the money
should be utilised by the 31st of March 1989. But the matter
of purchasing a new building was no easy task, meanwhile the
building in 30 Howards Road was sold for £80,000 on
the 16th of May 1989 and a one-year's extension of the grant
was also applied for and obtained.
On the 8th of September 1989, a three storied building in
16 Barking Road, London E6 was approved and purchased.
Many
other routs were also explored. We obtained donations not
only from England, but also from countries like the U.S.A
Nigeria, U.A.E, and Ireland. And India
The
Initial contract of all essential works was scheduled to be
completed by June 1992 and we calculated that we were short
of £40,000. Many trust were applied to, but to no avail.
At this crucial period we obtained a favourable response from
the Tudor Trusts. We contacted them and showed them our effort
and explained them our aim and aspirations of such an organisation.
Accordingly we received a letter from them stating that a
grant of £40,000 has been allowed. There was a great
rejoicing as this obviated the need for a bank loan and from
then things speeded up. By September 1992 the initial phase
was over. The remaining work was again put out for tender
and was completed by EBS contractors in April 1993. This was
achieved by an interest free loan of £15000 given to
us by 18 members. By March 31st 1993 £62,485 was the
total amount collected in the building fund, which is still
going on.
Once
these were settled only, could we begin thinking about the
inauguration and our future plans, as up to this point the
fund collection did not allow for breathing space? It was
decided to conduct the inauguration in an elaborate manner
and publish a souvenir in connection with it. But as soon
as the building was completed, many of the members wanted
to start using it. As compromise, on the 27th June 1993 at
8.00am, Sree Narayana Guru's portrait was unveiled by two
members Mr K Somarajan, and Mr N Gangadharan and prayer conducted.
From that day onwards the building is open daily between 5.30
and 7.30pm and prayers are held. In addition, the prayer meetings
on the first Sunday of every month also continue without fail.
But it was decided that all other activities would commence
only after the official inauguration.
The
inauguration function has been fixed for Sunday the 3rd of
July 1994. The festivities are expected to last for a week
and many prominent personalities from India are expected.
After
the inauguration, apart from the usual prayer, we expected
to start a library, day care centre, children's tuition, Malayalam
classes, seminars and meeting aimed at spreading the teachings
of the Guru etc. in the building. Today, The mission has progressed
from humble beginning to a strong and well-knit Organisation.
What
is usually seen, is that organisation, which start off with
good intention soon become prey to corruption, arrogance and
misuse of power as they grow. This is one thing, which should
never happen to the Sree Narayana Guru Mission of the UK.
Up to the present day, the working of The Mission has been
praiseworthy and an example of the Guru's ideals. There should
never be any deviation from our chosen path and we should
always bear in mind that the mission is first and foremost
a charitable organisation.
Charity Reg. No. 281388
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