The new part of the school building is coming up quite fast. There is quite a lot of difference as you can see in these two pictures taken on 22nd October and 12th December 2008!
The Shree Vishwa Deep Gurukul Senior Secondary Vidyalaya (Jadan School) is located in the state of Rajasthan northern India, in the district of Pali, nestled in the village of Jadan. The school is within the Om Vishwa Deep Gurukul, Swami Maheshwarananda Ashram Education & Research Centre - an international epicentre of learning based on the precepts of Yoga, and the largest Yoga in Daily Life ashram in India. This is the desert region of Rajasthan, dry & arid, and subject to long years of drought. Conditions are hard for those who live here - opportunities are limited. It is often the case that families cannot afford to send their children to school and frequently it is the girls that miss any chance of an education
School Bus Fleet
By the grace of His Holiness Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda Jadan's school was established in 2002, with an enrolment of 146 children from the villages of the surrounding district. The following year enrolments gathered momentum, with 266 children enrolling. Students age from 4 to 14 years old. In 2009 there are now more than 900 students studying in classes from KG till 12th and beyond to college courses.
Class
The school is registered with the Government of Rajasthan . The school provides education based on the government syllabus with an parallel syllabus teaching traditional Vedic culture. Excellent quality of staff and small class sizes ensure that students receive the best possible tuition. Education for girls is free, as it is for any child whose family cannot afford the annual fee. Their free education is made possible by funds received from international donors. To date, generous donations from overseas have helped purchase school uniforms, sports equipment, laboratory equipment for physics, chemistry and biology labs, a library of books & CDs, one VCR and television, 22 computers and seven school buses which travel every morning to collect the children, and take them home again at the end of the day.
Assembly
The enormous success and rapidly growing number of students attending the Jadan's school has put inevitable strain on the limited resources. To sustain the ongoing education of the children of this rural school, financial contributions are required each year.
The school needs funds for building works, teaching aids and reading materials, furniture, sports and gymnastic equipment, audio visual equipment and computers. Through the work of H.H. Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda, the dedication of the school teachers and the donations from the International Yoga in Daily Life community and general public, the future is looking brighter each year for the students of the Jadan school. At present the number of students enrolled in the school is 900 and in July 2009 the strength will increase to 1250 students.
To make a donation or for information on how you can help, contact the Australian Association of Yoga in Daily Life on (02) 9518 7788 or email
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Jadan School 2004 (8mins)
This video wasa made in 2004 before the new school was built.
The intake of the school has increased each year since the school started.
In the Indian tradition they have an ancient saying “Vasudeva kutumbhakam” – the whole world is one family. It is a truth that if realized would solve a lot of problems. I write openly to anyone who is interested to listen with what is, in my eyes not an appeal, but an invitation to join me in being part of the amazing development unfolding here in Rajasthan.
To introduce myself I have spent the last 11 or so years in Rajasthan, India, living in the Ashram of my Guruji, Paramhans Swami Maheshwaranand Puri Ji Maharaj, and trying to do something for the people of the local area. It is a beautiful life which I enjoy very much.
In 2001 we started a school for the local village children. The school started with 140 students and went up to 5th class. It was makeshift and bodgy but it fulfilled our aim which was to give the children a better education than they get in the village. The idea of starting a school stemmed from the realization of the pathetic standard of education available locally. Consider that:
In some local schools there are 250 students and two teachers. Classes are from KG till 8th!
In most Government schools the teachers have an actual attendance rate of 50%. Of course in the books they are marked present all the time.
The Government doesn’t allow a child in a Government school to be failed in the exams until class eighth. Which means there are students in 8th class who can’t write their name!! It serves the purpose of giving better figures to UNESCO (looks good when everyone studies till 7th – on paper). Children in our school pass on merit.
In many villages around us there are still parents who are completely illiterate and sign with a thumbprint.
For a lot of villages there is no school facilities after 8th class and to study further they have to travel by bicycle more than 10km. It’s a tough ask in the Indian summer when temperatures reach 48 degrees.
Now in 2008 thanks to the help of our Guruji, His Ashrams throughout the world and a host of generous donors from all corners of the globe we have a school that has 866 students going up till class 12th. In November 2007 we opened a new school building where we can fit 900 students. It is the only school offering science subjects in 12th class within a 20km radius with fully equipped labs and a great teaching staff.
What has been beautiful to watch over the last years is the development of the students and teachers. The standard of education has increased dramatically. The staff have become not just employees but part of the movement, offering their time and hearts for the students. But most of all the beauty is seeing students who came with nothing blossoming and succeeding. I can only share an example:
There are two girls who joined the school in 2001. They came from a village with 4 houses, no electricity and a family that was completely illiterate. Neither of them could write their name and they joined 4th class. In May 2007 they completed 8th class and sat the examinations of the Government board (8th class examinations are the first “big” examinations held across the whole state of Rajasthan, similar to the school certificate of 10th class in Australia). I don’t know how to describe the beauty of the moment they received their results. They looked ……..and looked again. Asked someone else to check. Their eyes got bigger. Joy spread across their faces. Not only had they passed but they both scored in first division! It was special – beyond their dreams- bringing tears to my eyes.
There are so many stories and experiences that one would like to share but your time is short and I have to go to school! As I said in the beginning this is an invitation to be part of the experience.
We are constantly fighting to try and fulfill the demands of the local community. Everyone is welcome to join us on the journey. For example you can help with fundraising for buses or for construction works, by donating your old laptops or with any other idea or opportunity which you may think will be helpful.
If anyone is interested to help please be in touch on my email
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and I will give you details of how to send donations to our charitable society in India. Alternatively you can give it to one of the Yoga In Daily Life Centres in Australia or throughout the world, giving it specifically for the Education Fund of Shree Vishwa Deep Gurukul Maheshwaranand Ashram.
They say “Bund bund se talab bhar jate he”. Drop by drop the dam becomes full. Our school is a drop in the ocean of the world's illiteracy. Each small donation is also only a drop in the dam of the cost of the school. But it all adds up. If you can help, thanks. If you feel it appropriate then please pass this site address on to a friend or put it up at your workplace. Any effort is welcome.
Lots of love
Enjoy,
Swami Jasraj Puri
A thought
A while back an educationalist from a reputed school in Delhi visited our Ashram. He told a story of a visit that he had made to a village only a few weeks before in which he was thinking to set up a literacy program. Whilst in the village he was talking with the local children and telling them of his plan to set up a small program and centre there. The children, to his suprise, said that they weren't interested. They then said: "We don't want to go to a literacy program, we want to go to YOUR school, the one where you were educated". What they wanted to say is that they just need a chance, an solid education with all the opportunities for learning that their middle class cousins in the city can get. And that when they get that chance they will take it with both hands and prove that they can change their situation, can change the future of their immediate families and can be ready to give their own children the chances that their parents didn't have. Similarly our students are proving that when they get the chance to get a certain level of quality in education that anything is possible. The leaps that students have taken over the past few years is incredible. It is humbling and inspiring to see the way that they apply themselves to make the most of their chance. What can one do but enjoy watching their lives unfold and blossom.
Humanitarian Care 
Jadan School 2004 (8mins)
