“Life is better if you are honestly doing your best to make a difference for another being. If you know that in living your life – however you are – you are also making a significant difference for others who would otherwise have no chance… You live different, you feel different, you are different.”~ Prabhavati Dwabha
EPISODE 34 – PRABHAVATI DWABHA ON GIVING, CHILD POVERTY, EDUCATION AND PHILANTHROPY
BREAKING THE CYCLE OF POVERTY, IGNORANCE, AND HOMELESSNESS
Listen to the conversation:
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About this interview:
How can one person make a difference to overwhelming poverty and suffering?
In this episode, Amisha sits down with Prabhavati Dwabha, who left a career in Hollywood to come to India and has been working to provide a home, education, love and nourishment to hundreds of ‘at risk’ children for 25 years.
The children who have been lucky enough to come to Ramana’s – the children’s shelter and school established by Prabhavati Dwabha in Rishikesh – have gone on to become pilots, engineers, musical prodigies and healthcare professionals (to name a few). She describes the phenomenal standard of care that she seeks to provide for them and how she has raised the funds and support which make it all possible.
All the children in Deva Dwabha’s care came from very extremely traumatic backgrounds where they were unlikely to survive without rescue. She describes the utterly harrowing circumstances in which she has found these children and tells of the urgent need to help millions more like them still living at high risk under the most horrific conditions.
She speaks about the experiences that helped her to overcome the belief that one person cannot make a difference, and how we can do the same in our own lives. Together she and Amisha speak about karma yoga (the yoga of action – serving others as an offering to something higher), the joy of giving and how to fight complacency towards poverty and suffering in the place where we live. We hear deeply moving stories of children from Ramana’s dishing out food and compassionate care to homeless people in London, as well as some of the small personal initiatives we can start today to make a big difference in the lives of others.
“The whole thing if you live in the street in the garbage is that nobody cares – otherwise why would you be there? So if someone comes to where you are and brings a giant watermelon, they care.” ~ Prabhavati Dwabha
Prabhavati Dwabha (formerly known as Enid Hendershot) left Hollywood in her late twenties to go to Osho’s ashram in Pune, India. After studying with Osho and later with ‘Papaji’ (Sri H. W. L. Poonja) in Lucknow she took up residence by the River Ganga to focus on her spiritual practise. As she came to recognise the hardships faced by the local people who befriended her, she determined to do something to help. Since then she has established numerous education, food-growing, child rescue and women’s empowerment organisations across the region and beyond, transforming the lives of thousands of people. She has one many awards for her work, including THE ONE International Humanitarian Award for 2018 by Rotary International, Hong Kong for which she is using to build new housing for the kids and rescue some children living amongst the garbage of Rishikesh with no access to any amenities or opportunities. Deva Dwabha as she is affectionately called is an inspiring activist whose life is devoted to selfless service for the kids that cross her path. She also is an excellent facilitator and teacher offering work for women around the world called “Women who see in the dark.”
To find out more about Prabhavati Dwabha, visit www.ramanas.org
To connect or work with Amisha, visit www.amisha.co.uk
**** You can sponsor a child in India or Bali – with a very small amount you can make an enormous impact in somebody’s life ****
To donate to Ramana’s Garden in Rishikesh, India – www.ramanas.org/sponsor-a-child
To donate to Jodie O’Shea’s in Denpassar, Bali – www.careforkidsbali.com/html/donate.html
Visit and support Ramana’s with Amisha in March 2019:
In March 2019, Amisha will be taking a group to India on a seva retreat – where the focus will be on service to the amazing kids at Ramana’s Garden. It will be a small group, and we will spend five days in the children’s home in Rishikesh – supporting the kids, playing, helping out with the opportunity to also explore the city which is known as the birth place of yoga. We will then travel up to Ambiya in the mountains where we will work on the land where the organic produce for the cafe and school is grown. Prabhavati Dwabha will be there to share her experiences and hold the process with us. This whole journey will be supported by other aspects of yoga as well karma yoga including asana, meditation, mantra, spiritual teachings and sharing circles so that it is a fully held process and journey of discovery. This is an incredible opportunity to understand the true depths of yoga as well as visit India in a meaningful, eye and heart opening way. This retreat takes place right after the International Yoga Festival in Rishikesh if you wish to come for that as well. This will be a life changing experience for everybody who takes part.
March 8th-19th 2019 – full details and booking information here – www.amisha.co.uk/event/service-retreat-in-rishikesh-india/
Resources and links from this episode:
- Conscious Action Network (CAN)
- Assara Trust
- Bali Spirit Festival
- Ramana’s Garden India
- Jodie O’Shea Bali
Connect more with us:
- Beautiful Leadership mentoring
- Amisha’s One-to-One sessions
- Amisha’s book – INTUITION
- all that we are membership
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