We have received a message from Maria Rosa Martínez and her husband, Ernesto García, of Argentina mentioning some extra-curricular activities engaged in by some of the students attending Ravi Ravindra’s class on the Rig Veda at the School of the Wisdom at Adyar in January.  Maria Rosa and Ernesto describe Ravi’s class enthusiastically and then say:

During our second week, Ravi’s associate, Priscilla Murray, drew our attention to the debris-strewn state of the Adyar beach in front of the Theosophical Society estate.  She suggested that we help to clean up the huge amount of waste matter accumulated there.

Most of us agreed to meet the following Saturday morning in front of Leadbeater Chambers where rubber gloves and big bags were distributed, along with five rakes from the Garden Department.

Priscilla was the first to arrive and Ravi was beside her ready to join in the task. We worked for about two hours and the result was spectacular.  Although we were hot, sweaty and dirty, we were really happy at the difference in the look of the beach.  We met again the following Saturday. 

A little service to balance our study was salutary for us all!  We were all reminded of the urgent need to reduce the use of plastic which ends up as garbage.
 

Ravi Ravindra and Priscilla Murray

Commented Maria Rosa: It is a universal truth that sharing work brings you closer to other human beings. There we all were – members from India, USA, Canada, Finland, England, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and so on – not talking, just bending down and filling bags, bending down and filling bags, resting, then bending down and filling bags….
 

One of our classmates, Lucille Crocker from Australia, organised the collection of donations for the purchase of mattresses, pillows, sheets and pillow covers for the boys at the HPB Hostel.  With the help of Sunita and C.V.K. Maithreya of the TOS in Chennai, they were purchased and delivered before the School of the Wisdom course was ended.