Newsletter August 2024
Tree-hugging Day
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Kindergarten children hug a tree
Dear friends of the Shanti Ananda School!
Have you ever hugged a tree? Our students did it on July 20th at the end of the mini project week about trees. Why? You can find out a lot about that in this newsletter.
The originally announced newsletter on the history of yoga at our school will appear next.
Student installation of a banyan tree (7th grade and kindergarten)
The first mini project week in the new school year 2024/25 - on the topic of 'trees' - took place from July 18th to 20th. Headmaster Raja Sekhar (whom we affectionately call 'Heartmaster’) suggested dedicating the last day, on which the results of the team work are presented, to hugging trees. Here he describes how he came up with this idea:
"I was meditating and thoughts about trees came to mind. Do they have feelings? If they have feelings of happiness, how do they manifest? If they have feelings of unhappiness, how do they manifest? I wanted to know; so I researched, started hugging trees and had some experiences. When we give happiness, the tree receives this vibration. I experienced it, I observed branches, trunk, roots, leaves and flowers; I observed everything. When we hug a tree, after 30 seconds it reacts. It begins to receive our inner feelings. When we open our hearts, we can notice it. So, I saw happiness in some trees, but unhappiness in others.
The trees give fruit, medicine and oxygen. But mostly we are not grateful to them. We need to raise awareness among students and teachers, but also among people outside. That's why I started hugging trees. It's a great experience in my life - I observed the trees, how they react when we open our hearts and how they receive our feelings. So, I thought: Why don’t we include this topic in our school as a project week?” B. Raja Sekhar
Raja Sekhar hugs the neem tree in front of the administration building
During the three-day mini project week, many different activities were held around the theme of 'trees'. The children were active in five groups (7th grade and LKG, 6th grade and UKG, 5th and 1st grade, 4th grade – solo - and 2nd and 3rd grade): They researched information about trees and wrote the results on large pieces of cardboard, they painted, made crafts and created imaginative installations on the floor. Small exhibitions were set up in some classes - it was three days of fun activities around the theme. New trees were also planted on the grounds.
Use of trees in everyday life
Through this topic, the new/old idea of the unity of all being was implanted in the minds of children. This view is widespread among indigenous peoples, but it is only gradually finding its way back into our modern way of thinking. The laws of quantum physics - in particular the law of quantum entanglement - clearly show that everything is connected to everything else. Mystics speak of the ONE SOUL: 'We know that every stone, every plant, all elements - earth, water, air and fire -, every animal and, last but not least, MOTHER Earth are permeated by a soul.' (Anton Hross).
The sun god sends his greetings 😊
In 1855, the Red Indian chief Seattle spoke the following words to the President of the USA: "Every part of this earth is sacred to my people, every glittering pine needle, every sandy beach, every mist in the dark forests, every clearing, every buzzing insect is sacred in the thoughts and experiences of my people. The sap that rises in the trees carries the memory of the red man... We are part of the earth, and it is part of us. The fragrant flowers are our sisters, the deer, the horse, the great eagle - are our brothers. The rocky heights, the lush meadows, the body heat of the pony - and the people - they all belong to the same family..."
Our forest spirits in action
Many poets had a very similar perception. The German poet Hermann Hesse wrote about trees: "A tree speaks: There is a core, a spark, a thought hidden within me, I am life from eternal life. Unique is the attempt and the throw that the eternal mother has dared with me, unique is my shape and the veins of my skin, unique is the smallest play of leaves on my treetop and the smallest scar on my bark. My task is to shape and show the eternal in the distinctly unique." Hermann Hesse, Trees - Reflections and Poems
Dieter Zimmer, newsletter reader and long-time friend, once had a very touching experience with a tree: “Every morning on the way to work I passed this park. It wasn’t particularly big; in fact, it was a bit small; but it had these beautiful big trees that stretched up so majestically. They also had enough space to spread out. I liked them very much, they were so steadfast, so firmly rooted; and while traffic roared around them, people rushed back and forth, even houses came and went, nothing disturbed them.
On the way home I often made a little detour to be closer to them. It was almost as if I was recharging my batteries with them.
One day, on the way home, I suddenly heard a scream coming from their direction. I immediately thought that a child had climbed a tree and then fallen down. Maybe it had even broken something! I immediately ran to the tree where the screaming was coming from. The child must have been lying behind the tree because I couldn't see it yet, I could only hear a pain-filled wail. I ran around the tree, but there was no child there. As I ran around the tree, however, I heard that the screaming was coming from the tree! I immediately tried to comfort him; I put my arms around him and spoke to him: everything is fine now, I'm listening, he can tell me everything... etc..., but all I heard was him screaming.
After about half an hour I had this stupid idea of what the others would think if they saw me here like this. 'They'll put me in the nuthouse,' I thought. And as soon as I had that thought, I couldn't hear any more screaming. Then I thought myself that maybe I was ready for the nuthouse. I then went home and had great doubts about what had happened to the tree. Had I just imagined it all? I had no idea...
The next day I came back there after work; the tree had been cut down; and I knew that everything had happened as I had heard! The tree had cried out for its life and I was glad that I was able to give it some love as it left."
At the Shanti Ananda School it was the first time that we celebrated a Tree Hugging Day. From next year onwards, we want to celebrate it on July 21st, as that is the birthday of our main supporter Herbert Fründt. Without him this project would not exist and he planted some of the trees himself.
Incidentally, on January 21st every year there is International Hugging Day; it was first celebrated on January 21st, 1986 in Caro, Michigan, USA.
Teachers and children hugging trees
Here, in India, the following rule applies to road construction: the construction company is legally obliged to plant twice the number of trees that had to be felled for the construction work next to the new road in order to win a contract. They only receive their money once the planting has taken place. This is to guarantee that the tree population increases despite more and larger roads.
Tree planting (Green Coordinator Ramesh, Water Woman Bagyamma and Raja Sekhar)
On our trips to Mudigubba in recent years, I have been pleased to notice that the mountains next to the road have become increasingly forested - thanks to the efforts of tree planters and thanks to cheap gas provided by the government to prevent the felling of trees for domestic fires.
With warm regards from India,
Yours, Helga Shanti Fründt
Contact
Shanti Ananda School Website
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Donation Accounts
FCRA account
Shanti Ananda Education Society
State Bank of India, New Delhi Main Branch
40043801956
IFSC: SBIN0000691
General Account
Shanti Ananda Education Society
Andhra Bank, Mudigubba Branch
Anantapur District, Andhra Pradesh, India
185410100193769
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German Donation Account
Shanti Ananda Education Society
Anahata Stiftung, Munich, Bank für Sozialwirtschaft
BLZ: 700 205 00
IBAN: DE72700205003751241124
BIC: BFSWDE33MUE