Project Suvichara

Sowmya Roopa

(Sowmya Roopa completed her B.A in 1987 and B.Ed in 1988. She received her gold medal for distinction in B.Ed from the Sri Sathya Sai University. She taught at the Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vihar Ootacamund from 1989 till 1991. From 1991 till 2000, she taught at the Sai Sathya Sai Primary school, Puttaparthi. Sowmya Roopa was invited to the Sai Sathya Sai Schools, Rishikesh and Kathmandu in 2000 and 2001. There she shared her knowledge about value-oriented education with the teachers and students through talks, poems, songs, charts and demonstration. Currently, she writes value-based skits and paints quotation boards. She attempts to spread Bhagwan’s teachings and the wisdom of different religions through her brainchild ‘Project Suvichar’.)

“Let good thoughts come to us from all sides”. This saying from the Rigveda inspired me as a 8^th standard school girl. Slowly I filled diaries with a collection of quotations and poems from Tagore , Khalil Gibran, R.L. Stevenson , the Bible , Reader’s Digest , greeting cards etc. Later at the Sri Sathya Sai College, Anantpur, Bhagwan’s words had a deep impact on me. The words “Think with your heart” puzzled me, since, we are taught to think with the mind or brain. One day, Bhagwan, our inner Guru, revealed that we must think with compassion.

 One day, in an English class, our teacher, Dr.Mrs.Zeba Bashir-ud-din discussed a quote of Bhagwan – “I am the ocean, everything is in Me”. In the hour long discussion, I learnt that a single thought is a seed from which many thoughts and feelings emanate.

In 1987, Prof.Saraf, the Vice Chancellor of the Sri Sathya Sai University spoke to the students selected for the B.Ed course. He said “Each wall of the school should speak; each wall should be well utilized to spread knowledge”. Later, as a teacher, these words motivated me to paint many simple pictures to teach subject-oriented topics, prayers, shlokas etc.

In this context, I also remember that subsequent to an interview to the B.Ed students at Trayee Brundavan on 8^th April, 1988, Swami mentioned: “All My boys will spread my message like lions and all My girls will spread my message like parrots”. On other occasions, Swami has clearly said that those who follow His message and strive to help others follow human values are His real boys and girls. I thought that these painted quotation boards would be my small way of spreading His message of love by helping the little children to practice human values. Simultaneously, it helped me to ponder on the inner meaning of these sayings and this labour of love became a source of self improvement for me.

In the summer of 1989, Bhagwan stayed at the Sri Sathya Sai Vidyavihar Ooty. He looked at the simple quotations from the teachings, turned and looked at me and said, “Good”. This direct blessing spurs me to continue with Project Suvichar.

In February 2011, I started using long-lasting material. I was advised and initially helped by professional artists like Zilya from Russia, Elena from Kazaksthan, Lalita from South Africa and Ramu from Parthi.  The following are details about the material used –

1. Softwood- 6mm thickness 24inches x 15 inches

2. Paints –

a) white water emulsion paint for the background

b) Oil paint – blue, green, red for writing

c) Acrylic pearl paints for designs.

  A set of 120 paintings contain 9 paintings for each class from Standard 1 to Standard 12.  In addition, there are 12 boards for other areas of the school, like staff-room, library etc. The schools which receive the 120 paintings are expected to make more of the same kind.

The set of 120 paintings, have been sent to the schools at Parthi, Rishikesh, Shimla, Sikkim, Mysore, Bukkapatnam, Bagaepalli, Muddenahalli, Orissa, Assam, Haryana etc. One set has also been given to the Sharavathi Kannada Higher Primary school and one special set is being prepared to match the theme of Sai Krushna Mandir. Private schools have also welcomed these paintings at Chidambaram, Nagpur and Bihar. Smaller sets of 12, 24 or 54 have been sent to Noida, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Singapore, Chennai etc. For Oman, 12 quotations were chosen from the Koran. Small groups are forming at Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad to do similar work. If groups of devotees in each part of the world paint quotation boards, good thoughts would spread faster. Who knows, a single sentence may become a guiding light for some pilgrim in a distant land!

A 3 pronged action plan could be followed –

1. Bhagwan’s quotations for all Sathya Sai Schools, Hospitals, Music College, Balvikas centres, Samitis etc.

2. Quotes from the religious texts like Bible, Koran etc for schools which have affinity to particular religion eg: Convents, Madarsas etc.

3. Quotes from social welfare leaders like Mother Teresa, Ambedkar, Gandhi, etc for government schools.

IMPACT –

Each stone which the squirrels carried was very small, yet they did their best to help in building the bridge to Lanka for Sri Rama. Bhagwan’s words give the light of Vidya- true knowledge. Each painting is like a lamp, by which we share and brighten the world.

As the following poem says –

We may not light the whole world

But we can do a part

For, as we share His light of Love

We light another’s heart

And, as each heart in return

Begins to share this light

We see that the Whole Earth,

Has become beautiful and bright.

IMPACT ON STUDENTS –

a) Students try to comprehend by discussing each quotation.

b) Translation exercises are being conducted by teachers and students into local language.

c) Students are inspired to do similar work in their drawing note-books, book marks, etc for their school or home.

d) Students improve their English language skills. They use dictionaries to know the meanings of words like – contentment, bliss, experience etc.

e) They are using it according to context in their daily life, eg- (Help Ever, hurt never) – on the playground. 

I would be happy if people could form independent teams all over the world to paint inspiring quotes for their local schools. This would help classrooms become brighter and enable children to learn in a more conducive environment.