Sanathan Hindu Organizations in Disaster Relief Services

Sanathan Hindu Organizations in Disaster Relief Services

Sanathan Hindu Dharma believes in ‘Service to Mankind is service to God’ and the surrendering of the fruits of the services to the Almighty Paramatma. Whether it be cyclone or earthquake, famine or pandemic, Sanathan Hindu Organizations immediately step-in for the disaster relief services of the stranded people in need in all the ways possible from their ends.

The recent 2023 early December heavy rains due to Cyclone Michaung has left Chennai, the Metro-capital of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu flooded leaving the city disabled with flood water entering buildings with people not able to access to basic needs. With no second thought, volunteers of Sanathan Hindu organizations could be seen distributing food packets, water, and involved in rescue and rehabilitation operations.

Ramakrishna Mutt started going to the flood-stricken streets and began serving cooked food to people stranded inside their houses. Kanchi Shri Shankara Mutt has adopted five villages which are badly affected by the cyclone. With the early information of few Hindu organizations in Michaung Cyclonic flood relief works at Chennai having just started coming it, the amount of services cannot be concluded as of now. However, one can anticipate the quantum of services these organizations would render on knowing about the disaster relief services the Hindu organizations had rendered in the past.

A brief account of the services of a few Sanathan Hindu organizations done at times of calamities, will show the intensity of Sanathan services towards the welfare of Humanity at large rather than publicity and gaining popularity. Sanathan Hindu services are not limited to India alone, but to the entire world. The selected few out of numerous Sanathan Hindu disaster relief service organizations are as follows:

1. Shri Ramakrishna Mutt

Since May 1897, the Ramakrishna Mission has been provided disaster relief services. Let the situation be the famine in Puri (1908-09) and Benaras (1916-17); floods in India like the 1924-25 flood in Coimbatore, Tanjore, Salem and Travancore, Vrindaban, Mathura and Dehradun or flood in other countries like Amherst  (1920-21) and Akyab in Burma/ Myanmar (1926-27); earthquake in Dharmasala (1905-06), Pegu in (1930-31) and North Bihar (1934), relief operations of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission through its branches across India and abroad have rendered their services to help people.

Drawing inspiration from the lives and experiences of Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886), Sri Sarada Devi (1853-1920) and Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), the Ramakrishna Mission renders its services based upon the essential Vaishnavite doctrine of Compassion – love and concern for all beings whereby service to the jiva (human) is considered as the service to Lord Shiva (God).

Swami Vivekananda coined the term ‘Daridra-Narayana’ with the humanitarian philosophy to see the poor and the needy as God (Narayana) and that the duty of the devotees is to serve those in need which he relates it to the real service to God.

            Where food, water, medicines and essential commodities and rescue are among the immediate relief services, the Mutt also resorts to long-term relief works like getting the houses built, etc. Some such services done by the Ramakrishna Mission are as follows:

1. In the Bihar Earthquake, 1934 the Ramakrishna Mission rendered primary relief through 14 centres and rehabilitation included the erection of 1993 temporary and 1428 semi-permanent huts, supplying cash or distributing materials for the erection of another 944 semi-permanent shelters etc. The Mission also repaired and cleaned houses and drinking water wells.

• To the affected districts of the October 1999 super cyclone in Orissa, primary relief was provided at 7 districts to about 10,000 families. Rehabilitation was provided at Kotang (Puri) and Kanaguli (Jagatsinghpur), where 330 cyclone-proof houses, 6 school-cum-cyclone-shelters, as well as 30 deep bore wells, were constructed. Total cost amounted to Rs. 5.5 crore.

• In the January 26, 2001 Gujarat earthquake, measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale, that affected 21 of the 25 districts in Gujarat, the relief works began on the very day of the disaster and extended until March 2003. Thousands of victims benefited from the distribution of essential items in 281 villages in 5 of the 21 affected districts. Rehabilitation was provided in Porbandar, Rajkot, Surendranagar and Kutch districts. 390 quake-proof houses, 81 quake-proof schools, 5 community centres and 7 water reservoirs were built. Another 190 houses were made available under the ‘Build your own house scheme’. The total cost amounted to Rs. 20 crores.

            The above few instances show how much of services have been done by Ramakrishna Mutt in the disaster relief.

• Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam

‘Jana Seva Janardhana Seva’ as the guiding philosophy, the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam renders its spiritual services to the people including disaster relief services.

By the ordain of Pujyashri Shankaracharya Swamiji, Kanchi Mutt, monetary donation of Rs.20 lakhs was made to PM relief fund and relief materials were distributed to the 2013 Uttarakhand flood.

In another situation, a sum of Rs 10 lakh was donated towards the Prime Minister’s disaster relief fund to help the Jammu and Kashmir 2014 flood victims.

Such are the services rendered by the Kanchi Mutt to help the victims of natural calamities.

• Mata Amritananda Mayi

Affectionately called as “Amma” (Mother), Mata Amritananda Mayi’s motherly and compassionate embrace which relieves suffering in the human has become the traditional blessing of Mataji. Mata Amritananda Mayi’s

1. In the 2001 Gujarat Earthquake, emergency medical team was dispatched and three villages with 1200 homes were rebuilt from ground up.
2. ₹200 crore in relief including 6,200 tsunami-resistant homes, 700 new fishing boats and an evacuation bridge, vocational training for 2,500 victims of the 2004 Tsunami was given.
3. For the 2009 Karnataka flood relief, ₹100 crore was given as relief package including medical care, food, supplies and 1,000 homes were built for the displaced.
4. ₹5 crore was donated for education of orphans – victims of the 2011 Japan tsunami.
5. More than ₹85 crore was spent in medical treatment, economic relief, vaccinations, outreach in rural India, and volunteers worldwide providing basic supplies and social support during the 2021-22 COVID-19 pandemic.

• Isha Foundation

“This life for me is an endeavor to help people experience and express their divinity. May you know the bliss of the Divine” are the words of Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudevan, the Founder of Isha Foundation, a Sanathan Hindu spiritual organization that masters in training devotees in ‘Inner Engineering.’

When some major natural calamity befalls, Isha volunteers do not sit back relaxing while people are at distress. The volunteers come to the rescue of the disaster victims.

One notable service rendered by the Isha volunteers was in the 2015 Chennai flood, when several hundreds of thousands of people were stranded homeless and without basic amenities such as water and food, Isha volunteers swung into action distributing medicines, food, drinking water and clothing, besides conducting 345 medical camps and operating mobile health clinics in Chennai, Villupuram and Cuddalore districts. Over 198,000 people had received medical assistance and 150,000 people received relief materials.

• ISKCON

ISKCON is the Krishna Consciousness raising Hare Krishna Movement brought about by His Holiness A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada also known as Srila Prabhupada.   

ISKCON’s Relief services include supply of the basic necessities of life from Water, Food, Education, Healthcare, Psychological & Trauma Support and Temporary Shelter in the event of a crisis.

Thousands of plates of full vegetarian meals were distributed to flood victims in various places in Klang Valley of Kuala Lumpur where over 18,000 residents have been evacuated from their homes following continuous rain inundating the Greater Kuala Lumpur a couple of years back.

In conclusion, irrespective of their caste, gender, ethnicity, religion or political persuasion, each of the Sanathan Hindu organizations work for Humanity at large to save lives and give support at difficulty times of natural calamities. Millions of Sanathan Hindus have the service-oriented nature embedded in their spiritual Sanathana way of living.