Hawkesbury River 2008

We are finding that this blog is being read all around the world, it is inspiring people to help and take part in propagation. So we have decided to post personal stories from other countries. This is from an outreach event in Australia.

Playground Weekender at Wisemans Ferry is a 3 day camping and music festival held on March 7,8 & 9 about an hour from Sydney.
There were five stages of music, an outdoor cinema, cabaret acts, a cocktail bar, a healing area, yoga, international food and market stalls and for the first time ever at this event a stall devoted entirely to spreading Maharaji's message.

All the great ideas that were destined for the Peats Ridge Festival :
1. Peace Wall (a 3 metre wall where people can express what peace means to them)
2.Vox Pop (interviews with the audience on their opinions of peace and how it is to be reached are going to be screened)
3.Peace Forums (socratic style open forums with 15 minute dvd screenings)
and the distribution of dvds, cards & electronic media were also used at Playground Weekender.

A core team of 5 people which including a professional camera man from Brisbane who filmed the Vox Pop's . More volunteers from around NSW helped out with the festival attendees and participated in the Peace Forums and Vox Pop.

Ilkley Complementary Medicine Fair

29th & 30th March
The Ilkley fair takes place twice a year and is one of the premier complementary health shows in the north. This is the second time we have had a stand and we are now starting to be recognised by the other stall holders and people attending. The feedback has been very positive. Several people helped this time and the following is a report, with quotes, from two of them.

Carolyn
We had a very simple stand with "Peace is a Feeling" backdrop, DVDs, leaflets, a TV with DVD playing quotes. I was wondering if our stand was a bit old compared with others but a stall holder made a point of saying how much he liked it and how the message "Peace is a feeling" was really striking. I realised then, that although there is always room for improvement, it really is the feeling that counts.
The atmosphere at the fair was really warm with pleasant interaction between stall holders. We were upstairs where the refreshments were served, so people were constantly drifting past and many stopped and read the message on the backdrop. Most took a DVD or leaflet and some really positive comments were made. Quite a few people recognised Maharaji's face and said they had seen him on TV and some remembered us from last time. One lady said that she had taken a DVD at the last fair and had just got round to watching it and asked if there was any more so I gave her Introduction to the Keys. She also said she would like to attend events in Hebden Bridge and gave me her contact details. I also met an Asian man who said he was an artist in Bradford and was working with groups interested in peace. He took a DVD and gave me his email address as he felt that we may be able to work together in some way. So many lovely exchanges happened.
One woman remarked on how everyone else was selling something and we were giving DVD’s away and she thanked us for that and smiled so sweetly and took a DVD.
I think I speak for everyone who helped, we all had a very enjoyable time and it felt really good to help in this way and witness the magic that can happen with propagation.

Mick
These are some comments that people made:

One guy said "I watch Maharaji on TV and I think Maharaji is wonderful and we need more like him and less like George Bush." He took a DVD.

“I took a DVD the day before," one stand exhibitor said, “ I was blown out by Maharaji Saying 'I CAN HELP'”.

“I’m from Scarborough and have seen Maharaji on TV and he is wonderful." When she watches Majaraji on TV, she feels the heat projecting from the television, (I hope she keeps a fire extinguisher close by!) but I knew what she meant. They asked how we get to see him, the other lady was from Lincoln, and I explained how they could get an invite. They both accepted a DVD.

One man, from the healing exhibition stand stated, “peace starts within individuals, not in society,” and agreed with what Maharaji says.

Another said, when I asked him if he wanted a DVD, “No Thanks, I do Tai Chi.”
“Well," I replied, "there's always room for improvement,” (tongue in cheek). He immediately replied “give me a DVD.”

I had fun and the feeling is always sweet, look forward to doing more.
Driving home I just felt beautifully humbled and so proud to be involved with Maharaji.

Tameside Independence Day

Ashton Town Hall
12/3/08

This was an event organised by the Tameside Third Sector Coalition, which is part of Tameside and is there to assist groups to develop and function in the region.
We were invited to this event and were offered a stall, which we accepted and organised a display.
The people who came were mostly 50 years of age and over but the general public were also invited.
I used the Manchester display boards and handed out free dvd's to all who showed an interest. We had all four types of dvd's

• You Got it
• Designed For Joy
• Hindi and Dual Language

Only one person I spoke to had heard about Prem Rawat and she took a dvd. Few people showed no interest and the rest were happy to listen and take a dvd to watch at home.
I was also requested for an interview on Tameside Radio. They asked basic questions of who I was, what I was doing and who I represented, etc.
The Asian Age Concern group have invited me to their meeting later this month.
I have also been requested to give my group a name and register it with the library, so that we can be invited to other events that Tameside organise.
A successful event and very enjoyable. I would like to thank the Manchester team for the lone of the display boards and the dvd's

Mind, Body, Spirit Fairs

It can seem a daunting task to approach an MBS Fair with the intention of giving away DVD's to help propagate Maharaji's message but one advantage of these fairs, is that the majority of the people are coming because they are searching for something - maybe it's relief from pain, help to see the future or whatever, but they are searching; so that is why they are ideal for us.

My partner and I have frequently done these type of stalls on our own with just another couple taking over during a lunch break. This has been fine with us. Some people like to have a team of people so that no-one does more than a couple of hours.

As we are not selling anything, unlike all the other stalls, some people can be very suspicious of 'free' stuff, so we like to be hands on and ask people if they would like a free DVD. We always stand at the front of the table and if people approach the stall, we ask them if they would like a free DVD. Personally, I get a real buzz from manning the stall and being pro-active but I know that some people do not like doing it this way. Each to their own. There is no right or wrong way to do this and you do what is comfortable for you.

People are generally curious and want to know what it is about, whilst others shy away from being approached in any way. We never push DVD's on people who don't want them. I love talking to the people; those who heard about Maharaji way back when, or those who just seem curious as to what we are doing with the stall.

At the end of the day when we pack up, I know I always feel as though I did something worthwhile with my day, even if not many people took DVD's, at least I tried to get Maharaji's message out there.