INTERNATIONALLY renowned philanthropist and spiritual guru Mohanji arrives in Durban on Friday as a special guest of the Sibaya Community Trust.
On Saturday Vivian Reddy, the founder and chairman of the Sibaya Community Trust will officially handover a multi-purpose centre to the Indian mystic at the Mohanji Centre of Benevolence in Nonoti, KwaDukuza.
Over the past few years the Mohanji Foundation South Africa has been actively assisting residents of the mostly rural area where a Shirdi Sai Baba temple has also been erected at the Mohanji Centre of Benevolence.
Dr Keshnie Pillay from the Mohanji Foundation says they “were spotted” by the Sibaya Community Trust for their feeding programme and community work in the area.
“And so they decided that they were going to provide us with a kitchen and a hall to continue doing our community outreach. So, essentially, it's almost a R4 million project that they've donated to us based on the kind of work that's already being done in that space.”
Pillay said the inauguration of the hall and kitchen would happen on the same day.
“So Sunday is actually the main feeding day, and we do about 300 to 400 people on a Sunday. On the days in between, it is dependent on what sort of resources we get from people who do donate. And it isn't just food; school uniforms, walking sticks, eyeglasses and various other things have been donated to the community.
The work is done by volunteers who are followers of Mohanji’s teachings.
“So they're (community) very grateful and we're very much a part of each other. If you go anywhere in that community, ask them where Mohanji is, and they will point you in the right direction. We've really grown into each other, and the service that we provide to them is really based on the needs of the community. Some people, who are community leaders, have come to us to ask us for food for children in crèches, which we've provided. So we listen to our community and provide everything,” said Pillay.
Following the inauguration of the hall in Nonoti, Mohanji will lead a three day spiritual retreat from Sunday to Tuesday.
“Mohanji's retreats are quite specific. It's about leading people back to themselves, back to their own humanity. So there's yoga, meditation practices, there's mindfulness practices. It's sort of bringing together both spirituality and humanity,” said Pillay.
On Thursday, September 26 the Mohanji Foundation will host an interfaith event called Pathways to Peace where leaders of various religious groups can discuss the development of KwaZulu-Natal as a whole and find ways in which they can make a difference by embracing their diversity.
During his time in the country Mohanji will be honoured with a number of awards for his service to humanity, including one from the Sivananda Foundation which will take place in Richards Bay.
The Mohanji Foundation is active in 90 countries and 6 continents and while Mohanji is based in India, the foundation’s headquarters are in Switzerland.
According to it’s website. Mohanji is committed to raise the awareness of generations from “selfishness to selflessness”. “His mission is to wake up kindness in the hearts of people. Mohanji firmly believes that humanity is the best religion for human beings and the best spiritual practice is ahimsa (non-violence) in thoughts, words or actions.”