The Prout Research Institute of Venezuela

Poem: AN INTENSE EXPERIENCE
[Dada Maheshvarananda wrote this poem about the recent university students who came to study Prout and cooperativism at our institute. No claims are made as to its literary quality.]

22 Brazilians are coming to stay with us... for six weeks!
What would that be like?
[click to read more]

Buy bunk beds, mattresses, pillows, sheets, towels!
Big pots, pans, utensils,
Huge amounts of food, shopping every other day.
Many trips to the airport, mostly at night.
Baking four kilos of wholewheat bread every afternoon,
And three kilos of granola every other day.
Yoga class, kiirtan and meditation twice a day
Inviting guest speakers
Planning Prout presentations,
Organizing visits,
Giving directions about the city, suggestions to avoid crime,
And how to cope with culture shock.

Long meetings,
Unwinding in the garden,
Dancing with joy,
Cooperative games,
Josué singing countless songs,
A wakeup song before 6am yoga.
Discussing deep spiritual questions,
Struggling to think and speak in Spanish,
Running to consejos, cooperativas, escuelas,
Marches, pizza and salsa,
Helping Isabel in the kitchen,
Arepas, cachapas, cayapa – ¡chevre!
Physical exhaustion,
And what does “transcending ego” mean?


And the personalities:

Guilherme: the flexible traveler and adventurer, who loves to teach and learn, who wants to make a difference in the world.

Rodrigo: the global traveler, polyglot, artist with words, strong, kind, friendly, service-minded, intense with a soft heart.

Anandi (previously Anadi): devotee of Baba with an incredible voice, great spiritualist, intuitive, capable, searching, with wanderlust and an open heart, mature, transcending ego and willing to start over again, a re-emerging child-woman.

Mônica: emerging from shyness, caring and kind, very compassionate, feeling the pain of others, brave, forgiving, trying to save the planet and change the world and herself.

Luanda: sensitive, gentle and loving, joyous and happy, motivated to change the world, very intuitive, courageous, hopeful, committed, realizing her dreams.

Ana Terra: gentle, very conscious and intuitive, overcoming stiffness, generous, ready to sacrifice for others, reflective, listening to and learning to trust her voice of wisdom within.

Amanda: dancer, insightful, a fighter for justice, independent, courageous, honest, kind, peaceful, deep spiritualist.

Umesh: kind, building bridges, wise, ready to unite, a devotee of Christ and Baba, searching for the spiritual and esoteric everywhere, a sadvipra, my brother forever.

Ana Paula Fonseca Lanza: connected to the Earth, caring, strong, overcoming internal conflicts, spontaneous, open-minded, in search of personal growth, ready to sacrifice anything for friends.

Walderez: child of the forest, courageous, diligent worker, secret poet, with heart full of compassion and concern for the world.

Ana Paula Almeida: careful, considerate, concerned, caring, sensitive, mature, a beacon of light and hope for all.

Betinha: always supporting and helpful, a true leader, courageous, a warrior, discovering her strength and purpose, seeing the good and beauty in everyone, growing in the best way possible.

Alba: full of energy, sincere, courageous, loving Nature and everyone, overcoming stress and frustration, searching for physical, mental and spiritual strength, questioning, with faith in life and dedication to improve the world.

Débora: revolutionary artist and dancer, bright, creative, a phoenix, full of energy, brilliant, searching for beauty, discovering her equilibrium and health.

Leo: strong, challenging, questioning, dreamer, impatient with superficiality, a warrior, searching for truth and the deep richness of life.

Jayesh, Josué: spiritual troubadour, always cheerful, creative poet, flexible, diligent, self-disciplined, a good researcher, with a pure heart.

Anirvan, Evandro: clever, patient, kind, serious, assertive, challenging, helpful, focused, a sincere meditator.

Cyro: transforming, questioning, a leader, in transformation, discontent with injustice, loving, ready to sacrifice personal comforts for others.

Solange: strong, confident, inspiring, dynamic, creative, service-minded, contemplating on the heart of God, part of everything, connected with plants and the Earth, searching for her role to change the world.

Bhakti Devii, Bárbara: courageous, sensitive, sincere, a dancer, always searching for truth and self-knowledge, evolving, finding God inside, respecting others and changing the world.

Roseane: dreamer, questioning and searching, lover of God, overcoming indecision with will, trying to understand the world outside and inside, making a difference.

Professor Louis (Liilamaya): Master of the dance, totally dedicated, always learning and discovering, risking his life for his students, concerned, open-minded, empowering others. The one who sacrificed the most for this program's success.

And the hard-working staff:

Dada Devasattananda: deeply spiritual, loving, in “no time zone”, wonderful artist, cooking with Indian spices and mantras, always willing to teach, to serve and to sacrifice.

Dada Ranendrananda: almost always smiling, profoundly wise, patient, intelligent, enthusiastic, true adventurer, excellent teacher, never-ending source of Baba stories.

Yogeshvara (Hans): always willing, responsible, trustworthy, committed, concerned for everyone's welfare, focusing on details of the house and garden, courageous, devoted to Baba and to Prout.

Samkalpa: sincere, hard-working, responsible, very talented on the ropes, balanced, mature, strong yet gentle, self-disciplined, a true spiritualist.

Sarvajiit (José): proud to show the beauty of Venezuela, responsible and systematic, friendly, cheerful, courteous, very creative, loyal, confident, insightful.

Rajashrii: simple and sincere, caring for all, baking bread and granola, content whenever someone translates for him, evolving, expanding his mind, a lover of God and everyone.

Krsna Priya: very deep, keen to learn, a beautiful person, who adores culture and capoeira and salsa, ready to sacrifice, very sensitive and intelligent.

Dada Atmapranananda: the ninja, fix-it man, tireless, very focused on the Bolivarian Revolution, cooperativist, completely selfless, practicing long meditation.

Each of you has physical, mental and spiritual potential
More than you can possibly imagine.
“Todos somos uno”.
Baba Nam Kevalam.
Unforgettable!

For various reasons I have difficulty expressing my emotions.
However I want to say
I love you all,
I miss you all,
You always have a home with us in Venezuela.

Dada Maheshvarananda, Caracas, March 6, 2009