15th August is the birth anniversary of Param Pujya Nikam Guruji. Every year, it is celebrated as Swasthya Din at the Kutir.
On this day, teachers who have rendered 10 years of yoga seva in the Kutir or its branches are honoured with the Seva Puraskar. This year, Yoga teacher from Australia were honoured with the Seva Puraskar.Everyone realized how far and wide Guruji's thoughts have spread.
The Swasthya Din program was held on 15th August from 3:30 pm to 6:00 pm. About 250 sadhaks and teachers were present.
The program was compered by Shri Dinesh Ranade. Considering the occasion of Independence Day, Shri Suhas Bandivadekar sang a beautiful Marathi patriotic song - 'Saagara Pran Talmalala'. After the lighting of the lamp by the distinguished Chief Guest, Dr. Ashutosh Aapadkar, the daily prayer of the Kutir was held. After the prayer, Gayatri Mantra and Omkar, Shri Suhas Bandivadekar presented the bhajan which described Guruji's greatness.
While felicitating the awardees, Dinesh Ranade said that Guruji dedicated his entire life to selfless service and to improving the health of society, and that Guruji continues to work amongst all of us even today as a protective shield and as a guide.
Shri Prakash Pawar introduced the Chief Guest, Dr. Ashutosh Aapadkar, to all the sadhaks present.
Senior Yoga Teacher of the Kutir Smt.Seema Vaidya explained the traditional importance of Seva for human welfare, citing examples of Sant Dnyaneshwar, Sant Tukaram, Samarth Ramdas and Gadge Maharaj. She mentioned that Pa.Pu. Nikam Guruji has also given us the three-fold path of Sadhana, Seva and Satsang. After Sadhana, ego can arise, and to destroy that ego, Seva is the right path. Seva cannot be done with the desire for money, fame, publicity or self-interest. Only selfless service should be the main motto of life - this was the great teaching of Guruji. She also noted that even today, the Seva work of all the teachers continues on the basis of Guruji's teachings.
Thereafter, Teachers who had rendered 10 years of uninterrupted Seva were felicitated and honoured with the Seva Puraskar. Among the Seva Puraskar recipients, Smt. Jyoti Ranade, Smt. Minakshi Samant, Shri Harish Yadav, and Shri Jitendra Kshirsagar shared their experiences with those present.
After that, Shri Surve Sir shared some special and inspiring memories of Guruji. He gave examples showing that Guruji's conduct was exactly as he preached. He emphasized that Guruji has given us an opportunity to serve, and leaving aside our personal work, we should all make the maximum use of this opportunity.
After that, the Chief Guest of the Kutir, Dr. Aapadkar, guided all the sadhaks. He spoke about the benefits of yoga seen in children from the slum areas. He specifically mentioned that all the teachers of the Kutir never miss even a single class and are always present selflessly to render seva.
Senior Teacher of the Kutir, Mrs. U. Palande, who has completed her Doctorate in Business Administration, was felicitated at the hands of Dr. Aapadkar.
Later, Shri Dinesh Ranade proposed the vote of thanks. The program concluded with the recitation of Pasaydan.
