Human Kindness Foundation and Prison-Ashram Project | iHanuman

iHanuman

Love, Service, Devotion, Yoga

Human Kindness Foundation and Prison-Ashram Project

In 1973 a spiritual teacher named Ram Dass and I got together and talked about helping prisoners to use their time for spiritual growth. It was a quiet chat, no solemn pronouncements or bolts of lightning, no press releases or fund-raising campaigns. We just sat together on the lawn of the ashram where Sita and I were living with our two-year-old son, Josh, and mulled it over: "Wouldn't it be nice to do something to help?"
At the time, Ram Dass was sending copies of his book, Be Here Now, into prison libraries, and was beginning to receive mail from prisoners. My sister's husband was in prison, and visiting him had motivated me to do something positive in such a negative environment. So we both had a soft spot in our hearts for the prison population, but we had no idea that brief conversation would turn into the Prison-Ashram Project. Sita and I certainly had no idea it would turn into our life's work. (We were only in our twenties at the time!)
In the 37 years since, the Prison-Ashram Project - and Human Kindness Foundation - have reached every corner of the globe, enjoying spiritual friendship with hundreds of thousands of prisoners and many others who struggle to live a decent and meaningful life. The depth of love, gratitude, trust and sincerest affection we have exchanged with our worldwide family is impossible to put into words. It has been a great Grace in our lives, a blessing we never could have imagined.
Our office has changed a lot in the past 37 years. At first, it was in our bedroom, and we didn't even have an electric typewriter. Ram Dass sent us a couple hundred dollars a month to run the whole project. Now, we're in a building with five computers and a million other gizmos, and we spend about a hundred thousand dollars a year on printing and postage alone.
And of course Sita and I are older, hopefully wiser in many ways; maybe our ideas and advice have become more practical over the years. But in the largest sense, what we started out to do - offer spiritual friendship to prisoners and others - remains exactly the same.
It's STILL Not About "Coping"
Right from the beginning, our work has been about helping people to make The Big Change - deep, genuine spiritual transformation. We truly believe that we are all capable of becoming sages and even saints. Most people seem willing to settle for a little less suffering, or some psychological adjustments which allow a little more happiness. To us, this is like settling for a piece of granite when the world's largest perfect diamond is up for grabs.
This is the main difference between a spiritual path and a strategy for personal happiness: One is about the self, and the other is about moving beyond that very self. This bigger journey is not about being comfortable or nice or safe. It's not about living in a supportive environment. We may need some special support for a while, but when real transformation happens, we are able to go anywhere, be among any kinds of people, and not be thrown off from our peace and goodwill.
The great Indian saint Ramakrishna likened our journey to the life of an oak tree: In the beginning, it may need a lot of care and tenderness, it may even need a little fence around it to keep it from being trampled on, but when it grows into its full stature, with its roots deep into the earth, the tree can provide shade for countless travelers and it needs nothing in return. That's who we all can be.
A Voice in the Wilderness
And that's the perspective which I hope the Prison-Ashram Project and Human Kindness Foundation will always provide. In this age, we are constantly bombarded by messages to avoid pain, avoid struggle, take a pill to get rid of this, get divorced to get rid of that, put your own happiness above all other concerns - basically if it's too difficult or too painful, bail out. Take the easiest way.
The timeless spiritual message is always a voice crying in the wilderness: Life is about something more wonderful than you can imagine. You are Divine. You do not die. Don't be afraid. You are bigger than you can possibly imagine. This whole world is not what it appears to be. Wake up to your true nature. Wake up and rejoice.
When we are in a miserable prison - either self-made, or one of bars and steel - or when we are steeped in our addictions or compulsions which we continue to engage in even though they may destroy our lives, those timeless spiritual messages may seem so remote from our daily reality, that they strike us as totally irrelevant.
But that's precisely the time it may be most important to remember: Hang in there. Do the practices. Study hard. Pray for help. Be willing to change. Make an effort.
As a prison friend once told me, sometimes we may be hanging on by a thread, but that thread may be enough to keep us from snapping. Life is always going to be loss and gain, pleasure and pain, pride and shame. Everyone has tough times. Life is pretty hard. Everyone struggles.
The great tragedy of our times is that the vast majority of people - especially our youth - seem to feel they are struggling for nothing. Imagine how hopeless and weary they become. The spiritual seeker struggles too, struggles constantly, but with faith that life is intelligent, not chaotic; merciful, not cruel. May we be blessed to continue reminding you of that simple, ageless perspective for many more years to come.

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