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BANKURA, WEST BENGAL, INDIA: August 3, 2003: Ten sanyasins from the Matrivedi Shamayita Math in West Bengal, India have founded a group called Atmadwip to make the poor economically self-reliant. The sanyasins are between the ages of 25 and 33, are very well-educated and come from middle class families. They help poor farmers in West Bengal’s Bankura district, organise mobile medical camps in 14 villages. Close to 200 patients are treated daily by over a dozen doctors from various medical colleges who regularly offer free service at these clinics. Some of the medicines come from the samples that the physicians receive and the Math purchases the rest. The Math also runs an English-meduim school for girls. “Our aim is to groom tribal and scheduled caste girl children along with children from other castes and religions so that they may grow up without any caste prejudices or religious differences,” said Sanyasin Pracheta. The sanyasins have rigorous regimen and work tirelessly on various projects. They wake at 3 a.m. and retire to bed close to midnight. Prayer, meditation and exercise are followed by the administrative activities of the Math which includes liaising with donors, banks, corporate houses and government agencies, managing the medical unit and the Math’s publications. Prabhuji, the founder of the Math, has said that to starving people self-realisation has no meaning. So, he has asked the sanyasins to “to meet the minimum needs of the starving masses; Vedanta will follow automatically.”

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