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Hyderabad-Sind
– Birth of the Mission
What
we know as the Sadhu Vaswani Mission today, was started
by Sadhu T.L Vaswani in 1929, at Hyderabad
(Sind).
Kumari
Shanti Maghanmal was a devout disciple of Sadhu T.L
Vaswani. At her behest, her father offered a hall where
Sadhu Vaswani could hold his satsang (fellowship meetings).
In those days it was known as the Sakhi Satsang.
In
the early days of the Sakhi Satsang, it was largely
composed of women. For in an age when the woman's place
was considered to be largely confined to the kitchen,
Sadhu Vaswani was a visionary who believed that women
had a great potential – a great shakti – which could
be utilized for the betterment of the society and the
nation.
Sadhu Vaswani believed that service and sacrifice were
the most vital aspects of the spiritual life. Under
his guidance the satsang was a  dynamic
organization, rendering service to the community of
Hyderabad –Sind.
A
monthly magazine called Sant Mala published by the satsang
carried beautiful articles by SadhuVaswani on the lives
and teachings of Saints.
The
activities and departments of the Sakhi Satsang grew
rapidly. More and more sisters came forward to offer
their services in the noble cause undertaken by the
association. These women gave of their time and effort
freely, generously and in the true spirit of love and
service advocated by their beloved Master. In so doing,
they found a new meaning in their own lives, and began
to know what fulfillment was like.
On
4th June, 1933, The Mira School for girls was inaugurated
in rented premises. The school was the cornerstone of
the Mira Movement in Education. It was the vision of
Sadhu Vaswani to create a school for girls, based on
the ideals of new education.
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The Pune era
After
a brief sojourn in Bombay, on 13th Feb. 1949 Sadhu Vaswani
came to live in Pune, the historical city of the Peshwas,
which is also renowned as the cultural capital of Maharashtra.
Fellowship
meetings (satsangs) soon commenced at Panday Cottage,
marking the historical commencement of the Pune Satsang
which still attract thousands of Sadhu Vaswani's devotees
from all over the world.
Soon
thereafter, the satsang had to be shifted to the bungalow
of a devotee, Bhai Ramchand Daryanani, so that the ever-
growing number of the faithful could be accommodated.
At
the Pimpri refugee camp on outskirts of Pune, many thousands
of Sindhis who were forced to flee their homeland after
partition were living in abject poverty. Sadhu Vaswani
helped these displaced people as much as he could, and
also urged his wealthy devotees to look after their
brothers and sisters in distress.
And
so began the Welfare Department of the Pune Mission.
On Guru Nanak's birthday, Sadhu Vaswani opened a grocery
store, where the affluent purchased grains and other
basic necessities and donated them to the poor and the
needy. Fifty years on, the mission of help and healing
still continues.
Sadhu
Vaswani's presence in Pune began to be felt very soon.
At a crowded gathering in Gokhale Hall, he shared the
dais with Maharishi Karve, who introduced him to the
citizens of Pune as “The saint of Sind.” He said that
it was city's good fortune that a holy man of Sadhu
Vaswani's caliber had come to live there. What Hyderabad
had lost, Pune had gained!
On
January 26, 1950, a Charitable Dispensary was started.
It was followed by a modest working centre for women,
where needy sisters could earn their livelihood by sewing
and tailoring.
It was Sadhu Vaswani's wish that the Mira School for
Girls should be re-opened in Pune.
To
begin with, St. Mira's school functioned out of temporary
premises in the Secretariat Office in Pune! The Chief
Minister of Bombay, Mr. B.G Khan, an admirer of Sadhu
Vaswani and his work, gave permission for this.
Around this time, Jeejeebhoy Castle, a beautiful heritage
building located in the heart of Pune, not far from
the station, fell vacant. By then, the Assembly Session
was due to begin and the Secretariat had to be vacated.
The Government of Bombay promptly requisitioned Jeejeebhoy
Castle and handed it over to the Mira School.
The
grounds of Jeejeebhoy Castle were spacious and filled
with shady green trees, Sadhu Vaswani loved to sit here
for his reading and writing, referring to the shady
compound as his “Temple of Trees.”
Soon
thereafter, Sadhu Vaswani left Panday Cottage and came
to live in a small section of the Building. He took
up his living quarters on the first floor, and began
to live in the room which is still sacred to thousands
of his devotees as the kutiya. However, he insisted
that he would pay a monthly rent to the institution
for his personal accomodation.
This
building became the headquarters of the Sadhu Vaswani
Mission. It also became a place of pilgrimage for many
aspiring souls who came from far and wide to have a
glimpse of Dada, to visit the sacred samadhi of Sadhu
Vaswani and to pray at the kutiya where he had spent
the last days of his blessed life.
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Renovation
of the Mission 
In
the 1990s, restoration of the beautiful building became
overdue. There was a need to ensure structural safety
of the ancient building and also to expand the Mira
Hall where thousands of devotees gathered for Satsang.
The renovation work was scheduled to start on August
12, 1999. Volunteers helped in the task of shifting
the relics of Sadhu Vaswani.
The
sacred kutiya was shifted to the ashram; Dada J PVaswani's
personal collection of books was shifted out to be numbered
and catalogued by the Librarian of St. Mira's College.
The
satsang hall was shifted to Naam Nagar
– at the Runwal Regency Building just opposite the Mission.
The devotees could just step across the road, to visit
the sacred Samadhi as usual, before and after the satsang
!
Four
showrooms on the ground floor of Runwal Regency had
been donated for the use of the Mission by Shri. Chandru
Budhrani for the purpose of holding satsang and the
other departments of the Mission.
Dada
himself moved out to a spacious Duplex Flat at Konark
Estate – graciously offered for his stay during the
entire period of the renovation by Mrs.Situ and Mr.
Dharmu Chandiramani
Rennovation
of the Dada Darshan, a heritage building, has been in
process for the past three years, at a total cost of
approximately Rs.13 crore.
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