Rosie's Garage

June 19, 2001

My loving souls of São Paulo,

I am very happy to write to you all again after a long time, and to share with you the assurance of God and Gurus' continuous blessings on you all for your noble work and dedicated meditation.

As you recall, the idea of the Arca do Amor was born in your city, and was nurtured and enthusiastically received by you all, for which I am eternally grateful. Now the youthful enthusiasm is slowly going away, and the number of people is reducing. This process is normal in the beginning stage of any organization looking for its identity and cohesion. So now is the time to start a new chapter in the Book of the Arca.

Up to now, I know you have all been involved in much research, documentation, and experimentation within yourselves. This is a great foundation, and undoubtedly all other centers will benefit from your findings, as we start formulating our methodology. However, there is always the risk of stagnation and over-intellectualization which I must guard you against. Service is like meditation: you learn it by practicing it, not so much by trying to understand its myriad facets. In our lives we must always try to balance theory and practice.

You see, my divine Sailors, service does not take exceptional skills, knowledge, or funds. It just takes extraordinary love and immense awareness. Love will do the work by itself, if we know how to remain in this natural state of love. By the short breath, and the elimination of selfish thoughts. It is that simple. The more you meditate, the easier your service will become. And the more you serve, the more rewarding your meditation and the deeper your joy will be. God whom we search is the very One who is searching. God whom we serve is the very One who is serving.

As Kahlil Gibran expressed it marvelously in The Prophet, "…For in truth it is life that gives unto life-while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness."

So I am now urging you to get together again under the loving guidance of Céu Baba and identify one or two pilot projects you can all participate in. Start simple, but do something concrete. This will gradually eliminate all doubts, hesitations, and differences of opinions. Trust me, it works.

The group in Brasilia for instance is showing us how a simple series of practical steps can lead to great results, and beautiful group harmony. You can see their report here.

In Bogota, they are in process of forming a local group, which has already taken steps in feeding the homeless on the week-ends. Gradually, I am going to invite the kriyavans of Lima and Puerto Rico to join us in this joyful adventure of service…

And here is the real question: Why is service always such an important part of spiritual practice? Swami Satchidananda, the great disciple of the legendary Swami Sivananda, founder of the Divine Life Society, put it beautifully this way: "[My guru] wanted his disciples to be actively involved in helping humanity. A person who does not utilize his energies in good action will not have a mind to soar in meditation, nor a relaxed heart to feel the presence of God, nor the intellect that can comprehend the mystery of the soul."

Rosie's Garage

For your inspiration and information, I want to share with you the story of one ordinary woman who one day in 1991 did something with extraordinary love and selflessness… and how it has changed the way people look at their disadvantaged communities in the United States.

In 1991, Rose Espinoza, known to family and friends as Rosie, decided to do something to help disadvantaged kids in her neighborhood succeed in school and avoid becoming involved in the gangs that are prevalent in the area. She began by inviting several children from her low-income barrio or neighborhood, originally a migrant worker camp, to her garage each afternoon for help with their homework.

"Rosie's Garage" now attracts up to 35 children, the maximum number the facility will hold, each Monday through Thursday afternoon from after school until 6:00 p.m. Community volunteers provide one-to-one assistance in math, spelling, social studies and whatever subjects are difficult for the students.

Students are rewarded for improved school progress reports and report cards with personal prizes and field trips ranging from roller skating parties to museum visits. Two donated computers are available for their use when they are finished with their homework and snacks are regularly donated. A friend and confidante to her young friends, Ms. Espinoza has helped many improve their grades significantly, in spite of their overcrowded living conditions, dangerous neighborhoods and the fact that many of their parents have few English skills. Several students have been named student of the month in their schools.

Ms. Espinoza has extended her garage hours to 9:00 p.m. so that the parents of her students and other neighbors can receive assistance with English and Spanish literacy from ESL teachers from a community college. During the summer and vacation breaks, she offers parenting classes.

Ms. Espinoza and her sister, Victoria Kennedy, are now developing a tutoring program in a nearby community in which gangs, violence, crime and poverty are prevalent. A local landlord has donated use of one of his duplexes two days each week.

Program evaluations after the 1997-year have revealed that students tutored at Rosie's Garage on the average increased their ability in writing by 2.1 grade levels and 2.9 grade levels in math. The program has been so successful that it has received national recognition from CBS Evening News with Dan Rather and the President's Point of Light Volunteer Award.

Today, there are four program sites providing assistance to over 200 children grades K-12. The majority of students are of Hispanic descent. In addition to tutoring, primarily conducted by local high school and college students, the program sponsors quarterly field trips to colleges, museums, the theater and other venues to enhance the students' knowledge.

Future plans include expanding the program to additional targeted sites throughout the county. In addition, plans are in the works to design and publish a user friendly manual, which can be used by other neighborhoods and communities to efficiently establish new program sites. Needs include computers, educational materials and funds to pay tutors.

Ms. Espinoza's efforts are funded solely through donations… and creative solutions. One example is "Rosie's Garage Annual 5K Walk/Run"

Rosie's Garage is now seeing kids who began participating in the program back in 1991, graduating from local high schools. Although these kids never aspired to go to college, they are finding that having achieved their first goal (graduating from high school), they are pondering the prospects of pursuing a higher goal; going on to college. As they discussed these possibilities with me, I find that there is little time to seek the financial assistance by the first semester of college.

The monies generated from our annual 5K walk/run event will be set aside for our college bound program-participants. From these monies, Rosie's Garage will pay for their 1st semester registration and books. They will also assist the student by making contact with campus financial assistance officers and peer-mentoring programs. By the 2nd semester, the student has gained enough the confidence and knowledge to continue this responsibility on their own.
These college students will in turn give 50 hours a semester to their tutoring program while attending college. They will also seek sponsors and run in the annual 5K, this is considered 'Sweat Equity'.

My sweet souls of São Paulo, I am praying daily to the Supreme Almighty Father to purify your mind, grant you more peace, and give you the deepest desire for the divine life while remaining in this world. All will be well in the fontanel.

My love, affection, blessings are with you ever. Baba is with you, he is guiding you night and day. Only for love.

Humble,
Swami Sarveshwarananda