Thakur Ranjit Singh
We have multitudes of religious societies and organisations in New Zealand.
They are performing commendable duties of religious teachings, promoting their respective Gods, and while doing so, handsomely collecting funds for upkeep of their respective institutions. Nothing wrong with that, in fact, very admirable.
Shri Ram Mandir, located at 11, Brick Street, Henderson, Auckland is among a few organisations that stand out and follow the definition of Hinduism, which is more of a way of life than mere rituals.
Spirituality is their priority, which means being good, compassionate, caring, respecting, community-conscious, God-loving and a good human being.
Service to Humanity
These teachings should be translated into deeds rather than being confined as theoretical discourses.
According to the Scriptures, the best deed is service to humanity, what we call ‘Parr Hitt.’
This is also taught by other religions and well depicted in ‘Abu Ben Adam Poem’ by Leigh Hunt. The message here is, “God loves and blesses those who love their fellow beings.”
That is what Shri Ram Mandir does. It literally walks the talk in loving its fellow beings.
And this is done through its Walkathon which they have named (after Lord Ram) ‘Ram-A-Thon.’ Here, the devotees walk and raise funds for worthy causes.
The Ram-A-Thon
Six years ago, this started as a full day, 35 kms of marathon walk from Papatoetoe to Henderson. It was later reduced to 20 kms from Auckland Domain (Museum) to the Mandir. Since then, they have held two other Walkathons to help Starship Children’s Hospital (over $10,000) and St John Ambulance (over $16,000).
This year, the Mandir officials decided to reduce the walk to 10 kms, and utilise the day to assemble people in a huge community networking and wellbeing quest, developing it into a Family Carnival.
Family Carnival
The Family Carnival held on February 3, 2019 (after the Walk) in Henderson Park was a fun-filled event where there were friendly matches between the Districts in Fiji, including Suva, Lautoka, Rewa, Ba, Tavua, Rakiraki, Labasa and Nadroga.
There was a bucketful of family and sporting events such as Men’s Soccer, Tug of War, Seniors Lawn Balls, Seniors Ball and Bucket, Ladies Penalty Kicks and Ladies Volleyball.
As they enjoyed, the participants also helped to collect funds.
Friends of Fiji Health
The beneficiary this year was the Friends of Fiji Health, which received $43,442.60 from Shri Ram Mandir, the highest by a single donor. A cheque for the amount was presented by Housing, Urban Development and Transport Minister Phil Twyford.
We express our sincere appreciation to Shri Ram Mandir Managing Trustee Pravin Kumar, Mahendra Sharma and a large number of their executive members, volunteers, soccer team members, youth groups and community and social workers.
We also thank the Friends of Fiji Health Medical team for providing free basic medical check-up to those who attended the fundraiser and Family Festival.
Beyond material wealth
Mr Pravin said that while Ram-A-Thon aims to raise funds for worthy charities, money is not the prime objective.
“We wish to engage with the wider community, including children, youths, elders, women and people from all walks to life, while enhancing diversity, teamwork, networking and multiculturalism. It has been an effort to create awareness of well-being, healthy living, walking, exercising and keeping fit, while raising funds for worthy causes. In doing so, we worked collaboratively with other like-minded charitable, community and religious organisations and obtained corporate and commercial businesses on board as sponsors,” he said.
Thakur Ranjit Singh is a volunteer at Shri Ram Mandir. He runs his blog, ‘Fiji Pundit’ and has been part of Ram-A-Thon since its inception in 2014.
Photo Caption:
- Ram-A-Thon participants at the Shri Ram Mandir complex
- Pravin Kumar (extreme right) announcing donation of $43, 442.60 by Housing, Urban Development and Transport Minister Phil Twyford to Friends of Fiji Health Foundation Chairperson Rajesh Chaudhry
- Fun and Sports at the Family Carnival
(Pictures by Thakur Ranjit Singh)
