FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sita Gange
Public Relations Director
1-800-226-1008, ext. 103
sitagange@kashi.org
Anjani Cirillo
Community Relations Director
1-800-226-1008, ext 112
acirillo@kashi.org
Kashi Ashram announces an historic meeting of two internationally known women luminaries in Florida for the first time.
Humanitarian and Spiritual teacher Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati honors Dadi Janki, one of the worldwide leaders of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organization.
Ma Jaya and Dadi Janki
(SEBASTIAN, FL May 9, 2005) – The wisdom and compassion of two of this century’s most revered Mother figures come together at Kashi Ashram on June 4th, 2005, when Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati presents the Annual Kashi Humanitarian Award to Dadi Janki of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organization. Every year, the Kashi Humanitarian Award recognizes an individual’s contribution to humanity through service, education, social action, or fostering global consciousness. Former recipients of the award include Dr. Jean Houston, a scholar and theologian; Rabbi Zalman Schacter-Shalomi, Founder and Director of the Spiritual Eldering Project; Rev. Marcus Braybrooke of the World Congress of Faiths; and Rev. Father Centurio Olaboro, Director of Uganda Martyrs Orphans’ Project.
The Kashi Humanitarian Award will be presented at Ma Jaya’s birthday celebration, and the theme this year is “Living in the River of Compassion.” These two eminent women will share the stage as humanitarians who have touched the lives of people worldwide - backed by deeply committed organizations dedicated to serving people from all ethnic, religious and socio-economic backgrounds.
Dadi Janki leads the worldwide Brahma Kumaris, which is known for the creation of leadership programs for women, quality education for young people, United Nations global peace initiatives, curriculum that promotes valued–based corporate leadership, and “Images and Voices of Hope,” a media collaboration project that engages the media and the arts in dialogue as a path to social transformation.
Ma Jaya says she is deeply touched by Dadi Janki’s commitment to teaching moral and spiritual values without discrimination: “Dadi Janki teaches that the power of the compassionate feminine nature resides in both sexes, and that harmony is necessary for our evolution as a society. Dadi calls on people and institutions to become nurturing forces as we all battle for steady ground in a rapidly changing world.”
In 1976 Ma Jaya, an American-born spiritual teacher, founded Kashi, a community dedicated to personal transformation and service. Ma Jaya is known internationally as the “Mother Theresa of the West” for her decades of work on behalf of people living with life-challenging illnesses. Her commitment to bringing together leaders of all traditions to address the many global crises, especially HIV/AIDS, has earned her numerous accolades, including induction into Morehouse College’s Martin Luther King Jr. Hall of Preachers, where her portrait hangs alongside those of Gandhi and Mandela.
In a culture begging for positive societal change, the historic meeting of Ma Jaya and Dadi Janki demonstrates the nurturing power of the divine feminine “Mother” energy, which is so desperately needed as we move into the future. Ma and Dadi are coming together to illuminate their commitment to compassionate living for all of humanity. A direct manifestation of Ma’s teachings that there are “no throw-away people” is the building of By the River, a low-income assisted-living facility aimed at taking care of the elders in our surrounding community.
For more information about Ma Jaya, Dadi Janki or Ma Jaya’s Birthday Celebration at Kashi, please call l-800-226-1008 or see www.kashi.org.