Dear Divine Atman,
The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has engulfed India in an unprecedented crisis. The country is struggling to overcome major challenges that include shortage of medical facilities, equipment, medical supplies, and not being able to provide personal relief to those with pressing and often life-threatening needs. Few lives have been spared from the direct experience of COVID-19’s impact, including the loss of dear ones, loss of income, and the uncertainties regarding everyone’s safety and health. Our heart goes out to all those who have suffered such losses, and we deeply pray that they be filled with Divine Mother’s all-solacing love.
Yogoda Satsanga Society of India has joined the nationwide efforts in helping to address this crisis by providing material aid and services to those affected — especially those who are less fortunate and more vulnerable. These relief activities are in progress in more than 25 cities across 20 states, with more cities added each day.
We reach out to you at this time to share what we have currently undertaken, and what we would like to offer in our ongoing efforts to provide relief at this critical time in our country.
Material Aid and Services
We are using our ashrams, kendras, and mandalis as hubs from where we are centring our outreach efforts. These efforts are directly reaching needy individuals and families. In addition, we are offering support to hospitals and NGOs who are providing treatment and health care to COVID-19 patients. YSS efforts include:
- We are providing additional beds, stretchers, wheelchairs, and life-saving medicines and equipment such as BiPAP machines (Non-Invasive Ventilator), oxygen concentrators to hospitals, which are experiencing acute shortages. These include hospitals located in Ranchi, Coimbatore, Haridwar, Madurai, Mumbai, Nagpur, Serampore, Vellore, and Vijayawada.
- We are providing essential supplies including medicines, Pulse Oximeters, PPE Kits, face shields, medical gloves, sanitizers, N95 Masks, and thermometers to the medical frontline staff and volunteers who directly serve COVID-19 patients. We are extending this relief in Dakshineswar, Dwarahat, Arsikere, Ballari, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Mysore, Raipur, and Thanjavur.
- In Dwarahat, the small local hospital did not have a much-needed ambulance to transport patients needing advanced medical care to the nearest major medical hospital in Haldwani. We purchased a van that will be fitted with the necessary ambulance specific equipment to fill this need.
- Government Hospitals are provided essentials, such as hot water dispensers at Udupi, and cadaver bags at Chennai.
- Our Ranchi Ashram hospital and medical staff are providing round-the-clock ambulance service, funeral van service, a supply of oxygen cylinders, medical kits, and free medical consultation.
- We have offered financial assistance to needy patients in ICUs to defray expenses; and in some cases, we have extended financial support to the next of kin when a deceased person was the sole breadwinner in a family.
- An ongoing effort is providing dry rations to those who have lost their livelihood due to lockdowns. This is being carried out in Ranchi, Dwarahat, Delhi and NCR, Ahmedabad, Ballari, Bengaluru, Belagavi, Haridwar, Hassan, Kaiga-Karwar, Mandya, Muzaffarpur, Ongole, Rajahmundry, and Thirukazhukundram.
We are deeply indebted to our YSS devotees and friends who have been instrumental in helping to identify people in need and coordinate our COVID-19 Relief efforts. We recognize their spirit of selfless service, which represents one of the Aims and Ideals of YSS given to us by our beloved Gurudeva: “To serve mankind as one’s larger Self”.
Two of our devotee volunteers who have been offering relief shared the following messages:
“Helping the afflicted and the caregiver, letting them know: ‘We are with you, supporting you,’ is deeply satisfying.”
— K. B. Rajahmundry
“I am thankful that we are able to go out and extend a helping hand to the government hospital that was in dire need of life saving equipment such as BiPAP. To make a difference, and to be the working hands of our Guru, is such a blessing!”
— R. R. Nagpur
Your support is vital. The need for COVID relief is not over. People need your help. To continue our efforts, we invite those who are able to make a donation toward our COVID-19 Relief activities. Your heartfelt, generous support make our seva possible. In addition, and just as important, we encourage you to pray for those in need. Gurudeva taught us the right way to pray, and that our prayers do make a difference. At this time of great need YSS sannyasis offer prayers, including special daily online Healing Prayer Sessions from 9:40 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (IST). Please join if and when you are able.
Our Gurudeva Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda said, “Every day, try to uplift, as you would help yourself or your family, whoever in your environment may be physically, mentally, or spiritually sick. Then no matter what your part is on the stage of life, you will know that you have been playing it rightly, directed by the Stage Manager of all destinies.”
We encourage and welcome you to join us in our united efforts to do whatever we can to support and help overcome the challenges we are facing. God and Gurus surround our heartfelt prayers and humanitarian relief efforts with their compassionate healing light and divine love.
In divine friendship,
Yogoda Satsanga Society of India
If you desire to contribute towards this seva activity, please consider donating online.
Please note that Yogoda Satsanga Society of India is recognized as a charitable Society under the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Donations made to the Society (PAN: AAATY0283H) are Income Tax deductible in India under Section 80-G of the said Act.
If you have any queries regarding the donation, or our relief activity, please contact Ranchi Help Desk via email helpdesk@yssi.org, or by phone: +91 (651) 6655 555 (Monday to Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)
