To date 25,577 schools have been set up with a total number of 767,310 students.

Click here to read the full Ekal newsletter including further details of the Ekal Vidyalaya programme.

'Life coaching through Eastern Wisdom' is organised by Samakti Youth Mission (SYM) – a part of the established Samakti Mission Parivar.

The event offers a unique opportunity for young people in the UK to realise their inherent potential to lead a healthier and happier life. It aims to offer practical tools and interactive sessions with one of the greatest Eastern philosophers of the modern age and promises to be a life-affirming journey for all those who attend.

The event offers practical guidance in dealing with the challenges of modern lifestyles that we all face, including:

The event is aimed at working professionals aged between 23 and 40, though it is open to people of all ages and backgrounds.

Click here for further details.

Pranayama, as traditionally conceived, involves much more than merely breathing for relaxation. Pranayama is a term with a wide range of meanings. Patanjali defines Pranayama as "the regulation of the incoming and outgoing flow of breath with retention." It is to be practiced only after perfection in asana (yogic postures) is attained. Pranayama also denotes cosmic power, or the power of the entire universe which manifests itself as conscious living being in us through the phenomenon of breathing.

By Anay Bathia, University of Nottingham

A Brahmin is the highest social caste. He is superior to warriors, who are superior to traders, who are superior to labourers. And then a Brahmin's son too becomes a Brahmin; out the window with karma and individualism, and in with social hierarchy, inequality and unjustified assumption!  In a community that blindly encourages a psychological adherence to such infiltrations, the clarifications of Dr Ram Vaidya (affectionately known as Ramji) on the formerly functional 'caste system' was like a fresh tank of fuel in an aged and crooked motor.

With his relative, practical and often humorous method of conveyance, he began his presentation at the University of Nottingham by outlining the four original varnas or segments of the caste system, namely Brahmins (teachers), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (tradesmen) and Shudras (labourers). I think everyone in the audience – or at least I – felt wise at that point, finding myself already acquainted with these four social divisions. We were soon thrown again into intellectual oblivion, however, as Ramji delved gracefully into the complexities surrounding the system; from its authoritative construction in the Manu Smriti, to its more liberal and embraced form in the Srimad Bhagvad Geeta, which forms a contention with the idea that one's varna is fixed from birth.

Project Ladakh is your chance to participate in something different and extraordinary. From August 22nd-August 31st we will be staying in an ashram in Rishikesh to learn and experience the Hindu dharmic values that we have been brought up and perform charity work (Sewa) for the needy. The last couple of weeks will be the chance to challenge yourselves in trekking up a mountain in the Himalayas: the Ladakh mountain and be able to meet your personal goals, build on strength and strive on ambition.

By Nipun Mehta – Charity Focus

Namaste - in India when we meet and greet, we say Namaste. Ram Dass described its meaning like this: I honour the place in you, where the entire universe resides. I honour the place of you of love, of light, of truth. I honour that place in you where if you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us.

In the plane ride here, I had a book in my hand that one of my friends had heavily recommended - the power of impossible thinking. The first chapter opened with one of the most remarkable facts I've ever encountered in the last year:

'In May 1954, on an Oxford track, Bannister shattered this barrier, running the mile in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds.'

Two months later, in Finland, Bannister's 'miracle mile' was again broken by Australian rival John Landy, who achieved a time of 3 minutes 56 seconds. Within three years, 16 other runners had also broken this record.

So what happened in 1954? Everybody started taking steroids? Sudden growth spurt in human evolution? No. We broke through our mental barriers. Once someone breaks through it, everyone thinks they can do it. And they indeed do.

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