On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti on Friday 2nd October 2020, over 330 members of OneJain organisations and Harrow Recreation Ground Users Association assembled for a virtual ceremony to commemorate the finale of the year-long celebration of Mahatma Gandhiji’s 150th birth anniversary. The celebration was testament to the stellar efforts of dozens of volunteers from these organisations who jointly partnered on this project together with Harrow Council to transform a previously unmanaged and overgrown garden and picnic area to a beautiful “Ahimsa Peace Garden”.
During the ceremony, Young Jains performed live Bhakti and delivered a short presentation entitled “Celebrating Gandhiji’s virtues”. Sweet Harmony singers Vishita & Punit Haria and family performed ‘Vaishnav Jan To’, one of Gandhiji’s favorite bhajans which resonated strongly with the ideals and values he had imbibed in his life. Vikrant Jain and Disha Haria, with thanks to Ashik Shah, reminded us of Gandhiji’s strength through ahimsa, truth & courage amongst other values which have been and continue to be an inspiration for generations, and which he himself had received from his spiritual guide Shrimad Rajchandraji.
Other highlights of the ceremony included a ‘virtual’ ribbon cutting, short videos on the background of the project, messages from the Mayor of Harrow and High Commissioner of India (UK), a talk on Environmental Care by teachers and students of Veerayatan UK, and a Peace Meditation. See below for a full video of the ceremony.
If you would like to volunteer in maintaining the Ahimsa Peace Garden, please complete this form to register for sessions held on the last Sunday of every month from 2pm – 5pm.