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Rukmani Transformed

Rukmani Transformed

Author: Krishan Dutt, London
Publication: Hinduism Today
Date: March - April, 2001
 
Introduction: How a very English woman trekked into a new life.

For, me Hindu Dharma is more of a unique way of life than a religious affiliation, insofar as it provides, through its superior karma-philosophy, a foundation on which to base one's day-to-day actions," said Rukmani Devi as she sat cross-legged on the floor in our lounge in London, Attired in a simple white khaddar kurta/pyjama with a yellow "Hare Krishna Hare Rama" shawl draped over her left shoulder, and a necklace of wooden beads around her slender neck, this elegant and academic English lady spoke softly with a piety and conviction that was quite inspiring.

As my wife Satish served a vegetarian meal, Rukmani unfolded a fascinating story. We could not but marvel at the remarkable change of heart she experienced and her tenacity to work amongst what the locals in Madhya Pradesh, India, called "the lowest of the low" in very trying circumstances. Her philosophy revolved around the popular Hindi saying Usskee sat kar jiska koi nahi ("Serve those whom no one cares for").

Born in 1939 in a typical, English, middle-class environment and given a staunch Christian upbringing, Rhobena, as she was originally named, developed at a early age a keen interest in Oriental philosophy and Eastern' religions, especially Hinduism. While her classmates read comics and romantic novels and went out with boy friends, Rhobena dug out books and pictures m Hindu dharma and spent hours with them in her room. She was particularly fascinated with stories of Ram, Sita and Lakshman the obedience, faithfulness, devotion.

As she grew up, Rhobena trained and worked as a science laboratory technician in schools, and along the way got married, brought up three children, and acquired the trappings of a good lifestyle: a big house, a big car and, according to her, a big ego! But deep within she felt hollow, living a life without a purpose, and was later divorced.

"I was about 10 years old when I read Seven Years in Tibet, - she reminisced, 'a fascinating book of a fascinating land high up in the mountains and a way of life that greatly appealed to me at the time. From then on I had this deep longing to get to Lhasa and see the Dalai Lama." But it was not until 1989-at age of 50-when Rhobena left England and went trekking in the Himalayas of Nepal and made trips to Bangladesh.

"It was as if I was on a mission, in search of something that at that time was not clear to me," said Rukmani. She took an active part in issues such as Nuclear Disarmament, Friends of the Earth, Green Party, Vegetarian Society, and charitable projects in the Third World.

"Then came the Great Event: My first visit to India, in 1994! I made the usual rounds of Hindu temples, dharmashalas (monasteries), meditation centers, pathasalas (religious schools) and soaked up all I could about the Hindu dharma."

While her new-found faith had created an awakening deep within her, Rukmani had yet to reach her goal. "My goal appeared suddenly and unexpectedly when 1 landed up in a little village surrounded by a forest deep in Madhya Pradesh, Central India." It was a two-day train journey from Delhi to the town of Raipur, followed by a seven-hour coach ride to this little village not far from the Madhya Pradesh-Orissa border.

To cut a long story short, Rukmani decided to help the local inhabitants in uplifting their lives by throwing herself into community work. With her bare hands, she mixed mud, straw and cow dung, and plastered the village huts with a thick layer that acts as an effective, and very cheap, water-repellent during the rainy season. She quickly endeared herself to the villagers, who were amazed at the help from not only a complete stranger, but a foreigner. She planned and helped build a school for infants-the first of its kind in that part of Madhya Pradesh. Rukmani returned to England after her five-month sojourn in 1994 in that little isolated village, but not for long, as her heart now lay in India. She returns every year to "to do my bit" for the villagers,'

She also told us about a visit to Bangladesh, "I once entered a small village not far from the capital, Chaka. The local Hindus came up to me with flowers and fruit in their hands and beauteous smiles on their faces. I was touched. You see, I had this yellow 'Rama-Krishna cotton shawl on me, and it seemed to move them. One elderly woman who seemed burdened with the rigors of life came close to me and said, 'How nice to see someone openly wearing a lovely Hindu garment. Here we dare not do so because of the hostility it would stir from our Muslim neighbors." Rukmani is involved in community work in Raipur for the welfare of Bengali Hindu immigrants who were driven from their homes in East Pakistan in the Sixties and took refuge in Raipur.
 


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