Satyana Newsletter Dec 2009

SATYANA INSTITUTE NEWSLETTER -- DECEMBER, 2009
Satyana Institute has experienced a remarkable year, and we are writing to
update you on our activities, and ask for your financial support so this vital work
may continue. In particular, our Power of Reconciliation project for healing between women and
men is on the brink of making a much larger healing impact in South Africa. We have recently
been invited to the Congo to introduce gender reconciliation work. Practical approaches for
cultivating compassion, deep healing, and dignified respect between the sexes are urgently
needed in South Africa and other African countries, where gender-based violence has reached
catastrophic proportions.
We need your help to bring these dreams into reality. Consider some of the highlights Satyana’s
programs over this past year:
Power of Reconciliation Expands in Africa and Canada
Satyana Institute’s Power of Reconciliation project stands at a crucial threshold of “going to
scale” in South Africa. With the highest incidence of rape in the world, plus the largest
population of people afflicted with AIDS, South Africa is a nation crying out for profound
healing and reconciliation between the women and men in its society.
Having conducted extensive pilot programs in South Africa over the past six years—in diverse
venues ranging from teenagers in townships, to Members of Parliament, to prisoners, to social
activists, to religious leaders in the South African Council of Churches—Satyana Institute’s
gender reconciliation work between women and men is now ready to expand greatly in South
African society.
Two girls are visibly enchanted (left) as they anticipate the honoring ceremony they are about to
experience—prepared for them by the boys (right) who are ushering the girls into a ceremony
designed by the boys themselves. This celebration was the culmination of a weekend training
in Gender Reconciliation for high school teenagers in Etatwa Township outside Johannesburg.
Satyana Institute

P.O. Box 1324  Freeland, WA 98249  (360) 632-5121

www.satyana.org
SATYANA INSTITUTE NEWSLETTER -- DECEMBER, 2009
In March the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Nozizwe Madlala Routledge, gave a keynote speech
in Cape Town in which she devoted half the speech to Satyana Institutes’ gender reconciliation
program. “The experience of my husband and I attending one of these workshops was profound,”
she exclaimed. “I saw that we have a tool that can address patriarchy, and unite women and men
in a struggle for freedom from the shackles that bind both men and women.”
Girls are graciously escorted by the boys into the
closing celebration (right), as spirits are running high
toward the end of a gender reconciliation training.
Skillful means for cultivating mutual compassion and
respect between the sexes are vital in African
countries, where gender-based violence has reached
catastrophic levels.
Games (left) are indispensable to
relieve the intensity of gender
reconciliation work, in which powerful
stories of abuse and violation often
emerge. Playful moments like these
help defuse tensions and build trust.
In June, the Deputy Speaker’s enthusiasm was matched by a new detailed report on Satyana’s
intervention in South Africa, written by our South African partner organization, Phaphama
Initiatives. The report concludes:
It is clear from the success of these workshops that there is a great need to rollout gender reconciliation work on a much broader scale in South Africa. Not
only does this work have the potential to heal relationships between men and
women; it also . . . is a powerful tool in the fight against HIV/AIDS; in fact, the
only tool that addresses the root causes of HIV/AIDS rather than just the
symptoms.
To spread this work further will demand a great deal of resources and donor
commitment. We are fully committed to rolling out this work on a significant
scale in our society, and even to spreading it to our peace networks in Southern
Africa.
Satyana Institute

P.O. Box 1324  Freeland, WA 98249  (360) 632-5121

www.satyana.org
SATYANA INSTITUTE NEWSLETTER -- DECEMBER, 2009
Breakthrough on Gender Reconciliation in South Africa
In November, 2009, our partner organization Phaphama Initiatives received a three-year grant of
30,000 Euros per year to fund the South African portion of the Gender Reconciliation Initiative.
This is the single largest funding breakthrough to date toward the practical implementation of
gender reconciliation on a significant scale in South Africa.
Yet these funds only cover internal costs for the program in South Africa—they do not include
Satyana’s portion of the collaboration. Therefore we ask for your financial donations to bring
this needed program to South Africa, which will over time also serve to expand gender
reconciliation into other parts of Africa.
According to U.N. statistics, South Africa is the nation with the highest incidence of rape in the
world.1 South Africa also has the greatest number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the world.2
Satyana Institute is now poised to make a potentially major healing breakthrough in South
Africa. We need your help to make it happen.
Former Deputy
Speaker of the
Parliament,
Nozizwe Madlala
R o u t l e d g e
(standing), gives
her opening
welcome to
Members of
Parliament and
other political and
religious leaders
at a Satyana
Institute training
on
Gender
Reconciliation in
Cape Town.
1
www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_rap_percap-crime-rapes-per-capita
2
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_HIV/AIDS_adult_prevalence_rate
Satyana Institute

P.O. Box 1324  Freeland, WA 98249  (360) 632-5121

www.satyana.org
SATYANA INSTITUTE NEWSLETTER -- DECEMBER, 2009
Power of Reconciliation workshop near Toronto, Canada, Sep 10 - 14, 2009
Satyana Institute returned to Toronto, Canada this year to present its Power of Reconciliation
program again, hosted by Karen McAllister of Changing Tides in Toronto. Julien Devereux of
Dallas, TX joined us as co-facilitator. This program is part of a growing collaboration between
Satyana Institute and Changing Tides to introduce the Power of Reconciliation more widely in
Canada.
A powerful healing moment . . .
After five days of intensive cross-gender healing work that included heartrending stories of
violation and betrayal, the men created a ceremony to honor and bless the women (see photo
above). The men gave each woman a lighted candle, knelt down, and offered this apology:
On behalf of mankind, we would like to apologize to you
for all the pain, the suffering, the hurt, the anguish—
for the moments of loneliness that you have had to feel,
for the powerlessness,
and for the atrocities that men have created on this planet.
Satyana Institute

P.O. Box 1324  Freeland, WA 98249  (360) 632-5121

www.satyana.org
SATYANA INSTITUTE NEWSLETTER -- DECEMBER, 2009
First international conference on Cultivating Women’s Spiritual Mastery
Turin, Italy, June 26-28, 2009
Women face unique challenges and obstacles in virtually every spiritual and religious tradition.
Although spiritual consciousness ultimately transcends gender, as the 'divine feminine' is
awakening across the globe there is a need for women from diverse spiritual paths to join
together and explore avenues for mutual support, mentoring, blessing, and
empowerment. Satyana’s project in Women’s Spiritual Mastery was created to address this need.
Our first international women’s conference entitled Cultivating Women’s Spiritual Mastery was
held in Turin, Italy, June 26-28, 2009. The conference featured three women spiritual masters
from the Buddhist, Christian, and Hindu traditions. All three have confronted patriarchal
injustice with love and truth, and surmounted daunting obstacles to achieve profound missions
that would never have manifested, had they merely followed traditional religious and spiritual
protocols for women.
The conference drew 75
women from 15 countries,
who shared in the joyous
gathering with the three
inspiring women spiritual
masters and their vibrant
stories and teachings.
The second international
conference on Cultivating
Womenʼs Spiritual
Mastery is planned for
February, 2011 in India.
Featured presenters at the Turin conference were:
• Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, a Tibetan Buddhist nun who lived in a Himalayan cave for twelve
years, meditating twelve hours a day. She later founded the Dongyu Gatsal Nunnery in 1999 to
train Buddhist nuns in spiritual practices hitherto denied to women for centuries.
• Sister Lucy Kurien, a Catholic nun who founded the Maher interfaith refuge in 1997 for
battered and downtrodden women and children in India. Maher honors all religions and
repudiates the caste system, and has rehabilitated the lives of 1,400 women.
Satyana Institute

P.O. Box 1324  Freeland, WA 98249  (360) 632-5121

www.satyana.org
SATYANA INSTITUTE NEWSLETTER -- DECEMBER, 2009
• Swami Ambikananda Saraswati is a Hindu sannyasin and founder of the Traditional Yoga
Association in the UK and the MUKTI project in India. A disciple of Swami Venkatesananda,
she is author of several books and directs the Hindu Temple in Reading, UK.
Highlights of the conference are featured on a new
DVD, released on December 10, 2009.
Major
presentations from the three women teachers are
included, plus questions from the participants and
responses. The DVD is available for purchase from
Satyana Institute.
Women Healing Women: New book published and national book tour
Women Healing Women: A Model of Hope for Oppressed Women Everywhere was published in
May by Hohm Press. Written by Satyana staff William Keepin and Cynthia Brix, the book is
brimming with inspiration and true stories of women healing other women oppressed by social
conditions of extreme patriarchal injustice.
“This book brought tears to my eyes and rejoicing to my soul,”
says Ashley Judd, the Hollywood actress who serves on the
board of Population Services International.
Written in a vivid narrative style, the book tells the true story of
Maher, a remarkable center for battered and destitute women and
children in India. Founded in 1997 by Sister Lucy Kurien, the
project has provided refuge to more than 1,400 women, half of
whom would likely otherwise have been murdered, committed
suicide, or starved to death. Maher is an interfaith spiritual
community that honors all religions and strongly repudiates caste
distinctions—making it a rare beacon of hope that shines new
light upon some of the most intractable problems facing women
in India and across the globe.
Satyana Institute

P.O. Box 1324  Freeland, WA 98249  (360) 632-5121

www.satyana.org
SATYANA INSTITUTE NEWSLETTER -- DECEMBER, 2009
Women Healing Women is rich with powerful stories—firsthand accounts of women brutalized,
raped, or narrowly escaping murder who are rescued and rehabilitated back to dignity and
vitality through the Maher project. Home to 180 women and 500 children, the female staff are
formerly-battered women who once took refuge themselves at Maher, and are now
compassionate healers for the incoming women and children. Key insights and lessons here are
relevant not only for other countries, but also in the United States where domestic violence is
rising rapidly as the economy falters. Women Healing Women provides remarkable testimony to
the power of love for overcoming some of the most appalling injustices, and a blueprint for how
to do it.
Sister Lucy Kurien and three Maher Board Members (Dr. Hamir Ganla, Dr. Anuradha Karkare,
and Chaya Pamula) joined authors William Keepin and Cynthia Brix on a nationwide book tour
during the month of May. Book signings were held at several Barnes and Noble and independent
bookstores, and presentations on Maher were conducted in seven states coast to coast. Key
presentations included the World Bank in Washington DC. Radio and television interviews were
also conducted, including with New Dimensions Radio. A live webcast was held at the Center
for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, NM. The tour group also visited Father Thomas
Keating at the Benedictine Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado, where Sr. Lucy Kurien was
grateful for a private audience with Father Keating, whose pioneering work in interfaith dialogue
has been a vital source of support and inspiration for the interfaith spirituality of Maher.
In gratitude...
We wish to express our deepest gratitude to the following people who have graciously
volunteered their time and service to help with Satyana 2009 programs:
Maire Callan, Julien Devereux, Karen McAllister, Jeremy Routledge, Franziska Richter, David
Haney, Diane Salters, Royda Crose, Kara Holt-Gragg, Natalia Cediel, Kavita Byrd, Clarissa
Balaszeskul, Mirabai Kolarai, Kris McIntyre, Jan Allan, Doju Freire, Kate Kirchmann, Kathy
Lavine, Ross & Hildur Jackson, Betsy MacGregor & Charles Terry, Malaika Skirth, Capra
Carruba, Esperide Ananas, Gazza Solidago, Rondine, Formica Coriandolo, Macaco Tamerice,
Goura Loto, Pamula Family, Lowell Brook & Dave Brown, Paul Kandhari, Mikaela Keepin,
John Steiner & Margo King, Rhonda Atkins, Virgina Neal, Jane Calbreath, Carol Lee Flinders,
Michael Abdo, Gramps Family, Alyson Crabtree, Karen & Tim Donovan, Sanjay & Manju
Gajare, Manju Seal, Altaf & Antoinette Rahman, Mary Wyman, Mary Jane Meconi, Linda
Colon, Clare Doyle, Alex Gramps, Sherry Helmke, Bo Wright, Deb Loring, Joan L. McKinney,
Paula Brown, Elizabeth Kerwin, Jillian Froebe, Alexa Cole, Susan & David Osborne, Jamal
Rahman, Gisela Stehr, Janet Laughton Mackay & Tom Pickens, Prasad Tenjerla, Anne
Pomykala, Cece Shantzek, Taisie Berkeley, Arun Mantri.
Satyana Institute

P.O. Box 1324  Freeland, WA 98249  (360) 632-5121

www.satyana.org
SATYANA INSTITUTE NEWSLETTER -- DECEMBER, 2009
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to the Kalliopeia Foundation for its generous support of the launch of our Power
of Reconciliation project in South Africa. We also gratefully acknowledge the Roy A Hunt
Foundation for its gracious support of Satyana's work. Deep thanks go to Linda Cunningham
for her support of our video project for the Women's Spiritual Mastery conference. We are also
very grateful to our generous individual donors.
We ask for your support of the Satyana Institute
In view of the progress summarized above on various projects, it might appear that Satyana
Institute is thriving financially. Quite to the contrary, this past year has been the most challenging
year financially in our thirteen year history. Grants from philanthropic foundations and donations
from individual donors have fallen sharply over the past year and a half, due to the economic
downturn. Like many non-profit organizations, we have responded by cutting costs in every
possible way, and expanding our fundraising strategy. Salaries for Satyana’s senior staff were
already extremely modest, and have been cut even further. Satyana staff are without independent
means, and depend on their salaries for their livelihood. Travel has been reduced considerably,
and we have increased our volunteer staff, to whom we are deeply grateful for their amazing
selfless service. We believe deeply in this work, and we are determined to keep it moving
forward.
In closing, “More girls have been killed in the past fifty years, precisely because they were girls,
than men were killed in all the battles of the twentieth century.” Thus states the powerful new
book on the oppression of women entitled Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.
The book further asserts that the historical battles against slavery and totalitarianism were the
central moral challenges of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, respectively. “In this
century,” the authors write with confidence, “the paramount moral challenge will be the struggle
for gender equality in the developing world.”
Satyana Institute is working at the forefront of this major challenge in multiple ways. We hope
you are inspired to join us by supporting Satyana’s work with your financial contribution. Every
donation is valuable, no matter what size. Together, hand in hand, we can build a new
harmonious and equitable world. Please join us!
You can make your tax-deductible contribution on Paypal, or mail your donation check to:
Satyana Institute
PO Box 1324
Freeland, WA 98249
Thank you!
Satyana Institute

P.O. Box 1324  Freeland, WA 98249  (360) 632-5121

www.satyana.org