Date: Sunday, August 19th, 2007
Time: 6.00 am sharp
Location: Gandhi Ashram, Ahmedabad
Address: Come at the "Prarthna Bhoomi" inside the Ashram
Phone: 9998937680
Cost: Free
Tell us if you will be there
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In a world of extreme realities, one may question 'What is the way to peace?' Only to find out that 'Peace is the way.'

This Sunday we will Walk for Peace. After about an hour of walking in silence we will arrive at the door steps of India's most revered Architect and an inspiring human being, Dr. Balkrishna Doshi. We will interact with this remarkable person and learn what it is to live a meaningful life that is good for us and good for others.

Apart from his international fame as an architect, Dr Doshi is equally known as educator and institution builder. He has been the first founder Director of School of Architecture, Ahmedabad (1962-72), first founder Director of School of Planning (1972-79), first founder Dean of Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (1972-81), founder member of Visual Arts Centre, Ahmedabad and first founder Director of Kanoria Centre for Arts, Ahmedabad. In 1976, the Government of India awarded Doshi with the Padma Shri, an esteemed national civilian honour. B.V. Doshi was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Arts by the University of Pennsylvania in 1989 and from McGill University, Montréal, Canada, in 2006. Doshi was awarded the Gold Medal of the French Institute of Architects.
Dr Doshi has been instrumental in establishing the nationally and internationally known research institute Vastu-Shilpa Foundation for Studies and Research in Environmental Design. The institute has done pioneering work in low cost housing and city planning.
To learn more about Dr. Doshi, see: http://www.vastushilpa.org/

What is a Peace Walk?
"Walk in such a way that each step we make becomes a realization of peace; each step becomes a prayer for peace & harmony…walk together in silence with no banners and no pickets…not a petition addressed to anyone, nor a demonstration against anyone… walk to unite our hearts, to nurture our togetherness and to dissipate fear and separation…learn together that wrong perceptions of self and others are at the foundation of separation, fear, hate and violence, and that togetherness and collaboration is possible." - Thich Nhat Hanh

A Peace Walk is inspired by the practices of mindfulness and walking meditation. It is about cultivating silence in our heart so that we can listen deeply and feel the movement of change within and outside us. This walk is about humbling ourselves to be students of life so that we can view everyone and everything as generous teachers contributing to our growth.

Service and Peace Walk
When we serve, we learn to give a part of ourselves to others. We learn to make sacrifices and push our personal limits so that we can become more available to others. And in this process, we learn who we are and what our relationship is to all we interact with. We begin to experience the space in-between that was never touched before.

Now, it is no longer about the size of our projects or the results produced. It is really all about the sincerity in our intentions and authenticity in our actions. How honest are we willing to be in this process? Is our act of service merely a reaction to the external circumstances? Is it coming from a space of guilt, fear, pity, anger or even cravings? Or is there something deeper inside that moves us to act? For when we are pulled from our innermost being to act, our action becomes almost an enlightened social action. A Spiritual Action.

We cannot say that we know what it means to serve from such a pure space. We too have come here to learn. A Peace Walk is therefore an experiment to help us take a journey to places within that are seldom traveled.

How will we go about it?
You can read about the previous Shvaas Peace Walk and see pictures/videos here:
http://www.shvaas.org/blog/?cat=10

Generally we meet at 6.00am at the Gandhi Ashram. We sit in silence (call it meditation) for 20 minutes. Thereafter, we explain the outline of the event.

We will walk the entire way in silence. At the end of the walk we will interact with a person whose life moves us to live fully and love deeply.

Please note: In case it is raining, please bring an umbrella. We request you to wear comfortable shoes and bring your own water bottle. If you have any questions, feel free to email or phone us.

To learn more about Walking Meditation you can read the below articles:
Mindful Walking: http://www.peaceiseverystepla.org/peaceiseverystep/mindfulwalking.html
Peace is every Step: http://peaceiseverystep.net/sit&walk.htm