The Golden Age
INTERNATIONAL
A phone-call from Denver gave us the news. Guru Maharaj Ji and Durga Ji's second child, a boy, Hans Pal Rawat Singh, was born on Friday September 17th, at 4:59 p.m. Los Angeles time (about 10 o'clock Saturday morning in Sydney). As with Premlata's birth in March last year, the baby was born at home in Malibu, California-English premie midwife Judy Osborne was there to help. The baby weighed 3.5 kg (approximately 8 lbs) at birth.
Guru Maharaj Ji is planning to hold a Hans Jayanti festival on November 23, 24 and 25 this year for the African premies. The program will be in Swaziland, a little country on the border between Mozambique and South Africa. South African premies - who number several thousand, mostly of Indian descent - haven't seen Maharaj Ji since 1972.
On his way to and from Africa, Maharaj Ji plans to meet with premie representatives from Latin America, Europe and India. As well as the National Directors of the countries in these regions, some community coordinators and community premies have been invited to attend. This is in keeping with Maharaj Ji's desire to foster more communication with premies in general, and specifically with those taking responsibility for his Mission around the world. Before the festival, he plans to meet with the Latin American representatives in Lima, Peru; the post-festival conference with the European and Indian representatives is scheduled for Frankfurt, Germany. Derek Harper and Julie Collet will be representing Australia at the Frankfurt gathering.
It is expected that these conferences will provide an opportunity for everyone to share their concerns about the development of Guru Maharaj Ji's Mission in each of their countries, and then to have Maharaj Ji address these concerns in an open dialogue.
All of which means that the timing for our South Pacific Convention has moved back: Guru Maharaj Ji will probably visit Australia early next year. At present it seems likely that two small programs will be held-perhaps in Sydney and Melbourne-rather than the one large gathering originally planned. Guru Maharaj Ji has been holding smaller programs lately, and both on the European and the North American tours they have proved very successful. Having a smaller number of premies at each program seems to make for a more intimate atmosphere, allowing everyone to feel closer to Maharaj Ji.
After attending a conference in Denver, the initiators are travelling again, and initiating people into Knowledge. At present, no initiator is scheduled to come to Australia.
Three Australian DLM centres have recently experienced a change of community coordinator. In Brisbane, Jill Turner has taken over from Lindsey Stockdale, who is happily out working at a job. Dort Burley is replacing Gregg Sherwood in Hobart - Gregg will be returning to Sydney to live. And while Paul Mayberry returns to teaching, Terry MacKinnell will be doubling as Sydney's community coordinator and assistant national director - at least for the time being.
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