In view of the current situation in Ukraine, "Happiness for All, Ukraine'' has been announced by the United Nations website Happiness.org as the official theme of International Happiness Day. Well, happiness remains just a pipedream if one pursues only material progress and luxury. At an individual level, true and real happiness can only be achieved through mental, physical and emotional joy. And a state can only experience quintessential development only when its policies can guarantee its citizens this elusive joy. This thought underlines the Madhya Pradesh government’s effort to establish the Rajya Anand Sansthan.
Today, the world is moving at such a fast pace that each one of us is busy day and night in search of hedonistic pleasures and comforts. But in this rat-race of hedonism, we forget that running after vain ambitions and competing with the people around us produces nothing but a lot of stress, leaving us numb to the real joys of life. In order to ensure that the citizens of Madhya Pradesh enjoy material blessings without compromising on experiencing inner joy, the Madhya Pradesh government has established the Rajya Anand Sansthan.
The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, firmly believes that the thoughts and feelings of citizens play an important role in the development of the state. Everyone wants inner peace and happiness and only a peaceful person can build a happy and prosperous society. This vision got a public nod and a host of 63,502 volunteers, now known as Anandaks, joined to serve in the Rajya Anand Sansthan. Now, this army of joy-spreading Anandaks not only helps spread happiness among people through a bevvy of programs but also addresses their spiritual longings. These Anandaks come from diverse fields, notwithstanding the Government and non-government organizations to volunteer without any honorarium, and devoid of any expectation.
Recently, the ambitious Anandagram program of the Madhya Pradesh government was launched successfully from the Chhatarpur district. The first workshop of the state was organized on March 2 at the Regional Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Training Center, in Naugaon, under the guidance of Chhatarpur Collector Shri Sandeep GR. This workshop saw participation from 7 master trainers of the institute, including 50 volunteers.
This workshop was so successful that this could be benchmarked as a model workshop and implemented across the state. The participants of this workshop truly experienced immense joy, and have expressed their commitment to spreading this joy in their villages to bring about something good and beneficial for their villages. In fact, the Anand Department focuses on developing the villagers, who happen to be the largest and the most transformative resource of the villages. The department aims to use the other limited resources in the villages to bring inner happiness to the people.
List of programs
Alpaviram: This program gives an opportunity to an individual to understand and improve his inner shortcomings. After participating in this program, an individual sees positive changes in family and social relationships, fulfilling government and social responsibilities. So far, more than 2,300 Alpaviram programs have been organized across the entire state. These programs have been successfully implemented by 400 Anand associates and 51 master trainers. About 11,000 participants of the state have benefited from these programs.
Anand Club: Through Anand Club, a strategic effort is made in the direction to spread positivity and joy in society. So far more than 400 clubs have been registered with a member strength of 4,000 individuals. In Anand Club, activities like blood donation, food donation, disaster assistance, education, environment and cleanliness, self-defence training to girls and help and treatment of destitute etc. are organized.
Anandam Kendra: Anandam Kendra has been launched with a spirit of Joy of Giving. So far, about 180 successful Anandam centers are operating in the state. These centers are also known as "the wall of kindness". The center works on a simple belief that if one has more than what one needs they can donate it to this center, and it will be distributed to the needy. Earlier this activity was carried out in the open, but ever since it has been provided with storage space.
Anand Sabha: This program is specially for students because these days students experience a lot more mental stress than before and are more prone to depression. In Anand Sabha, students are taught to use their energy positively so that they can develop their inner and mental power. The program has a total of 11 modules which includes helping, apologizing and giving, gratitude and acceptance etc. From June 2021, Anand Sabha is being conducted online every Friday through YouTube and Facebook Live platforms.
Anand Utsav: Other than the regular events, the department also organizes Anand Utsav, which is also called the "Festival of Happiness". Every year from January 14 to 28, this festival is celebrated at 8 thousand places across the state. The festival comprises activities such as folk-music, dance-singing, drama, street plays and traditional games. Other than rural and urban areas, this festival will also be organized at the block and district levels.
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