The World Householders’ Yoga - Conference on Sane Living
Bombay, 25th and 26th December 1997


Attempting to Follow the Karma Yoga Path

During the last segment of our life, which generally starts when we reach sixty, we all should
become Karma Yogis! This short note is an attempt to illustrate how I am trying to live a simple
life inspired by the principles of Karma Yoga.. More than a philosophic paper, the note describes
my own experience in implementing a water program for the Adivasis, the tribal people of India,
afflicted by poverty and disease.
Dr. Yogendra has kindly informed the subscribers of the “Yoga and Total Health Journal” about
my program in July 1996 and July 1997 in his two articles :”A drop of Life” and “The Inventor”,
respectively. Both my wife and I visit the Yoga Institute every year, generally when we arrive in
India and before our return to Italy. We enjoy the teachings of Dr. Yogendra, Hansaji and the
other teachers of the Institute. During our stay we refresh ourselves with new knowledge, energy
and enthusiasm; we always renew our resolution to live according to yoga principles.

I wish now to share my experience directly with the participants of this important gathering with
the hope that the joy and happiness I receive by implementing my program may inspire other
people, according to their capabilities, to offer selfless service to help the needy.
There is so much need of help in this world afflicted by many social problems such as
overexploitation, inequality, segregation, unemployment, malnutrition, disease, alcoholism, drug
addiction, wide-spread poverty, illiteracy, environmental degradation, etc. Not all of these
problems can be solved by the government. If we would put some effort into helping those who are
really in need, we surely would contribute to build a better society, where people can live a better
life. Selfless service is the main pillar that sustains the Karma Yoga principles; when we follow
these principles we not only help the needy, but we also help ourselves!

And now let me tell you about my attempt to follow the Karma Yoga path. I say attempt, because I
believe to be still far from having reached the stage that a Karma Yogi should reach; I still have to
work hard on myself .

After I retired from my active professional life that had compelled me and my family to go around
the world more than once, I asked myself what I could still do with my life. I was 64 and I just had
undergone to a heart surgery with the implant of four by-passes. I thought that the prospects of my
future life were quite bleak! I did not have a clear idea on how to spend the remaining years of my
life. I had, anyhow a deep desire to offer selfless service to the poor, but ….that was only a desire,
it was too late!.. I was too old to start what I considered a risky program. On the other hand, the
decision to offer selfless service was motivated by the strong belief that if we had done all that we
could to live a straightforward moral life, improved our character over the years , followed ethic
professional principles, and helped and respected our family and, possibly the people near us and
the society as a whole, we should, at this point, dedicate our efforts mainly towards selfless
activities for benefiting people who most need our help.
I manifested this idea to my wife by saying: if I were younger, I would have liked to organize a
philanthropic program for poor people in India. She looked at me, then, without hesitation, she
said: “if you feel fit, do it now…., do not wait until you get older; do it now! Do not be afraid of
what may happen to you”. This clear answer gave confidence in myself. It was, anyhow, not so
easy to decide right away on what to do. At the beginning I was not too enthusiastic to leave our
comfortable house in Rome, the family and the friends for spending many months, every year, in
remote places in India. Furthermore, my wife was unable to be with me because our younger son
was still attending school. I also asked myself: why to go so far, after all? Was it not possible in
Italy to help the poor, or people who needed moral assistance? Yes, it could have been possible.
But, in the end, I preferred to consider India because of the larger number of people afflicted by
poverty and disease who could benefit from my philanthropic activity. After all, I said to myself,
to live in tribal areas of India was not a big problem for me; I had been living with my family for
more that thirty years in developing countries and I knew the type of problems I could meet.

The Adivasi Village Water Program

But, what could be my activity in India? My trip to India in 1989 (the third one) had given me
the inspiration on what I could do within my experience. I found out that the Adivasi, the tribal
people of India, and the rural poor are generally afflicted by numerous water-borne diseases caused
by contaminated water. More than 80% of the illnesses afflicting the rural poor are due to lack of
clean water and this could also be one of the causes of their striking poverty. A suffering body is
unable to work, is unable to produce, and to be self-sufficient. Clean water may prevent the
occurrence of serious water-borne diseases and people may produce more for themselves and their
families. Clean water then is the first ring of the chain towards better living conditions. This
consideration strongly motivated my decision and with much enthusiasm my program started in
early 1990 in Pune District. The program consists in drilling boreholes and equipping them with
pumps. The main aim of the program is to improve the people's health by providing safe water.
Over 150 water villages suffering from water scarcity have been helped in the past eight years.
Funds for this program derive from my earnings as International Consulting Hydrogeologist, and
part from our savings. The program started in Pune District, (just after a few months I had
undergone to the four by-pass surgery in Houston, Texas), and continued during four consecutive
years in the same district.
In 1994, following a cholera epidemic in Thane District which caused the death of 1500 children,
the program was moved to the affected area. Highest priority was given to villages where no drilled
or hand-dug wells existed and people used to collect water from unprotected, rudimentary dug open
holes, generally located in river beds and depressions. Water from these rudimentary holes becomes
green-yellowish during the dry months; frogs, snakes, and insects abound in this dirty water.
Buffaloes and other animals drop their waste around them . During the monsoon the holes are filled
by run-off water carrying mud and animal dung. Most of the people, in particular the children, are
affected by severe water-borne diseases, especially during the rainy season. The program
concentrates all its efforts in these extremely poor and neglected villages.
"Tino" (as the villagers, social workers and government officers, as affectionately call me ) is now
a familiar name in many villages, "bastis" and "padas" of various "talukas" of Pune and Thana
districts. Since three years my wife joined me in this crusade. We live for 4-5 months, generally
from November to the end of April, in Ganeshpuri, a small town in Thane District, centrally
located with respect to the area where our Adivasi Village Water Program (A.V.W.P.) is located.
Villagers participate with enthusiasm in the well construction offering their labour and collecting
local material (sand, gravel, and stones) and purchasing bricks and, when possible, 3-4 sacks of
cement. Their contribution is essential for making the program sustainable as users will then be
responsible for the operation and maintenance of the wells. The drilling success rate has been
95%. Two years ago we visited many villages in Pune District where we drilled boreholes in the
years 1990-1993. It was a very pleasant surprise to ascertain that all the water wells we had
equipped with pumps were perfectly functioning. People had managed to have the wells repaired
whenever it had been necessary. They collected money among themselves and paid for the repair;
on the contrary, 50% of boreholes drilled by the government in the same district were out of use
because of maintenance problems. People were proud to show us that they were self-sufficient and
that their children were no longer afflicted by dysentery and other intestinal problems since they
had clean water.

The Bucket Pump

In recent years, I experimented a simple low-cost water lifting device called the bucket pump. It
consists in a 5 litres cylinder with a foot valve, a wire rope, a stand with windlass; the platform
completes the installation. This very simple device requires minor maintenance which can be done
locally without outside help; it is becoming very popular in the project area; users call it “Tino’s
Pump”. Some Non Government Organisations (NGOs) are now introducing this pump in other
districts of Maharashtra state and in the neighbouring Indian state of Gujarat.

The main concern in designing the bucket pump was to keep it as simple as possible in order to
minimize maintenance problems so that the users would not depend on outside help. The bucket
pump is appropriate for small villages, especially those located in remote areas where regular
maintenance of hand pumps is not possible.
The bucket pump is manufactured locally by a blacksmith and it costs only 100 dollars; it is a clear
example of simple, low-cost technology, which takes into account the: a) cost of the installation, b)
reduced maintenance problems, c) religious and cultural aspects of the people, and d) people’s
participation. It is expected that it will be widely divulged in the near future, as soon as it will be
mass produced.

Respect for Tradition and Religion
I recognise that progress can take place in remote, underdeveloped areas only with people’s
participation and with respect to their tradition, culture and religion. For the protection of the new
water sources from vandal acts and from pollution, as well as for assuring a careful well
maintenance, we construct a small temple near each well and we install a small statue of Lord
Ganesh in each temple, so that the site becomes also a place of worship. The construction of the
little mandir has a multiple scope: the main one is to thank God for the grace to have found crystal
clear, safe water which will help to improve the health of the people; it also helps in preventing that
the sides become contaminated by washing clothes or by animals drinking there.
People, before collecting water, kneel in front of the little temple to thank God for the gift of having
clean, safe water.

The Pooja Ceremony

Upon completion of the pump installation in each of the successful boreholes, a Pooja is performed
in front of the little mandir with the participation of all the beneficiaries. The Pooja is performed
by a lady who volunteers or is selected by the villagers. Garlands, cum-cum, incense sticks and
coconut are used during the Pooja while people sing religious songs. The Pooja creates an intense
moment of happiness among the participants, rarely felt in the Adivasi villages. At the end of the
Pooja, my wife distributes as Prasad, coconut chips and biscuits to all the villagers. During the
Pooja all social barriers disappear; everybody feels a great sense of spirituality and love for each
other.


Karma Yoga: The Joy of Giving

The positive , strong energy that flows at the completion of each well gives to both my wife and I a
tremendous moments of happiness. This is why, at the age of 72, I still have much enthusiasm and
intend to continue the program until I have enough energy to help the poor, the neglected, the sick.
The main reward for my wife Katharina and myself is to see happy and radiant faces of children,
women and men at the completion of a new water well.
When this happens I ask to myself: I am so happy! Did I really give more than I received? From
the great sensation of feeling good, sometimes I think that I am not doing a selfless services but
that I do it because I feel good. When the water program ends, generally by the end of April, I feel
a sensation of emptiness, I feel I do not know what to do next until I return to India in November.

Am I really doing a selfless service? Am I really on the path of Karma Yoga? This is why I feel
that I still need to work on myself. On more than one occasion, I felt that the my action was
motivated more by economical considerations than by the spontaneous need to help those in great
need. To this purpose I like to mention an episode that really struck deeply in my inner sensibility.
The president of the Panchayat Samiti of one of the talukas where my program is being
implemented took me to an extremely poor Adivasi village and asked me to drill a borehole. The
villagers had no clean water and the Panchayat Samiti could not start to construct the programmed
low-cost houses unless sufficient water was available. The Adivasi people, in fact, were leaving the
village because of lack of water. At the time of the visit there were about 100 people. At the
moment we started drilling, two weeks later, the number of people had dropped to about 40. The
borehole was successful and I thought that the people would not leave the village anymore;
unfortunately, when we went to install the pump, about 20 days later, the number of people had
dropped to only seven: there were two old persons, a couple with three children and seven goats! I
was very discouraged, what to do? To install a pump for only seven people was not economically
justified, better to install it in a village with 150-200 people. My first reaction was to not even
unload the pump and move away from this empty village! The few people looked into my eyes,
guessing what was making me hesitate. Their eyes were very sad, imploring understanding and
compassion. I had not the courage to abandon the place and disappoint them. I decided to install
the pump! At the moment I ordered the driver to unload the pump I looked at them, their eyes were
shining of joy, they were so beautiful, they expressed so much joy, so much gratitude, so much
happiness. I was deeply touched, my heart was full, overflowing with joy for their happiness. I
could not contain myself, I had to move away hiding myself behind a little bush where finally I
freed myself bursting in an uncontrolled cry with copious tears flowing from my eyes. At the same
time an inner voice was saying: you did well Tino, you did well! they will come back, you will see
that they will come back! I composed myself and returned to the borehole site. The old man had
understood what had happened to me; he looked at me with his eyes still shining and said: “They
will come, they will come back”!
This has been the village with the least people; this has been the village which more than any other
among the 150 villages that benefited from the program, gave me the greatest inner joy during the
eight years water program. The true joy of giving; the joy deriving from a true selfless service
according to the principles of Karma Yoga.

This paper was also published in the magazine, SOMATICS, Volume XI Number 4, 1998 in English

and in YOGA UND GANZHEITLICHE GESUNDHEIT , 3 Jahrgang NR.11, Sept. 1998 in German

and in YOGA AND TOTAL HEALTH , Vol. XL Number 3, Oct. 1998 in English.

Also, available on the Internet at www.here-now4u.de/eng/spr/philos/faillace/p-failla.htm

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