India: Falun Gong Recognised at National Schools Association Celebration

The National Schools Association of India recently held their 50th anniversary celebration. Principals from high-achieving private schools across India gathered in Bangalore to attend the celebrations and awards ceremony for the highest achieving schools.

Practitioners demonstrate the Falun Gong exercises, and send righteous thoughts on the stage

Falun Gong practitioners receive bouquets

An informational booth to introduce Falun Dafa at the event

The National Schools Association of India is a nationwide association of private schools, with the aim of improving the quality of education. Each year the association assesses the academic records of all member schools, and award the highest achievers at the annual celebration. Apart from honoring and encouraging the high achieving schools, the gathering provides a platform for schools to share their experiences on the road to success.

The India Falun Dafa Association Display is Well Received

To celebrate the National Schools Association of India's 50-years history, festivities were held over three days, on November 28rd-30th. With the goal of promoting Falun Dafa and spreading the benefits of Dafa on this very special occasion, the Falun Dafa Association of India applied for a display table at the event. Practitioners showed introductory films about Falun Dafa that highlighted the special characteristics of the practice, and its wide dissemination throughout the world. Practitioners from Taiwan and Malaysia also taught the exercises. The display was extremely popular out of the hundreds of displays at the venue.

On November 30th, the last day of the event, Falun Gong practitioners from Taiwan, India, and Malaysia demonstrate the exercises near the event entry

Principal Verkey Attests to How Falun Gong Benefited Teachers and Students at His School

During the celebrations on November 28th, two principals shared their experiences of promoting the practice of Falun Gong at their schools. Father Verkey talked to principals from around the nation about how the practice of Falun Gong began to spread at his school, and the subsequent benefits experienced by teachers and students. His speech was received with much applause. Father Verkey talked about how the practice was introduced in 1992 in China by Master Li Hongzhi, and due to the immense mental and physical benefits it brought to people, it became very popular and widely recognised in China. Within a few years, approximately one hundred million people began practising. To date, people in more than 80 countries have embraced the practice of Falun Gong. Father Verkey also said that the Falun Gong exercises are always taught completely free of charge.

Father Verkey revealed that his health condition was poor before he learned Falun Gong, but after cultivation practice, he experienced great physical and spiritual changes. He therefore promoted the practice to teachers and students. Before practising Falun Gong, the students at the school had only average academic results, and many were disobedient and exhibited poor behaviour. However, after practicing Falun Gong, the students with bad attitudes changed their behavior, and academic results at the school saw a general improvement. The positive effects were easily observed. Father Verkey also said that a practice like this can bring about such major changes with relatively minimal effort, and it is one of a kind. He recommended that other teachers and principals bring the practice back to their schools and try it out.

Sixty Schools Indicate Their Interest in Learning the Practice

The event organisers arranged for Falun Gong practitioners to demonstrate the five sets of exercises on stage. As the beautiful exercise melodies began, the gentle movements followed, and the demonstration was received with enthusiastic applause from the audience. After the demonstrations, Principal Verkey and all the practitioners were presented with bouquets of flowers. Principals from more than twenty schools invited Falun Gong practitioners to teach the practice at their schools. To date, over sixty schools have expressed their interest in learning the practice, including some universities.