Estimates:
* Membership: 3 to 4000 abhyasis (4000 in Western Europe)
* Preceptors: 234 in 2007, 180 in 2004, 86 in 1995
* Growth: 14% (8% in the world through 1995-2007)
* Penetration: 10 to 15 abhyasis per million population (15 to 20 in Western Europe)
* 4 Ashrams, 1 Center for Retirement
The SRCM established in 1972, but it has vegetated until 1984. Since then, it has made a double effort and is today the largest community of abhyasis after India, but it seems that more than half of them are of Indian origin. In 1995, half of the preceptors were of Indian origin, and now represents two-thirds of the newcomers.
Begun in the heart of Georgia, the community is now mainly in Silicon Valley in California, Ohio and Texas, representing more than a third of abhyasis.
"The divine plan can only be realized by human effort ... In 1972 I traveled with Babuji to the US. After three weeks there were 76 abhyasis but until 1984 it was arround the same number. What does this show? Nobody worked. But today we have three thousand. Only work produces results, only God works through human beings. " Chari's address in Denmark (10/08/2000)
"(…) Non-stop travel to the West commencing in 1985 (…). In 1986 we had our first national seminar in New Jersey. In August 1987 we celebrated Rev. Master's 60th birth anniversary at the double K Ranch, near Seattle, Washington . During that celebration (…) [He] accompanied by Chinu Sreenivasan on one side and me [Victor Kannan] to the left hand of Him. (…) Master said, it will be nice to have a place like this for an Ashram ( …) the ashram land was dedicated on September 18, 1988 (…) So, this ashram was His idea. The site selection was His idea. The care takers were chosen by Him (...)",
Victor Kannan in Point of Light - Quarterly Nawsletter of the Molena Retreat center, USA (10/10/07)
"(…) [Mission] is not serving the local Native American population (…) Of course, it exists to serve the Indians, too, but it is not an Indian Mission." -
Speech at Dayton -OH-USA, 29/07/2003
"(…) I really did not expect to come back to the USA again, because I was pretty depressed about the general situation. Not of the economy, not of the politics, not of the country, you know, but of the abhyasis of the Mission. (…) I'm really happy to see more Native Americans this time in the Mission than I have ever seen before. (…) I want to see an enormous audience of Americans here. I do not want to see less of Indians, I want to see more of Americans. Indians More and more, much more and more of Americans, and these halls should become too small for us. " -
Excerpts from "I only do My Work", Chari speech in San Jose (CA, USA) 10/08/2003
"I am very happy that this meeting, and what I have heard here from the various people responsible for the Mission in Canada, the USA, in South America, has given my dying flame of hope in my heart a revival. It is as if a long night of stagnation has ended in these countries, and we will see the sun rise and grow stronger and stronger over a few years before it attains a full strength. I remember with some regret that many years ago there were more than three thousand abhyasis We in the US have actually slipped to about eleven hundred, I think, and we are now on a fresh wave of growth. And I am happy that we have Girish said about three thousand abhyasis back again on the slate. But that is where we were ten, twelve years ago, and now begins the growth, shall we say, wave. And all that is necessary is not hard work, is nothing very special about it. All that is necessary is co-operation. (…) I suggest that you adopt a wolf as a symbol for your growth. (…) You know, in America numbers are what we talk about all the time. Bottom line. Numbers. Santosh can tell you more about it than I can. I want to see numbers. (…) And you know, we are not a commercial organization, we are not in this to convert people, we are not in this to make money. We are here to bring nice, cool, potable water of life to the people of the Americas. And I hope they will respond. But it is your job to see that they are thirsty. Pick out the thirsty ones. "
Speech by 23/07/2007 at Tiruppur-India, abhyasis American (The water of life)
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