Jeung San Do in India: Tilling the Soil

    Hello, my fellow seongdonims! I? like to say hello to all of our fellow practitioners in Korea, in Canada, and all over the world. Hong Eun-pyo Seongdonim has asked me to write this brief report for you about our progress here on the Indian subcontinent.

India is known by travelers as a land of diversity, both firmly rooted in tradition and striding boldly forward into the information age. It is a place of extremes: rich and poor; old and new; hot and cold climates; frenetic roadways and quiet beaches─a land that I have longed to visit for many years but have never had the time to explore.

I felt both surprised and honored this past July when the International Department requested that I journey to India to help all interested people learn more about the teachings of Jeung-san Sangjenim and Taemo Go Subunim. I was happy to participate, though I realized that the trip would be a great challenge as well.

We prepared for months for His Holiness the Jongdosanim? lecture tour of New Delhi and Kannur, Kerala, in the southeast─a journey of sharing Sangjenim? and Taemonim? teachings with the people in India. Now that we have finally completed the last of our workshops here in Kannur, Kerala, I can see that all of our efforts have paid off tremendously. Now, many people here have developed a sincere interest in Jeung San Do? teachings after realizing that humanity stands on the verge of the Autumn Gaebyeok, and they naturally possess a passion to study further and participate in the work of Jeung San Do.

Both His Holiness the Jongdosanim? lectures and the workshops in the two cities proved a substantial challenge to organize and promote in the short period of time we had leading up the commencement of the events and the tour. The event marketing, facility arrangements, and other organizational details of the entire month would have never been possible without the help of Dinesh Seongdonim in New Delhi and of his good friend Nishahn (an immunsindo) here in Kerala.

We consulted countless times on the phone each day, creating checklists and checking them over and over again, making sure of all the tiniest details. Throughout it all, Dinesh Seongdonim put forth a fantastic, Herculean effort and completed all of the tasks requested of him, and I hope that all of you will pray for his and Hong Eun-pyo Seongdonim? future success here in the subcontinent. They both truly deserve it.

There were many days here when I nearly despaired of being able to make all the necessary preparations, beset as we were by sickness, miscommunications, mislaid (vital) materials, and there were even times when I felt the temptation to say forget it and walk away from the whole project. I have to admit that our work here presented a phenomenal challenge for me despite all my previous experience of traveling throughout much of Asia and despite possessing an idea of what to expect from life, culture, and business conditions here in India─many times, I was simply overwhelmed by it all.

It was only through sincere prayers, the power of the Taeeulju Mantra, and the repenting of my misdeeds and sins that I was able to complete this task with Hong Eun-pyo Seongdonim and Dinesh Valsan Seongdonim, to help begin the spreading of Sangjenim? and Taemonim? teachings here.

I’d like to finish this brief letter to all of you by thanking: Jeung-san Sangjenim; Taemo Go Subunim; His Holiness the Taesang Jongdosanim; His Holiness the Jongdosanim; Taeeulcheon Sangwongunnim; Domonim; all the guardian spirits of India, of Korea, and of my homelands of Canada and Germany; my family? ancestors; the ancestors of Dinesh Valsan Seongdonim; Hong Eun-pyo Seongdonim; Ahn Jung-gyeom Suhosanim; Kim Jae-nam Suhosanim; all the people and ancestors of those in the International Department, in the Bonbu Headquarters, and in every local dojang throughout the world, who worked so hard to make all of this pioneering work possible.

None of this work would have been possible without all the prayers and devotion of our Jeung San Do practitioners and all of the help and guidance they have given us during this intense and fruitful time of bringing the teachings to India. Now, with the soil tilled and the seeds planted, the great people and nation of India can begin to help spread the message of Jeung-san Sangjenim, Taemo Go Subunim, and the Autumn Gaebyeok to the world. Boeun!