Devotional Associates of Yogeshwar (D.A.Y.) Ltd., is a spiritual, cultural, educational, philosophical, not-for-profit organization registered in the Queens (QLD) province of Australia. D.A.Y. is a part of a global philosophical-cultural group known as Swadhyaya (meaning ‘study of self’ in Sanskrit) Parivar (family) with sister organizations in U.S.A., Canada, U.K., and several other countries. Swadhyaya is a devotion-based grassroots initiative that was founded more than 80 years ago in India by Revered Pandurangshashtri Athavale, an activist philosopher and a social scientist. God is central to the philosophy of Revered Athavale. He has proved that once understanding of indwelling presence of God is internalized, it is capable of resolving intractable problems of lack of self-esteems and deteriorating interpersonal relationships faced by the mankind in the modern society. Swadhyaya is not a movement, nor a sect nor a creed. It is a continuous process of subjective self-development which shows a novel approach / understanding towards human life and its relationship with God almighty, the nature, the universe, and the human society. According to Revered Athavale quality of gratefulness is the essence of human life. Out of gratefulness to God, we Swadhyayees, go to the others regularly to develop selfless relationships. We have been doing it over past more than 70 years and an ever-growing family of millions of Swadhyayees has been created. Swadhyaya encourages absolute voluntary involvement from people who are drawn toward it. No fees are charged, and no funds are solicited. There is no formal organization and no paid employees. Everyone devotes one’s time and efficiency at one’s own expenses. Swadhyaya is currently being practiced / present in every continent of the world. Among other things, through Swadhyaya one develops a clear understanding of activeness of the Indwelling God in human life, and that God is the source of strength through which one carries out one’s day-to-day life pursuits. So, logically, God is one’s partner.
That thought spurs one to set aside share due to God. All active and regular Swadhyayees do this in a routine manner every year. These funds are used for various Swadhyaya activities. No goods or services are rendered in exchange for these contributions. Once the contribution is received, a detailed receipt is mailed to the address provided by the Contributor. D.A.Y. reserves right to accept, reject or partially accept the contribution sent by a Swadhyayee. D.A.Y. is under no liability whatsoever in respect of any loss or damage arising directly or indirectly out of decline of authorization for any transaction on account of the cardholder having exceeded the present limit mutually agree by us with our acquiring bank from time to time.
In general, we Swadhyayees strive for ‘family’ values such as selfless love and selfless work, self-respect, affection, cooperation, and gratefulness. As a result, numerous communities have realized a true environment of brotherhood under the fatherhood of God. Despite being media-shy, world has taken note of Revered Athavale and honored him with several awards and encomiums. 1997 Templeton Prize’ for ‘Progress in Religion’ and 1996 Ramon Magsaysay Award for “Community Leadership” to him bear testimony to this. Even though Swadhyaya does not represent any single religion, the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, Vatican, at behest of Pope John Paul II, invited Didiji (meaning elder sister) – Mrs. Dhanashree Talwalkar, daughter of Revered Athavale, the current torch bearer of the Swadhyaya Parivar, to contribute towards the joint Universal Peace efforts, in aftermath of 9/11, ‘Together for Peace’ on 24 January 2002 to Assisi. Pope Benedict XVI also invited her for ‘Day of Reflection, Dialogue and Prayer’ on 27 October 2011 in Assisi, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the historic inter faith meeting held in 1986 by the then Pope. In 2002, she was also invited to present a paper at the special gathering organized by UNICEF in New York on the occasion of a Special Session on Children at the UNO. In 2005 she was invited by Arigatou Foundation, Tokyo that is working to instill ethical education in children of the world, to join its governing council with a view to sharing Swadhyaya practices that have been successful in instilling values in children for a better harmonious society.
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