‘Lead kindly light’ is an earnest prayer for the ascent and upliftment of humans. The International Sahaj Public School children sang this prayer at the beginning with a small number of 13 and the prayer was to our beloved Divine Mother Mataji Shri Nirmala Devi, a light of the universe. She was the founder of this school. It was in April 1990 that this School started under the Divine guidance of the Mother and so it was like a sahaj family dedicated to a sahaj way of life to develop into benevolent sahaj personalities, so inadequate equipments and less facilities did not matter much.
During these years the school was recognized and affiliated by the Himachal Pradesh Education Board then our children could appear for the fifth class Board Exam in 1994. The result was exciting. The school is fully surrounded by nature. Our students used to enjoy the nature heartily. They used to write about cows and buffaloes which they usually saw around the school. The horse riding, climbing on trees and playing with nature were the only activities they enjoyed. They learnt Hindi by talking to the local people like their dorm aunt or the suppliers etc. They started giving some cultural programs in local schools and district level and received the reward and appreciations. Along with studies they were enjoying every field. Mr. Banerjee was appointed as the first Principal of the school. Every year the school was joining the India Tour from Shere on around 10th of December and school collectivity was getting blessed by our Divine Mother by joining her procession from place to place. Dharamsala children were always special for our dear Mother and they were treated as specials on all the occasions.
After a few years the school was shifted to Washi (where the Washi hospital stands now) on the request of the parents. That time school only had 50 students but due to the climatic conditions children fell sick. The open surroundings of Dharamshala invited the children frequently to them so they were not so happy at Washi . Though they visited picnic places, parks etc but they missed Dharamshala. One positive thing staying at Washi was that our Divine Mother gave her dahrshan many times. She talked with parents, teachers and children also. We also celebrated festivals with her. These moments are indescribable and unforgettable. Because of the ill health of children the school was shifted back to Dharamshala and it was decided to be there.
Years passed and the school was progressing day by day. New buildings came up, roads were built up. Facilities increased and we felt time was flying here. Soon we got the affiliation for ICSE Board. With this the school came in proper stream. German and Hindi were given preferences as second languages by Shri Mataji. Our first batch of seven students appeared for the ICSE Board Examination in 1997. Before the Examination when all the students went to Shri Mataji to get her blessings Mother said to the students and the Principal “”meraa anant ashirvadd tum sabke saath hai. Kyon chinta karte ho? Sab thik hoga”” All nine students gave remarkable results and got distinctions also in many subjects. When we received the results first time the staff was more excited than the children.
The school kept on progressing every year. Now it started participating in public programs, cultural programs, art competitions, interschool sports and games also. We invited many respected dignitaries to visit our school like Education officer, Transport Minister, Police Superintendent, Distt Officer etc. They were amazed to see our school and children. The former transport Minister of Himachal Pradesh Shri Kishan Kapoor had compared our school with the ashrams of ancient times. He said, “”I bow to all the parents who have sent their children from far away to get this special education””. He also said, “”Indian parents should learn from them””.
In 2000,some students appeared for ISC and IBO examinations. All students of both Boards got successful results. But due to lack of students we could not continue the affiliation to the IBO.
Every year some of our ex-students visit the school and sharing their golden memories with our present students. It gives us great pleasure to see these students who are still attached to the institution of their childhood and eagerly want to help in different fields.
Our school has now grown up into a well established institution as more and more hobbies and co curricular are becoming popular among greater number of students. We have the majority of 220 students from 29 countries. There are eight main subjects in the school (English, Mathematics, Science, Hindi/German, Social studies, Environmental Studies, Sahaj Yoga) along with this, co curricular activities like games and sports, art, music, dance, woodcraft, nature walk are greatly enjoyed The school celebrates all festivals and enjoys the excursions and trips. Inter house competitions are organized for the children.
The school starts at the end of March after the birthday puja and closes after the Christmas puja.