Vidyaniketan saw the light of the day in June 1974 as a formation house for the

graduation students of the Society of the Divine Word. For the past 33 years,
students from ten different states have undergone their secular as well as
religious formation, under the wings of this elegant ‘House of Vidya’. All through
these years Vidyaniketan has enkindled the love for the Word of God in the
students. It’s because, “We see our special dedication to the Divine Word and
his mission expressed in our name.” (Prologue of SVD Constitutions) We believe,
“It is by listening to the Word of God and living it that we become co-workers of
the Divine Word.” (Constitutions. 106) We are aware that we cannot proclaim
the Word which we have not heard, nor can we witness the power of God’s Spirit
if we have never experienced it.
So during our formation Vidya Niketan provides us with ample opportunities to
know and love the Divine Word. During Christmas vacation a four day course on
“Praying with the Bible” was organized. Fr. Saimon, a diocesan priest studying
at St. Peter’s, Bangalore, presented in a creative way the relevance of the Word
of God in the life of a seminarian and how to use it effectively in our daily
prayers and in our personal life. After the course we all exclaimed, “Indeed it
was a time to encounter the Divine Word.” It was a wonderful opportunity to
join St. Peter and express our fidelity to the Divine Word, “Lord, to whom shall
we go. You have the words of eternal life.” (Jn. 6: 68)
We believe, ‘One who carries the Bible is carried by the Bible’. So with great
enthusiasm we carry the Bible and march to the chapel to be carried by the
Bible rest of the day. We read and meditate on the Word of God daily before the
Mass. After the Mass our community sits at the feet of the Eucahristic Lord to
listen to His words as Mary of Bethany did. As we continue to feast on the word
of God we all await to listen to those empowering words of Jesus, “One thing is
needful. Mary has chosen the good portion which shall not be taken away from
her. (Lk. 10: 42)
We are introduced to the Seven Step Method of sharing the Word of God and on
every Saturday we come together class wise to reflect and pray the word of
God. Thus we allow the Word “to pierce to the division of soul and spirit, of joints
and marrow and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Heb.
4:12) and re-shape our life in accordance with the inspiration we receive during
the sharing.
Fathers take up the Word of God for prayer and reflection during community
meetings, personal talks and recollections. One moderator even requests us to
pick a word from the Bible kit and make a prayer based on the selected verse to
begin our personal meetings. Our spiritual director encourages us to learn bye
heart a few verses from the Bible so that we can develop interest for the Bible
and learn its importance in our daily life. Thus we are constantly put in touch
with the Divine Word and are formed to have the mind of Christ.
This year we had the unique privilege of knowing the Bible through the
celebration of Bible week. We began our Bible week with an inaugural Eucharist
and installation of the Word of God. During the homily Fr. Angelus highlighted
the importance of Word of God in one’s life. Later on we had the opportunity to
delve deep into the mystery and richness of God’s word through Bible Quiz,
Bible interactive session - to clarify our doubts by asking various questions and
Bible search - to know the various verses. We concluded the celebrations with a
night vigil based on the Word of God which enabled us to keep awake for a few
hours with the Lord. We feel happy that God has called us to be a part and
parcel of the Society of the Divine Word. We all pray that the Word of God be a
lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. (cf. Ps. 119:105)