HSS US National Yuva Varg 2010

Makar Sankranti (Jan 14), the apparent movement of the Sun northwards, the time of the year signifying movement towards light, positivity and energy in the life of an individual as well as the society. The whole country is engulfed in the wave of the Suryanamaskar Yajna. What better time could have been chosen to hold the 3rd national Yuva Varg?

The third National Yuva Varg was held from Saturday Jan 16th morning to Monday Jan 18th noon at the Bill Frederick Park, in the beautiful city of Orlando, FL. The varg started on Saturday morning with brief ice-breakers followed by context setting. The tone was set for the varg by mentioning the 4 C’s that yuvas need to develop - Clarity, Camaraderie, Conviction and Commitment. This was followed by an excellent presentation on “Integral Hindu World View” by Saumitra ji Gokhale. The presentation very nicely described the holistic Hindu world view and how it can provide solace to the mankind engulfed number of problems – individual, social and environmental. Everyone was then divided into 4 ganas for the next Churcha session on the recent Newsweek article titled “We are all Hindus now” by Lisa Miler. The churcha covered many points on the validity as well as implications of the article’s claim about the gradual movement of mainstream Americans towards a more pluralistic view of social as well religious life (as advocated by the Hindu thought). Lunch followed. First session in the afternoon was pre-varg reading review and discussion on the sampark activity that everyone had to do before the varg.

Latter part of the afternoon saw 6 different shakhas running in parallel depicting various campus shakha scenarios in US e.g. swayamsevak graduate students only, mixed undergraduates, graduates and young professionals and so on. Shakha sankhya varied from 7 to almost 20. The goal of this session was to give everyone an experience of different scenarios on University campuses in which our yuva shakhas operate. This was followed by a lively churcha on model shakha experience, feedback, standardization of certain protocols, activities in shakhas, metric for a good yuva shakha etc. A lively bhajan session followed where everyone lit a diya to make a big OM in front of the God’s deity. Dinner followed.

First session after dinner was titled “Invading the Sacred”. First part of this session covered the sorry state of affairs and the inherent negative bias present in the Hinduism studies in academia in US. Balu ji put forth a very nice presentation on the topic corroborating his points by citing various passages from the book. The next part of the session was a presentation on misrepresentation of Hinduism in Political Science studies (and in general in the social arena) by Sidharth Dave ji. Yashwant ji Pathak very nicely summarized the whole session by stressing the need to come together strategically to counter the biases. The last session wascreative skits based on shlokas from various scriptures by yuvas divided into different groups. The condition that they are not allowed to talk during the skits made it even more interesting and enjoyable.

While most yuvas retired to sleep after the long day of activities, a baithak of the yuva pramukhs followed where different items relating to the yuva vibhag were discussed (e.g. integrating yuva work with rest of the Sangh work, making a yearly calendar of events, pravas planning, contact lists, role of yuva pramukhs etc.). Follow-up baithaks were done next day morning during breakfast, where all the yuva karyakartas from each sambhag sat in respective groups and discussed the points covered in the yuva pramukhs baithak (customized to each sambhag).

Sunday morning started with Ish Chintan, yogasanas and pranayam. The first session after breakfast was a series of presentations on various yuva vibhag projects i.e. Tattva, Yuva for Sewa, Speaker on Campus and Bhutanese Refugee Empowerment (especially addressing how youth can contribute). This was followed by a churcha on “How to increase our reach on university campuses” conducted in 3 different ganas. Many useful ideas were discussed on how to bring more people to our activities, interacting with other students groups on campus, utilizing various resources on campus, and creating an overall meaningful impact on campus. A separate session was conducted for all the high school seniors on “What to expect on college campuses as a Hindu and as a Sangh karyakarta”. This session gave many good pointers to all the high school goers on what to expect as they move on to college life in another less than a year. Lunch followed.

First session in the afternoon was by Dr. Srikumar Rao, who is one of the leading experts on the topic of “self management based on the principles in Bhagwad Geeta”. Dr. Rao very eloquently conveyed the idea that source of happiness lies within rather than in the outside world. And it is not the kind of work or the environment that brings contentment to oneself, but rather it is the attitude with which one handles the external impulses. This was followed by a flag finding mission demonstrating the need to work in teams rather than competing with each other.

Shakha followed in the evening. The atmosphere was startling with everyone wearing Hindu YUVA t-shirts right before the shakha and shouting the naras at the top of their voices. Samata, Dand and Niyudh were conducted in 3 different ganas. Everyone then participated in a Kho-Kho session which was thoroughly enjoyed by one and all. Shakha was followed by the formal inauguration of the 3rd anniversary edition of the Youth Magazine Tattva, by Dr. Anoop Reddy, a prominent physician from Tampa. Hindu YUVA brochure was also released during this session by Florida vibhag sanghachalak Ma. Brahmaratan ji Agarwal. Bhajan session followed.

The session after dinner was on various challenging situations faced by Sangh karyakartas (primarily focusing on pracharak life) and how they successfully overcame them. Vijay Simha ji, Yashwant Pathak ji and Yashwant Belsare ji shared the experiences from their personal lives while working full time for Sangh. These narrations threw a completely new dimension of the Sangh work in front of the yuvas, especially since many of these challenges may not be present in the US scenario. The last session for the day was the campfire where everyone sang and danced to the tune of the upbeat Sangh songs. Before retiring to bed, ice cream was served which resulted in informal chit chat session among the yuvas, despite the fact that it was past mid night already.

Monday morning, first session was the suryanamaskar competition since the varg fell right on the first weekend of the starting of the nationwide Suryanasmkar Yagna followed by breakfast. In the last formal session of the varg, Yashwant ji Pathak summarized. This was followed by a boudhik on need to give lifelong commitment to the Sangh work by Ma. Ved Prakash ji Nanda, sanghchalak of USA. Nanda ji illustrated his point nicely by citing many examples from the lives of pracharaks who dedicated their whole life for the cause of the society.

At this juncture, it was time to leave for many of the yuvas (especially for those who drove from as far as New York, Boston and Cincinnati). For those whose flights were later in the day, a creative session was conducted on designing a monopoly board based on the four pillars of the Sangh work – shakha, baithak, abhyas varg and sampark. It was suggested later that the currency for this board game could be Suryanamaskar counts! This was followed by lunch and wrap up.

Vyavastha was handled well with all the arrangements of rides, food and logistics taken care of in a timely fashion. Overall, the varg was a rejuvenating experience for all the yuvas. The sessions addressed a variety of aspects including challenges as well opportunities present in front of the yuva work, increasing the clarity, and having a deeper conviction. Informal activities and breaks provided a good source of bonding between all the yuvas. Everyone left motivated to increase their commitment to Sangh work and carry forward the vision that Doctor ji had put more than 85 years ago.

The pictures from the yuva varg can be found at http://www.hssus.org/gallery/v/SEAST/yuvavarg2010/

Here are some of the highlights from the varg:

1. Total sankhya of 62 including Adhikaris and special guest.
2. Attended by 54 yuvas from 22 different campuses across the country.
3. 15 vibhags were represented.
4. About 66% were second generation swayamsevaks and sevikas.
5. About 35% were sevikas (all second generation).
6. Enthusiastic participation by the yuvas in the Surya Namaskar Lehar on Saturday Jan 16 morning (exact counts still need to be compiled).
7. Third anniversary edition of Youth Magazine Tattva was inaugurated by Dr. Anoop Reddy during the varg.
8. Dr Srikumar Rao, who has been a faculty at Columbia Business School, Hass School of Business (Berkeley) and London Business School, was present for the latter half of the varg

Thanks to Madhumita Jee to provide me this writeup to publish on my blog.

Shri GuruDakshina Karyakram

We had Shri GuruDakshina karyakram last Sunday (December 6th, 2009) in Azad Shakha. I know that this is surprising for the readers from Bharat as in Bharat we do GuruDakshina on the GuruPoornima day only. But here in USA, we celebrate GuruPoornima on the GuruPoornima day but we do GuruDakshina in the winters. This is because most of our swayamsevak visit Bharat in the summer due to holidays in the schools. In Sangh, we do all of our activities as per the availability and ease of everyone. We don't see any particular Muhurt, date, time etc. So if we do GuruDakshina in the winters, we do just because the ease of everyone. This is just like VijayDashmi karyakram. We do Path Sanchalan as per the convenience of not only the swayamsevak and karykartas, but also for the convenience of the people in the society. During VijayDashmi we have many different programs in our society which celebrated for many days. Ramleela, Durga Pooja, Garba etc are all different examples of this great festival. During that time organizing a Path-Sanchalan on mass level is not an easy task, not only for the swayamsevak, but also for the general public and the administration. And that's why do PathSanchalan on any other day than actual VijayDashmi. Similarly, we must do GuruDakshina once in a year and the month really doesn't matter.

This was my first offshore GuruDakshina and it was very special for me. It was special not only because I was participating in Shri GuruDakshina some 10000 miles away from my original place, but also as this was my first family GuruDakshina. Its a really very good experience when you see that your immediate family members are also with you and they are also doing same kind of offering with similar sentiment. I must say that I was not alone there with family, but this was something unique and new for me as we normally don't have similar kind of arrangments in Bharat.

The sentiment of a swayamsevak is also very different and unique when s/he does the GuruDakshina. Take an example of a person going to a temple. In most of the cases, we know that a person goes to a temple with some desire in his mind. Some wants a good job, some wants a house, some has desire for a son or daughter etc. The person will go to the temple, will do all pooja, path etc and with that desire in the mind he will do his offering.

"I'll do a Bhandara/Langar if I get a job".
"I will offer 100 gm (or may be KGs) of gold in Tirupati Balaji, if I get another new big house".
"I will do ...., if I get ....".

These are all some example. The desire and offering keeps on changing as per the need of the Bhakt, but the basic structure of the sentence will remain same and the most important part is the if condition. What if Tirupati Balaji dont' see another big house for that Bhakt? will he not get offered 100 gm/kg of gold from that Bhakt? Absolutely not, as the Bhakt had put that if condition. So he will offer the gold only after the house. So if no house then no Gold. Now god has to think. :)

Our swayamsevak is not like that bhakt. S/he may be like that but may be in temple only, not in Shakha and specially not while doing Shri GuruDakshina. We know that every swayamsevak goes to the Param Pavitra Bhagava Dhwaj and do the GuruDakshina as per his/her devotion but never demands anything. That swayamsevak never has that if condition. All s/he knows that s/he has to do the GuruDakshina and that's why s/he is doing. If you donate some money to a temple or any other organization, they may put your name on the donation board. Everyone visiting to that temple or organization will come to know about your name at least. Every time when I visit Shri Krishna JanmBhoomi mandir in Mathura, I can clearly read the name of many people on the donation board who helped to re-build such a great temple. Our swayamsevak is again different and incomparable here. A swayamsevak never ask for any receipt and s/he never ask that where his name will be displayed? And, after this when our swayamsevak goes to a temple and do some offering, I am sure that even god also think themselves lucky by accepting offering from such a great Bhakt.

So, this year also I saw real Bhakt doing Shri GuruDakshina with family. I think close to 35 or 40 families participated in the Karyakram.

Please enjoy the photos and videos of this karyakram here :
1. http://picasaweb.google.com/rss.dhananjay/ShriGuruDakshina2009?feat=directlink
2. http://www.flickr.com/photos/goelajay/sets/72157622950953950/
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYvdR_cXxKc
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKYEAStOqS8

Vijay Dashmi Utsav celebrted by New England Vibhag (HSSUS)

Today New England Vibhag celebrated Vijay Dashmi Utsav in Billerica, MA. More than 150 Swayamsevak from all five shakha participated in the program. As usual the program was very good and all Swayamsevak who participated in different activities, performed really very well.
The utsav started at sharp 3 PM with Dhwajarohan (flag hoisting) first. Ghosh vadak played Dhwajaropanam on Vamshi (flute). It was, then, a series of different Sharirik pradarshan. First Baal Swayamsevak performed Surya Namaskar. They did all 13 Surya Namaskar with mantra. It was actually a competition between all shakha. Then Geet, NihYuddha, Bhoomi-Vandan, Ghosh, Rachna, Samta etc. different pradarshan.
Ghosh vadak also performed very well. They played different rachna and Pratyekshik. It was very impressing. Ghosh is in early childhood here, despite of that it was a terrific performance. During my last visit (in 2007) I saw only few vamshi vadak here. After two years when I attended Sambhag Ghosh varg (April 2009) I didn't saw any of those vadak but I observed new vadakas. I was a bit disappointed that Ghosh is not rising, but I think I was wrong. I can say that Ghosh is in a good shape in New England vibhag. In fact all of the vadak, who performed today, were from a single shakha. That means we have one shakha which can be considered as Ghosh Shakha. We can start a Ghosh Kendra from there.
At the end of the karyakram we got a chance to listen Shri Yello Ji. The bauddhik was also very good and right for the attendees of this karyakram.
... and no doubt the Halwa(shira), Idlee, Upma was very delicious.

Don't forgot to see the photos and the videos of this karyakram.

Family Camp at Jagannath Dham, NY

Last weekend we had a first Family Camp in Jagannath Dham. Totals nine families from Shakti shakha and Azad shakha participated in this two days camp.
Jagannath Dham is a beautiful place in NY upstate. Its a 78 acre land with a great scenic view.

The camp started on Saturday (8/22) with the shakha. We had some new and very energetic games. We also practice a bit of Danda. After that kids created the Ganesha idol with the clay. These idol we used next day for Ganesh Puja. At the same time, adults participated in the Baudhik.

We, then went to see the Gaushala of Steve and Linda. Steve and Linda has 7 cows, 2 horses and many other farm animals. In Steve words "There are some 7 million cows killed everyday in this country so my each cow represents 1 million cow." We had a good time with Steve and family. They know more about Sri Gita than I do. Steve had been to Bharat and visited many places including Vrindavan, Mathura, Delhi, Mayapur, and Kalkota. He was more than happy to spend time with us.

After the lunch we visited a nearby place called Grand Canyon of the East. Yes, we visited Letchworth state park. This was a nice place, three waterfall at same place. We all had a very good time there.

After the dinner we had a very good and entertaining programs. Swayamsevikas presented a skit on the marriage of a swyamsevak and swayamsevika. Kids also performed different dances.

Sunday morning we celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi. It was a Samuhik puja. All the kids performed the puja along with their parents. There's a small pond in the Jagannath Dham. We did Ganesh Visarjan there only. The swayamsevikas played YogChap during Ganapati Visarjan.

After that we all moved to our home -- a 470 mile drive.

Enjoy the photos here.

.. and the video of a skit here.
***

India Day 2009 in Boston

IAGB celebrated India Day 2009 in Boston. It was a mega event and I guess, aprox 15000 people attended the program.
The program started at 4 PM and next 4 hours was full of masti.

HSS also participated in few of them. First one was Rashtra Ki Jai Chetna Ka Gaan Vande Matram performed by Swayamsevakas. The next one was performed by the sevikas. It was an amazing performance. They performed dance on YogChap on the geet Janani Janmbhoomi Swarg Se Mahaan hai.

After that there was a series of non-stop dance and music performance.

Enjoy the photos here

I will publish the videos as well shortly.

Hindu Heritage Day 2009

VHP America, New England Vibhag organized Hindu Heritage Day today at Marlborough. This was one of the best public program I ever attended. I don't have the exact number of people who attended the program but I think this could be near to 1000. I also met with some families who never contacted by VHP or HSS or any other organization. They just noticed the posters or pamphlets in some grocery store and then attended the program.

It was a four hour long program, mainly all cultural activities the young or little children. The program started at sharp 4 PM with the shankhnaad and the Deep-Prajalanam. Then the balas presented the Ekta-Mantra and song - Vyakti-Vyakti me jagayen...
And then it was a long series of several cultural dances - BharatNattayam, Kuchipudi etc. All of them were really nice and it's hard to say that which one was the best. I was just thinking about the all hard work done by the balas for the preparation and presentation of the dance.

Several Bhutani refugees also attended the program. These Bhutani refugees are the Hindus who forced to left the country by their own king, just because they are not ready to adopt Buddhism. They are Hindus and wanted to be Hindu only, and that's why they are in the United States as refugees. HSS, VHP, Sewa Intenational are together working hard to provide all necessary help to these Bhutani brothers in order to settle their life in United States. The youngest of them is of six months and the oldest is more than 100 years.

We also enjoyed delicious food at the food stalls. Many other stall of different stuffs like - traditional ornaments, books, exhibitions etc were also there.

Here's the link of the photos of this program.

Hindu Heritage Day 2009

HSS US Ghosh Varg

The serene and typically quiet environment of Panchavati Ashram in New York became filled with Ghosh Naad during the North East Sambhag Ghosh Varg samarop program held on April 26, 2009. Sixty swayamsevaks, sevikas and shishu/bala representing all six vibhags had gathered at the ashram during the weekend for Ghosh Varg. This was the second ghosh varg in the sambhag, the first one being in April of last year.

The purpose of varg was to advance the quality of vadan, learn new rachana, and understand the importance/sanctity of ghosh. Apekshits (participants) for the varg included those who knew how to play at least 1 rachana. The thrust areas during the varg were playing rachana with Shuddha-Swara and learning how to incorporate ghosh for inculcating qualities of a swayamsevak and strengthening Shakha.

The varg included 5 sessions for learning rachana in small groups, 6 sessions for practicing ghosh together and 5 sessions for practicing sanchalan, formation and ghosh-dand. Other sessions, such as a discussion on how to practice ghosh outside shakha and varg, sharing experiences from those who participated in path-sanchalan in Bharat, presentation on karyakarta who contributed for the development of ghosh, and a video of ghosh-varg in Bharat, not only served as well-needed breaks between practices but also enhanced understanding the relevance of Ghosh in Sangh. The presence of senior vadaks, those who participated in ghosh in Bharat, contributed significantly to the success of the varg.

Additionally, there was a vibhag-wise baithak to discuss what ghosh activities can be conducted in shakha and the vibhag during the next year. Playing Dhwajaropanam in shakha, teaching ghosh either during shakha or before/after shakha, holding vibhag ghosh vargs, and introducing ghosh during family camps, kishor sanghiks, utsav, etc were some ideas generated in the baithak.

During the samarop program, forty-three vadak gave a ghosh pradarshan (presentation) comprised of 11 rachana in Aanak, Vamshi, and Shankh that they had learned during the varg. The pradarshan also included the formation of Sudarshan Chakra while playing ghosh. Many families who joined for the samarop program noted that the vadan quality and pradarshan had improved from last year. Everyone enjoyed ashirvachan by Swami Sri Madan ji from Panchavati Ashram, and an inspiring bauddhik from Saumitra Gokhale ji, America zone pracharak. He spoke on the important role of ghosh in Sangh work and in society as a whole.

The cozy atmosphere of Panchavati Ashram, affectionate nature of Swami ji, and sumptuous food prepared by Sevika provided the perfect environment for the varg. The theme of remaining green was implemented by bringing our own re-useable plates, spoons, and cups. This helped to increase awareness about how we can actively participate toward sustainability. Though the varg was packed with activities, there was never a lapse in enthusiasm. Playing ghosh together created a high level of excitement and energy that permeated the entire varg. Even after samarop, the varg participants were not ready to put their instruments down and continued playing rachana, singing geet, and enjoying. Everyone left the varg motivated, energized, and ready to spread the joy of ghosh.

Following are the different links of the photos of this varg.

• http://www.hssus.org/gallery/v/NEAST/ghoshvarg_001/
• http://www.hssus.org/gallery/v/NEAST/Ghosh+Varg+2009/
• http://picasaweb.google.com/rss.dhananjay/HSSEastCostSambhagGhoshVarg2009?feat=directlink

Thanks Aprna Ji for this write-up.

Varsh Pratipada 2066

This Varsh Pratipada day was unique to me. I got a chance to attend HSS New England Vibhag karyakram, held at Framingham on 28-Mar-09.

People across the entire New England area attended the function. I don't have the exact number of attendees, but the auditorium was well packed. Though most of them were swayamsevakas, I also noticed some new comers as well.

I got a chance to meet swayamsevakas of Franklin shakha after some two years again. It was really good to see Vinayak ji, Dhananjay ji and many other again.

The program was well organized. There was diffeent food stall and I saw the people were really enjoying the delicious home made food.

There were several activities for children as well, like Carom, Blind Folded painting, bow-arrow, basketball, Kanche etc.

The main program started at 4 PM inside the auditorium. All swayamsevakas performed the AadyaSarsanghChalakPranam first and then Dhwajarohan happened. Some swayamsevikas also played Dhwajarohan on flute.

After that, it was all a series of different cultural program by bala swayamsevakas which includes dance, skid, song, Sanskrit Sambhasanam, Kuchipudi etc. All balas did amazing job and they performed well.

The program lasted till 6 PM. Every moment of the program was catching and fun-filled.

Following are some videos of this program.

Click here to enjoy the videos of this great karyakram.