Here’s a video of Muni Natarajan, one of the teachers, leading the youth in a few Shiva bhajans/kirtans at the Hindu Youth Camp in West Virginia that took place last week.
Aug 062011
Aug 012011
We continue with our coverage of the Hindu Youth Camp at West Virginia University in Morgantown. On the last afternoon of the camp our new African friends invited us to participate in a drum circle that they had planned. Earlier in the day they had attended a yoga and meditation class.
Our youth group turned up at 3pm at one of the larger halls on campus to find our friends there along with about 30 djembes. Djembe is an African skin-covered drum meant to be played with bare hands that has its origins in West Africa. Individuals from both groups teamed up and before long the hall was filled with drum beats. Our friends were patient as they taught us basic beats on the djembe. It wasn’t long before the young Hindu campers felt confident to beat along with the Africans.
The two and a half hours that followed was the highlight of the camp for many. Besides learning how to play the djembe we also learned some African dance steps. It was an afternoon filled with music and dance, an unplanned unity of two cultures, strangers the day before and friends today. It was an experience that will live long in the hearts and minds of all those that attended.
Our young campers learning how to play the djembe from our new friends
It was certainly one of the highlights of this year's camp
12 year old Nidhi is all about playing the djembe
Both groups truly enjoyed getting to know one another
Both groups gather to capture this wonderful coming together of two cultures
Teachers and Coordinators. From left: Mr. Krishnasamy, Olu, Muni Natarajan, Mrs. Fuller, Mwatabu Okantah, Dandapani and Nana (Nana is a term of endearment that refers to a chief in the Akan traditions)
Teachers present one another gifts that are sacred to their culture.
Jul 302011
Here are extracts from a few of the notes of appreciation and gratitude that I received from various campers. As part of their exercise in expressing appreciation and gratitude to their parents, counselors and a person of their choice, a few of them chose to write me some very thoughtful notes which I felt inspired to share with you.
Dear Dandapaniji or Dear DPG…
“…you came into my life when I needed help the most…I do feel blessed to have someone like you in my life that listens and helps me find solutions and is a friend to me. You’re a REAL rockstar…”
“…You are the first person that has truly made me feel like a good Hindu through my every day actions and decisions. …As a teenager I know I make things over dramatic…but you take me seriously and make me feel as though my opinions/actions/decisions/thoughts truly matter. You helped me through a very difficult time last year, and the way you affected my thought process has really changed the way I look at everything. Thank you for inspiring me.”
“…You put the entire religion into a perspective that fits my lifestyle completely…”
“DPG, thank you for teaching so many different things this week and for being insanely awesome.”
“…I appreciate how you are always patient with us.”
“…I gathered more from this week than my past 9 years at camp combined…I’m indebted to you for your advice on all matters. I felt like your lessons called out to me personally and will affect my future greatly. I really can’t wait to see you next year.”
“In terms of teaching and learning things in camp this was the best year by far. I learned how to apply Hindu traditions in a way that would enhance my life…Overall, camp would not be the same without you because of the way you help every individual person in camp with their own problems. I hope you come back to SV Temple camp for many years so that the campers will actually benefit from the classes.”
“Thank you for teaching us how Hinduism can be used in everyday life. You have made what used to be a 2 hour class of boring lectures to a fun and interesting class that seems to go by in 10/20 minutes…It is nice because you have gone through a similar lifestyle and can/have pointed out main points of Hinduism that can help us deal with our parents, friends and people who we don’t necessary get along with…”
“…I would also really appreciate it if you would be willing to come back to camp next year and help us continue our spiritual as well as our life journeys….thanks again.”
“You’re the BEST! Thanks so so much for all of your teachings. They are honestly so applicable to life and I really appreciate that. You are awesome and hilarious but also teach amazing lessons that have stayed with me for the past 3 years and will remain with me in my mind throughout my life. Thanks also for looking out for me and asking if I was alright after that serious discussion. It’s great to know that there’s someone to talk to…”
Jul 292011
Our week long youth camp is coming to a conclusion and this is the final day of classes. Today we ventured into the world of gratitude and appreciation. As part of today’s class exercise each student was asked to write a note of gratitude to their parents. In doing so they had to be specific about what they were grateful for. They were also asked to write a note to their counselor and one other person at their week long camp.
In addition to this, in the older group’s class a skit was enacted about how first generation American born Hindu parents can use the guidelines and spiritual tools of Hinduism to guide their children with everyday challenges that they face in the world. Well prepared and excellently executed, our campers proved to be wonderful actors!
Children writing notes of gratitude and appreciation
In expressing gratitude they have to be specific.
And when they present their note of appreciation to the individual they have to look the person in the face and say 'Here's my note of appreciation that I wrote for you'.
Members of the older group perform a skit on Hindu parenting.
The skit was very entertaining and educational
A young camper gives his counselor a big hug of appreciation!
A message from one of the younger campers!
Jul 292011
Yesterday we invited our African brothers and sisters to join us in our morning Hatha Yoga and meditation practice. This was something new to most of them. I began the class by leading them through a few rounds of Surya Namaskaram (sun salutations) to get them warmed up and stretched.
Then we dived into some Hatha Yoga asanas (poses) followed by some basic pranayama (breath control) which involved regulating the duration of the in breath and the out breath. After pranayama we began the guided meditation. We used the analogy that the mind is like a vast land with a variety of landscapes from mountains to rivers and oceans, to deserts to cities to jungles and more. And the same way we travel from one area of a land to another we can similarly travel through the mind as well.
Our guided meditation then took us first to the land called happiness. We visualized being happy and also filled our entire body with the feeling of happiness. We emphasized the importance of visualization and feeling in the practice of meditation. From the land of happiness we moved to the land of contentment and finally the land of love while practicing visualization and feeling for each of those areas. To conclude the meditation we returned our awareness to the room we were in and slowly opened our eyes to adjust ourselves to our surroundings.
We were very happy to have our African siblings join us for our morning spiritual practices and we are looking forward to their drum circle this afternoon which they have invited us to participate in.
One God, one world!
Starting our series of Hatha Yoga poses
After practicing various Hatha Yoga poses we did some pranayama (breath control) exercises followed by a guided meditation.
The core of our study over the last week has been to find ways to incorporate Hindu spiritual tools into our daily lives to help solve the challenges that we face. We did this by having the youth share problems and then suggest solutions based on spiritual tools that they have learned. And sometimes we enacted out these problems and solutions in skits which were highly entertaining.
In this short skit, this young man teaches Dandapani how to use Hindu spiritual tools to resolve an emotional problem.
He suggests to Dandapani to write his problem down on a piece of paper and burn it in an ordinary fire. He explains that the process of writing transfers the emotion from the unresolved experience in the subconscious to the paper. The emotion is then destroyed in the fire leaving behind an experience with no emotion attached to it allowing one to look at the experience objectively and learn from it. Good advice from an 11 year old.
In today's class we learned about the conscious, subconscious and superconscious mind. We learned how to clear out unresolved emotional experiences from our subconscious which then allows intuition to flow unhindered from our superconscious to our conscious mind.
The older youth group play out a skit that incorporates Hindu values, beliefs and spiritual tools for resolving challenges.
The other youth present are highly entertained by some very creative acting.
Jul 272011
This afternoon a lot of the campers had fun making clay Ganeshas. At some point they manage to convince the two teachers, Muni and myself, to join them in this messy but creatively fun project. And we are very glad we did as we had lots of fun.
This Ganesha has a top hat and is holding a Kindle in His left hand.
Muni is enjoying making his clay Ganesha while Kabilan watches on
Rupa and Dandapani are putting the final touches on their Ganeshas.
Rupa's Ganesha.....almost done
Each evening after dinner we get together for bhajans/kirtan. The counselors lead the younger campers in some chants at the start then Muni concludes the evening of music by leading them through some bhajans. Here’s a video from last night showing Muni leading them in singing “Aum Namasivaya!”
Campers share some of what they learned at the SV Temple Hindu youth camp that took place in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania.
Jul 312010
Campers and teachers gather for a group photo in front of the Sri Venkateswara temple in Pittsburgh.
Friends, friends, friends!
Raghava and his little sister, Nidhi
Farewells on the last day.
Question and answer session outdoors with the campers.
Classes every morning from 9am to noon. We covered the basic beliefs of Hinduism and looked at its practical applicability in every day life.
We love iPhones!
Having fun on camp fire evening.
Head stand during the morning hatha yoga session that begins at 6:45am.
Those who come every year to camp can get into the poses very well.
The group is divided into two – boys and girls. Easan and Dandapani take turns teaching each group, alternating every day. After hatha yoga is our morning meditation session.
Classes on Hinduism from 9am to noon. The group is divided into 3 age groups and they rotate among the teachers.
Happy campers!
In the afternoon campers make clay Ganeshas for the upcoming Ganesha Chaturthi festival.
Smaller groups were formed and each entertained all the campers with performances.
We’ve been using the book “Dancing with Siva” as our class text book. It was written by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami and published by his Himalayan Academy located at Kauai’s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii, USA.
In today’s class I talked about ahimsa (noninjury). It is defined in our text book as “the first and foremost ethical principle of every Hindu. It is gentleness and nonviolence, whether physical, mental or emotional. It is abstaining from causing hurt or harm to all beings.” We looked at how this ancient timeless teaching can be applied in our modern day life.
One of the places that it can be practiced is in the Hindu home. Parents always raise their children with love, wisdom and understanding. They never, ever, physically, mentally, emotionally or verbally abuse their children. Such acts are the height of cowardliness. Parents must always take the approach of positively and constructively disciplining their children using techniques such as natural consequences and more to lovingly guide their children to be mature and insightful young adults.
The campers have been very inspiring. It is so nice to see a group of young Hindus that are encouraging and supportive. The older campers look after the younger ones with such loving care. Carrying their bags when they are tired, encouraging them, teaching them how to sing, play games and more.
Hinduism is a solution orientated religion. Hindus look at problems only as opportunities for creative solutions. These young boys and girls exemplify this. Hinduism has a bright future thanks to them.
The campers ask insightful questions on Hinduism and its applicability in every day life.
Easan covers Hindu Festivals using material provided by Hinduism Today.
