Youth for Dharma,right since inception,has been organizing numerous camps,orientation workshops and conferences apart from hospital visits and temple cleaning programs.One such camp was organized by youth for dharma,in connection with Vivek-150,its ambitious flagship programme,meant to spread the message of Swami Vivekananda among the youth of the city.We boarded the tempo at around 9PM on the 21st of December,2012.That was the day on which the world was supposed to come to an end.On the contrary,it turned out to be a day which would add new meaning to all our lives.For the students,it was anoopurtunity to mingle with the professionals,and for the professsionals it was a chance to interact with the students.
We landed in thiruvannamalai in the wee hours of 22/12/2012.The following is a short report on what happened during the course of the 2 day camp.
Session-1
10:15 am
Speaker : Mr.Gopal Ranthnam,social worker actively involved in spreading the universal message of the
Bhagavadh Geetha in schools and colleges.
The inaugral address was given by Mr.Satish Ramanathan,overall incharge of the Vivek 150,in which he welcomed the gathering.
Mr.Gopal Rathnam started off by explaining the concept of dharma.To use his very own words,
"Dharma is a big concept.We are just a brick in the great mansion that is Dharma."
Who is a youth?
Biologically anybody under the age of 35 may be called a youth.
But for all practical purposes,one who thinks about the future is a youth.
One who harps on the past is an aged person,irrespective of his biological age.
Who is a rishi?
One who actually visualizes the future is a rishi.
He pointed out that only a person with intellectual heights can think about the future.The problem today is the casual attitude with people.He exhorted the youth to bring about change,rather than cribbing about the past.He asked the youth to learn from the lives of great leaders and to understand things in the proper perspectives and work for the nation.
Work should be done not with the result in mind,but for the sake of service.
He concluded by stressing on the importance of self introspection in one's life.
There was a short break and then there was a talk given by him,entailing the relevance of the bhaghavadh geetha to today's youth.he signed off by teaching the gathered youth a verse from the Bhaghavadh Geetha and asked them to use it as a stepping stone.
Session-2
Time :3.00 pm
Speaker :Mr.Krishnan Jagannathan,an eminent orator.
Mr.Krishnan Jagannathan spoke on the topic, "Bharathi and Swami Vivekananda",comparing the two greats and outlining the similarities between them.
He contended that Swami Vivekananda was Bharithi's guru by pointing out that Margaret Noble,who later came to be known as Sister Nivedita (after becoming Vivekananda's disciple),was Bharathi's mentor.
The similarities he outlined seemed endless.
Both of them lived for 39 years.Both of them were advaitins,monists who believed in the oneness of all creation.He said the while Vivekananda was a nationalist monk,Bharathi was a nationalist poet.He opined that the problem of today is that people are not able to differentiate between virtue and vice.
He quoted one of Swami Vivekananda's well known quotes,
"They alone live who live for others.The others are more dead that alive."
He pointed out that India had been laid back for the past 1000 yeats due to two reasons:
1)Untouchablility
2)Disrespect to women.
He outlined the role played by both the stalwarts in trying to shirk off this backwardness.
Swami Vivekananda and Bharathi both saw God in nation and in nationhood.Both of them spoke of fearlessness and love.
Mr.Krishnan Jagannathan then spoke about the qualities of true love and exhorted the youth to foolow in the footsteps of Swami Vivekananda and bring about a national awakening.
In the evening,some of the youth for Dharma members paid a visit to the shrine at thiruvannamalai.It was indeed a sight to watch so many youths walk bare-foot to the temple,filled with religious fervour and devotion,singing songs and hymns in praise of Lord Shiva.
Thiruvannamalai is one of the five famous Shaivait shrines in Tamilnadu,where Shiva is worshiped in the fire aspect.Recent research tells us that the rocks in Thiruvannamalai are igneous rocks.Igneous rocks are formed either underground or above the ground.Underground,they are formed when the melted rock,called magma,deep within the earth becomes trapped in pockets.As these pockts of magma cooly,slowly,the magma becomes igneous rocks.This is whay lord Shiva is worshipped in his fire aspect in Thiruvannamalai.
23/12/2012
9 AM
There was an internal brain storming session among youth for dharma members as to how to take along the ambitious Vivek 150 project so as to spread the message of Swami Vivekananda among the youth of the city.They split into 3 groups and deliberated for about 40 minutes and the take-aways of these discussions were tabled before the group which had assembled.
12:05 PM
Session 3
Speaker :Mr.Ramakrishnan,social worker.
Mr.Ramakrishnan spoke on the topic,"Other oriented approach"
He said there were two approaches to attain success:
1)I-oriented approach
2)Other-oriented approach
The purposes of animal and plant life was to grow to maximum level and thus help others in their own way.In animals and plants,growth was merely along the physical scale.
But in human beings,three other types of growth are witnessed:
1)Emotional growth
2)Intellectual growth
3)Spiritual growth
He opined that a worker should always check if he is growing mentally,spiritually and intellectually.He said that to ensure intellectual growth,one should keep on reading books.Daily monitoring of one's own intellectual growth was very necessary.
Spritual growth can be achieved through:
1)Personal effort
2)Satsangs (Mingling with the right people).
He quoted Brarthrihari's neethi shatakam to drive home this point.He pointed out that the minimum gain we would get from Satsangs was that we wouldn't go into the wrong ways.
He encouraged the young workers to take up responsibility and not shirk away from accountbility. God's gift to man is life.Life should be protected and made more meaningful through selfless service,he said.
Then the Youth For Dharma members played various games among themselves to inculcate a sense of bonding and brotherhood among themselves.
Finally,as the 2 day camp ended,everybody left for Chennai with the satisfaction of having gained some thing meaningful which would help them in their lives..............
We landed in thiruvannamalai in the wee hours of 22/12/2012.The following is a short report on what happened during the course of the 2 day camp.
Session-1
10:15 am
Speaker : Mr.Gopal Ranthnam,social worker actively involved in spreading the universal message of the
Bhagavadh Geetha in schools and colleges.
The inaugral address was given by Mr.Satish Ramanathan,overall incharge of the Vivek 150,in which he welcomed the gathering.
Mr.Gopal Rathnam started off by explaining the concept of dharma.To use his very own words,
"Dharma is a big concept.We are just a brick in the great mansion that is Dharma."
Who is a youth?
Biologically anybody under the age of 35 may be called a youth.
But for all practical purposes,one who thinks about the future is a youth.
One who harps on the past is an aged person,irrespective of his biological age.
Who is a rishi?
One who actually visualizes the future is a rishi.
He pointed out that only a person with intellectual heights can think about the future.The problem today is the casual attitude with people.He exhorted the youth to bring about change,rather than cribbing about the past.He asked the youth to learn from the lives of great leaders and to understand things in the proper perspectives and work for the nation.
Work should be done not with the result in mind,but for the sake of service.
He concluded by stressing on the importance of self introspection in one's life.
There was a short break and then there was a talk given by him,entailing the relevance of the bhaghavadh geetha to today's youth.he signed off by teaching the gathered youth a verse from the Bhaghavadh Geetha and asked them to use it as a stepping stone.
Session-2
Time :3.00 pm
Speaker :Mr.Krishnan Jagannathan,an eminent orator.
Mr.Krishnan Jagannathan spoke on the topic, "Bharathi and Swami Vivekananda",comparing the two greats and outlining the similarities between them.
He contended that Swami Vivekananda was Bharithi's guru by pointing out that Margaret Noble,who later came to be known as Sister Nivedita (after becoming Vivekananda's disciple),was Bharathi's mentor.
The similarities he outlined seemed endless.
Both of them lived for 39 years.Both of them were advaitins,monists who believed in the oneness of all creation.He said the while Vivekananda was a nationalist monk,Bharathi was a nationalist poet.He opined that the problem of today is that people are not able to differentiate between virtue and vice.
He quoted one of Swami Vivekananda's well known quotes,
"They alone live who live for others.The others are more dead that alive."
He pointed out that India had been laid back for the past 1000 yeats due to two reasons:
1)Untouchablility
2)Disrespect to women.
He outlined the role played by both the stalwarts in trying to shirk off this backwardness.
Swami Vivekananda and Bharathi both saw God in nation and in nationhood.Both of them spoke of fearlessness and love.
Mr.Krishnan Jagannathan then spoke about the qualities of true love and exhorted the youth to foolow in the footsteps of Swami Vivekananda and bring about a national awakening.
Thiruvannamalai is one of the five famous Shaivait shrines in Tamilnadu,where Shiva is worshiped in the fire aspect.Recent research tells us that the rocks in Thiruvannamalai are igneous rocks.Igneous rocks are formed either underground or above the ground.Underground,they are formed when the melted rock,called magma,deep within the earth becomes trapped in pockets.As these pockts of magma cooly,slowly,the magma becomes igneous rocks.This is whay lord Shiva is worshipped in his fire aspect in Thiruvannamalai.
23/12/2012
9 AM
There was an internal brain storming session among youth for dharma members as to how to take along the ambitious Vivek 150 project so as to spread the message of Swami Vivekananda among the youth of the city.They split into 3 groups and deliberated for about 40 minutes and the take-aways of these discussions were tabled before the group which had assembled.
12:05 PM
Session 3
Speaker :Mr.Ramakrishnan,social worker.
Mr.Ramakrishnan spoke on the topic,"Other oriented approach"
He said there were two approaches to attain success:
1)I-oriented approach
2)Other-oriented approach
The purposes of animal and plant life was to grow to maximum level and thus help others in their own way.In animals and plants,growth was merely along the physical scale.
But in human beings,three other types of growth are witnessed:
1)Emotional growth
2)Intellectual growth
3)Spiritual growth
He opined that a worker should always check if he is growing mentally,spiritually and intellectually.He said that to ensure intellectual growth,one should keep on reading books.Daily monitoring of one's own intellectual growth was very necessary.
Spritual growth can be achieved through:
1)Personal effort
2)Satsangs (Mingling with the right people).
He quoted Brarthrihari's neethi shatakam to drive home this point.He pointed out that the minimum gain we would get from Satsangs was that we wouldn't go into the wrong ways.
He encouraged the young workers to take up responsibility and not shirk away from accountbility. God's gift to man is life.Life should be protected and made more meaningful through selfless service,he said.
Then the Youth For Dharma members played various games among themselves to inculcate a sense of bonding and brotherhood among themselves.
Finally,as the 2 day camp ended,everybody left for Chennai with the satisfaction of having gained some thing meaningful which would help them in their lives..............
First of all i should thank you for confusing me on that Friday evening which made me join with all of you for the camp.It was an awesome experience which needs to be shared with other member who were unable to make their presence.The camp taught us all lot of new things;new ideas were trigerred and there was zeal of enthusiasm which continued till our return journey to Chennail.The Lectures and sessions by eminent speakers enlightened our spirtual thoughts and how we need to attain growth in the society and our approach towards others were clearly manifested to us.
ReplyDeleteThe whole place was divine and visit to Shivan temple were we had good darshan and Girivalam all made the trip extremely good.This camp also gave us all an opportunity to know each other and work with great intense to acheive team targets.
On the whole during the stay at ashram,we have all gained knowledge and insight on Swami Vivekanda's vision and mission.
--Radha Jayalakshmi
Vanakam,
ReplyDeleteThis camp gave us lot of energy, viberation & peace to the mind, the lectures of
1.Gopal Rathinam Ji
2. Krishna Jaganathan Ji
3. Rama krishna Prasad Ji
were all not for learning & hearing, it is to practice in day to day life,
"Live for others" is the quote which i would like to take from this camp,
This camp taught a new way of living with peace & happiness, looking forward for many camps in future
Ec Sridharan
Namaste!
ReplyDeleteHaving got back to Chennai, I seem to miss the last 48 hours already. It was a wonderful experience. The ashram, the environment. And most importantly, the people I got to meet and interact with. Simple, Genuine and Inspired people willing to spend time and energy for the cause.This, not to mention the prowess of the speakers, all 3 of them.
Also happy to have gotten an opportunity to have darshan of Lord Arunachaleshwara.
Finally, after several weeks, spent a weekend doing something productive!
Glad that I could attend the camp and have this experience.
Krishnan