Magazine of March - 2010 - Rups.net

NRI Sanskriti Prachar Shibir – A ReportKa rt i k Ka d l e, UK Sa b h aThe “NRI Sanskriti Prachar Shibir”, the firstever NRI shibir for both youngsters and elders, washeld from December 23-29, 2009, at Shirali. It drewmore than 40 participants or shibirarthis from USA,UK, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.The shibir’s Chief Co-ordinator, KrishnanandHeblekarmaam, and his group of sanchalaks hadplanned various religious/spiritual and socio-culturalactivities which enabled the shibirarthis to learn aswell as enjoy. As emphasized by Swamiji, a shibir ismuch more than a camp and is aimed at attainingtotal fitness of the body, mind and spirit.Religious/Spiritual ActivitiesGuided Tour of Shri Chitrapur Math: On thefirst day (December 12), there was a a guided tourof the Math which included visits to the Bhojanshalaand the Goshala The significance of Dhoolbhet, GuruParamapara, Samadhis was beautifully explainedand benefitted both youngsters and elders. Theshibirarthis were amazed to find that the food wasprepared by only two cooks, using natural gas andLPG.Contemporary Hinduism: On the 24 th , a talk on“Contemporary Hinduism” helped remove confusionbetween the teachings of our Math and what welearn in everyday life. It covered pertinent issuessuch as; what is Hinduism, what is the Hindu way,the meaning of secularism, portrayal of Hinduism bythe media and so on. This was an important sessionas in today’s world it is extremely important to knowwhat you stand for, and accordingly, be ready forthe questions the world asks about you and yourreligion, or as Poojya Swamiji rightly puts it, “toknow yourself.”Swadhyay: At a Swadhyay on “ShriParijnanashram Trayodashi”, Poojya Swamijipatiently explained each of the 13 verses in detailand answered all the shibirarthis’ innocently-askedquestions. This was a very useful and relevantsession as, many a time, we blindly read or recitewords without actually understanding theirmeaning or significance. Swamiji also addressed alist of questions compiled by the yuvas attending theshibir; again, a tremendous learning experience foreveryone.Ashtamurti Upasana: On the 25 th , the shibirarthiswere taken to Panchavati where, under the guidanceof Poojya Swamiji, they practised the AshtamurtiUpasana. Swamiji introduced the basic concepts ofthe Upasana, the eight elements (ashta-murti) andthen touched upon the technique.Guru Parampara: A talk on our illustrious GuruParampara for the youth and elders, in separatesessions, on the 26 th , started with our origin - fromShibirarthi yuvas with Poojya Swamiji at Jali BeachRiver Saraswati to our Guru Parampara wherethe shibirarthis found out more about each Guruand the events that had occurred during theirreign as “Mathadhipati.” An interesting fact thatimpressed the particpants was that Param PoojyaParijnanashram Swamiji had visited NASA and thescientists present there had been astounded at Hisknowledge.Gayatri Anushthan, Devi Anushthan: It isnot often that one gets the chance to perform theGayatri Anushthan or the Devi Anushthan dueto our daily routine. However, the shibirarthis werefortunate to savour this experience on the 27 th . Themenfolk recited the Gayatri Mantra continuouslyfor an hour while the womenfolk performed DeviAnushthan. They also eagerly took part in theregular Math activities such as Suprabhatam, padukapooja, Deepanamaskar and Devi Poojan performedby Poojya Swamiji.So c i a l/Cu lt u r a l ActivitiesMuseum Trip: On December 24, the shibirarthisparticipated in the first anniversary celebration of“Shri Parijnanashram Vastu Sangrahalaya”, themuseum. Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Prakash Gokarnmaamhighlighted the arduous but fruitful journey takenby those involved in establishing the museum;Kanara Saraswat Vol. 91, No.3, March 201067