Abhyas Varg One- Breaking the Ice?

Finally, the last of my a-level exams were completed, and after a short-period of celebrations, on came the much-awaited beginning of the Sangh Internship Programme (SIP) 2010. Like the other two participants, I was going there hoping for an ease into the first Abhyas Varg, a “classic” introduction to a program, that would involve ice-breakers and motivational speeches. Instead, we were welcomed with a sheet of paper, addressing each one of us personally, informing us of vague but specific orders. The orders were of similar nature, but also totally different. For example, my sheet read “Namaste Raghav, go to 49 gipsy lane and meet Gernal Singh Rana.”

On arrival, it was clear that the person I was going to meet would be a prominent person at a local Gurudwara. And after a few minutes of searching it was apparent that he was not there! Leaving me in a confusing situation, after while, I took some initiative to do some sewa, which I was just as willing to do. After a couple of hours, Gernal Singh Rana did arrive, and I was able to learn about the history of the gurudwara and about his efforts to improve the standard of the temple.

The session was there to see what we would do in the time we were allotted. Would we; be constructive, be pro-active, think and do more? We were put in a situation, where we were in control of our session. We could decide how efficiently we spent that time given to us. Being able to do this, successfully, is important because we shouldn’t have to be micromanaged every hour of our day. During the 7 week SIP, only we are in control of our day-to-day activities. By having the ability to be independent and make good choices on our own, we are able achieve much more.