Write for Change

Society today has problems. Economic and emotional depressions, terrorism, climate change, racism, crime, disappearing resources, increased consumerism and poverty to name but a few. As a modern thinker you know that the only way to overcome these obstacles is to change the way society thinks and acts as a whole. You know what the ideas and solutions for change are, but your voice alone goes unheard, you need a stage upon which to educate the masses. That stage is the Book for Change. A book compiled by men and women just like yourself, dedicated to opening the hearts and minds of all who read it, changing our outlook on life for a better humanity.

This is your opportunity to become one of today's new breed of thinkers, the chance for you to get published and present you ideas to the world. Visit TheBookForChange.com to get involved!

TED :: East vs. West

Another fantastic speaker at TED India - Devdutt Pattanaik: East vs. West -- the myths that mystify - Devdutt Pattanaik (2009) (video)

Gujarat CMs Fellowship

A Gujarat government initative to engage talented young NRIs in the operations and developments in the state of Gujarat. gujaratcmfellowship.org

Our elder generation have an awareness of the political dynamics in India that impact our cause however, the younger generation have at best a surface level interest in the realities on the ground and as this passive awareness becomes more and more distant, our ability to engage in the dialogue in a credible way also diminishes. It is important to create ways in which young people can be inspired to participate in such programmes and feel it is a valuable learning opportunity

Ekal Trailer

http://www.globalrickshaw.com/ekal-girl.html

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

The monk who sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma is the story of Julian Mantle, a superstar lawyer whose fast and out-of-balance lifestyle leads him to an almost fatal heart attack in the middle of a courtroom. His physical collapse leaves him with two choices:

1. Recover and continue to live a fast and unhealthy life, fueled by material desires or

2. Confront his spiritual crisis and seek answers to life's most important questions.

Julian chooses the latter and his quest for finding happiness and fulfilment leads him to an extraordinary odyssey to an ancient culture, deep in the mountains of the Himalayas. Here he discovers a powerful system to release the potential of the mind, body and soul and learns how to live with greater passion, purpose and peace.

The book gives timeless methods in which we can all find peace, happiness and fulfillment. Many of our lives mirror that of the main character in the book, Julian. We lead such 'fast' lives and have no time to savour the important things in life - family, friends, our hobbies, dreams and just as importantly, ourselves.

How many of us are consumed with hunger? Hunger for more prestige, more glory and more money? We live in a work centred world where material gains are an illusory version of success. Our desires will never be satisfied but instead will blaze like adding fuel to a fire.

The book vividly describes the lack of fulfillment that Julian goes through despite his abundant wealth and beautifully explains the solution to his predicament, his 'personal odyssey of the self.' To aid him in his quest for fulfilment, Julian was taught by the ancient great Sages of Sivana. They taught him many techniques which if applied on a daily basis will bring great joy to our lives.

The Sages taught him countless methods, I will not discuss them all but if we try to implement the following in our lives then we will be able to lead a more fulfilling life and find our purpose in and really appreciate the smaller things in life:

1. Try doing yogasanas, pranayama and meditation every morning

2. Ensure you carry out one of your hobbies on a daily basis. E.g. drawing, painting, play football etc...

3. Read for at least 30 minutes everyday but not just any book; read one which will add value to your life and challenges you intellectually

4. Take daily walks

5. Spend time with nature, even if it's just sitting in the garden or gazing at the stars

6. Use mantras, meaning 'freeing the mind' and positive thinking to your advantage - if you're ever feeling low, constantly repeat to yourself, 'I am strong, I am confident, I am able.' Never under estimate the power of words and positive thoughts

7. Reflection - spend 10 minutes analysing your day. Note down all the good things you did in the day and all the bad things in the day. Also write down any negative thoughts you had during this time also. By doing this, we are aware of our actions and thoughts and can actively go out to improve ourselves.

The monk who sold his Ferrari is a beautifully written book which gives us countless guidance on how to improve ourselves, advance spiritually and live a life of purpose and happiness.

Duty...

The inactive man does not do his duty to his Creator or to the society that maintains him. The recluse who devotes his entire life to improving himself fulfills part of man's duty because he helps society by leading by example and by making at least one of its members good.

The world is full of people that keep themselves to themselves and concentrate on purifying their own mind, body and soul by praying in solitude, reading holy books in solitude, meditating in solitude, living in solitude trying to escape the distractions of the outside world. Is this enough? They refuse to see the vast humanity around them living a life of deprivation, hunger and suffering. If you bring these facts of life, that people do not have bread to eat, clothing to wear, Hindus will misguidedly say that their suffering is a result of their past Karma (action). As Hindu’s do we not have a duty to them? They may well be suffering their fate, but is it not a negative Karma on our part if we allow this suffering to continue? If a person is born with a treatable illness, should his Medical Doctor say, “this illness is the result of your past Karma, so I must leave you untreated and let you suffer.” Would we even call such a man a Doctor?

God is not some Father Christmas type figure whose lap we can sit on and ask for miracles. He doesn't sit observing all from a high perch in the clouds. God is a state of mind. All man can attain this state of mind. The man who does his duty as a son, a father, a brother, a husband, a friend, a neighbour, his duty as a human being with no thought to earn wealth, respect, applause or self-esteem through his actions, this man has reached the state of mind that is God. This man's sole thought is his duty, this man is a divine soul. Swami Vivekananda said - "If you wish to serve God, serve human beings."

When we say that God is in everything and everything is God, it does not mean we must worship trees and rocks. What it means is that we regard everything as sacred. We respect trees and rocks and therefore must not abuse the resources that have been provided in this world. This video narrated by a Native American describes it perfectly - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61BCB2-OmRY

The Importance of Yogasanas & Pranayama

The book I'm currently reading is Yogasana & Pranayam For Health by Dr P.D. Sharma. Here is a brief summary of what yogasana is and the benefits of it.

Yogasanas are simple actions for keeping the internal & external parts of the body in good health. The body & mind are closely interrelated so both should be taken care of. There are 7 ways in which daily waste produced by the body through physical activity & functioning of the digestive system can be eliminated through: both nostrils; eyes; ears; mouth; anus & genitals and the skin. Many diseases are the result of the absence of sufficient and regular elimination of waste matter such as urine and stool from the body. Yogic exercises help the process of elimination of waste matter from the body and keep the body in perfectly sound health.

Yogasanas have a preference over other systems of physical exercises due to the following reasons:

1. In other physical exercises, the internal organs of the body do not get proper exercise, while yogasanas give sufficient exercise to the internal organs of the body.

2. Yogasanas have a greater impact on the mind & senses than other physical exercise, with the result that yogasans help to develop one's physical & mental powers to calm the mind & control the senses.

3. It eliminates waste toxins from the body. As a result, it has more resistance power to keep disease away.

4. The body becomes flexible by yogasanas which makes one more active.

5. Blood in different blood vessels is purified through different yogasanas.

6. The power of contraction & expansion of lungs is increased by practicing yogasanas & pranayama. This leads in the purification of blood to a great extent.

7. Life span, youth & health depend upon the flexibility of the spinal cord. Yogasanas keep the spinal cord flexible.

8. Yogasanas help the mind to experience tranquillity. There is a progressive intellectual development because of the calm mind.

9. They stimulate different glands of the body. These stimulated glands produce secretions in proper proportion, which having mixed with the blood helps the body to acquire a well balanced growth.

10. Diseases such as constipation, gas trouble, diabetes, blood pressure, hernia, headache etc...can be cured by practicing yogasanas & pranayam.

11. Yogasanas make possible not only physical & mental development but also intellectual & spiritual development.

The Six Glorious Epoch of Indian History

India has been subject to various invasions over the past 2,500 years. Due to the propaganda of these foreign aggressors, we have come to believe that the Hindus have been weak and folded easily at the different invasions in our history. The 6 Glorious Epoch of Indian History, by Veer Savarkar, shows that this conception is totally FALSE and from a Hindu & Sikh point of view, we should never forget the great figures who fought heroically to save our motherland from the onslaught of foreign aggression. Savarkar writes passionately about the history of his nation & blends poetry, emotion of pain, suffering & joy quite beautifully. He expresses his views quite bluntly, some of which I do not entirely agree with but his patrioism & quest of correcting facts of our history deserves nothing but admiration.

Most of you will have heard of Alexander the 'Great'. He led a massive army to India and conquered many states. However, the Hindus resisted so rigorously that he never managed to fully conquer India & was forced to retreat back to Greece, a fallen & broken man. Historians refer to him as 'great' but he never managed to conquer Bharat due to the bravery of the Indians. After his death, his successor attacked India once again. However, he was destroyed easily as the great Emperor Chandragupta had united the whole of Bharat & fought the Greeks as one nation. This ideology of unity was crucial to their success & is something that we must achieve again today. The defeat of the Greeks was the 1st Glorious Epoch of Indian History.

However, a century later, the Greeks attacked again. This time they succeeded in conquering many parts of India - the reason being a lack of unity between Hindus & the spread of Ahimsa, non-violence. This concept of non-violence is beautiful but one must remember that there is always a time & place for such virtues. The great epics of the Ramayana & Mahabharat have taught us that we must be humble & seek peace but if war is necessary to overcome evil & bring righteousness in the world then we must not shy away from war; a message that India at the time had forgotten. It took the valiant Emperor of Pataliputra, Pushyamitra to lead a revolution & defeat the Greeks once and for all. This was the 2nd Glorious Epoch of Indian History.

Around 150 BC India was surrounded by groups of barbaric tribes - the Sakas & Huns. After 100 years of war, the Sakas had gained much territory in the north of India. During this time the Pataliputra empire had been lost. It took the valour of Samudragupta, often referred to as the 'Indian Napoleon' to overthrow the Sakas & reestablish a Hindu state. After his death, his younger brother, Prince Chandragupta destroyed the Sakas for good & united the whole of India. He was given the great title, Vikramaditya. The vanquishing of the Sakas was the 3rd Glorious Epoch.

The 4th Glorious Epoch of Indian History was Yashodharma - the conqueror of the Huns. The Huns were even fiercer than the barbaric Sakas. They had occupied land & slaughtered many from China to Rome. Their first attacks on India were paralysed by Prince Skundgupta & they retreated before they attacked again 40 years later. At this time, Skundgupta was an aging Emperor but he continued to fight even though his brother was plotting to dethrone him back home. He died valiantly in battle with the ethos, 'an Emperor must die standing'. The Huns caused havoc in northern India & continued to do so until an adventurous youth, Yashodharma organised neighbouring states to unite & fight the Huns under his leadership. They did so & overthrew the Huns in 528. It is important to note at this point that the south of India was unconquered for 1300 years - only the north were subject to constant attacks; mainly Punjab & Gujarat. However, after the defeat of the Huns, India remained independent for over 500 years!

The first major Muslim attack on India came 50 years before Mohammed Bin Kasim but was put down easily. However, Kasim's invasion in 711 was successful & he initiated large scale massacres in Sindh. Most historians ignore the fact that despite this defeat, the Indian nation defended its independence for over 300 years. From the year 1000 the epic Hindu-Muslim wars began. In the early years, the Muslims won most the contests & converted, killed & destoryed many temples along their way. However, there were many heroic figures in our history who fought to protect their motherland. The likes of King Jaipal & his son Anangpal; Sambhaji; Guru Teg Bahadur & many other of our Sikh Gurus fought till their last breath. It is crucial to note that it was during these years of war, killings & mass conversions that created the present day caste system. The issue of conversion caused divide amongst Hindus & they were obsessed with 'purity'. Therefore, they did not integrate with other communities in order to stay 'pure' & this was the basis of the caste system. Thus, we must ALL remember that the caste system has NOTHING to do with Hinduism & was a social phenomena which led to the demise of the Hindu samaj.

A counter offensive began with great religious reformers & intellects such as Maharishi Deval & Acharya Madhatith. They taught the Hindus new religious thoughts, new weapons & reminded them of the bravery that lies in each in and every one of us, the soul. Maharishi Deval lived between 800-900 & abolished the ban on reconverting Muslims who were originally Hindus. He also criticised the caste system & empowered the women of the time. He was largely followed & thousands reconverted back to Hinduism - he led a political & religious triumph which was crucial to reducing the power of the foreign aggressors. Acharya Medhatith continued to spread Deval's teachings & taught of the glorious days when Bharat was united. He proposed a treaty whereby if one Hindu state was attacked, another must come to its aid. So while the north of India was under constant attack, the south was still independent & Hindu philosophy had spread in countries like Burma, Thailand & Maldiva.

In 1320, an event took place which gave much confidence to the Hindus to overthrow the Muslim empire. A young Hindu child was taken slave under Emperor Alludin & as was given the name, Kushrukhan. As he grew up he became a great warrior & political leader & eventually ran the administration. However, he did not forget his Hindu roots & along with the Sultanate of Delhi, Devaldevi, also a Hindu, they plotted the downfall of the Muslim empire & on 15th April 1320, he was declared Emperor of India & declared it a Hindu state. Although he was defeated a few years later, his exploits were not futile as he raised Hindu morale. Taking inspiration from him, a Hindu state in Vijaynagar was established in 1336 & led to great figures in our histroy such as Emperor Harihar (Maharajadhiraj), Bukka, Hemoo, Queen Durgawati & Rana Pratap Singh.

The rise of the Sikhs also added to India's conquest of national independence. It was Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Guru that militarised the Sikhs into a powerful force. To do this he wanted fearless warriors & introduced the 5 kakkas - kesh, kangha, kaccha, kara & kripan. He began to reclaim many Muslim states until a large Moghul army led to his army's retreat where both his young children were caught & cruelly buried alive - they were offered the chance to convert to Islam to spare their lives but they refused. That was the pride & love that they had of their religion; a love that was so strong that they gave up their lives for it. After his defeat, Guru Gobind Singh settled in Maharashtra where he composed lots of poetry & was later compiled as part of the Dasham Granth. Despite not liberating India from foreign rule, Guru Gobind Singh was key to forming a powerful force that India could use to oust the Moghuls from Punjab.

The 5th Glorious Epoch of Indian History was the fall of the Moghul empire & it arose largely due to the great Marathas. 4 great Heroes were born in Maharashtra & they were aglow with the fire of war & arose a whole generation of brave warriors. Shivaji was born in 1627 & during his lifetime the tide of the epic Hindu-Muslim war changed; from the 17th century onwards whenever they met in battle, the Hindus were always victorious. The great Marathas liberated India from Punjab to Kanya Kumari. The principle of their strategy was aggression & guerilla warfare tactics. Every time they conquered territory, they moved on to a different state & liberated them too. The brave Marathas fought valiantly for the freedom of Bharat & should never be forgotten.

Along with the Muslim invasion, there were also many European attacks on India including those by the Dutch, French, Portugese & British. The latter two being the most severe & brutal. After toppling the Muslim power, the Marathas ruled & fought bravely from 1818-1850 to try & hold back the British. A decade had not yet passed after the British victory when King Ranjit Singh of Punjab led a joint Hindu-Muslim revolt against them in 1857. Both sides suffered great losses but the British prevailed & Queen Victoria was proclamed Empress of India. They promised to treat all Indians equally & so offered them jobs & educated many in British schools. However, these British schools taught a perverted version of Indian history & Hinduism to 3 generations of Indians. Hence, the many misconceptions that Indians have of their own history & faith even today! Due to the British appeasing the Indian public, the period between 1860-1900 was rather stable with many believing India would only prosper under British rule. However, 1900 saw the beginning of the Lokmanya Tilak movement & millions followed the Hindutwa organisation - a movement for the solidarity of Hindus to fight an armed revolution against the British. The British realised that they were losing the support of the public who were are ready to rebel at any moment. In addition, a 50,000 army led by Subhas Chandra Bose was ready to attack & the Indian Army, which was under British command were beginning to show signs of mutiny. The British had no choice but to give back India & on 15th August 1947, India was declared an independent state.

Despite the numerous problems in India today, we must all remember that after 2,500 years of attack by foreigners, Bharat still stands strong. Which other country has had this much resilience? Taking inspiration from the great heroes in our culture will help India strengthen & realise its potential as a global super power.

Setback

While looking at the Nutritional Content of SSV I thought why not attempt to try and solve the problem from a more grassroots level i.e. by trying to implement a healthy eating scheme within Shakha. However there is a big difference between having an idea, talking to others about it and actually going ahead with such a plan. From talking to others there seemed to be a positive reaction to such a scheme yet when it came down to the crunch everyone had things to do on that particular day.

It does become slightly dis-heartening when you put in effort to try and change things even slightly and yet the response isn’t there and although I did feel like this for a time I decided there is no point in ruing the chance but instead to create another chance and look at what can be improved upon to make sure this does not occur again. So I’m trying to strip it down to basics and think what would entice me to such a scheme...

Graduation

Graduation is a strange time, emerging from the student slumber and awakening into the ‘Real World’. Up until this point we have been coaxed and guided into certain paths yet by the time you throw your mortar up to the heavens, you are expected to know which path you would like to continue to follow.

For me personally it was only during the final year that I started to actively think about my future and my career for myself rather than simply following what had been set forth in front of me. Many of us are set on auto pilot and although we like to think we decide a great many things for ourselves these decisions are cropped and shaped by others. Thus there is an element of conditioning which occurs resulting in individuals wanting a high paying job in order to purchase a large car/house/clothes/gadgets etc.

I observed this through conversations post graduation with many questions being monetarily centred which seems to be all too telling of our society at the moment where revealing your aspirations to be larger than simply receiving a large pay check to be somewhat strange and not fitting in with people’s expectations.

This may have arisen through the desires of individuals increasing up until they reach a point where when such desires are met, no happiness is felt from them. This is paralleled in a story within “The Kite Runner” where Amir (the protagonist) writes about a man who finds a magical cup and when tears fall into the cup they become pearls. By the end of the story the man who started off poor but happy, tried to find ways to make himself cry and ends up with his wife lying next to him and a knife in hand crying uncontrollably.

Progress and Problems?

Whilst researching for different ways of taking the Sangh Sandesh Interactive I have compiled a short questionnaire to aid in my research which can be found here:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=tJuAfY3FSD4xt2sJjfiRZg_3d_3d

The questionnaire and its answers shall enable me to hone the wants and needs of swaysevaks and sevikas in relation to the Sangh Sandesh. The main problem shall be the time limit in which responses can be taken as if responses are taken too late I shall not have enough time to research the feasibility and act upon such points.

With regards to the Nutritional content of SSV the main problem I have faced so far is assessing the calorific content of such foods since there are many websites and walkthroughs on how to calculate the calorie intake of most ingredients yet when it comes down to Indian dishes this task is much more difficult. Especially since with Indian dishes there are generally no set ingredients with most participants that I have asked on how they create the same food giving varied answers. This is another obstacle which has to be overcome in some manner.

Time

On Tuesday 16th July I experienced a couple of hours of panic-driven madness. I was working on the logistics of one of my projects, which by the way is a samiti promotional video, and I was quite content with the plan I’d laid out for myself for that evening. It soon transpired that this plan of mine was not to be, for one of the key links in the chain had fallen through. In my anxiety I could not think clearly, but in the end I blundered into making a new, rather flawed plan. Having literally missed the train, I spent ages lamenting the failure of the evening and the fact that the targets I had set for myself would not be met. And running round my brain were those odious words, “should’ve", "would’ve", "could’ve”. What a waste of time! Thinking about it now, in my present state of relative level-mindedness, it is starting to dawn on me just how often time is ill-used. From the beginning of this Sangh Internship Programme we had been supplied with bounteous tasks to get done, which on paper seems ridiculous and frankly impossible to achieve in so short a time period. Having said so, by taking into consideration my behaviour of the Tuesday just gone, I can see that though I was putting a lot of effort into the work, I was actually getting very little done. Instead of acknowledging that nothing more could be done for that one task and moving on to the next, I wasted time faffing about- I just couldn’t let go! Writing this now, I am reminded of what Eknath Ranade writes in Sadhana of Service:
“Life is a gymnasium where you have to display the best that you possess within the short time allotted to you.”
Whether its a hundred years, fifty years, one year, or even a month, the time we have when we have the capacity to work is precious, and not a moment should go by when you simply think that “there’s always tomorrow…”

Sadhana of Service

With most film or book adverts these days they all seem to say, 'must watch!' or 'must see!' Sadhana of Service by Eknath Ranade is most definitely one of those MUST read books!!

Sadhana can be translated as devotion. A simple example to illustrare devotion is the unconditional love that a mother gives to her child. When serving others, sadhana is the stage that we should all aspire to be at - we serve unconditionally.

The book covers many topics such as the urge to serve, bravery & cowardice, India as a nation, faith, organisation & individual freedom. The issues that intrigued me the most in the book, however, were the chapters on living a purposeful life and the mission of life.

Throughout the book, Eknath states that we must live a purposeful life. To do this, we all must ask ourselves, 'what is the goal of my life?' and 'what is the meaning of my life?' Until this question is recognised, we are 'like a boy who believes that it is the tap that gives water.'

As a student, these are the types of questions that we often avoid. The daily questions that we are posed with are often those like, 'we sessioning on bacardi or vodka tonight??' We are absorbed in our own little world, thinking of only going out and having fun - I admit, I've fallen into this trap to a certain degree but after reading this book, asking myself 'what is the purpose of my life?' is something that I've tried to address.

In Hinduism, the purpose of life is to become self realised - realise the divinity that is within every individual. Our scriptures clearly tell us that it is up to us as to which avenue we should follow to reach our goal. Finding my avenue is something that I've been pondering deeply. One way to live a purposeful life is to serve God by serving humanity to the best of our ability. But this begs the question, 'how can we serve others whilst living in an affluent country such as the UK?' Does it require us to move to India & do work there?

This is a question that I am still grappling with. What I've concluded so far is that if we live our lives abiding by our morals, use our conscience and faculties to discriminate between what we feel is right and wrong and always think how we can contribute to the betterment of the world then we can live a purposeful life. This can be something as small as smiling at someone who walks by; being a friend who people can fully trust & never speak ill of anyone.

The book has posed many questions and those which I will continue to probe. The last chapter finished quite beautifully with:

'You can safely rely at all times on your own self for the fulfilment of your mission. There is a power within you which will never let you down. It is your own Self. Depend on it and march ahead with unceasing prayer to God to give you strength to fulfil his will.'

RULES, RULES, RULES

As part of my project for Strengthening the Sewa Shop, I have been given the task to find out about recently implemented legislation on matters ranging from health and safety to returns policies.

The amount of law on such matters is absolutely staggering. In one sense it is beneficial. The legislation ensures that all organisations follow and abide by a given standard. This is particularly crucial for matters such as fire procedures as most people have the view, 'it won't happen to me.' Therefore, by introducing laws, it forces people to take action and try to avoid this stereotype.

However, a lot of it is highly unnecessary for example having a 'No Smoking' sign which must be 77mm in diameter. Much of the legislation is there due to the 'suing' culture we live in today. It is a sad state of affairs that the such far fetched measures must be taken just to avoid being sued. This thought led me back to the TED videos we watched at Abhyas Varg B:

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/barry_schwartz_on_our_loss_of_wisdom.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

It begs the question are all of these rules and regulations stemming creativity and reducing the need for us to think? We merely follow a set of rules given to us; mainly out of fear of being sued. But why has this suing culture arisen? Do we not care about our fellow man? Do we take great pleasure in taking from them? What are the motives for taking others to court - greed, revenge, want free money? A common feature to all of these motives are that they arise from material or egotistic desires.

From interviewing and meeting many different Hindu Organisations over the past few weeks, the answer to this may lie in some of our most ancient scriptures - Lord Krishna told us that focusing our minds on God helps reduce the ego; raja yoga enables us to search within and find answers to our lives and become more spiritual. Perhaps a more spiritual society is needed to cure the suing culture that we live in today.

Change...

While trying to contact all the Vibhaag Karyawaha's spread nationally. I realised that even if I do reach my goal of a few names for each resource from each Vibhaag, the helpfulness of the data would be minimal. This is because the few names that do turn up, are probably the ones that everyone in the specific vibhaag turns to when in need of that particular resource. Therefore, inline with the project brief of 'Hidden' resources. I've decided to change my focus from national, to my local Vibhaag level, This will allow me to plunge deeper into the depths of the unknown and find resources that are rarely used or known about. So far, this has gone quite well, as I've found approximately 30 people who are not regular swayamsevaks, but know about Sangh and have skills that will definitely aid Sangh. In continuing my quest, I'll be visiting many swayamsevaks who have not attended Shakha in year, in order to find more and more resources. A great by-product of this project for any Vibhaag is the rekindling of Sangh contact with some who may have shied away from Shakha.

A further difficulty I've encountered, is that when asking for two contact numbers, simply to be thorough, the majority of people I've called are only willing to provide one number. Though this is not ideal, it is something I have no control over and have to happy about.

I'm Starving

As part of my second project, I’ve been assigned with helping improve the Sewa shop in Birmingham. Before today I had never seen the shop and after hearing many stories about it, I thought I would be in for a tedious day, but I was wrong. Today involved me helping making the store look more presentable, talking to the volunteers and listening to their stories and spending time learning about the way in which the shop’s administrative side is managed. It was very informative and will aid me greatly for my project.

However, I was not prepared for what was in store for me in the evening. Dipvandana took me to feed the homeless in the city centre. She’s been trying to get involved in more community projects and I feel this is something that all of us should do in our local area.

After getting slightly lost amidst the one way systems in the city centre and because of road blocks, we parked up on a side street and walked towards the car park where the food was to be served. When the food arrived, a swarm of people surrounded the car and I immediately thought, ‘what have I let myself into?’ but the people were courteous, kind, generous and in good spirits despite their bad luck. What struck me the most was that they were all willing to help each other out, ‘that’s the only way we survive’ Tim said. Another homeless gentleman said, ‘this is the nicest curry I’ve ever had.’ This struck me hard. The meal served was only daal, bhaat; the simplest Indian meal you can get and one which we all take for granted. It made me realise how unappreciative we all are and take the simplest things in life for granted which for others is a God send. It’s absolutely throwing it down with rain tonight, I hope Tim and the others find a safe place to stay.

Step Your Game Up

The afternoon session of Abhyas Varg B was designed to give us the tools to enable us to push ourselves further and aspire for excellence. We watched a video from the TED website – an organisation that does talks and seminars spreading innovative and creative ideas.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/barry_schwartz_on_our_loss_of_wisdom.html

To push for excellence, he motions the idea of ‘virtue’. To illustrate his point he gave the example of a hospital janitor. His job description does not involve one aspect which requires human interaction. However, when interviewed, many janitors gave stories of how they ignored orders and parts of their job description in order to help patients such as helping them with their rehabilitation. So, despite not requiring any social interaction as part of their described role, many janitors feel it is necessary to do so and this helps the hospital run smoother and create a pleasant environment.

So values such as kindness and empathy are an essential part of their job. A wise person requires the moral will and moral skill in order to do the right thing and knows when and how to make an exception to every rule. A wise person is adaptable and changes according to the situation.

A wise man is made, not born. Wisdom comes from experience and this requires trying new things and accepting and overcoming failure. To be brilliant, you need not be wise but without wisdom, brilliance is not enough.

Applying the above to society today, we see a world full of compliance and bureaucracy. Rules are rigid and we often hear the phrase, ‘I hate to do it but I have to follow rules.’ Has it occurred to us that rules often prevent thinking and initiative? Rules and incentives are useful in the short run but in the long run they deprive thinking and discourage people from using their moral will and doing the right thing.

But this structured and regulated society we live in is rife. Today’s education system hampers creativity and promotes mediocrity. Children are losing their ability to think and their creative prowess is diminishing. I, like many other university students can relate to this. To pass our exams, all we do is memorise a few lecture handouts and read the core textbook (obviously, not just the night before the exam!) and once it is finished, we forget everything that we learnt. As a result of the current education system, we often lack initiative and struggle to adapt to working life which is fast paced and ever changing.

To address this issue, the speaker spoke of how the education system needs revamping in order to promote creativity and forward thinking. In addition, work needs to be re-moralised – people should be inspired to do the right thing and this requires moral will and initiative. Furthermore, social interaction is needed to gain a greater sense of community spirit.

In many of our lives, we will be faced with the following dilemma – do we follow the rules given or do we use our moral will and do the right thing?? What would you do??

Adding Value...

Each day of every SIP Abhyas Varg begins with mind cleansing Safai and Mantras. Safai is performed in the mindset that we should always leave a place in a better manner than when we arrived thereby ensuring your marks is left. When someone enters the place after you have left, they should feel your were there. During Safai we try to identify areas where we can add value, in this case we are looking to add value to the Karyalaya, OUR Karyalaya. The building should give swayamsevaks who visit it a sense of pride and belonging. Just in the same way that a multinational corporation's state of the art head office does. Beginning a day looking to add value in everything we do, is a great benchmark to set, always striving to see where we can fill gaps and be better in all aspects of life. The experience of Safai in SIP has spurred me on to do tiny little things in my life. Such as picking up an empty can if I see one on the street, rather than kicking it down the road assuming someone else will sort it out. Or at home, when normally I have to be told to pick washing off the line, or dry dishes, now I am actively looking to see opportunities where I can help out, or add value, and then I simply do them. An extremely inspiring video detailing an example of adding value whenever you can, not simply because it aids you, is this. The little boy who tries moving the tree by himself has no vested interest in clearing the road. He could quite easily walk around it, yet he sees a problem and decides to do something about it. Can we be like the boy? Or will we sit on the sidelines assuming someone else fill fix things?

Conviction...

A question that we ask many a time within our own circles is: how do we instil conviction of the organisational mission within our Swayamsevaks? One method I have been experimenting with, is providing inspiration in the form of stories about great people. Simple graphic novels with morals behind them, such as Amar Chitra Katha, small books such as the Bharat Bharti series (Available from Hindu Sahitya Kendra) and full blown biographies are all sources of inspirational stories on great people such as Guruji, Jijabai, Shivaji Maharaj, Swami Vivekanada. These great people lived in a way befitting an example of our mission, and exposing swayamsevaks to their experiences and deeds is bound to inspire a deep conviction. Baudhiks at Shakha are a good platform for telling of such stories, role playing stories and doing anything else creative that provides the underlying message of the lives these great people lived. As members of Sangh, we too have a responsibility to be a living example of our mission. We cannot afford to have separate lives, for example, one at Shakha where we do not swear or mess around and are generally beacons of society, and one outside Shakha, where we act in a completely different manner altogether. We must act in a way that 50 years from now shikshaks will look back on our lives to draw inspiration for their students. If we do not, shikshaks will forever be referring to the likes of Shivaji Maharaj. Though his story is immensely inspirational to us, young swayamsevaks are slowly losing the ability to relate to someone from such a different time. We need people leading by example today, not just at Shakha, but 24/7.

An Inspiration, A Leader

In the morning session, we discussed greatly about the topic, leadership. We discussed the different types of leaders ranging from inspirational to spiritual. What was unique about the discussion was that we talked about how shakha creates leaders; how it identifies leadership and how it taps into this potential. Having attended shakha for many years, I had never discussed this topic and had always assumed that leadership was a quality that shakha just nourishes, without a second thought.

After being split into groups, we set about answering the questions posed. Having never examined the structure of shakha and how it develops our character, I found it difficult trying to pin point the aspects that I felt develop our leadership skills. However, with greater thought, ideas began to flow readily.

After reminiscing about my younger days as a swaymsevak (I’m still only 20 so still class myself as youngster), I realised that the whole shakha environment is aimed at nurturing our leadership skills. At first, this may sound ludicrous – for most people, the purpose of shakha is to play games, have fun and make new friends. Although this is true, there is something deeper to shakha and with further introspect these answers can be found.

Firstly, as swaymsevaks, we subconsciously learn the art of leadership by being led by others. Not only do we pick up the way in which they lead and organise activities, it also shows us the importance of respecting our elders, an ethos which our religion promotes greatly. Secondly, the environment of shakha encourages us to become leaders. Playing games such as kabadi exhibits skills such as teamwork and communication – skills which are crucial to becoming a leader. Therefore, even with no given responsibility, the seeds to becoming a leader are already being planted.

Camps and vargs such as SSV & SIP are designed to further enhance these leadership skills. Learning about the history of Sangh; gaining greater knowledge of Hinduism and being taught how to take shakha instils a sense of pride, discipline and commitment; again characteristics required of a leader. With these new profound skills, it should lead to introspection and conviction – one should realise the higher cause of shakha, uniting Hindus and emphasising the importance of serving our community to the best of our ability.

Another fundamental feature of a leader is that they must be inspiring. Shakha infuses this by having passionate baaudhiks on great figures in our history such as Shivaji. Admiring such great characters and implementing their qualities into one's life builds character. One meaning of inspiration can be, ‘to breathe life into another.’ It is a feeling or an emotion which is critical because it informs us what we value and this moves us to act. This act should be selfless and out of devotion (sadhana). A unique feature of leadership is that it is self inspired – it comes from within.

I often feel this is a quality that many Hindus lack. Looking back in Indian history, we have always had to rely on one leader, one inspiration such as Swami Vivekananda to lift us out of darkness. Why is it that we always require an individual to inspire us? Why can't we be bold and have the inspiration from within us to act? It is this area in which I feel shakha can help develop leaders by giving us the tools to search for inspiration from within. However, it is an arduous task and one that we all must ask in order to find our true inspiration.