Hindu Youth Camp Begins!
July 25, 2011 • Children & Youth
Good evening from Morgantown, West Virginia where 55 Hindu youth have gathered with Dandapani and Muni Natarajan (and camp coordinators) for a week long camp. The focus is the study of Hinduism and to have a joyous time with fellow Hindu youth.
A typical day sees campers in an hour long hatha yoga and meditation class starting at 7am. Then it’s breakfast followed by classes from 9am to noon. Then lunch and an afternoon full of activities. After an early dinner, we get together for bhajans/kirtan (devotional singing) followed by half an hour of question and answers that usually takes place outdoors. Among the topics covered in class today were ‘Looking for a guru to guide your life?’, ‘Seeking to understand the mind?’ and ‘Don’t know what to do next in your life?’.
Dandapani is also discussing with the youth in each of the classes about ‘Hindu Parenting’. “What is your advice for being a good Hindu parent and why?” is the question that he has been posing to the campers. And we’ve already gotten some wonderful answers which we will share with you shortly.
The classes this year are based on lessons from the book “Gurudeva’s Toolbox for a Spiritual Life” by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami which is published by Kauai’s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii. The practical timeless wisdom contained within this book focuses on sharing practical insights and spiritual tools for challenges that most people face in daily life.
Question of the day from a young camper: “What is Michael Jackson’s karma like?”
Muni taught the girls hatha yoga and meditation in the morning while Dandapani taught the boys.
Muni teaching a class.
One of the afternoon activities today was to create tie dye t-shirts. The result some creatively colorful t-shirts and hands!
Bhajans in the evening.
Campers enjoying the evening bhajans.
Dandapani leads a question and answer session with the campers in the evening.
New York kids use meditation for better performance
On Monday I shared how I conducted a class on Hinduism to 44 5th graders at the Village Community School in New York City. The class also included a 5 minute guided meditation. Today I received a very sweet testimonial from the teacher sharing how the meditation had influenced the students. How i...
Read MoreSiva Bhajans/Kirtans
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.
Read MoreMusic & Dance merges African and Hindu cultures
Watch video highlights from an unforgettable afternoon of two and a half hours filled with African music and dance as Hindu and African youth gather for an unplanned unity of two cultures. Special thanks to Nana, Mwatabu Okantah and Olu Manns for helping facilitate this. To know more about this c...
Read More
Unity, the Beat of a Community
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 ...
Read More
