CHENNAI, INDIA, January 23, 2007: The following report was submitted by Prithiviraj of Chinmaya Mission on their one-week youth camp in Coimbatore which concluded on January 1, 2007:
Soft morning sunshine and the warmth of the 1,008 names of Prabhu welcomed our hearts to a new day, a new year and a new beginning. Seven days, seven powers, one full week of contentment, love, devotion and understanding. Our first global Chinmaya Yuva Kendra (Chyk) intensive camp culminated with 70 youth doing Maha Vishnu pooja in early morning on the first day of the year 2007.
It was an unforgettable week of pure devotion and deepest inspiration. Each day Swami Swaroopananda, assisted by Br. Rishi Chaitanya, spoke to us about a different Deity. He explained the symbolism of the forms of the Lord and their deeper Vedantic significance. We were entertained by the beautiful Puranic stories and left in awe of their powerful deeper meanings. Swamiji explained that in the science of iconology the subconscious mind relates so easily to pictures and stories. We remember these far more readily that definitions and philosophy. Our great rishis and sages knew the power of symbolism to teach us the highest philosophy.
Swamiji emphasized the importance of having our own Ishta Devata and the need to emulate all their qualities in our lives. He emboldened us with willpower and strength when he described all the amazing qualities of our Shri Hanumanji. All the devatas had blessed him with all their powers and he is also none other than Shiva incarnated.
The seven days were intense, up at 5:30am, Vedic chanting at 6:00 am, three one-and-a-half hour talks per day, discussion groups, afternoon workshops, evening aarti and post supper entertainment.
On day one we learnt about Lord Ganesh. We had fun looking at nature and noticing his form everywhere, in the trees, clouds, mountains and anywhere. Under the guidance of a master sculptor we all made our own lord Ganeshas from clay. That evening we took the murtis to the Lord Ganesh mandir and had satsang. Later in the week we celebrated Ganesh Utsav and immersed Him in the waters symbolizing that from the formless comes form which then goes back to the formless.
We had major fun celebrating all the festivals one after the other, even though this wasn’t the normal time of year for any of them. The festivals included Divali, Holi, Navratri, Shivratri, Krishnajanamashtami, Onam and Ganesh Utsav.
On Divali we had a rangoli competition, looked at Ramayana at the park (Ramleela) from Australia, we burnt Ravana and had a full fireworks display late into the night. Swamiji also joined in the fireworks fun. After we celebrated Holi and attacked each other with colorful holi powder we burnt Holika. We each took a sankalpa to give up a particular fault, so we wrote it on paper and burnt it in the fire that night. The highlights of Onam were eating on banana leaves and a traditional dance done by the girls. For Navaratri we had garbha and dandia and of course Chyks need no excuse to dance, they dance for everything.
On the last day we celebrated Kkrishnajanamashtami. Everyone worked hard to create a Krishna yatra full of episodes from Shri Krishnas life. Along the way we killed our inner rakshasas and had ras leela with the Lord later that night. At midnight we welcomed baby Krishna into our hearts.
The daily discussion groups were an integral part of our learning experience. They were inspirational and enlightening. After the long talks by Swamiji we had an opportunity to chat, share ideas, encourage each other and, of course, make new friends. Our discussions always continued into the dining hall as we enjoyed the best of Indian cuisine. The food was really excellent and we were genuinely humbled by the dedicated service we received from all the staff at the Coimbatore international residential school. They represented real seva in action.
Probably the best aspect of the whole camp was all of us as a group. The warmth and love generated, the lasting friendships, and wonderful memories of an inspirational week cannot be expressed in words. It’s just something to deeply cherish, appreciate and be thankful for. Our week together as a group engaged in sat sang and devotion generated an energy field that was intoxicating and overpowering. Devotion to the Lord is definitely the greatest high.
The full week Chyk intensive camp was truly inspirational and an amazing way to end the year 2006 and welcome the new year 2007. We formed Global Chyk and aim to have many more worldwide Chyk events.