Issue: Jul 2014

Campus CornerConnecting with Bapa

Swamishris VicharanPrecious Moments

Satsang ArticleNC13 Reflection

The news has spread like wildfire; excitement levels have never been higher. Bhakti, seva, taap, and agna/niyam levels are peaking and overflowing beyond what we all thought possible. Many have found their own jarukho with Swamishri but now that jarukho will be filled with Swamishri Himself! What seemed like absolutely impossible is now less than 2 months away!

Every few seconds, our phones vibrate with a new message, a new picture of Swamishri asking if we are ready for his visit, his plan that was so expectant for him yet unexpected to all else. These are the ways of Swami, divine ways that only he can explain to all. He is never bound by anything, as to see a limitation in him of any sense is pure manushyabhav. He is beyond age, beyond human body, beyond health!

During the recent sant shibir that just happened in Sarangpur a month ago, during one of the evening sessions that the P. Santo had with Swamishri in the garden, Swamishri was asked to repeat in English:I am Akshar.I am Brahma.I am Atma.I am Shriji Maharaj.I am Gunatitanand Swam.I am Bhagatji Maharaj.I am Shastriji Maharaj.I am Yogiji Maharaj.I am Pramukh Swami Maharaj.I am Narayanswarupdas.

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SwamishrisVicharan Precious Moments

Swamishri said all of them in English except I am Pramukh Swami Maharaj. Now, before moving forward though, it is essential to realize and remember that Swamishri doesnt just say anything; he says only what he wants to say. Even in passing or even while laughing, whatever Swamishri says is the truth and will come true! Sometimes we may feel that Swamishri is just saying something to make us happy or because we asked him to, but he will only say what he truly wants to say and what is the truth. Many times, it is to give us the smruti that Swamishri humbly accepts our request and says what we ask him to but he doesnt have to do that! So Swamishri IS Akshar, IS Brahma IS Atma, IS Shriji Maharaj, IS Gunatitanand Swami, IS Bhagatji Maharaj, IS Shastriji Maharaj, IS Yogiji Maharaj and IS Narayanswarupdas! He is all of them all-in-one! It is this divine personality who will be in Robbinsville less than 2 months from now!

But there is more to the prasang than just this. Swamshri said he is Narayanswarupdas but he didnt say he is Pramukh Swami Maharaj. Now, both are the same individual - just referred to with a different name. But if we look at what the words mean, we understand just how sharp Swamishri is, always has been and always will be! Pramukh Swami means president while Narayanswarupdas means das of Bhagwan. Swamishri has always been Maharajs das and his whole life has been one of complete humility. While Swamishri knows that Pramukh Swami and Narayanswarupdas are both the same, he only said what he truly is and that is Shriji Maharajs das! At 93, nothing can ever get passed Swamishri, nothing ever has, and nothing ever will! This is who we have attained and who will be present in front of us less than 2 months from now!

So now it is time to prepare for his journey. As Swamishri blessed the UK with his surprise visit in 2006, 8 years from then, today in 2014, Swamishri continues his surprise vicharan! He continues it for us! He is all-in-one! Now, lets ensure we are all ready mentally and increase our jodan with him as much as we can before he arrives so when we get that smile from him, we will know that we deserved it! But more importantly is not to just strengthen it for this trip, but this is something for a lifetime with the first steps starting now...

It is important that we continue to pray for Swamishris health so he is able to make this trip in August and give us his laabh.

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SwamishrisVicharan

5NC13 Reflection

Sculpting my life with Bapa

Walk at whatever pace you want, just dont walk backwardsThe journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

A step Shastriji Maharaj took that thousands will never forget

He left Vadtal with only oppositionBut that didnt stop him from carrying out his decision

He set out on his journey to do the impossibleSpread the Akshar Purushottam Upasana as if he was unstoppable

It was 107 years ago that he had the courage to take actionWe wouldnt be who we are today if he didnt follow his passion.

Deep Patel (San Jose, CA)

Exactly one year ago, many of us took a monumental step; a step to become Ekantik. With the grace of Swamishri, we all had the opportunity to gather in Atlanta for NC13.

If I had to summarize NC13 into a few words, it would be that Swamishri is the only constant within my life. As Swamishris kishores and kishoris, we have all been given the necessary tools to succeed. We are the stone, the chisel and the sculpture; using these instruments/tools, it is up to us to continue to mold our life with Swamishri.. Through the sessions by P.Santo, classroom activities with our group leads and talking to other delegates around us, we were all able to truly understand Swamishris presence in our life, along with how to be courageous and take action to ensure that we become Ekantik.

6NC13 Reflection

NC13 was a life changing shibir for thousands, including myself. Attending NC13 ignited a passion and a fire within me, shifting and impacting my life in numerous ways. Primarily, I feel that the messages from this convention have really helped me to shape my personal satsang.

First and foremost, the strength and inspiration that I gained from NC13 has led to an increased focus in my puja and a spike in my interest for bhajan-bhakti, katha varta, goshti and more. It has helped me understand the importance behind creativity in Satsang, and why it is important to think outside of the box when it comes to personal Satsang.

Additionally, NC13 has helped me to draw parallels between my life and Satsang. In other words, it has helped me keep Satsang in all of my day-to-day activities. Doing this allows me to constantly remember Swamishri in everything that I do. Its common for us to forget Satsang when we do the things that we love to do the most. Our minds become completely engrossed on whatever were doing and nothing else. If we just take a moment to try and connect doing what we love to Swamishri, it enables us to make a connection to him that we might not have noticed before. Every single daily activity we do can trigger us to think of Swamishri if we just take a moment to think. Doing smruti of Swamishri stops becoming a thing that we do at a set time; instead, it becomes something that happens all the time. NC13 has helped me to do this. As such, my passions/hobbies and my satsang life have stopped becoming two separate things. Instead, they are both a part of my singular life with Bapa. P. Anandswarup Swami mentioned that If remembering Bapa is free of cost and if remembering Bapa is priceless, why not do it?. In this way, as P. Anandswarup mentioned, NC13 has really helped me to attain the priceless.

7Campus Corner

Many kishores that live on college campuses are not able to attend their regular kishore sabhas on the weekends. So, how can these kishores continue to develop this intense love for the Satpurush, if are surrounded by a completely different atmosphere from the one they grew with at home? One way a kishore can maintain his Jodhan with the Pragat Satpursh is to stay involved in Campus Sabhas. At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the 8 kishores on campus take on different responsibilities for their campus sabhas to ensure their personal satsang maintains firm. Whether it is planning an outing, helping out with dinner, or singing during sabha, the kishores all have connected and developed friendships that keep them going on their personal path to pleasing Bapa.

Not only has involvement in campus sabha influenced kishores to keep Satsang as a priorty in their life, but also has allowed kishores to develop other essential skills as well. For example, older kishores on campuses have paved out the roads to become sucessful for younger kishores to take. They have acted like mentors to help the underclassmen with their class schedules, involvement on campus and networking abilities. This samp truly ignited because of campus sabha!

Connecting With Bapa

SE Summer Shibir

#sem3h

Following the success of North American Convention 2013, Ekatik: My Life with Bapa, the summer of 2014 saw the years major summer event return to the regional level. From June 12th to June 15th, over 785 kishores, kishoris, and volunteers from 23 centers across the southeast region sacrificed their time, money, and summer plans to attend the BAPS Southeast Summer Shibr in Atlanta. The shibir focused on the overall spiritual theme of My Mandir, My Home.

Centered on the fundamental teachings about the importance of the mandir and how it is our home, kishores and kishoris ranging in age from high school to college students learned that the mandir is a special place where they can develop and consolidate their identity in a personalized and supportive environment, feel confidence and solidarity in pursuing their spiritual goals with like-minded individuals, find an outlet to serve society, and charge on the energy of Bhagwan Swaminarayan and their guru Pramukh Swami Maharaj through bhakti rituals. A kishore affirmed,

#sem3h (Southeast Summer Shibir: My Mandir, My Home)! The first week of summer kicked off with a solid week of summer shibir! To learn what what we need to attain His (Swamishris) rajipo...To understand the legitimate way to do darshanTo live for the Pragat SatpurushTo become ekantik #thaiyeSwamiJeva. Aap Rijho em Raaji...To learn that our Mandir is our Life support our Life Line My Mandir My Home...

The mandir felt more like and ultimately became home for every kishore and kishori that attended. In fact, almost every attendee felt like the Atlanta mandir was his or her home, as this fellow kishore expressed,

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9SE Summer Shibir

This is MY MANDIR, and this is MY HOME! This is the place that teaches me, nurtures me, guides me, helps me, inspires me, and improves who I am from within...

Through discourses from santos such as P. Amrutnandan Swami, attendees experienced insights from these spiritual concepts found in Hindu scriptures and emphasized by Shastriji Maharaj nearly 100 years ago. Participants learned that the mandir is as relevant in their lives as going to school, because it is a place where they can learn life skills as well as progress in Satsang. They learned that by coming to mandir more frequently for seva, samagam, and bhakti, they would be able to create jodan with Bhagwan Swaminaryan and Swamishri. In fact, a kishore decided to elevate his bhakti by doing a better mala as he learned from one of his group sessions: I will start doing my mala like Muktanand Swami did.

Furthermore, the attendees learned that it is imperative for them to share their lives - the good and the bad with Bhagwan and their guru so that jodan is constant and growing. Lastly, the kishores and kishoris participated in a number of cultural activities, practical workshops (group sessions), and special programs including cultural dances. The kishores and kishories truly felt that mandir is a place of solace for them. They found comfort in mandir, as it is THEIR home and walked away knowing that The one place that I know will always be there for me Mandir.

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Education

With so much of our lives dedicated to school, we find it difficult to find time for mandir activities. Over the last few months karyakars have been receiving acceptance from universities across the nation. Last month a few of these karayakars stories were portrayed, however there were several more karayakars who received acceptance to top tier programs. One of these karyakars is Yogeshbhai Kanjee from San Antonio.

Yogeshbhai graduated Sum Cum Lade from University of Texas, San Antonio with a 3.99GPA. He received a bachelors degree in both Architecture and Sound Engineering. This fall Yogeshbhai will be attending University of Texas, San Antonio doing his masters in architecture after receiving VIP admission into the program. UTSA is known as one of the best graduate programs for architecture. In addition to going above and beyond in school Yogeshbhai also excelled in mandir by doing hundreds of hours of seva.

Yogeshbhai was a sanchalak at San Antonio mandir, but with his talents in the Audio Video department and architecture, he has also put in countless hours helping with audio video design and drawing production for Mandir projects in North America, Australia and Hong Kong.

A 3.99 GPA is close to essentially flawless and requires 100% dedication and effort, hundreds of hours of seva for fellow haribhaktos requires sincerity and selflessness, yet through the krupa of Maharaj and Swami, Yogeshbhai was able to be extraordinary in both seva and education. Yogeshbhai exemplifies a perfect karyakar. His education was never used as an excuse to avoid seva, rather his education benefitted with his excellence in seva. If so many karayakars are able to do hours and hours of seva and excel in their education, why cant we?

Why Not Both?

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NE Regional Site Seva

On the auspicious day of June 7th, over 370 kishores, from across the Northeast, gathered in one location with one goal in mind. In 51 days, on August 7th, when you see the float that you helped set up for Shobha Yatra, when you see the stones you dusted, when you see the dance that captures our utsah, when you see the flowers you planted or the roads you dusted, you will be sure to see the rajipo in Bapas eyes, and that is when you will know why this Satpurush is the one. At that point, the Mandir Mahotsav ni Jay will be done, but the Akshardham Mahotsav countdown will have just begun.

But until that moment of glory, 51 days still remain in our story. This is our sadhana, this is our calling. This is the new chapter of BAPS, the new monument for all of eternity. Now we must begin the climb, shake off the distraction slime, and make this our primetime.

Make this our hashtag, make this our mindset, make this our drive. Put Swamishris ruchi at the forefront of our mind, so that missing this opportunity is our only crime. Get in on the grind, so you can make history for all of mankind.

Lets take a moment to reflect upon this unforgettable weekend through the video below as well as through notes which provide us with the essence of Pujya Tyagvallabh Swamis words of wisdom. Through the group picture, may we all grasp the concept of Samp and realize that although we may be full of over 370 kishores, we do seva for one person and one person only: Pramukh Swami Maharaj.