Monday

Another exciting year of the Shiva Mandir’s 10th Annual Hindu Heritage Youth Camp has begun. This year’s theme was Lord Krishna, the enchanted journey towards knowledge, Dharma, and devotion. There were 152 students who have registered for this year’s camp. After everyone found out what group they were in, and caught up with good friends, the commencement of the camp finally began. The camp was officially opened by Pundit Bimal Maharaj who led us in prayer. Following that, we did our morning mantras, Jaap, and meditation led by Aunty Vashti Ramsumair. The mantras were to tune our minds to get us energized for the day. For Jaap, we chanted the mantra, “Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya” 21 times. Not long after Aunty Lalita Maharaj and Aunty Sati Persad began to familiarize us with the Gita Dhynam. In order to get our minds and bodies relaxed, Aunty Shoba Ramsumair guided us in the Surya Namaskar and Yoga. After the break, my fellow campers and I acquired knowledge of Lord Krishna’s life from Aunty Vashti, from the unfortunate circumstances he was born into to the great warrior he grew up to be. Later on in the day we were taught a few verses from Sakhee Dheere Dheere, a Lord Krishna bhajan. Furthermore, Aunty Lalita educated us on the basics of the Hindi language. Then, all the campers were informed of the names and symbolism of Lord Krishna by Aunty Lalita. Next came a chance to show off our art skills with Rongoli. Each group was given cups of different colored rice to decorate a symbol of Lord Krishna. The result was exquisite; there were brightly colored flutes, crowns, and peacock feathers. Moreover there were outdoor games for the boys, and Bhangra dancing for the girls inside. The day ended with devotional prayers.

Tuesday

Today, I believe that I have learnt more about Lord Krishna than I could have ever learned in my life. The day started off by gaining knowledge of a Raas Leela, a play dedicated to Lord Krishna’s time with the Gopis. Through Vaani Maharaj’s detailed presentation, the other campers and I now know what a Raas Leela is, how it is presented, and the spiritual background behind it. Aunty Vashti spoke about the 9 tenets of Hinduism which comprises of what our religion is based upon. To deepen our knowledge about the Bhagavad-Gita, we were given an in-depth lecture about Lord Krishna and Arjuna on the battlefield. For people who consider math a living nightmare, Uncle Desh Seepersad taught us Vedic math tricks to speed up our time with multiplying, squaring, and cubing numbers. Now we know why the calculator wasn’t invented back then. According to the tricks, all calculations can be done within seconds.

Wednesday

Our camp was lucky to have an active member of the Hari Krishna Movement, who came and informed us about what he and his followers do. The Hari Krishna Movement dedicates their entire life to promoting the teachings of Lord Krishna and the Bhagavad-Gita. We learned that the Hari Krishna followers chant Lord Krishna’s name using a mala of 108 beads 16 times. That adds up to 1,728 times that they chant Lord Krishna’s name everyday! This shows how much they cherish Krishna. Not all bhajans are in Hindi, today we learned of one entitled, “The Message of Lord Krishna in the Gita.” It was an English song about what Lord Krishna said to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurushetra. In the afternoon, the sweat pants and T-shirts were replaced with saris and dhotis. After everyone changed, the tassa set the stage for a fashion show. Girls and boys took turns walking down in pairs showing off their new look.

Thursday

Teenagers and kids in general are faced with a lot of insecurities in today’s society. To help us conquer peer pressure, Uncle Vishnu Sharma gave a very interesting presentation on just being ourselves. He explained how it’s easier to be a follower than a leader. A follower goes with the flow without a thought as to if what they are doing might end up costing them everything. Uncle Vishnu gave us a very good example of an intelligent, pious, and well-mannered teenage Indian girl. She had every going for her, even the thought of someday entering the field of law and then she did something that ended up taking her life. With each sip of a drink that she took one night she slowly killed herself. It goes to show that everyone does something to make themselves look good to be in a certain click, they are afraid that if they stand out they will get teased. If God made each and every one of us equal, we should treat everyone the same too.

Friday

Since all the adults had a chance to present something to the camp, it was only fair to let the kids have their turn too. Each group was given the name of a saint by Aunty Shoba and a description of the research that was expected to be done on that medieval devotee of Lord Krishna. This exercise was very enlightening. I had the opportunity to learn about 11 saints. Some of them I have heard of and some were new, but now I completely understand how they became a saint, and their contributions to the world. After lunch, came the famous, most anticipated debate. The topic this year was “Is technology a hindrance to leading a spiritually fulfilling life.” The winner ended up proclaiming it was not a hindrance. This debate is the most crucial time of a student participant in the camp. A couple of years ago, I took part in it and it was no joking matter. Every night you stay up late compiling research on top of research and collaborating all of it together to make a winning argument. Once you go up on the podium all eyes are on you and everything that you say is being judged and timed. Moreover, while the other side is making their arguments you have to pay close attention and think fast as to what your rebuttal will be when it comes to your turn. The debate was well argued, everyone did their best and is recognized for having the courage to stand up in front of the entire Mandir and present their case.

Saturday

After learning so much about Lord Krishna, the only thing missing is how to worship him. With the guidance of Pundit Mahendra Maharaj, all of the campers were able to successfully complete a Lord Krishna pooja. Pundit clearly explained all of the steps we had to perform and the meaning behind them. This way whenever we have the opportunity to perform pooja, we know the materials needed and the prayers that go along with it. Later on in the day, we were taught how to create a Krishna murti out of clay. Following the instructor, everyone made their own version of Lord Krishna. Some overachievers even went beyond that and built the cow and Makkhan (maa-kan) or butter Krishna is affiliated with. To help remember this year’s camp, each child received a blue T-shirt which features the theme. In conclusion, this year’s camp was a great success. I am very grateful to have received a great deal of information at this camp about our rich, thriving Hindu culture. This is the one place where one can truly have fun while learning simultaneously. I thank all of the teachers and presenters who through all of their hard work have enhanced our knowledge regarding Lord Krishna, and our religion, Sanatan Dharma. This week has gone by swiftly; it feels as if yesterday was Monday morning where we all started to get settled in. Now I will leave you with a quote by Swami Vivekananda. “To my mind, our religion is truer than any other religion, because its mouth always shed on all, words of blessing, of peace, words of love and sympathy. It is here and here alone that the ideals of toleration were first preached. And it is here and here alone that toleration and sympathy become practical.”