Tattva

Case Western Hindu YUVA chapter was created in April 2009 with one common goal: Seva. With the help of Professor Sree N. Sreenath and Dr. Sudesh Agrawal, Case Western Hindu YUVA has grown into an organization that focuses on the Self and the Selfless aspect of our existence.

“Of all the thoughts that rise in the mind, the thought ‘I’ is the first thought.” –Ramana Maharshi

In the fall of 2009, Case Western Hindu YUVA began to organize student visits to West Park, Cleveland to help a group of Bhutanese refugees. Our Bhutanese brothers and sisters have lived in internal exile for fifteen years under squalid conditions and lacking basic necessities under the power of the then newly elected King. Under his power, the Lhotshampas were denied education, the ability to move and reside within Bhutan, join the public service, own property, and were not allowed to practice any lawful trade, profession or vocation. In early 2009, close to eight thousand Bhutanese arrived in the United States from the disgusting refugees camps they had known for fifteen years. As they were picked up in one country and dropped off in another, the Bhutanese entered a New World and a new way of life. Imagine yourself stopping everything you are doing at this moment right now and being told that you are being transported to an environment you have never dreamt of living in. Understanding the Bhutanese condition and the attention they needed, Case Western Hindu YUVA took the lead in Cleveland to help the Bhutanese by whatever means possible.

As we were ready to wrap up our booth at the annual student activities fair last August, Dr. Jessica Gerard, Director of ESL, approached us curiously to find out what our organization was about. I, being an enthusiastic individual, explained to her the purpose of our organization and what we aim to do. Marveled by our goals and ambitions to make a difference in the community, Dr. Gerard met with our advisor, Professor Sreenath, the next day. In the following week we started English as a Second language classes in the Bhutanese’s apartments. In addition to the ESL Classes, various students from Case Western Reserve University have taken part in making a difference in these Bhutanese lives. Whether it means to help them navigate through computers, filling out their FAFSA and Tax Return forms, or simply talking to them about American culture and lifestyle, the Bhutanese have been given a stepping stone which they can use to propel themselves higher into society. As one Bhutani mother explained to me a few days ago, “from the time we came one year ago, till now, the biggest thing we have gained is strength and hope. This is what we have more of now, we are happy that you are here to help. We feel happier, we have more strength”.

The first event Hindu YUVA at Case conducted was an event called Vinaya Vidya, which aimed to educate the Bhutanese on understanding the American Education System. It was a comprehensive event that gave high schoolers and college-going students an opportunity to meet with invited counselors from the local community college as well as YUVA volunteers who presented power points on how to get into college. A year later, half of the Bhutanese who were at the Vinaya Vidya program were enrolled in either a local community college or a state university. Hari Pyakurel, one of the leaders of the Bhutanese community recalls that “the Vinaya Vidya program and the Cleveland State University program was really helpful, I have saved enough money now to slowly pursue my interest in Chemistry, I am thankful for many people who have helped me in this pursuit to live the American Dream”. Hindu YUVA came to understand, that if one Bhutani takes charge in applying to a university, earning a drivers’ license, or for that matter even filling out the FAFSA form, the entire community learns to do it. And as Sagnik De, treasurer of Case Hindu YUVA says, “as second generation Indian undergraduate students whose parents have struggled to provide all of life’s desires and necessities, it is our simple duty to help these people reach their full potential”.

Along with the individual one-on-one help Case Western YUVA volunteers do every weekend, we have also held two major events for our Bhutani brothers and sisters. We have provided the Bhutanese with a venue at Case to celebrate their Dashain Festival. Through this festival, the Bhutanese were able to enjoy Indian food, show their traditional culture by singing and dancing and having a great time celebrating who they are and remembering how far they have come. As Kapil Mishra, a Bhutani living in Cleveland Heights, puts it “we are very thankful for Sewa International and Hindu YUVA for their help in allowing us celebrate our festival and show our culture, we have come to realize the effort it takes to put this event together and as a community we learned how the system works.” The following month, a course on Sudarshan Kriya was conducted by Art of Living at Case. While Art of Living normally charges $400 for this course, they generously gave this stress-relieving course to the Bhutanese for free. We have come to understand through our volunteering that many of our Bhutanese need time to help recover from the trauma that have effected them mentally and physically during the past two decades in exile. And thankfully, over two hundred Bhutanese participated in these two events.

Apart from the selfless service concept of Seva, the Hindu YUVA chapter at Case has also been focusing on the Self. The great Sage Ramana Maharshi once said, “of all the thoughts that rise in the mind, the thought ‘I’ is the first thought.” So we asked ourselves, why are we doing this? For what reason, for what purpose? As a result, we held a Demo-Lecture Speaker on Campus event at Case where alternative medicine Physician and Philosopher Dr. Indranill Basu-Ray spoke about the Science of Meditation. An hour of the event was focused on the medical benefits of Yoga and Meditation and its effects on the human body. The following hour focused on applying the meditation technique. After this seminar, we then took a major step and started a weekly Shakha here at Case Western, where our goal was to focus on the ‘I’, or the true Self. During this Shakha, we mainly try to focus on understanding the self through our Meditation. We start off with a Prarthana, and then describe the type of meditation we are doing, and then have a discussion on what we felt during the meditation, followed a few more minutes on updates on our external activities with the Bhutanese, and finally close with Prarthana. What captivates the YUVA chapter at Case is the central part of our Shakha, the meditation. With the guidance of Dr. Agrawal and PhD student Jayant Avva, we have continuously explored various techniques of meditation and have had a great influence on the student life here. So much so that many Hindu YUVA members not only just do meditation when we meet at our Shakha but conduct and lead meditation activities in their dormitory buildings, library study-rooms, study-breaks, and other key venue found in the life of a college student. Following the meditation, we engage ourselves in deep discussions about the Self-Inquiry teachings of Ramana Maharshi, the Advaita Philosophy of Adi Shankaracharya, and the meditation techniques presented in Patanjali Yoga-Sutras.

As we look ahead towards our second semester at Case, we have several events planned to help spread our values throughout the community. Our first is a Benefit Dinner to raise money for scholarships we are trying to provide for the Bhutanese Refugees. By providing them with scholarships, the financial burden of college can be lessened. In addition, we plan on having an event that has never taken place on the Case Western campus before: Guru-Vandhana. Through this event we plan on bringing our culture and tradition to the campus in addition to raising awareness on the divine relationship between the Guru and the Disciple. As our final goal stands, not just to help all but to serve all, we will continue to work towards establishing the Dharma in our society. Since we are second-generation Indian Americans, we have a duty to make a mere effort to carry on the traditions, culture, samskara, sampradayas, and padatis that our parents have brought to this country. In our pursuit to establish dharma thousands of miles away from Bharat Mata, we hope to make a difference in our Self and the Selfless.

Sai Santosh Kolluru is a sophomore at Case Western Reserve University studying Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. He is President of the CWRU Hindu YUVA chapter and works with Sewa Int’l on the Bhutanese Refugee Empowerment project. He enjoys Cross Country, Track & Field, and studying the Vedantas.

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 12:02 am and is filed under YUVA News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.