Tattva

“If God is everywhere then why do we go to temples? What’s your take on inter-religious marriages? Is it realistic to adhere to Gandhian principles in today’s world? Why do Hindu values become popular after the west embraces them? How is homosexuality viewed in Hindu culture?” - These are just a few examples of the interesting discussion topics at Dwarka Shakha - a Hindu young adult group that meets every Thursday near the Washington Square Park in Manhattan. Attended by a combination of university students and young professionals in the greater New York City area, Dwarka Shakha is a unique opportunity that allows participants to regularly engage and learn about their Hindu roots.

What: Dwarka Shakha (Yoga, Surya Namaskars, Games, Shlokas, Discussion/Debate, Niyuddha - Indian martial arts and other fun stuff…)

When: Every Thursday, 6.30pm - 8pm

Where: Studio near NYU

Games build a sense of teamwork and friendship in Shakha

The activities at shakha broadly fall into two categories - Sharirik (or Physical) and Bouddhik (or Intellectual). We start off with a warm up session which sets the tone for the next 45 minutes of sharirik (physical) activities. These include Surya Namaskars (Sun Salutations), Yoga, ‘Plank,’ Games and Niyuddha (Martial Arts). Plank is an ab-exercise where one lies face down on the ground resting on one’s elbows and toes. As such it can be a painful position to stay in, for more than 30 seconds. We try to make it a little interesting by assembling everyone in a circle, facing each other (as shown in the picture) and making each person speak for about 5 seconds to add on to an imaginary story before passing it on to the next person in the circle.

The remaining 40 minutes is allotted for Bouddhik (Intellectual) activities. This starts with a shloka session dedicated for learning one new shloka every week - we not only focus on the right pronunciation but also try to understand the Sanskrit words that make up the shloka. This is followed by a discussion session which is undoubtedly the most popular bouddhik activity. As mentioned before, we have some very interesting discussions on a wide variety of issues ranging from hindu scriptures to current affairs. After this we have a brief info session which could involve a talk about some famous personality, a short story or an interesting article. With all the activities we take utmost care to make sure that everybody enjoys the participation and gains something useful. We also rotate the responsibilities of conducting the various activities among everyone to ensure all-round development of everybody involved.

“It was really nice to be there! We enjoyed it a lot, we were all actually very impressed with how organized it was and how the whole thing seemed to move like clockwork.” - Srilekha, an undergrad student member of a Columbia University group that visited our Shakha.

While the schedule may seem loaded with activities, at the end of shakha, you most often leave feeling relaxed, energized, and hungry for food. So we get together to go for dinner at a nearby restaurant. The dinner is simply a time for us to relax, unwind, and become friends with people who we would have otherwise likely never met. Topics ranging from witty brainteasers to lame jokes are all part of a fun and entertaining conversation between friends.

“Growing up in India, you take a lot of things about hindu culture for granted - whether it be our scriptures, shlokas, festivals or customs. Shakha gives me a chance to question, understand & explore them in greater detail and eventually develop a better knowledge of my culture.”- Ravi, a young professional

Other than our regular get-togethers every week, we take part in sewa (social service) activities like ‘Meals On Wheels’ - a program that delivers meals to individuals (mostly senior citizens or disabled individuals) at home who are unable to purchase or prepare their own meals. We also have a lot of fun events like a picnic in Central Park, trip to a ski mountain or a Zakir Hussain Concert.

Every week I look forward to shakha because it’s an activity that enables me to learn, unwind, discuss, and socialize. Shakha is a portal that allows me to explore Hinduism through various mediums like yoga and charcha.” - Priyanka, a student

One of the specialities of our Shakha is the  ”Dwarka Digest” - A weekly digest e-mail that consists of short and interesting tidbits related to Hinduism. It usually consists of some or all of the following:

- A mini quiz titled “What’s your Hinduism Quotient.” Readers reply with their answers so that we can keep track of their overall rankings and post it with each Dwarka Digest issue to promote some healthy competition.

- Links to an interesting video and an interesting article

- “Something Interesting about Hinduism” - A short blurb written in prose by someone at Dwarka shakha about an interesting reflection they had about Hinduism.

- “Did You Know?” - Highlights some interesting bullet points facts about Hinduism.

- A shakha cat, modeled after the hugely popular lolcat phenomenon and a fun ‘fake quote’ that usually speaks about Dwarka Digest’s brilliance.

Check out a sample Dwarka Digest here.

While most young adults are busy partying away at a Thirsty Thursday happy hour, we at Dwarka Shakha continue to get more and people who are interested in what we do. Initially, most people come to shakha feeling uncertain or skeptical, but the structure of the shakha is very open and allows people to learn by immersing themselves in a variety of activities and then simply learning through experience.

“After a week of hectic work schedule and pressure, Shakha serves as an outlet for me. It refreshes my mind, makes me think everything other than work, meet people who have almost similar tastes, network and also help develop a spiritual myself.” - Prabha, a young professional

-Report by Dwarka Shakha Team

 Email This Post

 

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 10th, 2010 at 12:10 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.