Last weekend, a group of 20 yuvas and yuvatis (13 from SJSU Yuva shakha and 7 from Sunnyvale Yuva) went on a trip to downtown San Francisco on the occasion of Swami Vivekananda's janma divas. San Francisco was one of the cities visited by Swami Vivekananda during his pravas to US. Soon afterwards,a local chapter came up as the Vedanta Society of Northern California.

We had taken a prior appointment to meet Swami Prabuddhananda, President of the order. Aged about 80 years, he insisted we sit while he stood and then talked for nearly an hour on Swamiji's life and his message to youth. Hearing him speak with such energy and conviction was very inspiring for all those who were present.

Afterwards, we told him about HinduYUVA and the upcoming Surya Namaskar Yagna. We presented him the exhibition book 'Hindu Culture and Dharmic Traditions' as well as HinduYUVA brochure and a SNY poster. In his speech, Swamiji had emphasized a great deal on physical well being complementing spiritual well-being and particularly liked the idea of SNY. We took his blessings and took his leave.

After meeting him, the group went on an enjoyable hike in the nearby Muir Woods National Monument Forest, famed for its tall redwood trees. All in all, a weekend well spent with yuvas !

Pics of the trip can be viewed here: http://picasaweb.google.com/bhore.vijay/HnduYuvaSFTrip?authkey=Gv1sRgCI-...