Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, Southern California Vibhag had organized University/Yuva Sanghik on Saturday, Feb 26 2011 at the lush green campus of University of California, Irvine. 42 young men and women from 8 University Campuses of Southern California namely USC, UCLA, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, SDSU, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge and Cal State Long Beach had assembled on this unusually cool afternoon. The sanghik started at 3.30 pm with ‘Parichay’ (introductions), which was followed by three novel games on the lawns by the library. The stimulating and energetic games built a sense of camaraderie amongst the swayamsevaks which was conducted by Sreevidya and Mandy. The ‘shareerik’ continued further with 13 ‘Surya Namaskar’, ‘Ardhakatichakrasan’ and ‘Veerbhadrasan under the lead of Vaibhav Ji and Hardik ji

After the shareerik, everyone gathered inside the hall for the second half of ‘geet’ and lectures. The swayamsevaks were taken on an emotional journey as Santhosh Prabhu ji sang the Sanghik geet ‘Mati Hamari Pooja’ and the participants followed. This was followed by a thoughtful lecture by Dr. Jayant Lokhande Ji on ‘Tantrayukti – The methods of learning and gaining knowledge as described in Ayurveda.’ In the question-answer session, swayamsevaks asked interesting questions about Ayurveda.

After the break, Balu Shastri ji introduced the participants to the project ‘Yuva for Seva’, a volunteering opportunity for youth of US and Canada. After another rendition of ‘Mati hamari pooja’ the ever captivating Vinod Shastri ji talked on ‘Why HSS: Why this sanghik.’ He rightly said that the shakha is a unique platform that provides us continuous reminders and motivation to stay on the path that goes beyond worldly temptations
The Sanghik concluded with Dhwajapranam and Prarthana. Snacks were enjoyed at the end over casual chitchat.

Pictures of the event can be viewed at the following link.

http://www.hssus.org/gallery/v/WCOAST/SoCalVibhagUniversitySanghik/

Smita Gautam Suryawanshi