CHYK-WEST BOARD MEMBERS
Our Teachers
Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda
Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayananda
Swami Ishwaranandaji
Swami Prakashanandaji
Brahmachari Uddhavji
(CHYK-West Coordinator)
Secretaries
Dr. Sapna Sutaria
(CHYK-West National Secretary)
Region: National
Mr. Pritesh Kot
(CHYK-West Webmaster)
Region: Canada
Mr. Kaushik Bhatia
(CHYK-West Treasurer)
Region: Midwest
Ms. Swetha Bharadvaj
(CHYK-West Graduation Coordinator)
Region: West
Mr. Vishaal Gupta
(2007 CHYK-West Camp Coordinator)
Region: South
Dr. Sameer Murali
Region: Southwest
Mr. Smaran Gollamudi
Region: Northeast
Newsletter Editors
Pritesh Kot & Komal Agrawal & Pooja Gupta
Message from Br. Uddhav Chaitanya, CHYK-West Coordinator
Hari Om!
I am glad to see that Chinmaya Yuva Kendra West is starting this newsletter. So I take this opportunity to firstly congratulate them and to also announce that Pujya Swami Tejomayanandaji has appointed me as the new CHYK-West Coordinator.
As a coordinator I would like to bring it to everyone’s attention that the rich tradition of Sanatana-Dharma, Chinmaya Mission, and Chinmaya Yuva Kendra call upon us, the youth of today, to take up as our responsibility to live a life of dharma and to live standing as a role model for the generation ahead.
We have just started as a group. We need to change from being a crowd to being people. To achieve this we need to start thinking about the following:
1. Know our own talents,
2. Tap into our own talent pool,
3. Unite as a force to lead the generation.
In order to achieve this we need a few basic steps:
1. Create CHYK awareness in our own mission centers.
2. Create CHYK groups within our mission centers.
3. Not all mission centers have acharyas or people oriented enough to handle the CHYKs - hence the necessity to train hand picked CHYKs to answer the need.
4. Creating uniform programs and events for all the CHYK chapters to
route their energies into.
5. Have camps at regional levels to act as training, conferencing and for spiritual upliftment.
With all this in mind, I invoke Pujya Gurudev & Guruji's blessings and also Lord's grace to bring out our best. May HE bless us all. Hari Om.
Message from Dr. Sapna Sutaria, CHYK-West President
Hari Om!
We are excited to deliver the first issue of the CHYK-West newsletter! The creation of this newsletter is a reflection of the growth and development of the CHYK organization in North America. Our hope is that this publication serves to inspire CHYK activities and to unite local CHYK groups across North America.
To begin, I will provide a brief introduction to CHYK-West. CHYK stands for Chinmaya Yuva Kendra. Its members represent the youth wing of Chinmaya Mission. CHYK was launched in Bangalore, India in 1975 under the guidance of Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayanandaji. CHYK activities and study groups now also exist worldwide. CHYK-West is the umbrella organization for all CHYK groups across North America. Our objectives include providing a spiritual forum for young adults, and to help youth develop a sense of unity and purpose while realizing their potential. Current CHYK-West activities include local study groups, biweekly Skype classes with Swami Ishwaranandaji, seva projects, cultural programs, social activities, workshops, and national/regional camps. We are also working to compile a member database of all CHYK members in North America and to standardize the CHYK high school graduation ceremony across centers.
In this issue, you will find several articles written by fellow CHYKs about the National Camp in December 2006. CHYK activities at camp included daily discourses led by Swami Prakashanandaji, bhajanas led by CHYK, a CHYK-West Board meeting, CHYK-West informational speech, and a CHYK social event. Perhaps the most raved about event was the cultural evening program hosted by the CHYKs. With only two days to practice, the CHYK group successfully delivered a brilliant production, involving ~100 CHYK members from across North America! If such a powerful achievement could be accomplished through the organization, creativity, teamwork, and dedication of 100 CHYKS in two days, imagine the possibilities…imagine what all CHYK groups across North America could collectively accomplish in the upcoming year!
For more detailed information about CHYK-West, I encourage you to visit our website at http://www.chykwest.com. The site contains a treasure of information—you can learn more about the organization and our objectives, access articles, contact your regional CHYK secretary, learn about local activities in your area, join the biweekly Skype classes, and even listen to melodies by Swami Prakashanandaji! Most importantly, you can learn how to get involved!
I leave you with our Gurudev’s vision for CHYK: “It is a time when the youth of this modern world have to discover their hidden potential and tap it to the maximum, thus unfolding them into a beautiful personality and making them capable of contributing towards the process of societal growth.”—Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayanandaji
Love and Om,
Sapna Sutaria
The Power of Teamwork
In August of 2006, a group of Chinmaya Yuvakendra (CHYK) was given the task to host a night of entertainment at the December Spiritual Camp at Moody Gardens. The CHYK group had never before been entrusted with the complete responsibility of a production. They would be the creators, developers, overseers, and participators. This being the first ever CHYK Night, no one knew what to expect.
Audience members that evening attested to the fact that the CHYK West group delivered far beyond expectations. The execution of the event was the least of the impressive feats; the dazzle factor lied in the show's subtleties. There was a raucous introduction of all attending Swamijis and Chinmaya Acharyas, which brought the audience to its feet in an uproar. Reminiscent of the starting line-up at Houston Rockets' basketball games, the introductions incorporated lines from the Chinmaya pledge along with biostatistics: "At guard, guarding against all low tendencies and false values, standing 5-6 from Houston, Brahmacharya Bhas Ji." Swami Tejomayanandaji was called the "head coach of the Dream Team, coaching us to stand as one family." The security team, led by Sri Hanumanji, escorting the chief guests of the evening were identified by their standard black "Shaanti Service" emblazoned t-shirts. The main event for the night was a game show titled "Who Wants to be a Missionaire?" a combination of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" and "Jeopardy." The hosts kept the audience's enthusiasm alive by making everyone a participant. The game show was punctuated with original commercials created by CHYK members. The "Spiderman Saves Mumbai" trailer showcased the powers of meditation to rid of the infamous Brown Rakshasha, while the CHHYYQQE (pronounced "sheek" fashion show debuted the latest spiritual trends. Ending on a high note, a parody of the famous Master Card commercial reminded everyone of a much stronger message: "Providing maximum happiness to maximum people for maximum time: priceless."
It was with the can-do spirit instilled by Swami Chinmayananda and our acharyas, that this CHYK West group astonished the congregation. CHYK West was empowered by the faith placed in them by the Chinmaya acharyas and camp organizers. CHYK conveyed Gurudev's message in an entertaining fashion. The group has shown a promising start in the establishment and empowerment of the Chinmaya young adults demographic. Let this be a guiding example of creativity, teamwork, leadership, and determination that CHYK West sets out to accomplish.
~ Pauravi Shah and Rohith Nandagiri
Upcoming Events
Bi-Weekly Skype Classes-Current Text: Self Unfoldment
Sign-up Instructions online
Email to skype_class@chykwest.com to get on class list
Reflections: A Perspective
Being from the Rio Grande pueblo of McAllen , I was initially neither too familiar with Chinmaya Mission itself, nor aware of what the 2006 camp would entail. Yet, I can honestly say that this spiritual camp has been one of my most amazing experiences. From the overall organization and accommodation of seven hundred people, to the carefully planned evening programs, to the beautifully decorated walkways, every detail was wonderfully handled. As a member of CHYK, I was surprised by the amount and the quality of work we were able to produce as a group. We may have had nothing in common at the beginning of camp, but by the end, we shared the memories of our masterpiece evening production, which was a great success. I was also inspired by the teachings of Swami Tejomayanandji and the in-class discussions with Swami Prakashanandji. These discussions wandered over a wide range of topics, but Swamiji's answers were always direct and offered in such a way that we could understand them based on our life experiences. In the end, the valuable memories and teachings that have followed me home are what I will cherish the most about this Chinmaya Mission camp.
~ Pooja Koolwal
A vaulter runs to the bar, uses his pole to reach the maximum height and finally releases his pole to jump over the bar. Similar to the vaulter, who does not carry many things with him as he tries to jump over the bar, humans should get rid of their bad vasanas, or bad tendencies. However, we must keep the good tendencies to help us along the path towards moksha, enlightenment, just as the vaulter must keep his pole to make that final jump. Once we have reached a certain state, we must then also let go of all the good vasanas to finally reach moksha just as the vaulter has to release his pole with ease once he has reached a certain "height to make that final jump. This is just one of the many examples that Swami Prakashanada used to help us understand the Vedantas from Yoga Vasistha in a manner that was easy to comprehend and relate to. The CHYK class at the Houston camp was full of discussion and stimulation. Swami Prakashananda related to the youth very well and tried to help us learn how to bring the ideals of the Vedantas into our lives. He is a very powerful and influential speaker and his words always resonated with me after class and throughout CHYK discussions. I think sometimes as youth it is hard to incorporate certain things that you learn in class into your daily lives, but Swami Prakashananda made you realize that there are steps that we can start to take as youth to help us reach moksha Love, compassion, hard work and acceptance are all things that we can practice as youth as we continue on living our lives regardless of the situation placed before us. Practicing these ideals helps make us resilient and bring us closer to the final goal in life, moksha . It is important to block out any negative social pressures and influences from family, friends or work and live a life that is true to oneself. As we do not have a CHYK group in New York City, this was my first experience with Chinmaya Mission. Words cannot express the impact the classes had on me, but I do know that through this week long experience, I have gained a deeper spiritual understanding that will help me to lead a more meaningful and fulfilled life.
~ Paayal Desai