Nestled in southern New Hampshire, is a small community that makes up the NH seacoast chapter of Chinmaya Mission. 

Even though the community here had a common cultural interest, there was that missing driving force that binds people together. With Chinmaya Mission coming into their lives some 5 years ago, there was new enthusiasm and energy that drives the tight knit community today.

“We had our humble start in the year 2015 in the town of Dover, NH with the objective of helping children learn the values with fun and imbibe these values in a very loving and joyous atmosphere”, say the parents of Adi and Sara Kolli.

As families came together to bring their kids to Bala Vihar, it also provided the adults with an opportunity to join Adult Satsangs, a study group where the adults listened to and reflected on various scriptures like the Bhagavad Gita. This is led by Venkat Pula, one of the sevaks at Chinmaya Mission and a long-time member. These Satsangs allow like-minded seekers to come together, discuss spiritual texts and topics, and serve as an inspiration for personal practice.

“Even though we are a small community, we have parents with different skills and it only added more color to our Chinmaya activities” says the parents of Vaishnavi and Vaibhav Satti. With parents volunteering for these activities, the chapter has conducted Tamil (early years) and Telugu language classes as well as music lessons and Yoga classes.

Over the years the community has come together to conduct rangoli (floor traditional art) competition which gave the women an opportunity to cherish and value the vibrant culture and experience the joy of traditional Indian celebrations right here in New Hampshire. This competition was held on the occasion of “Godha Kalyanam”, the celestial wedding of Lord Vishnu and Andal. The opportunity to perform this celestial wedding was the first of such events in the Seacoast chapter.

One other annual event that the kids look forward to year after year is the Ganesha idol making event for Vinayaka Chaturthi. Many volunteers come together to help make the Ganesha clay idols. Parents enjoy making their own Ganesha, while young volunteers and Bala Vihar teens conduct workshops for kids to make their own miniature Ganesha. “It is absolutely satisfying to see the joy on the kids’ faces (and adults) when they complete making and decorating their own Ganesha to take home and perform puja (worship)”, say the parents of Sruthi and Sahithi Mallela.

The entire seacoast community often comes together to perform the celestial weddings and ceremonies at a grand scale. One such event just before the pandemic was the “Shiva Kalyanam”, the celestial wedding of Lord Shiva and Parvathi. This occasion was graced by Pujya Swami Shantananda ji, which included performances from Bala Vihar kids and was attended by over 300 local and regional attendees.

Another Chinmaya activity that is well liked by adults and kids is the opportunity to chant Bhagavad Gita and learn new bhajans week after week under the guidance of Vidhya Bhat.

Despite the pandemic, the Seacoast chapter has not slowed down. The parents, teachers and children have settled into a new online structure and attend their Sunday classes on Zoom. There is a fierce enthusiasm for learning and singing new bhajans during assembly much to the delight of parents and teachers. With the support of parent volunteers, teachers and Chinmaya online resources, everyone is working hard to make the classes more engaging and fun. Just like with all Chinmaya Mission centers around the US, this is also a purely volunteer run organization.

The Seacoast chapter is small, but definitely growing and coming together as one family bound to each other with love and respect. In the past year alone, the center has doubled its strength and seeks to grow even further, hoping to have their own physical center sometime in the next few years. Until then, the incredible volunteers and teachers work hard to sow the seeds of spiritual values in young hearts and light the lamp of knowledge that was first lit by the founder of Chinmaya Mission, Pujya Swami Chinmayananda.