Over 200 children and adults ranging in age from just a few years old to grandparents spent a Saturday together at a Karma-Yoga Conference held at MassBay Community College. Organized by VHPA, the Conference attracted the attention of another national organization MMNA, whose youth group named RAYS along with some MMNA families, traveled from across the country to participate in this educational Conference. The theme of the Conference was the concept of Karma-Yoga expounded by Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. The famous disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekananda has given the twin ideals of India to be Renunciation and Service: the corner stones of Karma-Yoga. The practice of Karma-Yoga allows a person to be actively calm while being calmly active. When individuals are serene but active within a community then the community becomes united and strong with the people living in harmony. And when the communities are peace loving then the nation as a whole becomes united and strong. Hence, world peace begins with each and every individual becoming centered in Self and as a consequence fearless.

The Opening Session began with the Ekata Mantra (Song of Unity) as all people are really One. There followed Sri Saraswati Vandana, which is humble prostration to the Vedic symbol of education and literacy. The purpose of Vandana Bhakti is to destroy the ego-sense and to become humble. We pay homage to Sri Saraswati who dispels our ignorance and doubts and brings light of knowledge to bear in our lives. The welcome address by Dr. Carole M. Berotte Joseph, President of MassBay, spoke to the need for unity and peace among all people. It is not just enough to speak of peace and unity but we all need to play our part however small it may appear to us. Education is the key to remove the fear of other, of the unknown, so that all can live in harmony with their neighbors near and far. Two youth speakers, one from Salem High School and the other from Eastern High School, Voorhees, New Jersey, spoke about the Ideals of Karma-Yoga. The first guest speaker, Sri Gadadhara Pandit Dasa, the Hindu Chaplain of Columbia University conducted an interactive session on the Meaning of Karma, relating his personal experiences.

After the Opening session, each youth attended three break-out sessions, each session further broken out by different grade level. The various grade level sessions were designed to allow youth at a similar maturity level to engage in discussions on the pre-determined topics related to the main topic of Karma-Yoga: The Science of Action. The sessions were: Action and Consequences, Living Fearlessly by Right Actions, Goal of Life, Destiny vs. Self-Effort, Disciplined Living, Svadharma, Karma and Self-Actualization, Good vs. Bad actions, Karma and Dharma, and Social Good vs. Individual Good. The small group setting allowed participation and sharing of facts and opinions among the participants. Each grade-level break-out session was moderated by a youth from a higher grade level along with an adult observer facilitator. For the past two months, a panel of youth have been meeting and planning on a weekly basis to work on the topics. A Souvenir Book of collected writings has been published and given to all the participants. Besides the sessions for various grade levels, three sessions for college students and adults were held that included Desire – Root Cause of Rebirths, Reincarnation: Scientific Evidence, and Nishkama Karma-Yoga. Children under the third grade level had their own activities of indoor and outdoor games and arts and crafts of particular interest to them. This allowed the parents to comfortably attend the sessions knowing that the children were happily engaged elsewhere.

A short Cultural Program was held in the afternoon. It began with two youth speakers summarizing the various topics discussed during the day in a colorful and interesting power point presentation. The second guest speaker, Dr. Kumar Nochur, Chairman of Sri Lakshmi Temple gave insight on five things that the participants could take away from the Karma-Yoga conference to apply in their daily activities. Two afternoon youth speakers, one a Presidential Scholar starting as freshman at Harvard and the other who has started work gave brief talks on Svadharma and Meaning of Karma. There were group songs, classical Kuchipudi dances, a folk dance, and skits on the power of karma. Three area high school teachers and two of our most selfless dedicated teachers of Balvihars and youth camps, Dr. Abhaya Asthana and his lovely wife Mrs. Jaya Asthana were honored for their significant personal contributions to the learning of their nominating students. The joint effort of many youths and adults was recognized in the Closing Remarks and the program was closed with a prayer. The conference ended on a high note of exhilaration with everyone happy on the successful conclusion to the day. There followed some milling around and eating of simple nutritious snacks in the Cafeteria while talking over the day’s activities.

VHP of America’s mission is to promote unity amongst Hindus through a network of local chapters and like-minded organizations, provide community service to people in distress, cultivate self-respect and create opportunities for imbibing Hindu values through Bal-Vihars, Youth camps, Family retreats, and establish world-wide contacts between Hindus.

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