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SRI AUROBINDO SOCIETY - AUROYOUTH

ALL INDIA YOUTH CAMP ~ GOLDEN RIVER 4 – 12 JANUARY 2016

A Sharing…

Sri Aurobindo Society has been organizing youth camps annually for the past 30 years and has been touching and transforming young lives all over the country. This year the annual All India Youth Camp, themed GOLDEN RIVER, was organized at Puducherry from January 4 to 12, 2016, under the sponsorship of J. K. Trust, Calcutta. A total of 24 participants from various states of India joined in with a youthful verve and enthusiasm. It was a camp filled with engaging participation, inquisitive questions and a lot of discoveries about themselves, their hidden talents and capacities. They bonded together as a family and discovered a new home both within and without! With Shivakumar as the Camp Director, an energetic team of resource persons organized the entire camp.

Objectives of the Camp The main objectives of the Camp were to:  Help the youth to discover themselves—physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.  Inspire the youth to unearth their aim in life and assist them in realizing it.  Make the youth conscious of their great heritage, the current problems that plague our nation and their role in building a new and vibrant India.  Awaken the youth to their great future and prepare them, spiritually and mentally, to play their role in all aspects of social life. 1

Self-Introduction and Introduction to the Camp Theme: Golden River

The self-introduction session was meant to be an introduction of each member to all, but it ended up being our own introduction to ourselves. Everyone started introducing themselves as usually is done, but then a task was given of looking within to come up with an element that defines us. This session gave us all a chance to look within and helped us set foot on a journey of self-exploration. In the last session of the first day Shivakumar-da introduced us to the camp theme ‘Golden River’ and gave us the basic guidelines for our stay for the camp. Shiva-da promised that this will be a beautiful journey of self-exploration and discovery for all and a chance to look within and find the true source of happiness.

Self-Explorative Sessions with Shivakumar-da

The first session on the topics ‘Who Am I?’ and ‘Exploring Body Consciousness’ started with the question: ‘Who am I?’ We thought we were very familiar with the answer, but we soon understood our lack of understanding of ourselves. Shiva-da talked about body and life energy, emotions and mind, and the subtle distinction between mind and brain. Shiva-da took our attention to the basic life sustaining processes of breathing, sleeping and eating, and how we can improve our life energies 2

by becoming more conscious of these. Then with the help of a small activity we felt the life energy flowing between our fingers, which was fascinating! The second topic was ‘Exploring Our Senses’. It started by exploring many functions of our senses and improved our understanding of them. Then with the help of some fun activities we explored our senses, especially that of hearing, and became more conscious of them. The third session was on ‘Awareness through Mind’ which discovered and analysed our thoughts and emotions. With the help of audio-visual clips, all of became aware of the effect these impactful videos on our emotions and thoughts and how they are subconsciously influenced and shaped by them. It was an adventure in itself to detect these and to learn how to take control of our emotions and thoughts. These series of sessions helped us understand how our personalities were formed and to gain a little more control over it.

‘Yogic Exercises’ by Kiran-di

Every alternate day the early mornings started with yogic exercises with Kiran-di. This gave us a chance to observe our physical limitations that needs to be worked upon and it helped us a lot to learn the very basics of yogic exercises. We learned proper way of Surya-namaskar and a few other yogic exercises that could be practiced daily.

‘Singing Our Hearts Out’ with Surabhi-di

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Music is loved by all, but when it’s combined with patriotism and a musical session by the ever joyful and enthusiastic Surabhi-di, it becomes an experience of a lifetime. She chose for this session our national song ‘Vande Mataram’ but with a tune composed at the Ashram and then started the not-soeasy task of teaching us the fundamentals of music like beat and offbeat, rhythm, tone, pitch, etc. We sang with our whole heart and by the end of the session we managed to learn the song. We enjoyed her session to fullest and got the song stuck to our hearts. In the next session of Surabhi-di we did march past to another patriotic song which filled our hearts with love for our nation. We jumped around with the beats and enjoyed ourselves.

‘Rangrasa’ Sessions by Harvinder-di This session by Harvinder-di concentrated on the navarasa-s. The session started with her showing us colour slides and as we concentrated upon them we found some memories and emotions linked to different colours. Then we shared with each other what we felt. The same experiment was repeated only with sounds instead of colours this time. This made us understand how a memory or emotion can be linked to a colour or sound and without being conscious of it we live through these emotions when we come in to contact with them.

The final session of rangrasa concluded with a series of nonverbal short plays conveying the essence of one or more rasa-s. We divided ourselves into groups with strict instructions to only group with people we were not familiar with yet, which helped us to know each other better. And we saw some beautiful performances and messages conveyed by the different groups. 4

Awareness Sessions by Maitreyee-di and Shiv-da

This session started with Maitreyee-di focusing our attention to the need and importance of being aware in our body and mind and how to do so. And with that we started the first activity of the session where all were divided into pairs and each were given a piece of pipe and we had to throw it to our partner and catch what he/she threw simultaneously without speaking and just by looking into each other’s eyes. This required a tremendous amount of awareness in our body and mind to do the activity without hurting anyone or dropping the pipes. Towards the end of the activity we were so aware of ourselves that we were doing the activity with one hand and on the beat of a music. The second session on awareness became one of the most memorable moments of the Youth Camp for all. In this session Maitreyee-di explained to us the magic of stillness, and to do so she started an activity where we were all given a candle and we had to sit, walk, lie down or even dance with it, to familiarize with it and connect to it. The initial task was to identify with it so that the flame could then represent the stillness within us. We learned to stay calm and still inside to stop the flickering of candle. We exchanged our candles with each other with great care. And after an hour with the candle we were asked to let go of it, which none of us were ready to do. So after five minutes of convincing by Maitreyee-di we offered it to The Mother instead of just letting go of it. This one and half hours brought up many changes in us and had a lasting effect of a lifetime on all of us.

Chanting and Sanskrit Sessions by Dr Sampadananda Mishra Every alternate morning started with a chanting session by Sampad-da. The main objective of this session was to teach us the basics of chanting and the importance of mantras. A whole session was dedicated to the significance of OM and we learned different ways of chanting it. We also learned proper ways of chanting and did a collective chanting of OM and different mantras. This gave us an opportunity to learn new mantras and their meaning and significance.

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Another session by Sampad-da concentrated on teaching us the importance of Sanskrit and letting us know the wonder that Sanskrit really is. We were amazed to know about Sanskrit and its significance. We came to know the various amazing compositions done in Sanskrit—scientific, literary, artistic, playful as well as fascinating verses that held us spellbound. We all were told that these are our cultural heritage that belongs to every Indian, to be recovered, loved and cherished and it would need a lot of effort from all of us.

‘Predawn Experience’ with Maitreyee-di and Shiva-da

One early morning was chosen for predawn experience when we woke up before sunrise and gathered on the terrace of the beach office. There Maitreyee-di talked about the significance of waking up early and the early morning atmosphere. She then explained to us the connection between the five elements and our five senses. Then after a small meditation we went on a silent walk on the beach to look at the sunrise which had not decided to come out of clouds on the previous four days. After waiting for some time for the clouds to scatter, the sun finally came out but immediately hid behind the clouds again as if teasing us. But soon it came out again answering our prayers and we had a beautiful sunrise experience. This beautiful morning experience brought out poems in some of the participants and some came up with a series of songs defining each key moment of the morning.

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‘Powers Within’ by Saikat-da

The session started with a unique way of introduction where we had to introduce ourselves but without any external or acquired aspects such as name, education and profession. This got us thinking and became a beautiful experience of expressing oneself. Then Saikat-da talked about the various parts of our being and explained how they function in our everyday life. Then he asked us a serious of question on daily-life situations and we were to find out where our ‘I’ lies, whether in body, mind or heart. This soon turned into a discussion where Saikat-da answered all our questions and cleared our misconceptions. He then showed us some of the writings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and helped us understand and grasp the meaning of it.

‘Beauty in Our Lives’ by Abhipsa-di

In this session Abhipsa-di talked about how our life was filled with beauty but we normally do not pay attention to it, that if we become more conscious of our surroundings we can enjoy beauty everywhere, and how we can make our life more beautiful by bringing perfection to our everyday work. So, to practice all this we all were asked to take a flower and give some time to observe it and then we discussed the beauty we found in it. We also had a small activity on Origami where we learned to make butterfly and frog which was a really beautiful experience.

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‘World of Art and Appreciation of Art’ by Sushanto-da

In this session, Sushanto-da took us on a magical journey to the world of art, and we saw how the whole world was full of artistic beauty. We saw how humanity from its very beginning was expressing itself through different art forms, and that most of the evidence we have of ancient civilization were in different forms of art. Shushanto-da showed us some very ancient monuments that took decades or even more than one generation to complete but no compromise to its artistic value was made. In the next session Sushanto-da explained the best way to appreciate art which we then put into practice by looking at the famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci titled Mona Lisa, and we plunged into the mysterious world of Mona Lisa. Later on we were all given a set of crayons and paper to express ourselves by drawing, which became a beautiful experience for all of us and resulted in some creative and beautiful drawings.

‘Expedition to Lakeland – Matrikunj’ with Maitreyee-di & Team

On the early morning of January 10 came the most awaited part of youth camp—Lakeland outing, where we rode on bicycles to Matrikunj (the garden of the Society where conscious organic farming is being practiced). The bicycle ride was enjoyed by all, we sang, we talked, we appreciated the beauty of Nature the whole way. We took a brief pause at Lake Ousteri to enjoy its beauty, to take some photographs and after a few minutes of concentration we then went to Matrikunj. The beauty 8

of Matrikunj immediately took us under its spell. We had our breakfast there and after a little rest started the morning session.

In the beginning of the session Maitreyee-di spoke about the significance of flowers, given by the Mother and showed us some flowers along with their significance. Then we had an activity of forming a tree where all the parts of it were represented by us. It was really fun as well as educative for us. Then we all were sent to different parts of Matrikunj to spend some time with Nature and to connect to it. We all went to our given place, some explored, some got lost but at the end of the session we all found something in us that was hidden behind the material race of life. We all shared our experience of the alone time with nature and all expressed it in different ways, some became poet, some made drawings and all had the most beautiful time of our lives. Then, after a sumptuous lunch, Baburam Bhai told us more about Matrikunj and the conscious farming done there and made us aware of the harmful effects of the inorganic farming done everywhere. And later we did some tree climbing which was a new and adventurous experience for all of us. With a refreshing green tea prepared there, we started our journey back to the camp venue, on our bicycles.

‘Aim of Life’ by Dr Alok Pandey In this interactive session Alok-da spoke about the aim of life by clearly making a distinction between ‘wants’ and ‘needs’ when choosing an aim of life. He talked about how failure could be a part of life and its progress. He then explained some very important parts of a youth’s life and how we could deal with them. Alok-da then asked us to make this into session of questions and answers. This gave us a great opportunity to ask this doctor-sadhak all the questions that we needed answers to but could not find the courage to ask. To this he replied that there are no stupid questions and only stupid answers. He patiently answered all our questions. This session helped us in many ways, like finding more questions worthy of seeking answers to. 9

‘Faculty Development Games’ by Sushanto-da and Team

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A series of faculty development games were conducted by Sushanto-da and team which required a complete body and mind awareness and stillness. These games challenged all the camp participants to concentrate at the task at hand and complete it. Some of them also required team work which was another experience for us all. We all had lots of fun in this session and we explored ourselves in an enjoyable way.

Cultural Programme: An Offering by Participants

On the last day of the camp a cultural programme was organized where all the participants performed in groups and also individually as an offering. Performances ranged from classical singing, dance, folk dance, original poetry, singing, some nonverbal plays and a group dance by all the participants. 11

The session concluded by every participant receiving a gift folder containing the book A Call to the Youth of India and a few more booklets, all compiled from the writings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, a group photo of the camp as a souvenir and a certificate of participation.

Introduction to Sri Aurobindo, The Mother and SAS by Shiva-da

On the request of the participants, Shiva-da was kind enough to take some time out to make a presentation to introduce to us some aspects of the life of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. He then told us how the Society was formed and since then the kind of work is being done by it. We came to know about all the beautiful changes brought about by the dedicated hard work of the SAS family which inspired us to be a part of this beautiful offering in any possible way.

Feedback by the Participants

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After the cultural programme, the final part of the camp was of feedback by the participants where we all were given a form to fill according to our experience in the camp and we also shared with each other what a beautiful journey this has been for all of us.

Visit to Auroville The visit to Auroville was the final opportunity for all of us to spend some time together, but still some of the participants had to leave early. So with some heartfelt ‘Punardarshanaya’ (to meet again) the rest of the participants joined on a journey to Auroville, the international township founded by the Mother and a visit to the Matrimandir. We trekked through the beautiful path of Auroville as we reached to the Matrimandir. Although we did not have the privilege of attending the Matrimandir concentration, none of us were deprived of getting a touch of the Mother after entering this sacred place. Never before had we seen such a majestic banyan tree, it was a mesmerising moment to be there and to just look at the Matrimandir and its surroundings.

The Whole Family We cannot be grateful enough towards the whole SAS family which made this camp possible. There are organizers who were always by our sides, arranging everything so that no discomfort comes to us, such as Uttam-da who was always behind all the technical arrangements made during camp, Basudev-da who was silently working with a bright smile on his face, Sai Baba who was present with us during sessions, Rathi-di whose voice is still unheard by us but a smile which we will never forget. And, all the other organizers who were always there for us and made this journey more beautiful for all. Kiran-di was always there be it breakfast, lunch or dinner, taking care to see if all ate well or not. The volunteers from previous youth camps Sachin-da and Adwait-da helped us and guided us throughout the camp, during the sessions and back at the guesthouse where all of us participants were staying. Shruti-di was behind her camera, capturing every beautiful moment of joy, excitement, love and all the moments that will stay in our hearts.

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Conclusion

The youth camp of 2016, Golden River, flowed to begin a new life for all of us, with all expressing our gratitude towards the Divine for giving us such an opportunity to live together and to learn and grow in His light. Shiva-da also expressed his gratitude towards J. K. Trust, Calcutta, for their partial sponsorship of the camp. We all promised that we will take these teachings with us and will use them in making our life and the world a better place. With this we prayed to Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and concentrated for a few minutes before finally preparing to depart with a mantra in all our hearts: PUNARDARSHANAAYA, PUNARHARSHANAAYA, PUNARMAATRUDEVYAAH KRIPAAVARSHANAAYA!

Report prepared by Vivek Nagar, a participant of the Camp

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Feedback from Participants

Golden River – a river having its own Soul. This camp is more than every experience of my life. It has given me the power to find myself. No words can define it but living these moments can. -

Chaitya Prakash Ojha When I first sent my application, I had no idea what to expect. And I didn’t even dream of this camp being something that would change my life forever. It’s like I had sunglasses on my entire life and this camp helped me take them off and look at everything oh-so-clearly! I left a part of my heart there and I will keep coming back because I think this is where that part belongs! I’ve never felt closer to myself than what I do now. This camp changed my entire life!

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Rucha Deshpande

The camp felt like a cocoon as I was filled with goodness and progress for complete 9 days. The teachers are living examples of all that they teach us. The environment is filled with such a fresh energy that it transformed us all. I’m leaving Puducherry with beautiful friends and a new way to make life more meaningful. I’ll be coming to Puduchery all my life! Thank you Golden River. -

Malvika Nagpal

If only it were possible to express in words what this camp has done to me. -Vivek Nagar

I came in search of water and stumbled upon elixir, I came to find peace and returned with happiness, I came as an individual and left with a bunch of friends, I came with an empty heart and now I leave with a Golden River. -

Saloni Ranjendra Dangwal

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To me it was like – to write water, on water, with water. -

Athrva Pathak

I came with a blank page, taking away most beautiful pictures. I came with my empty hands, I left with whole world in hands. I came alone to meet Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, I earned more than blessings, grace, love, friendship, memories… Learned to live life more lively and consciously. -

Trupti Ashok Bharadi

This camp is one of the most memorable moments in my life. Thank you! - G.D. Satish Kumar

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