Let see if we can discuss further on these point. I feel lets reflect on it from a Practical and Spiritual point view.

Look forward to discussing it with all!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XpP4R3amIQ&feature=related (Part 2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPSdovMWlZs&feature=related (Part 3)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvXlG2-3HWU&feature=related (Part 4)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtYZrHGhfCs&feature=related (Part 5)

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMgNg16yXqI (part1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPmUB4CVApM (part 2)

look forward to feedback!

Please have a Moment to watch the lecture.

Its a good place to have a Discussion on a way to move forward and how we can use it everyday Practice.

Here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFKUvLaLb18

Look forward to having a constructive discussion.

Om bhurbhuvaha swah tatsaviturvarenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi dhiyo yo naha prachodayat.

We embrace that supreme being, the effulgent divine sun, the ultimate life force, omnipresent and omnipotent, the destroyer of all sins and sufferings and the bestower of bliss. May he inspire and enlighten our intellect to follow righteous path. -Rigveda 3/62/10, Samveda 1462, Yajurveda 3/35, 22/9, 30/2, 36/3

1. What is YOUR true identity? Who are YOU? The answer to this question or even the journey to find the answer leads to thought transformation and eventually character refinement. Alternatively, avoiding answering this question intentionally/unintentionally invariably causes unhappiness/discontentment.
2. Body? Mind? Soul? 3 possible identities.
3. Each has a different need/limit. Fulfilling theses needs gives us a sense of happiness. Is it everlasting? If so, why? If not, why?
4. How do/should you SERVE each identity? Come up with a detailed list of examples/activities.
5. How much time do YOU devote to each on a daily basis? An honest self-assessment – (hourly?) break up of your 24 hours.
6. How much time should you devote to each on a daily basis? This is not meant to be enforced, but to allow everyone to define this individually.
7. Each one of us can/should come up with their own list, but we can provide some of the common ones, possibly based on age groups.
8. Provide a checklist of  things/activities/acts (related to above points) to do during the 2-3 day event. How can we remain focused? Possibly tag team with each other for accountability? Share the practical experiences of completing these. Prizes for completing all?
9. How can we incorporate these DAILY? Provide a daily/weekly/monthly/yearly planner that could help with setting and visualizing milestones. Something that can be visual and easily accessible.
10. What can we commit ourselves to, let’s say for the next month or 3/6/12/24/36 months? Iterative process with the same core philosophy.
11. Incorporate Yug Nirman Sat Sankalp.

Based on interest and validity from the group, we could use this outline to create skits, exhibitions, visualizations, etc. We could also tie it to examples of how Gurudev lived his life etc.

Please share your thoughts and we can collectively decide how to further shape this discussion/package.

Thank you!

Why this event?
Being the Youth of Gayatri(YOG), we have a National Camp every year.  What’s so special about this ‘event’ we’re having?  The primary reason for this movement is to celebrate our Gurudev’s vision for us.  In the 100 years since his birth in 1911, he’s done an amazing amount of work and has left humanity with a variety of tools to live a life full of purpose, vision and service.  Being that during this period of 2011-2012 Shantikunj is having it’s own Centenerary(100Year) Celebration to honor Gurudev, the YOG would like to do the same here in North America.  It’s also our way of honoring the Guru who has helped to shape our life be it in a direct or indirect way.  However, this celebration is not just targeted at celebrating Gurudev as a person, but also one that is aimed at celebrating His message and the ‘Thought Transformation’ movement that started with Gurudev’s Birth.

Typically what we experience during a camp is we have a blast for 3-5 days during a random weekend in the summer.  Then we all go home with smiles on our faces and many fond and pleasant memories of our time spent together.  Only to soon forget about it until the next camp rolls around.  Lame..

This year the vision, the dream is different! Would you like to know?  This time around, we’re not merely aiming to have an ‘event’ but rather create a movement.  A movement where we can carry forward a year-long commitment towards enhancing not only our own life, but enhancing the lives of those around us as well.  Each of us can use this 3-day event to spark a fire within ourself which can kindle and spark a fiery movement all around us.  There’s nothing stopping us from acheiving this.  If we recall, during one of the lessons we learned during our camps, is that ‘The only limit that can bound us.. is the one we place on ourselves’.

Why should I help?
OK.. so this event sounds different.. why the heck should I put my time towards this?  Great Question. Let’s unravel the answer to that.  Imagine if this one simple movement by YOG in North America started a chain of events which would give us that ‘camp high’ in smaller doses AND on a more frequent basis.  You might be thinking.. “How can that be possible?”  Let us explain.  You see, the benefit of having a ‘movement’ over an ‘event’ is that we will have an ongoing set of events and milestones that we’ll be collectively working towards throughout the year till we meet again in Summer 2012.

This time we’re not simply saying that we’ll have a Summer Camp and Winter Conference, but rather, a series of local events and service oriented projects which will give us the opportunity to meet and share ideas more frequently.

Why would volunteering benefit me?
Gotcha.. but what’s in it for me?  How does all this play out to benefit the person that matters most.. me?  Another excellent query.  This will definitely be an experience that is more than something to put on a college application or work resume.  Imagine the story we’ll be able to tell to our friends, colleagues and of course potential interviewers of the immense amount of difference we were able to create throughout the year.  Not only will you gain their admiration, but internally, the feeling of satisfaction received from this massive movement can not be put into words.

No matter what challenges may come in our way of this movement, the simple fact of knowing that we have a whole TEAM of people supporting us in this endeavor can give even the most fearful person a level of confidence they’ve never experienced.  Just Imagine!

Why is the blog so important?
Alright.. now you’re talking.. but what’s this business about a blog?  Isn’t that so 2008?  Geez..You don’t quit with the questions do you??    You’re right, the blog is definitely from 2008, however, follow this line of thinking for a bit.  Of course we’ll be using this blog http://awgpyouth.wordpress.com to plan and share ideas for the moments leading upto our July function.  Yet why stop there?  Picture being fully involved in this movement, and we come across a young mind who is highly intrigued by our events and projects.  They ask us, “I want to know more about the events you have coming up and would like to get involved.”  And all it takes is a pen and piece of paper guiding them to this blog of ours.  It’s waaay better than going home, misplacing their email and finding it after two weeks, and guilty-ly drafting up a long winded email about our activities, finally hitting the ‘send’ button… AND never hearing from them again.

I know, that stinks, but it’s much less overhead for us, and it’s much more impressive for the person who sees the blog.  They can instantly catch up with what’s going on and more likely to get back to us re-confirming their interest.  Long Live 2008!

Let’s do This!
I’m on board.. let’s make this happen!  Phew! No more questions.. When the GCC in New Jersey was on it’s way to being finalized, the flyers constantly stated, “A vision becomes a reality”.  With the hard work and collaboration of many individuals.. not to mention the Grace of Gurudev and Mataji playing a loving hand in all of this, the GCC indeed became a reality.  As YOG, we have in front of us.. a Vision, a Dream.. let’s squeeze in a little bit of commitment on our part to put forth full dedication towards this vision.  With the loving assistance and guidance from Dr. Saheb and blessings of Gurudev and Mataji… we too can make “Our Vision a Reality”.

As some of you may already be knowing, we will be having a AWGP US/Canada event in NJ on July 27-30.  For the past few weeks, we’ve held initial meetings to get things under way.

One of the useful tools we’ve used in the past is a blog system where each of us can create and update ideas/thoughts/items for implementation.  For our North Carolina Camp, we found it to be quite an efficient mode of communication and method for progress

Our blog is: http://awgpyouth.wordpress.com/

However, we’ve kept it as a closed blog so that no random individuals can start misusing the page.  In order to post and comment on the blog entries that are made, one needs a wordpress account.

I encourage all of you chip in and put forth your thoughts, ideas and suggestions through this medium.  Here are the step-by-step instructions for getting started:
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1) Go to the following link to signup for an account if you don’t have one

https://en.wordpress.com/signup/

NOTE: In the process of creating an ID, you’ll also get a personal blog name to yourself (and added bonus, even if you have no intention of actually using your own blog)
2) Make note of the email address that you use to register
3) Being that it’s a closed blog, we will need to add you Manually
4) Once you’ve registered, There are 3 administrators who can add you to our blog as a user.  Parag Mahalley [pmahalley (a) gmail.com], Harshil Patel [harshilthevain (a) gmail.com] & Mitesh Kapadia [miteshk (a) gmail.com]
5)  Please send either one of us an email indicating the following:
a) Your Name
b) The Email address that you registered with for your wordpress account
6) Once we get your email, we will find your account and add you to our list of users and send you an acknowledgement
7) Once you get an acknowledgment from us, you can then login at the following link with your wordpress account:
http://awgpyouth.wordpress.com/wp-admin/

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1) We can have 19 people who would take on the responsibility of explaining and describing the individual 19 pledges in 60 seconds or so.  I thought there were 18, but whatever the number, it doesn’t matter.  This will allow each of us to do our own research and practice before hand.
2) Each person could have a shirt or hat that says “Ask me about # 5, etc..”, This will draw upon the curiosity of both kids and adults
3) We can incorporate a game with the students.  On the first day, we hand out a sheet with 19 numbers listed in order and give them the task of trying to fill out the sheet over the course of the 2-3 days we are there.  So not only do they have to search out the 19 people, but they also have to listen and write down the message as best as they heard it from that particular individual.
4) The game can have a prize too.  As we explain the game on the first day, we have somebody model the ‘prize’ which preferably could be a t-shirt that says, ‘G-camp King’ or G-camp Queen’ (something else if there’s a better idea).
5) The prize can’t be simply won by merely getting the 19 and listing them on their paper.. they must be able to dictate at least a certain number of them.. (10? perhaps)
6) The whole purpose of the game is to get everyone to participate, and Indian kids usually are the competitive type especially when it comes to this type of stuff..
7) Other ideas along the same lines.. likely some will try to cheat.. so make them take a simple oath.. to play this game with honor.. their own conscience will do the rest.
4+4) Make a rule that you must gather at least 5 people in order to get a response from the 19 individuals.. this will prevent the volunteers from being bombarded every couple of minutes with kids coming up to them.
9) Another simple rule that you can’t approach people during key times such as classes, prayer, yoga, etc…
10) Lastly, the prize should be something that the kids can be proud of.. If we have a t-shirt that looks cool, the kids will have a good story to tell about it to their friends every time they wear it.. and it’s awesome word of mouth advertising for the following year.

I had all of these things brewing in my mind for the past few days.. and just wanted to get it out and pass it on to you.. Nevertheless, it’s just an idea.. but I think it’ll be fun and the students will learn something in the process about the mission and it’s purpose.

This can be played around and tweaked in countless ways.
Let me know what you think..

How can we make this happen?
- Understanding the high-level areas for action and committing ourselves to the area we feel we can best contribute
- Breaking down our high-level focus into Goals, Our Goals into Steps, and even further into specific tasks within those steps
- Welcoming youth and adults who may be interested in supporting this event
- Embracing the challenges that lay ahead

What are the high-level key areas we must focus on?
- Registration/Spreading Awareness and Enthusiasm for the event locally
1) Alumni Relations (Getting in touch with those who’ve attended previous camps and welcoming them to attend this event)
- Space/Facility – How to make best use of it?
- Scheduling/Itinerary
- Interactive Sessions/Presentations
- Centenary Exhibition Planning/Setup
- Bond-building activities (Perhaps a night or series of events to go beyond the formalities and just be ourselves?  Like Gameshow night in DC and Bay area)
- Teachers (Finding volunteers and gaining commitments for teaching roles)
- Finances

Present:  Arti, Krishna, Mitesh, Akta, Bhavesh, Nrupali, Parth Desai, Parag, chaitanya, Sharvil (Toronto), Viral, Harshil, Parth

Mitesh: Summarized what we have discussed so far. Details in his email.Idea: We can become walking exhibitions ourselves. 19 people can be used for the pledges.

Akta: Exhibition – who Gurudev was, and his mission. Also want to make a brochure – 19 pledges. Read my life and its legacy – gave her new direction and meaning in her life and can help in understanding the literature. Will send out an outline for exhibition

Parag: Talked about the “who am I” packet: Need for the mind, body and soul – checklist.

Viral: Can include a yearly planner for the package – “Who am I” packet.

Bhavesh: Use the seven movements of GayatriPariwar. Women empowerment session, spirituality at workplace etc.Holistic Health management.

Parth M: Time slots in the exhibition to control the flow of people. Can have youth help present the exhibition.

Chaitanya: Need help with the brochure for the exhibition. Since this exhibition is open to public we can lay claim to many things that gurudev has given to the people. Excellent way to define ourselves as GP.