State of the Samaja
Channu Kambalyal
President, VSNA
Respected Swamijis, dignitaries and the attendees of the 2016 VSNA Annual Convention from USA, Canada, India and other countries, on behalf of the VSNA, I would like to welcome you all for your esteemed presence on this occasion of the 39th VSNA Convention to learn more about the philosophy of Basava and contemporary Sharanas.
Since Friday evening with the start of the convention activities, we have begun to witness the energy of the Maryland Chapter members and the meticulous planning of the convention led by the Convention Committee Chair – Dr. G. Jagadeesh. VSNA is thankful to the Maryland chapter for their initiative to host the 39th convention. VSNA is proud of Maryland chapter for being a mature chapter that needed no supervision or guidance from the Central team. Thanks to all the senior leadership of this chapter.
As stated in the State of the Samaja during the 2015 convention, VSNA has a unique track record of hosting the convention every single year for the last 39 years, and will continue to do for the generations to come. This is mainly due to the organization’s resilient mission to preserve, protect and propagate Basava Philosophy. I am sure you will all benefit in enhancing your spiritual understanding from this convention with variety of programs such as Anubhava Ghosti and other programs led by spiritual leaders.
Before, I commence my talk about the State of Samaja, I would like to emphasize and reiterate to all our members, that VSNA is based on a resilient mission of philosophy that bars any type of caste system. So, we are not a caste based organization as some would view it, and it is very important that we come out of such thoughts that go against ...
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... to host the conventions. Additionally, many in the past desired to donate to VSNA in the form of will. Those wishing to donate via a Personal Will to keep VSNA as the beneficiary please do get in touch with the President or any of the officers and local chapters presidents. We will provide necessary legal documents to add VSNA as the beneficiary in your Personal Will.
In closing, I am pleased to say that as an organization, we have made some progress, but we still have a long way to go in organizing ourselves as an organization. Let each one of us do our part in the form of Kayaka & Dasoha for the organization to Preserve, Protect and Propagate the Universal Values of Basava Philosophy – the mission of VSNA. Finally, on behalf of you all, I thank the Maryland Chapter for hosting this convention and thank you all for your presence at the convention. Thank You.
What a week! From Trick or Treat Street to One Homeless Night, our week was fairly successful. As a council, we should be proud of the work we have put in and results we have gotten out. From the 175+ kids who came through our doors on Monday night to the 49 successful blood donations to the $650 worth of products we raised, organized and donated to Synergy as apart of One Homeless Night. While our hard work has paid off up to now, we still have a lot to accomplish to continue making this a successful year. This next week is a vital part of that success as we take on week one of food drive and the Veterans Day breakfast and assembly.
I am interested in joining Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated in light of the fact that you provide an excellent avenue to assisting numerous communities. After my first year at Bowie State University I started doing my research and none of the others organizations possessd the devotion and empathy for accomplishing and helping other people like Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. I am a persevering, strong, God fearing young lady and I feel that I embody a lot of the same qualities that your adored 22 founders build this perstigous organization on.
The purpose of this letter is to inform you about my interest in becoming a member of The Kappa Upsilon Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. I sought out membership because the members exemplify the epitome of class, grace, and standards. My desire is to inspire young girls and women and make a significant impact on their lives is just one of many reasons I aspire to join your great sorority. I believe in being of service, giving back to the community, and I want to continue on for years to come. Going into the transition into my college career from my freshman year until now, I have encountered many women in the organization that are very active on campus as well as in the community. My past experiences with my past and previous organizations have proved that once my feet are planted my roots will grow and I will stand firm in an organization or committee that I am apart of exemplifying my leadership skills. I am a dedicated member of the National Council of Negro Women. I am on the Bethune Committee, we focus on creating Health programs for the organization and the community. I am a Mentor with the Valdosta community organization G.O.L.F.E.R. (Generating Opportunities in Life for Each
I am exceptionally grateful for this opportunity to possibly be a member of this very prestigious organization. Every day I work tremendously hard to be noticed by both other scholars and my teachers. Now that an opportunity has come, I am truly excited to demonstrate and live by the values of The National Junior Honors Society. I hope to further expose and show both my dedication and want to join arms with my community and my peers and I wish to continue to work with passion and fire to shape the world into a brighter place.
Crutchfield, Leslie R., and Heather McLeod Grant. Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-impact Nonprofits. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008. Print.
The statement "everyone is a Hindu" is an extremely broad one that is open to much interpretation. This owes partly to the fact that Hinduism itself is a broad and vast religion with many ways of following. In this paper I seek to explain that the statement "everyone is a Hindu" is a worthy one because Hindus have a sense of interconnectedness in all organisms and life on earth, and that the ultimate goal of a person is to join the rest of the universe in "moksha." Additionally, the attribute of the Hinduism that lends well to the statement is that Hinduism is a very hospitable religion that not only requires no specific adherence or conversion, it stresses the understanding of other religions as well.
Significant differences abound between the two principal schools of modern Buddhism, Mahayana and Theravada. Among the many distinctions that exist, a few could be considered especially integral to an understanding of how these mutually exclusive divisions contrast with each other. Before treating these specific dissimilarities, however, it must be established that the one, fundamental divergence between the sects, which could possibly be understood as resulting in the following earmarks that make both brands unique unto the other, is that Mahayana practice stresses an inclusiveness that stands antithetically to Theravada’s doctrinal preservation. Where the former sort’s adaptability has both attracted new practitioners and altered itself to complement modernity, the latter’s staunch resistance to change has allowed it to remain an uncompromised vessel of original Buddhist thought, battered by, yet having weathered well, two millennia’s worth of transformation.
Upon the reading of chapters 1-6 of the Great Scripture of Hinduism, The Bhagavad Gita (the 'Lord's Song';), I am completely and utterly fascinated. The story's emphasis on selfless acts, devotion, and meditation is like no other I have ever encountered before. Through the narration of Sanjaya and the conversation of Sri Krishna (Vishnu incarnate) and Prince Arjuna, the principles of Hinduism are eloquently illustrated.
There are four main castes and one in which they consider to be the outcastes. The four main castes are the Brahmin, the next is the Kshatriya, the third is the Vaishya, and the fourth is the Shudra. The outcastes are in the group called Dalits. Each caste has a purpose in life, the Brahmin are considered to be the priestly caste in which they are teach the Veda, and are to “sacrifice for others and receive alms” (Institutes of Vishnu 5-10, pg. 44). The Kshatriya is considered the warriors or the ruler caste, they have constant practice in battles, and they are to protect the world from harm. The Vaishya are to be the merchants and the farmers, they tend to the cattle, they, “engage in farming, keeps cows, trades, lends money at interest, and grows seeds” (Institutes of Vishnu 5-10, pg. 44). The Shudra are the manual laborers who according to the Institutes of Vishnu under the Four Castes, are to serve the twice born men who are to sacrifice and to study the Veda, the Shudra also engage in all the different duties of craftsmanship (5-10, pg.44). In case of a crisis, each caste is allowed to follow the occupation of the caste that is below them in rank. The duties in which all four of these castes, whatever gender or stage of life, are to follow and hav...
On behalf of the 2016–18 Fraternity Council and Foundation Board of Trustees, it is our pleasure to welcome you to Kappa Kappa Gamma’s 72nd Biennial Convention in Denver. We hope you will enjoy this opportunity to meet sisters of many generations from across the United States and Canada and take advantage of every minute of your time here. Attending educational sessions, listening to speakers, engaging in conversation, participating in yoga … All of these things will help us expand our thoughts by looking at our organization and ourselves just a little bit differently.
Each month our educational center section provides the Hinduism Today staff with a 'kind of group meditation. Individually we ponder our subject, and together we discuss it in detail. These past 30 days our meditation was on death. You might think we had a morbid March. Not so, since, as U.S. General George Patton rightly noted, "For Hindus death is the most exalted experience of life."
Virginia Satir’s theory and models have provided families and individuals with helpful and invaluable knowledge on how we can successfully make changes and taught us how we can benefit from change and gives us insight on how we can improve our lives.
BuddhaNet - Worldwide Buddhist Information and Education Network. N.p., n.d. Web. The Web. The Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
Hinduism is regarded as the world’s oldest organized religion, but it’s also a way of life for much of India and Nepal. Unlike other religions, Hinduism allows and encourages multiple paths to the divine. There is no single founder and no single scripture, but is rather a conglomerate of diverse beliefs and traditions. They are often understood to be different means to reach a common end. But this acceptance of variety makes it difficult to identify religious tenets that are specifically Hindu. Still, there are some basic principles common to Hinduism that are essential to one's approach to life.
By enforcing VD Sarkvakar's philosophy of Hindutva through rashthras, yatras, ashrams, centers for Hindu education, and scholarship programs for tribals, the Sangh Parivar through their "holding" parties and affiliates, specifically the VHP in this context, have continually enforced religious solidarity as a method of gaining political capital. This political capital has been utilized for the benefit of the BJP, in mobilizing the rising middle class and using their status as potential and profitable voting blocks.