NRI Balavikas Camp, October 2021 - February 2022

VIHE organised a four month long online Balavikas camp for kids from US and Canada which concluded on February 26th. In this camp the kids were exposed to the lives and teachings of Holy trio and learnt chanting, bhajans, Ashtanga yoga and practicing them in day to day lives.

Thoughts and remarks of our student Shreya shastry

I always look forward to having Balavikas class on the weekends. It allows you to reflect on how the week has gone and gain more confidence in yourself. The concluding day of the camp was extra special. We started off by lighting a lamp in front of images of the holy trio - Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi, and Swami Vivekananda. Following that, kids chanted the pranam mantras with lots of devotion and love. Next, the Bhagavad Gita Dhyana Slokas were chanted. After that, inspiring quotes from Swami Vivekananda were recited, which encouraged you to stand up and achieve the highest in life. Then, Madhavi Amma spoke beautifully about the Bhagavad Geeta and the three modes of life - Sattivk, Rajas, and Tamas. Sattva is the mode of goodness, where your mind is calm and peaceful, and everything you do is pure. Rajas is the mode of passion, where your mind has lots of desires and is never satisfied. Tamas is the mode of ignorance, where your mind is lazy and you can’t tell good apart from bad. The goal is to be Sattvik the whole day. She connected this to two stories, which showed you that you have to go through struggles to attain the highest. Following that, Kalyani Amma talked wonderfully about setting and executing goals. You should always tell yourself - I can, I shall, I will. The threefold mantra given to us by Swami Vivekananda is Vision, Planning, and Execution. You should have an aim in life, plan to achieve it, and execute it with full focus and concentration. Avoid distractions, think positive, and put your whole heart into what you are doing. That will lead you to success. To finish off the session, parents and students gave their feedback on the program and sang bhajans. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the program and I would definitely join again. The classes are very inspiring and interesting, and I love learning new slokas, bhajans, stories, and doing yoga.