Swami Vivekananda came to the United States of America in 1893 to attend the Parliament of World Religions as a representative of Hindu Dharma. He was a little known Hindu monk from India at the time, but soon after his first speech in Chicago at the Parliament of World Religions, the philosophy of Hindu Dharma became a widely known and respected philosophy in the West. All of us are born in the lineage of this ancient yet relevant tradition and culture of Hindu Dharma. It is our great privilege as youth to practice Hindu Dharma as well as to help propagate its great message. Keeping this in mind Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh has started a student organization at several colleges and universities in the United States of America to help students practice Hindu Dharma on campus, as well as learn more about Hindu Dharma. The student organization is aptly called Hindu YUVA – Youth for Unity, Virtues, and Action.
Hindu YUVA aims to organize the Hindu community in order to preserve, practice and promote Hindu ideals and values. HSS conducts structured programs of regular athletic and academic activities to develop strong character and leadership skills in its members (known as swayamsevaks for men and sevikas for women), emphasizing values such as self-discipline, self-confidence and a spirit of selfless service (seva) for humanity. It encourages maintaining Hindu cultural identity in harmony with the larger community.
Hindu Dharma and its culture has had a significant impact for the benefit of human society. The contributions of Hindu culture are not limited to Yoga and Spirituality. The ancient seers of Hindu culture had already come up with many theories, nay an entire way of life which includes but isn’t limited to, living in harmony with nature or sustainable existence, ayurveda, astronomical science, architectural marvels, political science, music, dance and so on. Today we find ourselves rediscovering this ancient wisdom, going back to this knowledge base to help us cope with our problems of the modern age.
It must be made clear that by Hindu culture we do not mean followers of a certain sect or people of a certain race or who come from a certain geographic region. By Hindu culture we hint towards people who believe and follow certain ideals and values that now characterize Hindu culture. Now it is certainly hard to agree upon what exactly is a Hindu ideal. After all differences in opinion on this has lead to the rich and diverse culture of Bharat. Some may consider specific rituals of worshiping as an essential Hindu value while others may not take anything more than Patanjali’s terse Yoga Sutras to be essential Hindu thought. All we can say is that our group welcomes all schools of thought.
There are around two million Hindus in the US. Their contributions to the economic, social and cultural life is widely acclaimed. Hence harmony and unity among Hindus living in America will be a great way to promote these salient features of Hindu culture in the American community as a whole.
Hindu YUVA aims to organize the Hindu community in order to preserve, practice and promote Hindu ideals and values. HSS conducts structured programs of regular athletic and academic activities to develop strong character and leadership skills in its members (known as swayamsevaks for men and sevikas for women), emphasizing values such as self-discipline, self-confidence and a spirit of selfless service (seva) for humanity. It encourages maintaining Hindu cultural identity in harmony with the larger community.
Hindu Dharma and its culture has had a significant impact for the benefit of human society. The contributions of Hindu culture are not limited to Yoga and Spirituality. The ancient seers of Hindu culture had already come up with many theories, nay an entire way of life which includes but isn’t limited to, living in harmony with nature or sustainable existence, ayurveda, astronomical science, architectural marvels, political science, music, dance and so on. Today we find ourselves rediscovering this ancient wisdom, going back to this knowledge base to help us cope with our problems of the modern age.
It must be made clear that by Hindu culture we do not mean followers of a certain sect or people of a certain race or who come from a certain geographic region. By Hindu culture we hint towards people who believe and follow certain ideals and values that now characterize Hindu culture. Now it is certainly hard to agree upon what exactly is a Hindu ideal. After all differences in opinion on this has lead to the rich and diverse culture of Bharat. Some may consider specific rituals of worshiping as an essential Hindu value while others may not take anything more than Patanjali’s terse Yoga Sutras to be essential Hindu thought. All we can say is that our group welcomes all schools of thought.
There are around two million Hindus in the US. Their contributions to the economic, social and cultural life is widely acclaimed. Hence harmony and unity among Hindus living in America will be a great way to promote these salient features of Hindu culture in the American community as a whole.
