Hindu YUVA, University of Washington

Hindu YUVA is organizing a lecture seminar titled, “Religious Pluralism in the USA: The Case study of Hinduism” on June 6 in HUB 209A from 2 to 6PM. The Seminar is aimed at understanding the development of Hindu American identity and the challenges faced by the Hindu American community. A group of eminent speakers will present their studies on the challenges and opportunities faced by the Hindu community in the West esp. in the United States.

A brief bio of the speakers:

Linda Johnsen: (born 1954 in Chicago) is an author on yoga and other aspects of Hinduism. She earned a Masters degree in Eastern Studies and did post-graduate work in Comparative Religions at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. In addition she spent decades studying Eastern traditions with Shakta and Shaivite yogis in India and North America. Johnsen’s essays have appeared in numerous magazines including Yoga International, Yoga Journal, and Yoga Plus, as well as in many anthologies. She has written many books along with the bestseller, “A Complete Idiot’s Guide to Hinduism.”

Jeffery Armstrong: Jeffrey’s first degree was in Psychology followed by one in Literature. He studied the occult and Metaphysical philosophers of all world cultures until the age of 23 when he met his first Guru from India, His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Phabhupada, the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. He is a master of Sanskrit, Ayurveda and Astrology and a mystical poet. As a charismatic guest speaker, Master of Ceremonies or speaking on his award-winning book, he is a sought after guest on TV and talk radio. For 15 years, he was a corporate executive in Silicon Valley, and a speaker for Fortune 500 companies. He is the founder director of Vedic Academy of Sciences and Arts, Vancouver, Canada.

Sankrant Sanu: Sankrant Sanu is a former Microsoft manager, freelance writer and now a full time volunteer of Art of Living. He was instrumental in shaping Microsoft’s online Encarta encyclopedia article on Hinduism. His articles in various journals and magazines on matters related to Hinduism, esp in the Western and academic world are very scholarly and thought provoking. He also pens regular columns on Indian and International current affairs.

Last month we had a great time rock climbing at StoneGardens. Checkout the pics at http://students.washington.edu/hyuva/2009/04/rock-climbing-pics/. What’s in store this month ?

As announced earlier we were planning to goto Otter Falls but the roads that lead to the trail are closed. so we have decided to goto Boulder Falls instead!

Summer time in Seattle is a valuable piece of time. You got to go outdoors. This month we have arranged for a hike near Boulder river. Akshay and myself went last weekend to check it out. Its a flat trail (which means we won’t be exhausted after taking 5 steps) and not too long. The trail is surrounded by old trees covered with lots of moss growth. Looks beautiful in a strange way. We plan to cover it in the sunshine and hence plan to leave early morning and come back by evening.

What ? Hike at Boulder Falls

When ? May 30th, 2009 - Saturday

Where ? Meet at 5505 15th ave NE, apt. no 104. Please arrive at 8 am sharp.

How much ? $10 only - including food, water, transportation and taxes!!

Register ? http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=89380163088

We will leave by 8:30 am after distributing directions and food supplies. If you show up at 8 am you will get a refreshing cup of hot tea as well

We will be car pooling, so if you can bring your cars for the day that would be cool. BTW the last stretch of the road that goes to the Falls is not in the best condition. I was able to drive my Passat to the trail head but if you have a high clearance vehicle please bring it. Otherwise we can park it a bit further from the trailhead and just walk a little more :) 

We will be providing water and food as well. Food includes lots of fruits and trailmix. Feel free to bring anything else you may need. If you do not have a vehicle, transportation will be provided as well. If you have a vehicle you are encouraged to pool it especially if its a high clearance vehicle. All lenders to the pool will be reimbursed for fuel. You are highly encouraged to donate a reasonable amount of $10 to our organisation to recover expenses.

Please take a look at http://www.mountaineers.org/seattle/seahike/hikers/gear.html . Other than that you might want to bring your swim wear!

Namaste,

Last month as some of you know we attended a breakdancing class through HY Socials. Unfortunately we don’t have any pics to show because most of us were breaking on the floor trying to work out the moves A lot of fun for sure! We had a mini battle going on too, even though many of us were attending it for the first time!

A quick reminder: If you haven’t filled out the HY Socials Survey please do so by clicking below.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=y3NnEBNb6Z4QL1GwoXcuKw_3d_3d

OK, this month we are having another exciting social event. Rock-climbing! Yup, thats right. Check out this clip of bouldering by Chris Sharma - one of the most famous names in the world of climbing.

Now just to make things clear we are not attempting anything close to that. We will be having more like a beginner’s orientation in rock-climbing by instructors. So no sweat. Of course those of you who are more experienced are also welcome

• What: Rock-climbing beginner orientation
• When: 25th April, Saturday 3 - 5 pm
• Where: Stonegardens. 2839 NW Market St., Seattle WA 98107. www.stonegardens.com

I hope you will be able to join us for another exciting HY social event. Also, because we do group reservations we get discount rates, so thats another reason to come. FYI, because of strict supervision requirements we have limited capacity this time. So please respond at the earliest(mail to [hyuva] at [u.washington.edu]) to hold your spot.

Namaste,

As some of you may know we have started organizing monthly social events where we can get together and not only have fun but also learn and grow. Our aim is to have a variety of social events, usually a few hours long(with some exceptions) with an energetic and healthy vibe. We would like to get your input to organize these events to suit your choices more accurately. Please take out a couple of minutes to fill the form by clicking on the link below.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=y3NnEBNb6Z4QL1GwoXcuKw_3d_3d

We appreciate your feedback immensely and look forward to meeting you.

Dhanyawaad,

This year, we introduced HY Socials, with the ice-skating event in Jan 2009. And, it was a lot of fun!

This time around, we learn break-dancing from Jeromeskee. This would be a introduction to break dancing and you don’t need to worry if you haven’t break-danced (or even danced at all) before. It’s a beginner level class but it will be challenging for sure!

When - March 25, Wednesday - 7:45pm to 8:45pm

Venue - Velocity Dance Center, 915 East Pine Street, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98122

How much? $10 per person

Our instructor, Jeromeskee has participated successfully in several b-boy titles throughout the world and has worked with and taught at many corporations and universities and holds workshop classes in Seattle every Wednesday to teach break-dance.

The Facebook page for the event can be found here.

Let us know if you need or can provide car pools.

Holi, also called the Festival of Colours, is a popular Hindu spring festival observed in India, Nepal, and countries with large Hindu diaspora such as Suriname, Guyana, South Africa, Trinidad, the UK, Mauritius and Fiji. In West Bengal of India and Bangladesh, it is known as Dolyatra (Doljatra) or Boshonto Utsav (”spring festival”). It is the most fun frolic festival among all the Indian festivals.

Hindu YUVA plans to organize a Holi party this year for the first time and that too on a beach!! Besides coloring each other, we’ll also play games like volleyball or cricket or any other creative games you can think of.There will be some Bollywood music, so you can try some bollywood dance steps. And of course there will some good food. We plan to have a potluck for the event. So, please bring some food good for 5-6 people. It surely sounds a lot of fun!

Here are some of the details of the event:

When: Sunday, March 22, 2009 (12:00pm - 3:00pm)
Where: Golden Gardens Park. Golden Gardens Drive NW, Seattle, WA
To view the map: Click here

Please RSVP if you plan to come to this event. Click here to go the facebook event page.

If you do not have an account on facebook feel free to email us on hyuva@u.washington.edu

It has been our policy to have a community service event every quarter. Last year we organised a Food Packaging drive. This month we have decided to arrange a temple trip to the nearby temple in Bothell. The occasion this month happens to be Mahashivratri, a festival celebrated throughout Bharat with much fervour. You are welcome to participate as volunteer or as a devotee.

What ? Temple trip on the occasion of Mahashivratri

Where ? Hindu Temple and Cultural Center, 3818 212th ST SE, Bothell WA 98021 (425) 483-7115 (http://www.htccwa.org/)

When ? Feb 22, 2009 sunday at 6 pm

How much ? Free

This is a busy night for the temple so everyone is encouraged to volunteer in whichever way possible. If you wish to make prasadam you are welcome to do so.

It would be convenient for us if you can RSVP on the facebook event page

So make sure to mark your calendars. Let us know if you need or can provide car pools. We will need cars to transport students most of whom don’t own cars.

Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) announces an offering (”yajna”) of one million Sun Salutations, known as Surya Namaskar, to create awareness among the people about Yoga and its advantages in achieving a healthy body, mind and spirit. This will be the third Surya Namaskar Yajna (SNY) since it was first launched in 2007.

Surya Namaskar is a combination of yoga postures, called “āsanā(s)”, performed in a pre-determined sequence. They are a set of well-balanced movements that will stretch and exercise all the muscles in the body, thus keeping the body and mind healthy. It is practiced all over the world in more than forty different ways. A common practice of performing Surya Namaskar in a set of ten yoga postures provides good exercise to the whole body, calms the mind, and sharpens the intellect.

Each year Hindus worldwide celebrate January 14th as Makar Sankranti – a day that marks a change of season as the sun enters the sign of Capricorn or Makar. Makar Sankranti ushers in longer days; thus the festivity symbolizes sunshine in life. Therefore, to mark this occasion, HSS will conduct a collective Surya Namaskar Yajna (SNY) from January 17th to February 1st, 2009. HSS invites everyone in the United States to participate in this “Yoga for health; Health for humanity” event and perform Surya Namaskar with a collective goal of one million Surya Namaskar in the sixteen-day span. Last year, over 5,700 people from thirty states participated in this unique marathon, and this year we hope that over 10,000 participants across the country will reap rich benefits from Surya Namaskar.

To get us initiated, basics of Surya Namaskar will be taught in the weekly shakha on 18th January. We’ll continue doing the Namaskars at our homes daily till February 1 and will end the yajna with a two hour long marathon session. Join us to get started on a path to healthy living and help us meet the national goal of one million Surya Namaskars!

What? Surya Namaskar Basics Lesson
Where? HUB 200A
When? January 18th, 10:00 am - 11:30 am

Note: Half hour Surya Namaskar Session will be followed by regular shakha activities.

For more details, go to http://www.hssus.org/sny/

Introducing Hindu Yuva Socials!

We hope everybody has had a nice start for the new year. For some time now we have been toying with the idea of having social events in a more informal setting. Restaurants and bars came to mind but in a bid to be more exciting and different we have decided on having events which are exciting and educational. A learning experience with an adventurous twist. Something that appeals to the youth. So without further ado…