Press Release

For Immediate Release

For more information: Contact Pratyaksh Pai at 301-502-9394 or tri3p@hotmail.com

Hindu Students Council holds successful Regional Meet in DC Metro Region

By Mila Pinder

Photographs:

1. HSC participants at the DC-Maryland-Virginia Regional Meet (Photo courtesy: Manav

Tandon)

2. HSC participants practice meditation at the DC-Maryland-Virginia Regional Meet (Photo courtesy: Shruti Sagar)

The Hindu Students Council organized a highly acclaimed Washington DC-Maryland-Virginia Regional Meet at the University of Maryland-College Park on Saturday April 2, 2005. Numerous members from UMBC, George Mason University, and Johns Hopkins University participated in the conference. Also in attendance were young professionals and HSC coordinators from Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Texas. Samir Rawal, the National President of the Hindu Student Council was also among the participants.

The event started early Saturday morning with an introductory session in Yoga and Meditation led by Kanchan Banerjee, co-founder of HSC. The exercises relaxed and focused the group for the day ahead, leading into an informal ice breaker that allowed a sense of friendship and community to develop. The HSC regional team gave a presentation introducing the NetSEVA service project and its recent fundraisers for victims of the Tsunami disaster. Especially informative was the segment on the Network of Hindu Minds (NetOHM), a new project designed to provide support and networking opportunities for young professionals. The presidents of each HSC chapter also gave an overview of their recent and upcoming events and encouraged all participants to attend.

Kanchan Banerjee lectured on the “Contributions of Hindus” throughout time. He touched on the involvement of Hindus in the development of the numeric system, astronomy, and music as well as in many other areas. The second speaker of the day was Shyam Pai, from the Temple of Cosmic Religion. He discussed “Principle Yogas of the Bhagavad-Gita” and the importance of controlling the “six enemies” of daily life: kama (lust/desire), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), moha (obsessive attachment), mada (arrogance), and matsarya (jealousy). Mr. Pai left the group with the profound truth that “you can’t show darkness to the sun” to explore and ponder. Professor Amita Sarin from the University of Maryland delivered the final presentation on the Vedic period of Hindu history. She showed numerous slides of images from the period that depicted the historic and artistic development of current iconic images of gods such as Siva and Indra.

Throughout the Regional Meet, participants had the chance to attend interactive discussions on different topics. HSC regional coordinator Pratyaksh Pai led ‘Inquiries into Avaatarism’ where they explored the subject of divine descent throughout the ages. ‘Hinduism in the 21^st Century: Dead or Alive?’ provoked an intense debate about the future strength of Hinduism, both in India and the diaspora, in the face of the increasing influence of Western culture, mediated by Ankur Garg and Monika Goel of UMCP. There was also a discussion among all participants about ‘Vegetarianism in Hinduism: A Modern Emphasis?’. A dialogue between strict vegetarians and those who eat chicken and fish eventually reached the consensus that both are legitimate choices for Hindus and are matters of personal preference.

The event concluded with a temple trip to the Sri Siva Vishnu Temple in Greenbelt, Maryland. Professor Sarin led an informative tour of the temple, explaining how the different styles of architecture and layouts were representative of regional styles in varying parts of India. At the conclusion of the tour, Prat Pai and Avani Bhatt led the group in a spirited satsung. This was followed by an Indian dinner where participants continued networking and forming friendships. UMBC HSC president Rashi Jawade summed the even up as “one of the most informative and fun Hindu discourses I’ve ever been to! And I made tons of new friends!”

HSC is an international forum providing opportunities for college students and young professionals to learn about Hindu heritage through various activities, events and projects. HSC presents ample opportunities for self-development at the spiritual and professional level via campus study groups, seminars, lectures, workshops, conferences and camps. With 75 chapters in North America and several inspired chapters around the world, HSC is the largest Hindu Youth organization outside of India. For more information, please visit www.hscnet.org or email us at hsc@hscnet.org