Christmas Tea Party Bags

The OSBM Youth Wing is interested in acts of selfless service as part of pursuing a dharma and in order to make an impact on those marginalised in society. In order for this to be achieved, we partake in many charitable events in our local community, as you can see from our previous articles. This time we are returning to Moorcroft Special School in Hillingdon in December - where we will be holding a Christmas Tea party with our very own Santa and Elf!

Youth members busy making gift bags

As a group we all decided that we wanted to give each child something for Christmas, so we came up with the idea of Christmas themed gift bags. These bags will help to bring with us the festivity of Christmas. We wanted to do this as it is quite an amazing feeling to be able to have the power to help other people. From previous experiences, being able to witness that gleeful expression on a child’s face as they see their gifts is quite remarkable.

In order for this project to be successful, the youth group has been split, randomly, into four groups. Each group has a specific theme related to Christmas. For example, Santa, Reindeer, Christmas trees and Snow/Snowmen.

Presents ready to be packed

A youth member carefully drawing out reindeer ears
to decorate gift bags with

This way there will be plethora of gifts; yet, all will be relatively similar to avoid anyone feeling left out. We purchased Christmas stationary and small toys etc in our groups and you can see the exciting outcomes below.

Our final products!

The Youth Wing's 2nd Birthday!



It is that time of the year again where we are constantly surrounded by festivities and everyone is in the Christmas spirit. At the OSBM youth wing we had another reason to celebrate at our December meeting with it also being our second birthday!

We started our monthly meeting with two great, informative student –led presentations; one being a  presentation covering a spiritual topic, in this case a presentation with the theme of materialism and the other focusing on a future charity project. Soon after we began our second birthday celebrations with an array of food, ranging from Sri Lankan delicacies to rich chocolate brownies and also decorated our meeting room with vibrant balloons.



Youth members acting out their spiritual word



After we had finished our luscious treats we began our party game; spiritual charades. Everyone was teamed up in pairs and chose a spiritual word that Ghaya Loveday, our youth co-ordinator had prepared beforehand. As each team attempted to act out their word everyone was eager to guess and contribute. Examples of spiritual words that we had were: ego, ignorance, Sadguru and bhakthi yogi, which as you can imagine were at times difficult to guess!

All in all, it was a fun, interactive, celebratory meeting full of fun and laughter whilst celebrating our 2nd birthday. We look forward to hosting  many more innovative and fulfilling charity events as well as developing our spiritual knowledge at our monthly meetings in the New Year. 

 

 

Raahul's First day at the Youth Wing

 “All true friendliness begins with fire and food and drink and the recognition of rain or frost. ...each human soul has in a sense to enact for itself the gigantic humility of the incarnation. Every man must descend into the flesh to meet mankind.” – G.K Chesterson 

Whether it’s your first day at school, work or even a day out with your friends, it is guaranteed that you will be meeting new people and facing new challenges. Perhaps that is intimidating for many, and this is natural. Despite being told many times that there was nothing to worry about, I was apprehensive about attending the OSBM Youth Meeting for the first time. There were many things on my mind in the lead up to the meeting. What would the members think of me? Will I do something that will cause them to think badly of me? These questions were duly answered throughout the duration of the Youth Wing meeting.

On the 11^th October 2014, I attended the meeting as a newcomer to the charity and its aims. I was anxious even before I stepped into the room, especially because the thought of meeting various new faces was daunting - as I expected to be alienated completely. I have met several of the youth members before, so I felt reassured as I knew that it will make it easier for me to interact with the whole group.

When I entered the room, there was a calm atmosphere. The green uniform was stunning and soft to the eye, laughter rang across the room as the members poured in. During the course of the meeting, there was an unusual sense of unity and harmony in the group. There were no squabbles and every opinion was valued. What struck me the most was the amount of participation from the students in the meeting. The meeting was mainly student led with responsibilities given to students to contribute and present to the group, allowing a stretch of freedom and an emphasis on student judgment.

The ages of the youth members differed but this didn’t change their value for each other. The youth members treated others not as friends, but as family. As a newcomer, I could sense that the OSBM Youth Wing were an inseparable unit, who constantly cared and respected one another. The OSBM Youth Wing capitalises on spirituality, and it was evident that this element was deeply rooted in each member, as their breathtaking knowledge was visible from the spiritual game we played in which we answered spiritual questions.

As it was Swami’s birthday, we blew up balloons and decorated the room with them, which was fun and also helped me co-operate with existing members. They were easy to talk to, and gladly aided me when I required help or was unsure about something. Food was brought in by several members and was distributed throughout the break session after two group presentations and tasted excellent.

Overall, the monthly meeting helped me understand not only the charity itself, but also the manner in which the members work, through co-operation and unity. All the members were friendly and I made new friends who helped me adapt to the atmosphere and therefore, it was definitely an enjoyable morning!

Swami's birthday cake

Appreciation and Gratitude

If you want to enlarge the image, please click on it.

Positive and Negative Mindsets

In our daily lives, we are bombarded with documentaries and adverts about human suffering in the Third world. Nevertheless, there is one story which doesn't cease to inspire me.

Catherine, 16, who is of the same age as me, has been a real inspiration towards my positive mindset in life. From a very young age, she has been forced to scavenge for plastic in rubbish dumps in order to help her dying mother. Should a child so young even be allowed to work in such treacherous conditions? This got me thinking and made me realise that although we were of the same age, she led a very different life to me. Despite the difficulties she endures every day, Catherine continues to work in her terrible conditions with a positive mindset. It was that day I realised little things which I took for granted mean a colossal amount to other people in Third world countries. Simultaneously, I also learnt that as a result of sheer obsession with materialistic possessions, many of us hold a negative mindset as we constantly want more and are unable to put a ceiling on our desires. In contrast, people who live in Third world countries come across as having more of a positive mind set  - as they consider every small thing they have as a privilege rather than something they feel entitled to. This is what sets us apart from them.

However, in my eyes, I see having a positive mindset as having more value in life. As in the West, whilst we might be rich in having many possessions, many of us are spiritually poor. 

Guru Poornima 2014

Enlightening, rewarding and exciting. Three words that completely summarise our experience at Guru Poornima 2014 to celebrate our love towards Swami. As well as performing a role play, two youth members presented a speech updating the audience about the youth wing’s past events.

We put on a play so that the audience would have an insight on what we have achieved and to showcase our ambitions. The play involved a boy who explained youth wing activities to his mother using a variety of flashbacks.

The youth members participating at this auspicious event all met up at a specific location in order to carry out rehearsals for both the speech and the play which were written up by the youth members themselves. This was truly a new experience for all of us as it gave us a new sense of responsibility and team work. After weeks of planning, we were rewarded at Guru Poornima by an enthusiastic round of applause by the audience. We now look forward to participating at next year’s Guru Poornima. 

Mad Hatter's Tea Party

On 8th of July 2014, we derived pleasure in organising a Mad Hatter's tea party for all 65 children at Moorcroft Special School in Hillingdon. The tea party was eagerly set up by the youth members themselves and decorated according to a Mad Hatter's tea party, as depicted in the classic 'Alice in Wonderland'.

The tea party consisted of a plethora of activities in order to entertain the children. The day started off with a surprise visit from a youth member who had dressed up as the Mad Hatter to excite the children. The results were truly extraordinary as they cried out in delight whilst also tucking into sandwiches which were all home made by the youth members themselves and endless boxes of cakes, which were generously provided by Karen Woods, from Just Love Food Company, as they cater specifically for those with severe nut allergies. The children then had an enjoyable game of pass the parcel, followed by a hilarious game of musical statues in which saw youth members also join in.

Therefore, we are truly grateful to Moorcroft for giving us the opportunity to interact with the children which we believe has helped us immensely on our spiritual path to becoming karma yogis, bhakti yogis and jnana yogis. We have come to believe through our own spiritual realisation, at this tea party, that we are born each lifetime needing to "wake up" and once we do that our job is simply to grow as much as we can. This is because we received an outpouring of love from these children as we realised that they had so much to give and teach us. The event truly helped us achieve one of our motives: to help those marginalised in society.

At the end of the event, we received a letter of thanks from the Head teacher of Moorcroft which we all found truly rewarding. 

Below are some of the pictures taken from organising and hosting the event. If you would like to enlarge the pictures, simply click on the image.

 Group picture of the youth members who helped at the tea-party.

                         

Youth members setting up the tea-party.

The Mad Hatter giving out presents to the children.

The children enjoying the snacks provided  

Youth members serving the children home-made sandwiches and specially made cakes.

The presents being wrapped and prepared by all the youth members.

1st Birthday!

On the 29^th of December 2012, we had our very first youth meeting with only 10 youth members. After a year we have expanded the OSBM family to 35 youth members. It has been a milestone for the youth wing, as in this one year we have accomplished a host of charity events. As a result of our undertakings throughout the year, we decided to celebrate the youth wing's first birthday with a variety of homemade treats.

From mouth-watering Oreo balls to delectable samosas,there were a wide variety of dishes presented. One of our youth members also made a customised cake with the youth wing logo piped on. These were few of the photos taken on our first birthday:

To enlarge, please click on the image

To enlarge, please click on the image

Santa and his two elves

Over the next few years, we hope to increase in number by raising awareness through our many charitable endeavours and continue to celebrate the success of the youth wing.

The Ugly Face of Beauty

The Ugly Face of Beauty was a presentation given by Gobikha and Nilani. It has become apparent in our society that selflessness is often replaced by selfies! As a result, we looked at what defined external beauty, which is driven by ego. We then compared that to internal beauty, which is driven by compassion and selflessness. In a world where it has become an obsession to look “perfect”, we as the youth wing wanted to promote the importance of inner beauty rather than the façade which is demonstrated externally by the majority of people in our modern generation.

Real Life Barbie: To view video, please click on the image above

Barbie: To view the article, please click on the image above

Our presentation included an inspirational example, Mr Narayanan Krishnan, an altruistic man who is seen as more beautiful on the inside due to his selflessness. Krishnan provides food for those who are poor and destitute. By providing unconditional love his inner beauty shines through. Through Krishnan’s actions we are able to observe "the ultimate purpose of life" which is ‘to save people by giving’.

Narayanan Krishnan undertaking acts of seva to the community

Quote from Narayanan Krishnan
To view his video, please click on the image above

Guru Poornima 2013

To enlarge, please click on the image

Swami's Visit to the Youth Wing

On 13th July 2013 we were extremely fortunate to be surprised at our monthly meeting by our very own Swami! It came as a huge shock to us as we had been expecting a usual meeting. However, unknown to us, our youth wing coordinator, Ghaya Loveday, had very kindly spoken to the committee members to ask them if Swami could visit us for the first time at our meeting during his visit to London.

For many of the youth, this was their first meeting with Swami, hence it was a very special occasion and a new experience. Swami took the opportunity to deliver a beautiful satsang in Tamil, which was translated into English by Professor Ramnath.

He urged us to imbibe six divine qualities in our life:

1.      Be strong: to have positive and powerful thoughts
2.      Be strict: to display integrity and discipline in everything we do
3.      Be straight: to always be honest
4.      Be soft: to be kind-hearted towards others
5.      Be sweet: to ensure that our thoughts, words and deeds are compassionate
6.      Be beautiful: to execute whatever we pursue beautifully.

The essence of the speech was that each of us was born on earth to pursue our own individual dharma and that this must be done exquisitely. The youth are the torch-bearers of the future and we must help save the world through preserving righteousness and performing selfless service. He used a beautiful analogy, comparing us to doctors of the world, but instead of using stethoscopes and syringes as tools to help others, our tools are love and understanding.

The thought-provoking speech was then followed by dharshan during which each youth member had the opportunity to individually speak and receive blessing from Swami, who presented each of us with chocolates. Swami’s joy at seeing the youth was evident upon his face as he wore a heart warming smile when greeting each one of us in turn.

At the end of the meeting Swami shared with us his delight at the work the youth wing had done so far and encouraged us to continue with our seva. All in all it was a wonderful surprise for everyone and it is a day we will treasure. 

Swami with the youth wing at a monthly meeting

Uniform

We felt that a uniform was central to promoting our unity and discipline as a youth wing. As a result, our uniform was designed, sourced and ordered by our own members. We opted for two sets of uniforms: a green polo t-shirt and green and white traditional attire. The former was proposed for events in the community such as the tea parties that we have organised and our monthly meetings, with the latter being more appropriate for public programmes in the presence of Swami. 

During this process, we had to source the different materials from various retailers, ensuring that the same material could be ordered for new members in the future and that it was an affordable price for everyone. Our colour scheme was green and white. White is considered a colour depicting spiritual purity – a colour that helps to attract positive energy. Whereas green was chosen specifically by Swami because it represents budhi (knowledge). 

After the materials arrived a few weeks later, our thoughts turned to how we were going to transfer our logo onto our uniform. We selected embroidery as the neatest and more durable method. A company engineered a template using our logo. This means that this template can also be used to embroider new uniforms in future efficiently and accurately, hence shortening turnaround time and creating a professional and consistent look for all members. 

A youth member overlooking the production of our uniform.

Our logo being embroidered onto our polo shirt

The boys' Indian uniform

The girls' Indian uniform

Logo

From what started as a simple sketch to the logo that majestically sits on our uniform, the process of designing the logo entailed many technical and creative difficulties. This simple sketch paved a pathway leading to the professional-looking finished product which easily rivals the expertise and ability of a design team. The development of the logo involved the wide scale interaction and collaboration of many of the youth members as ideas bounced off one another. In addition, many of the youth had the opportunity to experience using technical and professional software programmes such as Photoshop as they attempted to put their creative stamp on their own interpretations of how the logo should look.

The logo is more than just a pretty, colourful visual aid but stands as a representation for the OSBM Youth Wing and its core beliefs. The peacock is Murugan's celestial vehicle and the fact he sits on it shows he has conquered pride and ego.   However, the peacock feather also symbolises pride, vanity and ego and so by lighting the feather into flames, the youth are annihilating the ego. As fire, which is capable of both destruction and purification and here results in the sparks of divine knowledge, which is jnana (wisdom).