By Radhika Nagrath
Haridwar, 28 Oct: Is life just adding years or accumulation of wealth and prosperity? What is the greatest achievement of humans? Is life self- pleasure and comfort unchecked? Such questions were posed and answered in a three-day long camp held in the Ramakrishna Mission Sevashram in Kankhal here recently. The residential camp was organised by the Akhil Bharat Vivekananda Yuva Mahamandal and over 80 students from various schools and institutions across the district participated. This was the first youth camp organised by the mandal in North India. Earlier, 55 camps were held in other parts of the country, said the organisers.
Jagadish Dey, Assistant General Secretary, Akhil Bharat Vivekananda Yuva Mahamandal, said that the purpose for organising the youth camp was that the young minds can be shaped towards leading a purposeful life. Jugal Pradhan, member, Central Executive Committee, said that certificates were provided to all the participants.
At the local level, Anubrata from IIT Roorkee coordinated with the students and the research scholars for the camp. Arunava Sen Gupta and Apurba Das deliberated on developing the 3 H’s – head, heart and hands – of a person by means of various activities. The students enjoyed the question answer session, posing questions from all domains of life. Divyansh Sharma, an intern doing ICWA said, “Now I will contribute to the growth of my surroundings and not only remain centred on my own self.”
Amongst others, Manas Kumar from Guru Ram Rai Public school was thrilled to attend the camp and expressed his satisfaction with the youth camp saying, “I know what life is meant for, after attending this camp. I used to think earlier that life is meant just to enjoy, have a good career and money. Now I have understood the real purpose of life and my priorities will be towards unfolding my hidden qualities.”
In the group discussion session, leaders of seven groups presented their views on the meaning of life and the main hindrance in achieving the goal of life. Swami Dayamurtyananda, Secretary, Ramakrishna Mission Sevashram, guided the students on the tactics of improving concentration by giving examples from the life of Swami Vivekananda.
