Youth Empowerment Program 2013

The Youth Empowerment Program (YEP) germinated from the glorious vision of Pujya Gurudev, Swami Chinmayananda. Gurudev believed that youth had innate dynamism, nergy, enthusiasm and a sense of adventure. However, these qualities were often misunderstood, not channeled properly or underutilized. Gurudev often quotes, “Youth are not useless; they are used less.” His vision was to nurture the untapped potential of youth and inspire them to bring about a spiritual renaissance in India and abroad.

In accordance with this vision, the Youth Empowerment Program (YEP) was developed. YEP is a leadership program based on value and service which began in 2003 under the guidance of Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayananda and led by Swami Mitrananda, Director of All India Chinmaya Yuva Kendra (AICHYK). YEP was designed especially for young adults (17‐30yrs) to learn the principles of Vedanta and self development, serve the community for a period of 20 months by volunteering at various CM centers and grow as dynamic, positive contributors of society. Graduates of the YEP are known as Yuva Veers. Since then, more than 350 Yuva Veers have graduated from the program which is now conducted every year at Chinmaya Vibhooti, Pune, India.

This year, for the first time, the Youth Empowerment Program was launched in North America. We have successfully completed the first batch in Piercy, California where 31 of our youth from different parts of the country were trained in foundational Vedanta, basic Sanskrit, organizational skills, public speaking, workshop and study group facilitation and related aspect.

Some of the highlights of the program included:

Studying texts such as Tattvabodha, Bhagavad Gita, Hanuman Chalisa, Sadhana Panchakam which will provide them with enough background to conduct and facilitate youth study groups
Organizing and conducting the 2013 National Junior CHYK camp from start to finish for youth ages (13-17)
Chanting the Hanuman Chalisa for 22 hours continuously in 11 different ragas in honor of Gurudev’s Mahasamadhi day from 6am on the 3rd of August until 6am on the 4th of August. The chant-a-thon began with a Guru paduka puja and ended with a Hanumanji puja with the sankalpa that whatever has been learned kindles everlasting inspiration so that they continue to tread the right path. A sankalpa was also taken for the good health and long life of Pujya Guruji so that he may continue to guide us forward
Participating in various seva projects. On Gurupoornima day, all the students of the YEP program along with the Acharyas painted two residential buildings in Krishnalaya along with the office in order to aid in its upkeep and maintenance. This was followed by a moonlight puja conducted in the Eel River to pay tribute to our Guru parampara
Hands on training on how to conduct and facilitate workshops on personality development, effective communication and how to practice Vedanta in their daily lives
Practicing yoga and learning different pranayama techniques and surya namaskar
Practicing japa and guided meditation thereby learning to calm one’s mind and focus at each task on hand

After this, the students of the YEP program will continue to serve in their respective local centers for a period of 10 months. They are required to participate and serve as teachers or assistant teachers to aid in:

Supporting Junior CHYKS
Initiating and facilitating study groups
Taking an active role in the local CHYK group

In addition to this, they have also committed to launching several nationwide projects such as:

Reaching out to more people, centers and institutions to further spread Chinmaya Mission publications via unique promotional and selling methods

Organizing a University Tour for our Acharyas
Planning the next CAMTRACON (Camp-Training-Conference) for CHYK
Planning, promoting and conducting the next YEP America program for 2014
Fundraising and seva activities for CORD USA
Writing a book called Yuva Govindam (Bhaja Govindam for Youth)

We believe that through this initiative, our youth will unfold to realize their highest potential and become integral components in their local centers with a wealth of assets including self-confidence, communication skills, and the ability to effectively organize and conduct workshops and training programs and manage resources.

In light of this vision, I request you to join hands with us in this endeavor and support this program. Below is a list of the students of the first batch of the YEP America program who will serve as young leaders in their respective centers. Please feel free to contact me with the below mentioned information if you have any queries regarding the YEP program and/or the students partaking in it.

United States:
Arkansas
Manoj Seeram (Chinmaya Mission Bentonville)
Padma Mana (Chinmaya Mission Bentonville)

California
Anuja Ganpule (Chinmaya Mission San Jose)
Akil Rajaratnam (Chinmaya Mission San Diego)
Arvin Wali (Chinmaya Mission San Diego)
Devesh Vashistha (Chinmaya Mission San Diego)

Massachusetts
Reena Patel (Chinmaya Mission Boston)

Maryland & Virginia
Ajay Ravichandran (Chinmaya Mission CMWRC)
Akhilesh Palla (Chinmaya Mission CMWRC)

Michigan
Anchit Menawat (Chinmaya Mission Ann Arbor)
Hemanth Panditi (Chinmaya Mission Ann Arbor)
Priya Wiersba (Chinmaya Mission Ann Arbor)
Shubhum Sidhar (Chinmaya Mission Ann Arbor)
Varun Dayana (Chinmaya Mission Ann Arbor)

Minnesota
Achinth Murali (Chinmaya Mission Twin Cities)
Arista Jhanjee (Chinmaya Mission Twin Cities)

Texas
Devaki Dave (Chinmaya Mission Austin)
Rupal Jethwa (Chinmaya Mission Austin)
Priya Dhamankar (Chinmaya Mission Beaumont)
Ambika Cheruvu (Chinmaya Mission Dallas)
Archana Verma (Chinmaya Mission Dallas)
Bani Maini (Chinmaya Mission Dallas)
Jayashree Rajagopalan (Chinmaya Mission Dallas)
Ramesh Cheruvu (Chinmaya Mission Dallas)
Shivam Khanna (Chinmaya Mission Dallas)
Sridhar Karra (Chinmaya Mission Dallas)
Swarna Bharathy Sunkara (Chinmaya Mission Dallas)
Ved Chitale (Chinmaya Mission Houston)