Hindus of Greater Houston Present Awards to Seven Inspirational Youth

Board of Directors of Hindus of Greater Houston, from left: Vijay Pallod, Sharad Amin, Girish Naik (back) Partha Krishnaswamy (President), Bhagwan Bhutada, Vinod Mantri, Swapan Dhairyawan,Tupil Narasiman, Sanjay Jain (Treasurer), Sanjay Jajoo, Thara Narasimhan (Secretary), Bhawna Luthra and Richa Dixit (Secretary).

Board of Directors of Hindus of Greater Houston, from left: Vijay Pallod, Sharad Amin, Girish Naik (back) Partha Krishnaswamy (President), Bhagwan Bhutada, Vinod Mantri, Swapan Dhairyawan,Tupil Narasiman, Sanjay Jain (Treasurer), Sanjay Jajoo, Thara Narasimhan (Secretary), Bhawna Luthra and Richa Dixit (Secretary).

By Pramod Kulkarni

HOUSTON: When you leave your motherland and make a life in an alien country, your cultural identity can become divided. The situation is even more challenging for the second-generation youth, who must balance the culture at home with the mainstream culture in school and at work. To recognize youth who’ve retained their Vedic culture and achieved success in academic and professional life, the Hindus of Greater Houston (HGH) instituted its annual youth award series seven years ago. This year’s HGH 7th Annual Hindu Youth Awards function and fund raising event was hosted by the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir on Saturday, April 22 evening.

Cheif Guest Pujya Kaivalyamurti Swami

Cheif Guest
Pujya
Kaivalyamurti
Swami

The HGH Youth Awards recognize youth between the ages of 16-30, who demonstrate academic excellence, community service, inspire social change and serve as role models. The seven award winners were selected this year out of nominations from 13 different organizations (see box). The event featured two prominent speeches. Throughout the event, several bhajans and BAPS videos were interspersed. One of the videos introduced His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj, the present guru and spiritual successor of Pramukh Swami Maharaj.

HGH President, Partha Krishnaswamy

HGH President,
Partha Krishnaswamy

 

Keynote speaker, Suhag Shukla

Keynote speaker,
Suhag Shukla

The first speech was by the chief guest, Pujya Kaivalyamurti Swami, a BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha Swami, who took diksha (path of renunciation) after completing his high school in Dallas, Texas in 1992. The swamiji’s younger brother has also taken diksha. Kaivalyamurti Swami set the tone for the evening with an inspiring message for the Hindu youth of today. Acknowledging the many challenges that youngsters face in terms of “trying to be cool and blending in” he warned that, in the process of doing this, it is easy to forget our ethics and values and end up as “people pleasers.” He encouraged the gathering to overcome this identity crisis, follow their dharma, embrace their culture, practice purity of diet, and be a proud practicing Hindu. Swamiji also shared a relevant piece of advice for students: join social events but do not be “pressurized to be part of a culture that is not yours.” He further added that when one sticks to their beliefs, whether it’s saying no to alcohol or meat, people will respect them, their true friends will respect them for it. Swamiji gave the example of a young man, Nisarg Shah, and two young women, who observed Hindu values even after joining the U.S. Marines. One of the sisters was even stationed in Fallujah, Iraq.

Hindu youth awards 2017 winners were, from left: Mukund Nair, Harsh Mehta, Siddhant Ahuja, Govinda Ramirez, Shail Gajjar, Nikita Zamwar and Haripriya Sundaramurthy.

Hindu youth awards 2017 winners were, from left: Mukund Nair, Harsh Mehta, Siddhant Ahuja, Govinda Ramirez, Shail Gajjar, Nikita Zamwar and Haripriya Sundaramurthy.

HGH Board of Director Thara Narasimham did the honors of introducing the second keynote speaker of the evening – Suhag Shukla, Executive Director and Legal Counsel and a co-founder of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF). Shukla has consistently spoken out for the rights of religious minorities and educates Hindu American communities on religious liberty. Suhag Shukla lauded HGH’s endeavors in bringing the Hindu community together. In her address, she highlighted the three core principles of Dharma – ahimsa (non-violence), brahmacharya (living in moderation), and satya (truth) and asserted that they can serve as a valuable guide in making the right decisions. She mentioned several ethical dilemmas (dharma sankats), i.e. calling out a fellow student, who is cheating. She said these dilemmas have to be resolved by each individual by following Vedic values. She also reflected on her initial struggles to understand Dharma but gradually came to the realization that she can be “a proud Hindu and a proud American.” The youth, she continued, will be taking life changing decisions and these are “important opportunities” to make the right choices. She concluded by stating that they could “simply live a life or live a higher life” and hoped they would choose the latter of the two.

Diya lighting ceremony was performed by Rishi Bhutada (left), Jugal Malani, Vishnu Ramnarine, Gurinder Luthra, Ranjana Narasiman, Suhag Shukla, Manjulaben Patel, Beth Kulkarni, Dr. Hansa Raval and Thara Narasimhan.

Diya lighting ceremony was performed by Rishi Bhutada (left), Jugal Malani, Vishnu Ramnarine, Gurinder Luthra, Ranjana Narasiman, Suhag Shukla, Manjulaben Patel, Beth Kulkarni, Dr. Hansa Raval and Thara Narasimhan.

In a brief address, HGH President Partha Krishnaswamy outlined the ways in which HGH strives to bring Hindus together: through the celebration of Hindu festivals, a bi-annual Hindu Leaders Meet, honoring the youth and collaborating with and supporting other organizations. Komal Luthra, a Senior at Rice University has been attending every award ceremony and according to her, events like this teach us to “stand up for what we believe in and not give into outside forces such as peer pressure” while Anwar Raja, another attendee, found it “a heartwarming experience to listen to young Hindu Americans who are showing the way to all of us.”

Ashwin Dave BAPS Mandir representative passed on the baton to host the HGH Youth Awards function next year to ISKCON Mandir’s Gaura Klein and Dr. Hansa Madley.

Ashwin Dave BAPS Mandir representative passed on the baton to host the HGH Youth Awards function next year to ISKCON Mandir’s Gaura Klein and Dr. Hansa Madley.

Emcees Jignesh Patel, Ekta Thakkar and Richa Dixit kept things moving briskly through the evening, which was interspersed with beautifully sung bhajans by the students of Swaminarayan Sanstha. In his vote of thanks, Event Chair Vinod Mantri thanked BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir for their unstinting “support in planning, hosting and guidance in organizing this event.”

HGH-in-1

Board of Director Vijay Pallod invited ISKCON leaders Dr. Hansa Medley and Gaura Klein to take up the baton in hosting the 2018 Hindu Youth Awards. He noted that Gaura Klein was a 2011 Hindu Youth Awardee and will now take the lead role in organizing the Hindu Youth Awards next year. The evening concluded with a vegetarian dinner catered by BAPS’ own Shayona staff, featuring aam ras (mango).

-includes contributions from Correspondent Manu Shah.


Seven Award Winners with Exceptional Values

Each of the award winners made an acceptance speech, where they affirmed their religious beliefs and cultural values.

Haripriya Sundaramurthy (Sri Meenaskhi Temple Society), emphasized that “religion is just an introduction to God and only through service can we realize God.

Shail Gajjar (BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir), who proudly wears a tilak on his forehead every single day, resolved “an internal conflict” through the tenets of Hinduism.

Govinda Ramirez (ISKCON), who first came into contact with Hinduism in Mexico, underscored the fact that Vedic culture is a complete philosophy and way of life and this “treasure” is for everyone.

Mukund Nair (Global Organization of Divinity) perceived that “humanity is inseparable from divinity” and this dawning realization gave his life a sense of clarity and purpose.

Nikita Zamwar (Ekal Vidyalaya) observed that belonging to a Hindu organization, such as the HSS, helped her “defend” her religion, taught her discipline and inculcated core values, including seva bhav.

Siddhant Ahuja (Arya Samaj of Greater Houston) stressed the importance of staying true to the core values of Vedic life “wherever we are”.

Harsh Mehta (Jain Society of Houston) spoke about the struggles of following Jain ideals, but how he was determined to spread its beliefs and create “ripples of change”.