Hindus of Greater Houston Recognizes Young Hindu Leaders
From left: Dr. Hansa Medley, Swami Rtatdvaja, Kiran Bhutada, Jugal Malani, Gregerty Haan, Subhash Gupta, Joseph Emmett, Swapnil Agarwal, Sushma Mahajan. Photos: Bijay Dixit
Videographer: Namananda Das
By Komal Luthra
HOUSTON: On March 3, Hindus of Greater Houston hosted their 8th Annual Hindu Youth Awards Fundraising Gala at ISKCON Houston. The event packed with large number of youth attendees from prominent temples and organizations was chaired by Bhawna Luthra, accompanied by emcees Ratish Pillai, Komal Luthra, and Richa Dixit. Host ISKCON of Houston presented three beautiful cultural programs and also catered a delicious Satvik dinner through their Govinda’s Vegetarian Cuisine.
After the traditional lamp lighting, the event commenced with prayer in silence as an Anjali for the Shankarachayra of Kanchi kamakoti Peetam “Swamy Jayendra Saraswati” who attained Siddhi on Tuesday Feb 27, 2018. The seven outstanding young individuals who received the awards this year were Neelam Bhatt from BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir, Akash Dhingra from VHP of America, Arun Dev Kumar from Sewa International, Ayush Sharma from HSS, Jiger Patel from ISKCON of Houston, Eesha Gulati from Arya Samaj and Adhi Gopal from Meenakshi Temple Society. Award winners were given the opportunity to share their personal experiences in developing into young service-oriented leaders in the Houston community.
From left: Vinod Mantri, Gopal Agarwal, Vijay Pallod, Ramesh Bhutada, Swapan Dhairyawan, Thara Narasimhan, Mark Ram, Devendra Mahajan, Sharad Amin, Bhagawan Bhutada, Partha Krishnaswamy, Bhawna Luthra, Girish Naik and Komal Luthra.
Awardee Akash Dhingra shared some inspiring words said “Look up at the sky, explore your dreams, and discover who you are”, while Eesha Gulati another awardee beautifully recited a Sanskrit shloka which meant “those who serve and bow to the elders are blessed with growth in four areas of life- longevity, fame, wisdom, and power”
Three special guests graced the occasion with their remarkable motivational speeches.
HH Rtadhvaja Swami, who travels to inspire the youth, stressed on the importance of service and referred to it as “the future hope for society and progress in spiritual and material life.” He emphasized that “Humans are meant to understand our eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord and that can be done through the service attitude.” His elaborated a couple of abbreviations; GPA (God Point Average) is determined by one’s Hindu Dharma and service and GPS (God Positioning System) understanding our position in relationship to God.
Dr. Hansa Medley, Swapnil Agarwal, Adhi Gopal, Arun Dev Kumar, Eesha Gulati, Akash Dhingra, Jiger Patel, and Ayush Sharma.
Swapnil Agarwal, an enviably young and successful entrepreneur and the Founder & CEO of Nitya Capital in Houston, shared how Hinduism provided him with a sense of identity when he came to the USA from India at the age of 15. Growing up, he had many questions about Hinduism, and while he is still finding answers and learning, he narrated one that he learnt – “Karma”, which is doing good deeds without expecting results, and explained how he applies it to his business venture. He also emphasized the importance of being self-aware of the reasons for doing community service.
Deputy Consul General of Houston Surendra Adhana, elaborated on the importance of having stability in one’s dreams to attain Sankalp. He also explained how Sankalp becomes Siddhi with hard work and perseverance.
Youth picture with Swami Rtatdvaja and Swapnil Agarwal.
Joseph Emmett, a HGH Board of Advisor, commending the youth for all their accomplishments says “Congratulations to the remarkable honorees at this year’s youth awards put on by Hindus of Greater Houston! It was inspiring to hear their dedication to this profound tradition and lifestyle. HGH is doing a great job in maintaining this great Vedic culture in a world that sorely needs its viewpoint. Hari Om!”
Nikhil Jaiswal, a previous Hindu Youth Award winner and an attendee this year described his experience saying “This year, the Hindu Youth Awards was a combination of jubilance, introspection, and inspiration for youth and adults around the community. From camp coordinators, to Hindi teachers, to full time volunteers, to immigrants helping in Harvey, the award recipients portrayed the vast contributions in which Hindu Youth are making a difference in – culture, education, disaster relief, etc.”
ISKCON youth singing shlokas
Girish Naik, Past President of Hindus of Greater Houston announced that the Janmashtami celebrations, a signature event of HGH will be celebrated on 25Th August at the George Brown Convention Center. The event ended with Dr. Hansa medley passing the baton to Girish Naik for the next year’s Hindu Youth Award event. Hindus of Greater Houston is proud to host this event every year to honor youth for their great accomplishments.