NextGen Hindu Youth Convention: An Unforgettable Day

 

By Juhi Varma

PEARLAND: More than 650 people gathered on Saturday, June 14, at the Sri Meenakshi Temple in Pearland for a one-day convention that brought together an impressive lineup of Hindu leaders—from a tech billionaire and a NASA scientist to a congressman.

In a world that seems disconnected from tradition, how can we raise young people to be confident, grounded leaders? The 2025 edition of the NextGen Hindu Youth Leadership Convention—back after its 2023 debut—set out to explore exactly that.

According to Dr. Dhamo S. Dhamotharan, chairman of NextGen, the goal was to bring in at least 600 participants, mostly youth. Not only did the event surpass that target, but an impressive 65% of attendees were young people.

“Our young people love Hinduism, but their interest in rituals is much less. There is more interest in making our Hindu temples evolve into Hindu universities,” Dr. Dhamotharan said during his opening remarks. “We all have the responsibility and duty to inspire and motivate our Hindu youth to take on leadership roles in our community…They value what we tell them about Hinduism, but we need to empower them.”

In addition to speeches and panels, the event featured interactive breakout sessions—designed not just for youth, but also for the parents who brought them.

“I think it’s really good that we have social participation here,” said Aarya Vyas, 16, a student at Elkins High School in Sugar Land. “We’re covering, like, a variety of topics. I think that would be a really interesting way to gain more perspective.”

With plenty of breaks, tea, coffee, and Indian food, the day moved quickly. It was hard to get bored — many stayed until the very end

“It’s incredible to see, because many times, people that are more experienced in life and older in life, they don’t respect or pour into the next generation,” said Manvel Mayor Dan Davis. “It’s that next generation that’s going to take care of us when we get older.”

“I think this is the novelty of this event, to prepare the next generation for the challenges and encourage them to take the leadership role,” said Sanjay Singhal, Sugar Land’s newly elected city councilor.

There were many impressive speakers, too many to fit into a single article. So, we’re breaking this up. This is part one—stay tuned next week for highlights from the rest of the speakers.

Suhas Subramanyam reflects on his Houston roots and the power of seva

Suhas Subramanyam, 38, may represent Virginia’s 10th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, but his journey began in the Houston area, where he attended Clear Lake High School and found a strong sense of community and purpose.

In his speech, Subramanyam reflected on the role the Sri Meenakshi Temple played in shaping his identity. He recalled volunteering in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, an experience that deepened his commitment to seva—selfless service—as a core Hindu value.

Now a member of Congress and the first Indian American elected to the U.S. House from Virginia, Subramanyam emphasized the need for unity in the face of global challenges. He urged young people to stay rooted in their Hindu heritage.

Subramanyam was sworn into office on January 3, 2021, marking a historic milestone for Indian Americans in public life.

“We’re a great fit for this country,” Subramanyam said. “We should never feel like we’re outsiders, because they’ve already embraced us here in other ways. “

In high school, hiding one’s Hindu identity to fit in or avoid judgment can feel easier—but he implored the young people in the audience to never do that.

“Because you come from a tradition that’s thousands of years in the making, and that’s been refined over thousands of years, that people follow in different ways and has helped guide other religions as well,” he said.

Dr. Mark Halpern and Ayurveda

Dr. Marc Halpern, founder of the California College of Ayurveda, is a leading Ayurveda practitioner and teacher in the U.S.

Dr. Halpern shared a deeply personal and transformative journey—one that began with debilitating arthritis in the 1980s that left him completely bedridden.

“I was crippled back in the 1980s…I had one of the first cases of Lyme disease in the Western United States, we didn’t know much about it,” he said. “It affected my liver,  my heart, my brain, my joints and my skin. Ayurveda allowed my body to go through the healing process. Western medicine didn’t have anything to offer me. But Ayurveda and yoga, particularly a technique called Yoga Nidra, together helped me not only to survive, but to thrive again.”

In his talk, Dr. Halpern explained the importance of understanding one’s unique constitution and living in alignment with nature.

“If you live according to Hindu values and principles, you will avoid disease and live a happy, healthy life,” he said. “But when we live out of harmony, we suffer.”

He underscored Ayurveda’s core teaching-

“Nothing is right for everyone. Everything is right for someone.” This personalized approach to health, he noted, is what sets Ayurveda apart from Western medicine.

Looking ahead, Dr. Halpern encouraged Hindu youth to embrace Ayurveda as a way of life—one that promotes balance, self-awareness, and service to society. He ended with a heartfelt wish for the audience to enjoy good health and success in their dharmic journey.

Kavya K. Manyapu: Turning dreams into reality with courage, clarity, and compassion

Dr. Kavya K. Manyapu is an aerospace engineer and scientist currently working with NASA’s Artemis program. She’s preparing astronauts for future moonwalks. She also holds a patent for self-cleaning space suit technology using carbon nanotubes—designed for lunar and Mars missions.

“For me, leadership is not about control, but it’s about connection,” she said. “More importantly, leadership is not about power or personality. It’s about presence.”

Dr. Manyapu shared lessons from her journey, encouraging young people to pursue their dreams with what she calls the “5 Cs and 3 Is.” (“We’re from NASA, we love acronyms,” she said.)

• 5 Cs:
  • Courage to dream big
  • Clarity of vision, rooted in purpose
  • Commitment to your goal
  • Consistency in daily effort
  • Compassion—for yourself and others
• 3 Is:
  • Intention behind your actions
  • Intensity of effort
  • Involvement, or giving your full presence to whatever you do

Her closing advice: spend just seven minutes a day in self-reflection or meditation. She recommended a free mindfulness tool, the Miracle of Mind app, designed to help youth harness ancient wisdom for modern growth. “When you’re aligned internally, your outer impact is going to be infinite,” she said.

Rick Pal: A serial entrepreneur guided by faith and purpose

Rick Pal is an award-winning entrepreneur, investor, and the Senior Partner & EVP of Strategy at Zuhnë—one of the fastest-growing brands in kitchen and bath fixtures. A graduate of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, Pal calls himself a “serial entrepreneur”—because he never stayed in one lane.

“I’ve been all over the place,” he said with a laugh. From IT to manufacturing, sustainability, solar energy, tax prep, and Amazon logistics, Pal has built a career across industries. But the common thread? A deep sense of faith, perseverance, and a belief in long-term vision—values he attributes to his Hindu upbringing.

Pal was the first entrepreneur in his family, he said. Inspired early on by a desire to be his own boss, he found his footing at UT. After graduation, he worked in IT, then launched into business ownership, each venture shaped by a commitment to learning and long-term growth.

“I think the Hindu faith really does teach you to look long term,” he said. “And I’ve always really admired that. It’s never been in blips.”

His approach to leadership centers on loyalty, compassion, and helping others exceed their own expectations. “Leadership is getting the best out of other people, inspiring and making them step up and do something they thought they were not capable of,” he said, adding that seeing others succeed brought him joy.

For Pal, success isn’t just measured in profits, but in the legacy of people he’s helped along the way.

Pal grew up in a Sikh household, went to a Christian school, and is married to a Hindu. All faiths teach service, he said but for Sikhs, seva is central.

“For Sikhs ‘giving back’ is part of our ethos,” he said. “We just love that, right? At our temples, the feeding of the people and giving back—I’ve grown up with that.”

Pal is also part of Asia 21, a global leadership network through Asia Society.

From the Bay Area to rural Bharat : Sridhar Vembu’s message to youth

Sridhar Vembu, born in 1968, is a billionaire and founder of Zoho Corporation. As of 2024, Forbes ranks him as India’s 39th richest person with a net worth of $5.85 billion. In 2021, he was honored with the Padma Shri.

After 30 years in the U.S., Vembu moved to Mathalamparai, a small village in Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, where he’s now bringing technology and creating jobs in rural India.

Speaking to young Hindus through Zoom at the NextGen convention, Vembu reflected on his journey from a secular upbringing to embracing Hindu spirituality. A software engineer educated at IIT Madras and Princeton, he once identified as agnostic, even rejecting religion.

“Growing up, I was thoroughly secularized. Even though I grew up in India, I was exposed to lot of Hinduism, I considered myself agnostic, and even at one point said ‘no religion’. Many of today’s youth share that mindset,” he noted, commending the audience for finding their path early.

He described the essence of Hindu spirituality as humility, contentment, and gratitude—starting with gratitude for simply being alive. Contrasting his childhood with that of his Gen Z audience, he recalled his first car ride at 15 and phone call at 18, prompting him to question the meaning of wealth and time.

In Hinduism, time is sacred (muhurta), travel is a pilgrimage (yatra), knowledge is divine (vidya), and actions carry the weight of karma.

“What goes around, comes around,” he explained, emphasizing that every act, from mathematics to music, can be a path to the divine in Hindu tradition.

Vembu highlighted the multifaceted role of temples, not just for worship but as centers of learning, art, and culture, where knowledge, wealth (symbolized by goddess Lakshmi). This interconnectedness, he said, is central to India’s traditional way of life and remains vital today.

Reflecting on his move to a rural village, Vembu contrasted the loneliness prevalent in American life with the community spirit in Tenkasi. Despite the village’s poverty—average incomes of $100–$150 per month—he observed an absence of loneliness and low levels of violence, attributing this to India’s deep-rooted culture of peace.

“Living peacefully together in practice, day to day–that is an achievement of our civilization. And this has gone on for thousands of years,” he said, citing Bharat’s millennia-long tradition of harmony amid extraordinary diversity in language, customs, and food. He urged the youth to internalize this legacy, emphasizing its relevance for fostering peace among nations and cultures in the modern world.

NextGen Hindu Youth Leadership Convention a Transformative Gathering

By Haripriya Sundaramurthy
President, Young Hindus of Greater Houston
NextGen Hindu Youth Leadership Convention Co-Chair

On Saturday, June 14th, the Sri Meenakshi Temple in Houston became more than just a sacred site, it became the vibrant heart of a powerful movement. The 2025 NextGen Hindu Youth Leadership Convention brought together over 650 participants, including 450 youth, of which 350 are current students – each arriving with a hunger to connect, learn, and lead.

Set on the beautiful grounds of the Sri Meenakshi Temple, the convention pulsed with spirituality, purpose, and connection. Attendees described the experience as “empowering,” “eye-opening,” “inspiring”, and “deeply grounding.” What made the event especially meaningful was the way it seamlessly blended leadership development with cultural belonging.

Esteemed speakers – including Sridhar Vembu (Founder of Zoho Corp.), Sri Gauranga Das (ISKCON), and Congressman Suhas Subramanyam – shared deeply personal stories about remaining rooted in Hindu values while navigating global stages of influence and impact. Youth didn’t just listen to panel discussions, they saw themselves reflected in them.

Throughout the day, workshops and breakout sessions addressed some real challenges and aspirations facing young Hindus today: how to lead with authenticity, how to navigate Hindu identity in a modern world, and how to give back with intention. The atmosphere was charged with curiosity, compassion, and the energy of young minds eager to make a difference.

Drawing from extensive surveys and focused group feedback, the convention clearly met its intended objectives. It showcased inspiring Hindu role models, nurtured leadership and entrepreneurial mindsets, and celebrated the Hindu way of life with pride and renewed confidence. Above all, it reinforced dharmic values, empowering youth to give back, stay rooted in their cultural heritage, and engage meaningfully with the wider community.

But perhaps the most powerful takeaway was the sense of unity. From the organizing team to the volunteers and speakers, people from around the world came together, across time zones, experiences, and generations, to make the event a resounding success. That spirit of collaboration echoed through the day’s carefully curated agenda, the fluid transitions between sessions, and the warm, welcoming environment created by the NextGen team.

Participants didn’t just attend an event, they stepped into a movement. Many left the convention already brainstorming service projects, planning future collaborations, and forming lasting friendships. Mentorship circles sparked meaningful intergenerational conversations, while networking activities transformed strangers into teammates and community-builders. More than anything, attendees walked away with a deep sense of belonging – not just to a youth cohort, but to the broader, evolving Hindu community. The convention gave them space to lead, reflect, and envision a future where tradition and innovation walk hand in hand.

As the day drew to a close, one thing became clear: this wasn’t just a one-day gathering. It was the beginning of something far greater—a bold step forward for the next generation of Hindu leaders.