How to make Vedic Teachings Simple and Fun for Youth

17th Arya Maha Sammelan

Dallas, July 19-22

Rajesh Khosla

The Issue

Majority of the kids lose interest and hence do not participate in Arya Samaj activities.

The RiskThe RiskOur kids would not have an anchor to confront various social predicaments they face as they grow from toddlers to teens to young adults.

Some of the potential causes

• Material used does not reflect the current environment :– Language– Icons– Stories

• Environmental factors– Prominence of Churches – Television – Social dichotomy

Lessons from History

• Swami Dayanand made a significant change in his approach to spreading Vedic knowledge, when he began lecturing in Hindi. Prior to his tour of Bengal, the Swami had always held his discourses and debates in Sanskrit. Continuing in Sanskrit would have prevented him from spreading his message to the broader masses.

• Even Christians opposed the translation of Bible from Latin, they went to the extent of burning people who said the prayer in English.

Attract and Retain Toddlers to Young Adults

Studies reflecting learning patterns and potential solutions

Children Learning patterns

Age till 7

• cognitively they readily accept what they hear without critical evaluation.• morally they are motivated to obey rules out of a desire to avoid punishment or

to satisfy their needs.• spiritually they are developing a healthy image of God as they learn about God

and experience God through prayer, worship and devotions.• Children are at a stage of experienced faith - here their patterns of believing,

trusting and doing are the product of what they have learned from others.

Age 7 – pre teen

• They are about to enter the stage of affiliative faith - where they identify with the beliefs of others.

Processes: influencing

growth of faith

• Belonging to a faith community - children must feel like they belong in the Arya Samaj community which helps them to accept what they hear and encourages them to give and receive love - essential to developing faith.

• Participating in the faith community - children need experiences where the older kids tend to the younger ones as well as where they are looked after to, so they must get involved in service where they can reach out with the message of Araya way of life to others;

• Modeling on people in the faith community - leaders have an impact in the lives of children as children identify with them and imitate them;

• Instruction in the Word of God - Instruction should be woven into daily life so leaders should show children from Vedic Scriptures how to live with God and with others in the world;

The challenge to the adults working with children is to emphasize Vedic way of life in an age appropriate manner - to lay a foundation that can be built on during the later adolescent phase of searching faith. Such that, as a result of critical reflection and doubt, the adolescent can experience the learning from earlier stages.

Opportunities for Responsible Choices and Programs

Kids till 10 yrs of age

– Create an environment to motivate children to learn Vedic values through art, music, outings, and summer camps.

– Simplify the 10 principles – For each Principle-create stories or anecdotes with current

relevance– Simplify the meanings of Sandhya and Havan Mantras– Create simple activity books– Sponsor a project to create simple songs (Bhajans and chanting

of Mantras) with music– Sponsor a project to create small plays

Teenagers

Teenagers need to have opportunities in which they can practice their ability to make responsible choices - they must be lovingly corrected when their choices are bad, and praised when they choices are good. The following programs are suggested as examples at various levels:

• Weekend socials, concerts, sports activities. • Discussion groups, new member meetings, weekend

socials. • Family and group retreats, fellowship groups. • Vedic study, group seminars, leadership training. • Opportunities to mentor younger kids.

Teenagers

Similar activities as younger kids however, age appropriate. Materials should build on top of those for younger kids.

Create an environment to motivate youth to learn Vedic values through art, music, outings, and summer camps. Sporting activities – with singing Bhajans/mantras prior to and after the event. Encourage them to write and critique some of the existing materials. Volunteer to take responsibility for tasks on the items for younger kids. Civic activities at local level

Senior Citizen center visit Soup kitchen visit Habitat for humanity Volunteering at local city parades with floats that emphasize the Vedic teachings.

Young Adults

• Provocative Question - Guide the discussion in an appealing way by

raising the question with an issue that is relevant to the young adult. For example, "What is the most difficult challenge you have had to deal with lately?"

• Small Group Discussion - Create small groups of about five people in order to facilitate maximum sharing. Subjects that could be discussed include: dealing with conflict; the need for forgiveness; the art of communication; leaving adolescence; or ethics in the workplace.

• Reassemble for Sharing - After small-group discussions reassemble the group and ask, "Who would like to share?" Introduce the key issues of the subject and lead the young adults in a large group discussion.

• Groups for Application - Get back into groups where they can deal with Vedic material and discover ways to apply the subject to their lives. Give each group a passage or anecdote to read (ex: Stayarth Prakash, Books by Anand Swami and other great scholars), discuss and apply to their lives.

Learning is not compulsory… neither is survival.

W.Edwards Deming

!!! Lets Learn and Reform !!!!