The Road to Success is Often a Winding path
Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA) has been celebrating Hindu Heritage Day, more commonly known as HHD in different parts of the country for several years.
Wetend to identify with different groups based on our regional and/or religious affinity. Thus there are Gujarati Samaj, Kannad Kuta, TANA, Brihad Maharashtra Mandal, UPAMA (UP association), RANA (Rajasthan). Etc. There are several subsub-brancheswithin these groups too. For example, for Gujaratis, it could be by sub caste of Patels or by their geographical origin.
We have sampraday and guru based temples and organizations all across the USA. All these groups and organizations whether they be social, spiritual or religious, do fill the need of the society to “belong.” However, while being part of such a group,weoften forget the base of our identity, i.e., We are all of the above, because we are Hindus.
VHPA’s vision is that of a dynamic, vibrant Hindu society and to make that vision a reality we have to first acknowledge that we are all Hindus. VHPA uses the term Hindu in a civilizational sense of the word. One could be a Jain, Sikh, Buddhist or Sanatani, but culturally and from the standpoint of civilization we have same inheritance and we are all Hindus.
Thus, HHD is a program, an event
,which occurs once a year where everyone comes together, not as a Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi or Malayalee; not as a Vaishnavite, Shaivite or a follower of Swaminarayan sect; not as a follower of Art of Living, Isha Yoga, Chinmaya Mission, VHPA, HSS, etc., but only as a Hindu to celebrate the great heritage that is bestowed on them. People go back from the HHD with renewed confidence in themselves as Hindus. This has its own positive impact on the children.
This year, the NJ HHD’s focus is children. The program at the North Brunswick High School will start at 1:00 PM and end at 8:00 PM. We expect close to 1000 participants. There are more than 30 items of eight to 12 minutes that will be presented by more than 260 children. There will be songs, dances, skits, etc. There would not be any cheap, film-world dominated dances or songs. All presentations have been vetted to make sure that they represent the best of the Hindu culture.
Swami Adhyatmananda Ji of the Sivananda Ashram, Divya Jivan Sangh will be speaking and will interact with the audience. There is a one hour long Hindi drama at the end of the program.
There will be food stalls, saree and jewelry booths, bookstores, etc. Children will enjoy face painting, mehndi and kite flying. There will be indoors and outdoors guided sports too.
All this is offered at a very affordable price too. All registrations are on line at <www.hinduheritageday.com>. For a family of four, total cost is only $12.40. Children under 12 are admitted free. We advise that you register on line to save time standing in long lines at the event. Onsite registration will be available but would entail long waiting time.
Vedas say: Walk together, speak in one voice, be of the same mind. Let us follow that on th
isHindu Heritage Day.
VHPA presents the Hindu Heritage Day on Saturday, July 9, 2016, at North Brunswick High School, 98 Raider Road, North Brunswick, NJ 08902. From 1:00 PM TO 8:00 PM.
Source: World Hindu News (WHN)